What’s up Wenzday 08/22/12

What’s Up Wenzday Point #1:

A note of clarification —

I took a week off while my hubz was out of town for his job. I was completely unmotivated and lacking in any enthusiasm. Add to this emotional chaos the fact of our impending court hearing regarding custody of our little girl, getting my son ready for his first year of college, and contemplating my place on the planet… Yeah, I was a hot mess.

It turns out my hubz couldn’t post anything while he was gone, anyway, so the break fell conveniently for us both. And now we we’re back, well-rested and full of excitement to keep on with the keeping on. Committed and in it to win it. Fist pumps and all that jumping up-n-down kind of thing. Go Team Andi-Roo!

*and there was much throwing of glitter*

What’s Up Wenzday Point #2:

My Happiness Project—

This is the fourth week of Andi-Roo’s Happiness Project, based on Gretchen Rubin’s blog. I’m doing things in a slightly different order than presented on Gretchen’s blog, because (a) it’s my project and I can if I want to, and (b) the next assignment was going to have me list triggers, and I’m not a good place to examine that kind of thing right now without it bringing me down. And what’s the purpose of a Happiness Project if it brings you down, right?

Happiness Project Assignment #4:

Find a place of refuge.

One might think, as I did on first reading this task, that the Place of Refuge is a physical one. Like, in case of a fire you’re supposed to have an agreed upon site at which family members should meet back up. Or, for those seeking spiritual comfort, a church. Or, for a nerd-ball like me and my hubs, a book store.

While it is important to have a place to go — a port in the storm, so to speak — the place to which Gretchen Rubin refers is not physical, but mental. Consider that joke, “Find your happy place”… or the instructions you give a tantrum-tossing child, to calm down and count to ten. We should each have a corner into which we may crawl, a respite from harsh realities, if only for a moment.

I know, I know. This sounds so silly. But consider what a refuge is: a place of shelter, protection, or safety. As you roll your eyes at me over this hokey new-age crap, are you going to honestly sit there and tell me you’ve never needed to take a breather? Really? You haven’t ever needed to remove yourself from a difficult or emotionally taxing situation? Dude. You’re life is so cool. Wanna trade?

I like what Bindu Wiles has to say on the topic. She has to move forward in order to promote a sense of calm in the midst of chaos:

“Taking refuge

is to acknowledge our situation

as it is today,

and then taking some sort of action

that will be a balm to what ails

so that we can continue to wake up.”

And while I believe she is correct, sometimes it takes a moment for that clarity to kick in. So for me, first the “Happy Place”, and then the action.

In my email account, I have several different folders into which I daily sort messages. One is labeled “blog”, another is “book”, and others include “addresses” and “dates & events”. These should be fairly self-explanatory. My favorite folder is one called “Happyz”. Inside this file are emails I have received dating as far back as 2004. So I guess that’s the year I decided to start this scrapbook of good memories.

What emails go in this file? The first is a word of comfort from one of my brothers-in-law, received during a seriously rough patch. The second is from my sister, and it contains a picture of us with our mom on Mother’s Day. A note from the then-head of the English Department at Sinclair complimenting my writing and thanking me for being such a good student. A love letter from my hubz. A joke from my son. I couldn’t possibly read them all in a day, there are so many.

The point isn’t that I go through all these emails when I’m “having a moment”. The point is I remember that file is there. Knowing I have a huge folder full of joy lifts my spirits and puts me back at even keel. That’s what goes through my mind when I “calm down and count to ten”. My Happyz file is my place of refuge.

If you missed the first few weeks of my Happiness Project, or want to catch up on the Assignments so you can create your OWN Happiness Project, here are the links:

1. Create a list of rules, mottoes, and/or quotes by which to live. Number ONE on my list of Personal Commandments is “Happy is a choice, so pick it and get there.”

2. Choose an image representative of you and your Happiness Project. I chose the sun as my Personal Symbol.

3. Think about ways to Have More Fun. I like to sing, and I avoid shopping.

What’s Up Wenzday Point #3:

My Work in Progress, or as I like to call it, my wippy-doodle!

My post-apocalyptic, dystopian, science-fiction novel, Green Market, has been made public. Well, the first two chapters have, at any rate. I entered them in a writing contest on StumbleUpon. You can read it here: Green Market (StumbleUpon Writing Contest). When you’re done, please give it a “thumbs up” and then Stumble it as well. While I love blogging, and have no plans to give it up (NOT EVER!), writing this novel and maybe even seeing it published are really high on my Bucket List.

Would it be too undignified to beg? Please-oh-please-oh-please go read my story. And vote. And then come tell me what you think. Unless you hate it. Just kidding. You’re cool. You won’t hate it. You’ll think it’s fun and you’ll want to know more. ((( #SubliminalMessage )))

What’s Up Wenzday Point #4:

Bonus Material —

 Don’t fear that I’ve given up on my alphabet soup! The Month of Controversy continues in a separate post entitled “Politics and Love”. Hope you enjoy!

And that’s what’s up Wenzday.

Hope your Hump-Day is full of hump-ish good times.

I’d love to hear what’s up with YOUR Wenzday!

And please tell me how *YOUR* Happiness Project is coming along!