Serene of the Oakland Serenes

Been making this list for more years than I can count. It often helps my mood.

Five things that are good about me:

I am enthusiastic
I am highly optimistic
I like working and being useful
I readily admit when I'm wrong
I am nearly always kind to myself

Five things I'm grateful for:

My amazing family.
My new job!
Finally being near my mom.
I currently have THREE cute/comfy pairs of work shoes. A personal record, I believe.
I wrote to ask three of my professors to recommend me for grad school. I got instant yeses from two of them, so I'm two thirds of the way there.

Five people or animals who love me without reservation:

My kids.
My partners.
My mom.

Five times in recent memory when I was happy/joyful/contented:

When this guy spoke at the new job's opening day.
When one of the interview committee sought me out to tell me I had interviewed so well that zie wanted to come get interview tips from me.
When I was sitting under the jacaranda tree, sipping water and reading The Martian.
When I got this job.
When I found great shoes at the store that fit and look good.

Five things I'm good at:

Touch-typing
Enjoying my own company without being bored
Getting multi-item dinners to all come out at the same time
Admitting when I'm wrong
Cooking eggs (it's an odd thing since I can take eggs or leave them, but almost everyone I've ever cooked eggs for says I do a really good job of them)

As some of you know, I do this list when I need cheering up. Here goes:

Five things that are good about me:

1. I take good care of myself
2. I am a hard worker
3. I do the best I can to take ownership of my own problems
4. I admit it when I screw up
5. I have the courage of my convictions

Five things I'm grateful for:

1. The Best Job Ever
2. I have a home, with running water and a stove and everything
3. My only debts are a small student loan and a medium-sized amount of medical bills (it feels large to me, but it's thousands, not tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands)
4. My friends
5. Medical insurance

Five people or animals who love me without reservation:

1. someotherguy
2. stonebender
3. My mother
4. wtfpotatoes
5. My foster sister, Cindy

Five times in recent memory when I was happy/joyful/contented:

1. When I was culling files and getting them out of the way at work today.
2. When people at work were happy to be told about our gender-neutral letter system (my baby)
3. When wtfpotatoes and I were driving to stonebender's place with the radio blasting
4. When I walked home today without having to stop for a rest.
5. When I was sitting at the table today sorting pinto beans for dinner

Five things I'm good at:

1. Letting myself be imperfect
2. Cooking
3. Typing
4. Learning new things
5. Following directions

Been making this list for more years than I can count. It often helps my mood.

(Wow. The last time I did The List was more than a year ago, right after an ex-friend (who was a friend at the time, or so I thought), threatened suicide, then turned off her cellphone.)


Five things that are good about me:

1. I genuinely care about the happiness of the people I love.
2. I can almost always cut myself a break when I'm having a crappy day.
3. I am smart.
4. It's fun for me to do nice things for people.
5. I am good at mediating other people's disagreements.

Five things I'm grateful for:

1. The Obama and Biden families
2. My great good fortune in finding a partner I love living with, who tolerates the Teenager Invasion so well. (To be honest, he tolerates it better than I do, but he points out that he also has less at stake.)
3. Strawberry ice cream with fresh blackberries, sugar, and cream on top.
4. Okay, it's soy cream, but still.
5. I have a job I love that's funded through at least the rest of this calendar year.

Five people or animals who love me without reservation:

1. someotherguy
2. stonebender
3. mommaduck
4. Munchkin the Elder
5. My foster sister, Cindy

Five times in recent memory when I was happy/joyful/contented:

1. While lying in bed, watching the inaugural address, with my boyfriend's arms around me
2. When dbubley's surgery was successful
3. Yesterday, when I was washing the dishes. someotherguy asked me what was on my mp3 player that had me bopping away, and I had to answer honestly that I was listening to "Marketplace". :-)
4. When I spent half my daddy money helping a friend help someone in need
5. When my bosses stood around in the corridor telling everyone who passed how great I am

Five things I'm good at:

1. Introspection
2. Making dinner from random ingredients the day before payday
3. Admitting my faults and learning from them
4. Apologizing
5. Taking care of myself

It may not seem that way to some people, but that's the crux of the matter: I'm good at taking care of myself. When people tell me I should make sure to take time for myself, I sound like I'm pooh-poohing them when I say "I will, I will", but I *will*. I get to a certain point, and then I just don't do more. If I have to bail on things, I bail. If I need rest and ice cream, I get some rest and fix myself some ice cream. It's good for me to remind myself of that.

Haven't done a monthlist in a while. This month, I'm going to list 31 happy memories.

1. The Christmas in Spain when we got our flamenco dolls and the pachinko machine, and everything was happy and calm.