Happiness is great

I realized recently that I'm happier than I've ever been. That's always a cool thing to realize.

I've got a great dog. I've got a really wonderful husband. I have a best friend that most people would kill for. I have a really cute place to live that's just how I like it. I have a good car, so I never have to worry anymore that I'll be stranded on the side of the road.

All that stuff has been great for a while. But some recent additions to my life have made me go from happy to pretty close to blissful.

My job, you know. It's awesome. I have the opportunity to be really creative. Did you know that I was voted Most Creative in my senior class? I was very honored. I also get to move around a lot, and be silly, and work with technology. The women I work with here are really cool, too. Just nice, which is such a breath of fresh air.

And McGuires. Now, I can't really explain my relationship with that place. It's very "Cheers" like, and I feel a real sense of belonging. Trivia is my favorite. I love it, and last night really made my heart happy. I love that I know all of those people-they know me-and I love that it's something we do every week that we all love. I moved around a lot as a kid, and didn't have a real sense of one place being "home" and I think that must have something to do with my McGuires feelings. And working there Fridays is incredible. Again, I enjoy it, but they give me money! I love when that happens. And karaoke-it's up and down, but overall it's fun. I really like singing new songs for people, and I'm finally learning some new ones this week.

But I get so many gift certificates there in a week. And before I started working Fridays, that was fine, because we ate there a lot, and we could spend them. But, when I started working, Jon and I both get 50% off our food...which makes it hard to spend all that money. So we have to go there a lot so we don't waste it. Which contributes to the feelings of belongings, and just makes it all more fun. I love that Jon can go out of town for a few days, and I can feel safe, and have people to hang out with.

I've recently opened up my world just a little and made some new friends. Used to be, I only wanted to hang out with Allison, Matt and Jon. And that's still very fun, but my jobs have encouraged me to make a few new friends. Like:Doug, Sam, Joey, Donnie, Herb, Shannon (from school-I love her), Joe, Eddie, and Mike, in no particular order. It's nice to have some people to like! I haven't liked this many people all at the same time since high school. If you're one of those people, you should know...I really dig you, and you can hang out with me any old time.I think McGuires has a tendency to attract pretty cool people, but these are my favorites, I guess.

In the past, when I've felt this happy, I've had a feeling underneath it all that it was fleeting. But now, I kind of don't. I feel like I'm happy becuase I deliberately adjusted my life around things that make me happy. Life is good.