Alston: May 2006 Archives

I think that I have identified my superpower. It is the ability to avoid creditors, not pay them and still use their services.

That I've been in an amazing mood all day. And it's all thanks to Fatboy Slim, They Might be Giants, Propellerheads, Toad the Wet Sprocket, the Smashing Pumpkins, Beck, Lemon Jelly (the SLOOOOOOW TRAIN), Air, Nathalie Merchant, Silverchair (been a while for you, eh? That is, if you remember them.), The Magic Numbers, Elbow, Moloko and the Arctic Monkeys. And Sufjan Stevens. And a beer at the Petit Medley.

It's all good. Good work, guys.

Oh yes, the bartender kept calling me mon beau. Is that just flowery French polite bartender language or was he flirting with me?

Over at the other blog, I discussed happiness and the happiness formula. I have decided to evaluate how happy I am.

The research suggests that richer countries do tend to be happier than poor ones, but once you have a home, food and clothes, then extra money does not seem to make people much happier.

For me, this is kinda true. I have shelter, although not the best shelter. Christ, no. I have some clothes that I really like, and food isn't much of an issue, either. When I went to Cuba in February, I had just lost my job, but I went anyway. Why? It made me happy. I'm glad I went, and I will rememeber that trip for a long time. When I had more money, I can't say that I have been particularly happy. My friend Sébastien says that the less money he has, the more generous he is with it. I am not exactly the same, but I can relate to that.

I also agree with the adaptation to happiness theory, which explains why things that make us happy tend to have less of an effect as time passes. This is likely true for all things, although it's often cyclical, such as in relationships, hobbies and habits, good or bad.

First, family and friends are crucial - the wider and deeper the relationships with those around you the better.

I think I am doing fairly well here. Besides Rose, I know who makes me happy and who does not. My relationship with my family is good and is improving as I get older. Sometimes I feel happy thinking about all those people. They provide more than adequate social and emotional support for me. Now I don't know if having these relationships has warded off disease, or anything radical like that, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Rose is going to try to get into a special needs education program at cegep where she needs to amass 35 hours of volunteering experience by mid-August. The volunteering must be in human services where she works with people in all manner of ways. The people could be mentally or physically challenged. It could be a women's shelter. Maybe spending time with poor kids. Anything. So far, the volunteer bureaus she's contacted haven't been very helpful; it's as if they don't quite need the help right now, and therefore aren't timely in getting back to her with opportunities. If any of you locals know of any orgs that need volunteers in English or French, please leave a comment here to let me know. It would be a terrible shame if she had to wait another year to get her training started.