A Little Happiness

So this post should not be read as an indication that I am picking this project up again. I'm done trying to quit complaining. As I said in my last post, it's not a good time for that kind of project, and I'm not sure that it's even a project worth pursuing. I'm not giving up on cultivating a more positive attitude, but that will be an ongoing process.

However, I do like having this space to share my thoughts. I kept a blog a couple of years ago, which I only shared with a handful of friends, and it was nice to have that place to share segments of the running ticker tape of my thoughts about life, the universe, and everything. I don't feel like setting up a new blog (this one already has pages and an "About me" and everything-- it's so much more professional looking that what I've done in the past!), so I'll just keep on using this space. I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more complaints here though. (Does it make me a hipster that I somewhat enjoy the irony in the fact that I'll likely be complaining and throwing around a whole lotta "fuck" on a blog that is boldly headlined "No Complaints" and is full of flowers and pink shit?)

I've been feeling much better these past two weeks (that's what caffeine and carbs do for me), so I'm feeling inclined to spread a little of the joy. I got to thinking about music, and wanted to share with you my favorite "happy" songs. These are songs that ALWAYS put me in a good mood when I hear them.

Here's my list:


Modest Mouse, Float On



Michael Jackson, Rock With You



Frente, Let the Sunshine In



Blur, Song No. 2



The Cure, Just Like Heaven (probably one of the best songs ever, period -- and one I can ALMOST completely play on the guitar)



Shirley Bassey, Big Spender (the video makes this one even better -- how can you not be happy watching her?)



Phunk Junkeez, Me N Yer Girl (I've never seen this video until now -- it's ridiculous. Totally misogynistic song, but damn do I love it.)



MGMT, Electric Feel



Sublime, What I Got



Salt N Pepa, Shoop



Honorable Mentions:

Rick Springfield, Jessie's Girl (Who uses "moot" in a song? Rick Springfield, that's who.)
Gwen Stefani, The Sweet Escape
Vampire Weekend, Mansard Roof
Beyonce, Crazy in Love
Bell Biv DeVoe, Poison
Doris Day, Que Sera Sera
Chaka Demus, Murder She Wrote
Digable Planets, Rebirth of Slick
Ice Cube, You Can Do It
Taio Cruz, Dynamite
Dusty Springfield, Son of a Preacher Man
George Michael, Faith
Less Than Jake, Frank
Lita Ford OR Reel Big Fish, Kiss Me Deadly
Patsy Cline,Back in Baby's Arms
Reel Big Fish, She Has a Girlfriend Now
Phil Collins, You Can't Hurry Love (I know it's a remake. I prefer the remake.)
50 Cent, In Da Club
Ini Kamoze, Hotstepper


What are your "happy" songs?

New strategy

It seems that I have adopted the policy "If you can't say anything nice..." My week has been less cluttered by complaints, but I'm not sure if it's because my new complaint-free ideology has started to sink in or because I've just been unusually quiet the last week or so. Stress has been high (remember that whole can't-have-a-baby-and-now-we're-broke predicament I described?), and my usual strategy for that is to hunker down and work my way through it. As a result, I've been more focused on the big picture and have been less bothered by the day-to-day trivialities that usually occupy my complaints.

Though I have been complaining less, I can't say that my attitude has improved much. But I guess that's like a smoker saying that, gee, these past two weeks of running haven't done much to improve my fitness. I know it will take some time, and I know that simply eliminating complaints won't be enough. But it will be a start.

It has been suggested that I should do more than focus on reducing negativity. That instead of making myself an empty vessel and waiting for the flood of optimism and good humor to fill me (because it's just been waiting to get in), that I should find ways to fill myself with more positive thoughts.

Looking for the positive has been an exercise in futility in the past. Friends have tried this tactic many times, and I slam down every "what about...?" with a crushing dose of unfiltered reality. For me, looking for the positive in most situations has been akin to saying, "This homelessness is not so bad. I mean, you've only been robbed twice this week -- that's an all-time low -- and you were first in line at the soup kitchen last night." Not much consolation.

But I guess it's all in the spirit of the blog. Maybe focusing on the positive enough will drown out the negative. Or maybe it's just working two sides of the same problem (diet and exercise). I will become the Stuart Smalley of my life.

In that spirit, I will start listing three things each day that make me happy. It could be something about my life or myself, or it could just be something that I like and that makes me laugh.

1. My cat and I had a most productive cuddle session.




2. I found out that I have a free pass to a swanky (expensive) fundraising dinner because I'm on the board.


3. I discovered this song (which was most apropos):