When the neighbour plays good music

I'm at my parents house and it's warm outside so we have our windows opened. In addition to the nice breeze, we are also enjoying the music our neighbours are blaring in their backyard. So far we're enjoying his selections! He's a musician so I think that helps :)

Kicking dandelions

I find there is something really satisfying about kicking at dandelions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandelion). If you kick it just right, the head flies off with a portion of the broken stem. It's especially true when the feathery seeds are still attached to the head - the seeds go flying too! I consider a good kick to be when the head goes flying high and far.

I find it therapeutic when I need to blow off steam.

This isn't really awesome...

... but I need to vent anyhow.

Two nights ago, one of my colleagues, and friend, died suddenly and tragically. My supervisor found out from a phone call from the school when someone recognized his name from a news item and came to tell us. I wasn't in the office at the time but when I came in, I knew something was wrong. There were 4 people in my office, one of whom was on the phone and looking teary. Immediately, I thought to myself, "Who died?" I was thinking that it was someone's family member, but it turned out to be someone from our family.

I cannot get out of my head how I was told the news. Everyone was staring at me, I was told later that they didn't know how to tell me, but one person just decided to say it as there was no right way to tell someone such sad news. She said it so plainly, and I stared back blankly because I didn't know how to react. Even at this moment, it still hasn't sunk in yet. However, I am now grateful to have found out from someone rather than through the e-mail that our supervisor sent to us.

We've had the luxury of being able to talk to each other about him and about the situation. As depressing as it is, it has been cathartic and we have been able to lean on each other for support. I have spoken with a few former colleagues and they are still at the stage where we were in the office, staring at the floor, walls and each other, not knowing what to say.

We have been through so much in our lab, but this is definitely a new experience for us, not that it is one that we had ever expected or wanted to happen upon us. He was one who was always there to help us, always putting everyone else first before himself. He had no worries and was always positive. We have been so privileged to have had him as part of our family. The term "family" has been used before, but it didn't cement in my head until yesterday that we're indeed a family.

Another perspective that has changed in my mind is age. I kept looking at his age in the news items. We keep griping about how we're so old and still in school, not out in the real world working, making money or starting a family. We're all around the same age and I kept thinking yesterday that he was so young. So we're still young, and we just have to live our lives everyday to the fullest, because we don't know when we'll be leaving this world, but at the same time, we may still have a long time at achieve all that we want in life. We should be thankful of what we have, not pining over what we don't have.

It is also nice to know that we can all rely on each other in these difficult times. Everyone has been supportive both inside and outside the group. I hope we can all find comfort in this and that his family know that we're there for them as well.

When airlines are nice

Hmmm, I've been neglecting this blog already. Well, my excuses are 1) my fiance is back and 2) I've been busy.

My parents are away but my mom hasn't been feeling very well. My dad asked me to contact our travel agent (who is also our cousin) and try to arrange for an earlier flight back. Usually, one would have to pay for the fare difference and a change fee for switching flights but she happened to get an agent on the phone who was willing to let them do it without paying the fare difference, just the change fee - so instead of paying an extra $450 per ticket, it was only $50.

It's nice to know someone in the airline industry has a heart. My cousin is pretty awesome too!

Helping someone

Maybe it's part of the fibre of my being but I really enjoy helping people out. Whether it's helping someone solve a problem, set up an experiment, move, etc., I really enjoy it. It feels great and satisfying for me to have made someone's day a little easier. I think that's why I like volunteering so much - I get so much more out of it than I put in.

When I'm done school, I really would like a job in which I provide services, advice or ideas for people because I know I would enjoy and thrive in that environment.

When someone offers to buy you Tim Hortons

During a particularly frustrating day at one of the research facilities in the university, my colleague, who was already helping me run my samples, suggested we go to Tim Hortons while the data acquisition was happening. We had about 40 minutes to kill, so why not. Lining up, I was about to pull out some cash when he offered to pay for my hot chocolate.

That made me feel just a little better.

Showering during the day

I'm going to try to make a dent on my inventory list of awesome things everyday. I just cannot wait to write about this one.

Showering - everyone loves showers, right? It's relaxing to have warm water hit you and run down your body, and you get clean too! I used to shower in the morning, because it would invigorate me before classes. Now I usually shower at nighttime, because I don't like going to bed dirty and it gives me a bit of solitude at the end of the day. Both are pretty great.

What I absolutely LOVE though, and don't get to do often, is shower during the day. I don't know why, but I have loved the feeling I get doing so since I was little. My first recollection of daytime showering was after swimming in the summertime when I was 8 years old. There was a bit of light streaming in through the bathroom window and it felt like a bit of heaven on earth. I now sometimes get to do this during the weekends after exercising or running, and I revel in the feeling every time. Mmmmmmmm.

I'm not sure why I love it so much. Perhaps it's taking some time out for that piece of solitude, or the pleasure of being able to do something that you're supposed to fit in at the beginning or the end of a day. This beats baths 1000000x for me and it's probably in my top 5 of awesome things.

Try it and let me know your thoughts on showering during the day.

Thinking about my other half while he's away

My fiancé is away at a conference and won't be back for another 2 days. He doesn't have access to the Internet so I haven't heard from him since he landed there. You're probably wondering, how is this awesome? Yes, I'm missing him a whole bunch, but that leads me to think about him and puts a smile on my face.

Those thoughts are my little bits of awesome for the day.

When an old friend remembers my birthday

I got back in contact with a friend I went to school with from grade 1 to 4 through social media about 5 years ago. We wrote to each other when I first moved away, but a couple of years after that, we lost touch because she moved, so it was quite exciting when I found her 10 years later! She called from another continent one day after I broke up with an ex-boyfriend when we first got back in touch, and today, she mentioned that my upcoming wedding day is just around 2 weeks before my birthday... and I don't have my birthday posted!

Even after all this time and distance, that, is true friendship.

Inventory of awesome things

Once I decided to keep a record of awesome things, a bunch of "ATs" ran through my head. So here is the list, in no particular order, so I don't forget about them, and I hope to expand on them at a later time.

1. Spending a few hours at a bookstore and sometimes finding a good book

2. Someone offers a ride just before a thunderstorm hits (happened today!)

3. Getting a great idea

4. Solving mathematical problems

5. Sitting at a random location (or in a car) with a friend I haven't seen in a while and chatting for hours

6. Writing in my journal

7. Going for a walk or hike on a not-too-warm sunny day

8. A long swim

9. Warm clothes out of the dryer in the winter

10. Hearing a song or reading something that puts a positive spin to my current state of mind ("Smile" by Charlie Chaplin, covered by the cast of Glee comes to mind)

11. Getting personal mail

12. Green blog backgrounds

13. Snuggling with someone special

14. A nice bottle of cheap wine

15. When someone offers his/her grocery cart

16. Waking up just before my alarm so I have time to say a prayer before starting my day

17. Helping someone

18. Using Google Street View to "walk" around where I grew up

19. Looking at photos of my cousins' and friends' children doing cute things

20. When someone says they appreciate me for something little and I realize small things can make a big difference

21. Taking a shower during the day

22. When staples go through all the pages to be stapled

Just writing this list is putting a smile on my face :)

My Little Awesome Things - The Blog

I know... it's been done before, and it's been adapted into a book. However, when I heard about The Book of Awesome, I felt a compulsion to keep a record of my own personal awesome things. I don't know about you, but I often dwell on the things in my life that makes me sad or frustrated -- I guess I'm a pessimist or a cynic that way, and it's making life more difficult than it needs to be.

Everyday has its ups and downs, even if the balance between the two changes. But by celebrating the ups, perhaps I can become a more positive and productive individual who is pleasant to be around. Plus I'm hoping it will help keep my sanity intact.

The story of how I conceived this blog is a little awesome thing in itself. During choir rehearsal today, my conductor started talking about The Book of Awesome and how it is just filled with concise "chapters" of pick-me-ups. She was determined to buy a copy; in the meantime, she intrigued some of us in the room. We were talking in the parking lot after rehearsal and someone suggested we go for a coffee or ice cream, so coffee at Chapters was decided upon, where we can check out The Book of Awesome. In the end, it was a relaxing hour of chatting with friends over coffee and checking out what the bookstore had to offer. I even got the gift card I've been meaning to buy for someone. That in itself was quite awesome after a day in the lab.

Today's awesomeness:

Choir

Great company over coffee

Bookstore