A Clear Mind to Happiness

I have a long commute to work. The drive used to be really stressful for me until I stumbled upon this nugget that changed my commute (and my life in some ways). While I'm driving, I tend to think about all the things I need to get done, when I get to work, or when I get home. I also remember those important things, like my mom's birthday is coming up, or that I promised to send a friend in need contact information for a great attorney, and other things that I really need to remember. The problem is, while I was driving, there wasn't much I could do about all the important information percolating up from the depths of my multitasking Menagerie Mind and I'd stress out that I was going to forget the information that my conscious mind had just captured. It caused my commutes to be stressful and overwhelming because I ended up feeling overloaded with all the things I needed to get done, and anxious that I wasn't going to remember it all.

That all changed a while ago, but I didn't really think about how important that change was to my psyche until I was hanging out at WineStyles after work with friends last week. We were talking about the stress caused by our never ending To-Do lists, and came upon the idea that sometimes just capturing those To Do's when you remember them is therapeutic. By capturing the To Do, writing it down, you give your conscious mind permission to let it go, to stop dwelling on it, so that you can move on to other things and not get wrapped in anxiety trying to remember that important tidbit. But while you're driving, you ask?

My first PDA with a voice recorder did the trick. Every time I'd think of something I needed to do or remember, I'd hit the record button and capture it. "Buy bathroom vanity light bulbs!" "Make vet appointment for vaccinations." "Send birthday card to Mary." Over time, it changed from my PDA to my cellphone. And now it's Jott on my iPhone which automatically converts my verbal recordings into text (how cool is that?!?) AND ties into Toodledo (for a fee) to put the item into the correct category within my web-based To Do list which is then accessible by phone or computer anywhere with phone network reception or Internet access.

It's amazing that once I've captured those important things, my mind feels satisfied, and I can mentally move on to other things. I don't feel the stress or anxiety that used to plague my commutes because of this great little technique. Of course, you also have to DO the things you've captured (procrastination will be another blog entry, if I don't procrastinate too long) or the stress will still rear it's ugly little head. But you get the idea. One more step toward happiness! Cool, now I check off my Toodledo item: Pay some attention to your Blog! CHECK!!!

Seven New Chain Patterns

This weekend was very productive! I made 7 more chains. Here are the patterns I've learned:

• Byzantine
• Queen's Link
• Flat Queen's Link
• Contessa
• Jazzi-Chain (has beads in it!)
• Serendipity
• Double Lace
• Lacey-Chain

Currently working on the Foxtail pattern. I'm having a blast learning everything, but my hands are sore!! The beginner's kit has 12 more patterns waiting for me. Fun fun fun!

The DIYer

I love to decorate my home in unusual ways, particularly when it can save me money without looking like it. Case in point, our new entertainment center. My boyfriend bought a new TV (I'll address my love of home electronics at a later juncture), so I bought the entertainment center to hold it, as the new television was too big for the current TV stand. Actually what used to be on this wall of our living room was a painfully small TV/stand and an outdoor patio end table (no kidding) holding the AV Receiver, cable box, modem, wireless router, and Xbox 360. Let's just say it raised many a visitor's eyebrow. The TV wall is 16ft long and when I started pricing units that would fit that size and a 61" TV, I quickly determined that I was in the $5,000+ range which was not going to happen on my budget. Starting to think outside the box, I took a visit to IKEA. Did I happen to mention that I love IKEA?!

Take a look at these individual IKEA pieces. None solve my problem since I'm looking for a big screen entertainment center with a built-in feel. But wait! Stack them on their sides on top of one another and voila! It still wasn't exactly what I hoped because I wanted to surround that big new TV with a pier shelf extending across the top of the TV as depicted by the red box.

After about a week of mulling over possibilities, my friend Tom came up with the solution (Thanks, Tom!) using single plank shelves to frame the TV and hold up the pier shelf without drilling into any of the finished exteriors of the shelves (and the shelves are finished on all sides except for the single planks). The single planks were joined together using flat L brackets and just sits on the top of the base shelves holding the TV. Since none of the other pieces are attached to one another, I cut up a piece of silicone cookie sheet and placed the non-slip sections in between the different shelves. As you can see the before/after pics are pretty dramatic. But I'm not done yet!
Since we're trying to furnish our new home, we wanted a liquor/wine cabinet and the entertainment center had more than enough room to accommodate this. First, I added a couple of under counter mount chrome stemware racks from Target. Then I made wine bottle rack inserts. I'd seen X shaped racks and they were very pricey so I made it myself. I used 3 pieces of 1/4" 2x4 Hardyboard from Home Depot. I cut them to fit the cubes on the diagonal, then cut halfway through them with a 1/4" cut (the thickness of the piece) so they'd slide together to create an X. I painted them and inserted them in the bottom shelves. They slide around a bit, but Tom suggested that I use some removable silicone adhesive and a caulk gun to adhere the inserts without ruining the shelving finish. I'll pick that up on my next trip to Lowe's or Home Depot. Turned out nice, didn't it?

I didn't like the backless look (seeing the wall behind each shelf) so I made removable backs. Using painted 1/8" 4x8 hardboard cut down to fit the various shelving units, affixed to the backs of each shelf with self-adhesive Velcro strips. The great thing here is dealing with electrical cords. I don't have to drill any holes but instead simply pull away the backing for that particular shelf, pull the cord through and Velcro the backing in place again. I omitted a few interior shelves to fit the big components like the receiver.

I installed IKEA under-cabinet lighting but it had a very Euro bluish cast that didn't fit with the warm Pottery Barn feel of the room. Worried the halogen lights would burn any sort of filter added to the lenses, I tried a Minwax wood stain pen and put a coat of stain on the lens of each light. It didn't burn off, and it gives the lighting a pleasing amber cast. They're self-adhesive and I used black electrical tape to hide the silver power cords. I'm still trying to find the remote that I'll use to control these lights.

I found some leather organizers that fit perfecting in these cubes to hold all the console game CDs, owners manuals the home theatre and gaming equipment, and gaming accessories. These are not inexpensive, so I'll pick up a few more when I can.

Here is the finished project. I am very happy with the results. Considering what this 16 ft unit looks like it cost, I'm thrilled how the itemized cost schedule posts. No one would ever guess it was less than 3 times this price.

Item	Unit Cost	Qty	Total Cost
Expedit 4 by 4	$159.00	2	$318.00
Expedit 2 by 4	$89.00	2	$178.00
Lack 1 by 4	$79.00	3	$237.00
Lack Long Plank	$30.00	1	$30.00
Lack Short Plank	$20.00	2	$40.00
Lack Lighting	$25.00	9	$225.00
Stemware Rack	$15.00	2	$30.00
Velcro	$17.00	2	$34.00
Hardboard	$6	5	$30.00
Handyboard	$5	3	$15.00
Paint	$8	1	$8.00
Hardware	$6	1	$6.00
			$1,151.00

Grass is Only Greener Elsewhere if You Compare Lawns!

Earlier this week I was talking to a colleague over a beer at Austin's High Tech Happy Hour about my new year's theme of happiness. He has the same "too many interests" thing that I have. We were talking about how nice it would be to be like people that have a singular focus. If we only had a sole purpose, just think what we might be able to accomplish! I can point to my boyfriend as an example. He's had a singular calling since the age of 5 when he starting drawing. He's an amazing artist and he's always been an artist. He eats, sleeps and breaths art and video games. He makes his living making art for video games. There is no question in his mind what he should be doing. He knows unequivocally that he is where he should be. He is happy. I envy the simplicity in that sort of existence. My colleague experienced similar comparisons with others. We both knew we brought value to the table because of our diversity, yet we still looked at those singular purpose folks with envy.

After thinking about this though, it really is self-defeating behavior. Looking at others and comparing their existence, their happiness to mine only makes me feel less happy. How can anyone measure their own life against that of someone else? It's really silly if you think about it. There is always going to be someone that is (or at least appears to be) more than you: happier, smarter, richer, funnier, prettier, younger, etc. But does comparing yourself with that person in any way negate those attributes that you have? No. So why compare? Just so you can feel bad about yourself or have some false security in yourself? Looking externally for confirmation of your self worth is destructive. I do this ALL the time and looking at it this way it just feels negative and unnecessary. I think if I can manage to remove this "comparing grass" thought pattern from my daily life, I will be much closer to sustaining happiness. Note to self, tend my lawn, love my lawn, stop looking over the fence for reassurance!

"Pleroma"

Tortured spirit un-surrendered
Captive bird of paradise
Knows not why it sings
Yet sings

Dancing spirit un-partnered
Lonesome soul-mate
Knows not why it dances
Yet dances

Maybe perchance to see the beauty
That so many will never see

A little thing called faith
Put away your intelligence
Let your heart think on its own
Know the path is there and
Always has been

The Movie Lover: Punisher: War Zone (2008)

Punisher: War Zone (2008) opened this weekend. I was looking forward to total gratuitous gore. I mean, this is the Punisher, right? It didn't even hit a rating of 20 on Rotten Tomatoes. But, it had to be total testosterone, right? This was a unique experience for me. There wasn't nearly the amount of gore expected. Unfortunate. But the really bad thing was the whole sappy deal with the little girl....people were actually laughing out loud in the cinema. The script it was that lame. A real disappointment. How hard can it be to write a decent script for something so inherently perfect? I loved Ray Stevenson. He was perfectly cast. But not even he could carry this load of dung. Bummer.

The Chain Maker

I love to learn new things and also love being creative. Since I can never settle on one thing, this means I have a ton of different hobbies/interests. Last night I received the beginner's kit I ordered from a chain mail site to teach myself my latest new interest: chain making. I stayed up a bit later than usual last night to complete my first piece: a byzantine bracelet. The chain is big and loose because I used the bigger rings provided in the beginner's kit. I hope to advance to smaller rings and more complex patterns. This colored-link piece is inspiring and what I'm shooting for:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3038/2774604658_bd7ee83d43.jpg?v=0

Happiness is a Choice

I firmly believe that people choose to be happy in the general sense. Some people are better at this than others. It isn't about your circumstances, it's about perspective. I am not happy by nature like my boyfriend. I have to work at it. Case in point, my Roomba! story from yesterday. When I came home to that mess, I did not immediately see the humor in the scene before me. Actually I was pretty upset. I could have let the event ruin my entire night, and that of my boyfriend by association. But instead I thought about my blog and what a good entry this would make. As I was scrubbing the mess off the floor, I started thinking about what I could write and how I could make it funny for readers. Before I knew it, I was smiling. Yes, I was actually smiling with shit on my hands!! By the time my boyfriend arrived home from work, the floor was clean and I was cheerfully reading my blog to him. It may not have been intentional (this time), but I chose to change my perspective about my situation. Instead of being upset, I chose to be happy by finding the humor in the situation. And the really great part was that I not only salvaged that night from being a major downer, but I also made a few friends laugh with my story.

The Dog Lover (aka. The Roomba! sh!t my floor!)

I hoped to make a, well, more positive introduction for my dogs but the occasion is ripe, so here goes! My boyfriend and I adopted 3 rescue dogs, and they're totally adored by us (most of the time). But since the new dog, Abby, was adopted last month, they've decided they're no longer consistently housebroken. Lovely, eh? So today, I had the mostly awesome privilege of coming home from work to Beagle poop in a most new and unexpected situation. This wouldn't be the first time our Beagle, Ruby, pooped in the house, but it's a rare thing. (She likes to slink off into a corner in stealth mode to tinkle whenever she finds an opportunity though). She drops her typical Tootsie Roll stools in the backyard like a good pooch usuall but today was special. Not only was it indoors, it wasn't her typical firm little candy-like dingle berries, it was mushy and BIG...which is relevant for this story. So, I have a German Shepherd too, Abby, and Ruby can't hold a candle to the small horse size dung dropped by Abby. So what do I have to complain about? Well a few weeks ago, we purchased this nifty thing called a Roomba!, a robot vacuum. I programmed it to vacuum the house daily while we're away at work. Starting to get the idea? Yes, the dog pooped first, and then the robot started on it's daily quest, but this time, instead of cleaning my tile floor, it pushed... pulled... smeared and otherwise evenly dispersed Ruby's mushy poop all over the living room tile floor. I knew at the time I would eventually find the humor in this...but just not at that particular moment. After about an hour scrubbing the floor, it seems a bit less catastrophic here in the Menagerie Mind. After dinner, I tackle cleaning the Roomba! Lucky me. Oh, the joys of pet ownership!

The Gamer

I love MMO RPGs. My boyfriend introduced me to my first MMO in 2005, City of Heroes. Since then we've played many games together: EverQuest2, GuildWars, City of Villains, World of Warcraft, Battlefield 2, Lord of the Rings, Tabula Rasa, Battlefield 2142, Age of Conan, and Warhammer. I'm sure I've forgotten a few in this list. Currently we're playing Age of Conan as time allows. I'm very goal driven so these type of games are seriously appealing to me...more things to check off my list than I can ever possibly hope to accomplish before they're no longer worth XP. I've tried a few times to get into First Person Shooters but I can't seem to get beyond my performance anxiety...I find it too stressful to be fun at present. I'm hoping I can change that once I get more familiar with them and learn how to play better, but first I need a keyboard & mouse solution to replace those horrid game controllers. This is one thing I do that is totally frivolous, something that serves no purpose but to have fun with my best friend. I used to feel guilty playing games, particularly because they can suck up an incredible amount of my personal time. Now, I see it as something I do for me. No guilt. No regret. Just some R&R.