In Pursuit of Happiness: Weekend Outings

While reading Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, I’ve realized some things:

1). I don’t want to be a nagger

2). I still think bathroom humor is completely awkward and totally not funny

3). I have more of an idea of what activities don’t make me happy than which ones do make me happy

For the past two weekends I’ve set out to rectify this imbalance and have spent my Saturdays and Sundays pursuing tasks that would (hopefully) bring me joy. These two days required preconceived thoughts and careful planning, which for a weekend when one should be relaxing, felt taxing. However, I had a blast coming up with each day and learned a bit more about myself. Here’s how it went down:

Saturday 2/18/12

1). I’ll take some Starbucks with my solitude

A little secret about me… I am addicted to coffee. Having a cup (or 2… okay sometimes 3) is part of my morning routine. When I lived in Atlanta, I used to spend some time journaling at Starbucks each morning before work. Once I went back to school, I replaced journaling with reading articles and writing papers. Remembering how much I enjoyed my morning solitude in Atlanta, I decided to go to Starbucks, order a fancy drink and treat myself to a morning of journaling and reading Vogue. It was fantastic. So refreshing and energizing. I left feeling more focused, relieved and happier. Victory!

2). Did you know the proper name for a brontosaurus is apatosaurus?

I didn’t realize how much I loved museums until I started traveling. Going to the National Archeological Museum in Athens was like exploring a tomb of fun-facts—definitely my idea of a good time. So for my next happiness activity, I went to the Museum of Natural History. I learned so much and enjoyed seeing so many historical artifacts. For years, the brontosaurus has been my favorite dinosaur. But, a scientist accidently named the same dinosaur twice, and apatosaurus is the correct name for the species? Nuts!

3). Vegan dinner for two please

I didn’t know how much joy having a nice dinner with a close friend would bring me. We drank freshly made juices and had an entree and a dessert each. It was one of those splurges that was so worth it, not because the food was delicious, but because of the company. There’s nothing better than an evening out with a fantastic friend.

Sunday 2/19/12

1). Starbucks take 2

I loved my Saturday time so much, I went back for more.

2). Sunday in Central Park with Alice

Given the title of my blog, my obsession with Alice is quite clear. In Central Park, there is a beautiful statue of Alice with the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter, to name a few. I knew going to see it again would make me happy. I haven’t spent much time in this park, so I spent a couple of hours walking around with my roommate. It was great! Instead of breezing through, I took pictures and googled the statue names so I could learn a fun fact about the person. Being surrounded by flowers and water and actual grass was wonderful. I didn’t know I missed nature so much… it brought me lots of smiles.

Saturday 2/25/12

1). Absolutely nothing

I woke up with a plan and realized while brushing my teeth that I really didn’t want to do anything but watch movies. So this is what I did until I went to work that night. I prepped for the Oscars and watched The Descendents (so good) and Moneyball (worth seeing) and felt like running, so I went. I stopped and listened to my intuition, something I really don’t do often. Doing what I needed that day made me happy.

Sunday 2/26/12

1). Oscars Party!

I love the Oscars. I love the red carpet, I love listening to the speeches and I really love watching the celebrities. This year I co-hosted a party at my friend’s apartment. We watched the awards and predicted who we thought would win by circling names on ballots. I don’t mean to brag… but I won, 14 categories right—bam! It was such a fun night.

What kinds of things bring you joy? Let’s brainstorm!

 

 

 

 

 

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