5 Good Things That Happened Today

In lieu of therapy, exercise or quitting smoking, I have taken the very Oprah-like advice of a friend, and decided to write down a list of 5 good things that happen each day. This "therapeutic" technique is apparently good for easing depression, anxiety and stress. I do not buy this theory whatsoever, but as I don't buy any therapeutic advice that sounds like it came from a book with a number in the title (the title in enormous font, usually surrounded by bold, primary colours. Why do self-help books always have massive titles on the covers? I always feel like they're shouting at me.)AND I don't buy any therapeutic advice coming from other, more reputable sources, I have decided to give it a whirl. As indicated, it is certainly the path of least resistance as it does not involve paying money I do not have, going to a gym, or giving up smoking, which I love (all of which would make me feel better, according to the books and all the self-righteous non-smoking, happy people). So here we go, 5 good things that happened to me today:

1. I saw a beautiful whippet staring intently at a bird perched on a street sign high above him. The dog looked like he knew, with absolute certainty, that he could catch the bird, but was just choosing, at this particular moment, to sit quietly next to his person while they finished their coffee. He was white, with tan and black speckly patches. He was sweet and his fur felt like soft, clean velvet. I told his parent I would love to have a coat made out of him. I think they took that comment in the spirit it was intended.

2. There was a bird in the tree overhanging my balcony. It was small, but pleasantly plump and/or chunky, which is always nice in a bird. It had dark brown feathers, strewn with streaks of white and a startling blue - like robin's egg blue. The texture its pattern reminded me of those bird's eggs that look like they've been flecked with paint, and are impossible colours.

3. I found an outdoor area at university that is a collection of tables and benches grouped together underneath huge umbrellas. In between each table is what I at first thought were ashtrays on stands but turned out to be little powerpoint stations. Eight powerpoints clustered around a stake at table-height. This seems small (consider that no. 1 was a whippet and reserve judgement) but altogether it means a place to work outside without fear of sun or rain or laptop battery dying. Most importantly, it is a place to be a drain on the uni's free wi fi policy and smoke. At the same time. As I am pushed more and more to the periphery of the social world (I will not stop smoking. And if I ever do, I will find someone to replace me in the smoking community. That's right. I'm going to recruit. And I don't feel bad about it), these small triumphs of comfort loom larger.

4. A tiny bird, about the size and shape of a tennis ball, fluffy and round, black with a white belly, just shot past the kitchen window like a very ineffectual bullet.

5. I parked illegally for two hours and did not get a parking ticket. Yes! AnaRchY! In the context of uni parking, this is more of a triumph than the little spot of paradise discovered earlier in the day. I don't want to invoke Godwin's law, so I will avoid the obvious comparisons and only say that the parking inspectors at uni are...efficient. I have seen them ticket a bicycle. A bicycle. Chained to a pole. So two hours and no consequences? Triumph. Almost erotic satisfaction.

End.