It's the Little Things.... #100happydays #unbridledrage
So my muppets, it has been quite a stint since my last post, and I was reminded yesterday of how much material I have to share. (Thank ya' doll for pointing that out!)
Many of you may not be aware of all that's been going with my career and living situation, what with global warming, children being sold into sexual slavery, and oh... I don't know, your OWN lives to deal with! With that, allow me to elaborate. I've taken a new position with an amazing Vancouver based company and have relocated part time to Vanny-C (as I lovingly call it).
Da Hubs still lives and works in Dallas, and I split my time between the two cities when not traveling for work. It's quite cosmopolitan when I read it described like that. But the truth is, it's a mess (at the moment)...
As you likely have guessed, I'm a tightly wound, OCD, type A personality. I like things how I like them. Order, structure, organization, and creature comforts are key for my happy existence. Moving to another country and lifestyle, married, yet with your spouse and household (items and comforts) still staying where "home" is, makes for an interesting life, to say the least.
I meticulously planned, made to do lists, and purchase/"lug it with me in my luggage" lists, and had a calendar of how my semi-transplantation to Vanny-C would work. It included purchasing a CRAPTON (that's a technical term for a lot) from my formerly favorite retailer, Bed Bath and Beyond.
So, let me tell you how planning and OCD do not work well when planning doesn't work. I moved into my apartment, with 6 suitcases (brought up over two different scouting trips to Vanny-C) full of the basic gal necessities, and expecting my delivery from BB&B to arrive as I had scheduled. No furniture (that's coming or being purchased), no food, and no creature comforts.... They're all coming or to be found....
So, thanks to a different shipping timing/experience in Canada, my shippment from BB&B did not arrive and would not arrive for WEEKS... This means, no hangers for my clothes, no iron/ironing board to freshen up said clothes, no coffee maker (OH THE HUMANITY!) to make me human first thing in the morning, no shower curtain/liner for the bathroom, no waste bins, nope, nope, nope.
Now I've got clothes everywhere, I'm cranky like the dickens without my morning coffee, and I've stooped to the all time low of squatting, crying-game style of hand held showers, smunched in the corner of my bathtub. "So go buy a shower curtain!" you say.
NO!
At this point, it's the principle of the thing. I ordered them, paid for shipping, therefore they should have arrived. So, I spend 3 weeks, living like a savage, forcing my poor colleagues to see me with barbaric hair - and a sassy attitude to boot. To add insult to injury and fuel to my fire, my deliveries were further hampered by my new building's concierge. The lovely fellow seems to have issue with taking packages - a key part of his daily duty as our building's concierge.
So after begging, pleading, cajoling, and sweet talking Captain Concierge, he finally agrees to sign and take my packages. I then spend hours on the phone with the shipping company to alert them that the packages should be delivered on the specific date that Captain Concierge agreed to.
Well, low and behold...only "some" of the packages are delivered on my scheduled date.
Why? Because apparently, although he could fit all the packages on his truck for an attempted delivery(twice), on the scheduled delivery - "they can't all fit on the truck." Makes PERFECT sense to me. So I eagerly take my partially delivered boxes up to the apartment, rip them open, and have my first true moment of #unbridledrage.
#unbridledrage??? Yes. #unbridledrage. In my boxes are:
- the trash bags for the trash can (which didn't come)
- the shower curtain HOOKS (that hold the shower curtain that didn't get delivered)
- the ironing board (for the iron that didn't come)
- the clothes sorter/hanger (for the boxes of clothes hangers that didn't come)...
- and no coffee maker.
Each day, I experience #unbridledrage as I think about my living conditions. No furniture, a mattress on the floor, and utter chaos and savagery of a living situation.
Now, what I didn't realize was the AMAZING weather we were having here in Vanny-C... The enjoyable commute on the train and bus each morning as I go to/from work... The joys of learning the transit system, finding fun restaurants and bars to enjoy, and a freshly washed set of sheets on my bed... All these little things were going unnoticed and unappreciated due to my #unbridledrage.
In my #unbridledrage, so many things were irritating to me, including seeing the #100happydays posts on Facebook and not knowing what that mess was all about. So, I hopped on the Google and read about it.
I realized you can choose to see the light or the shadow in everything. Sadly, my crying game showers and lack of coffee, coupled with a seemingly mortal feud with Captain Concierge were massively jading my view of things.
Yesterday, the remainder of the boxes arrived, and I basked in absolute glee. Hanging shower curtains, setting up my coffee maker, hanging my clothes, and organizing the apartment. You would have thought that I had won the lottery. How can such a little thing make me so #100happydays? Simple, by being grateful for the little things: A shower, in a shower with a shower curtain... My coffee maker, beeping to alert me that a brewed pot is awaiting me first thing in the morning... Neatly organized clothes hanging on my flecked hangers... All little things that have made me so happy.
So my #unbridledrage has helped me to see #100happydays as a possibility, and as a choice. I choose to live happy, see the good, and be positive. Of course, having a proper shower and cup of coffee sure doesn't hurt to make things a bit rosier first thing in the morning.
Enjoy your days my muppets, as for all that is bad, there is just as much good. You can choose to see it or miss out on having a lifetime of #100happydays. Just don't mess with my shower, just sayin'.
