Tag Archives: 365 things to look forward to

365 Things to Look Forward to–Number 17: Windows 7!!!

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17. Windows 7

At the risk of sounding patronizing or as if I were advertising something, I will say that yes, Windows 7 is definitely something to look forward to having nowadays. Especially if you’ve been using Windows Vista.

I never thought I would advocate or advertise anything by Microsoft or even remotely related to Bill Gates and Microsoft, but you’ve got to admit that we’re prisoners of technology when we become dependent on them to make what we do and what we want to do easier.

When I arrived in Canada four years less a week to the day, I was impatient to get my computer  up and running. It would have been so much easier if I had known the people I know now, but that’s the past. Unfortunately, the best option I had was to purchase a brand new system, which I decided to do, since a great deal of what I do is dependent on my having a computer with my files and the software I needed to do what I wanted to do. I thought, back then, that I should have Windows XP or XP Pro, but nobody was selling that anymore. Or, if they had it, they weren’t pushing it. What they were pushing was the brand new Windows Vista, which came pre-loaded on all the new computers. So Vista it was.

At the start, it wasn’t too bad. But after a whole year of being loaded with all sorts of files and games by 2 co-users, which I really did not want on them, then another year of uninstalling all the said files and constantly trying to update or clean out files, several of my programs might have lost a file or two here and there in the process. After another year of almost constant use, despite the most judicious defragging and optimizing and updating and scanning, my whole system was slowly deteriorating, getting bogged down by all the start-up programs and all the cookies and caches it had to go through just performing a single task. At least I didn’t have any more co-users cluttering up my drives.

Soon, my browsers were constantly crashing and I must have re-installed several programs over and over again just to get them working. To my dismay, it was still not enough. I had finally reached the conclusion that I had to upgrade to something better than Vista and all the reports about Windows 7 had been good, notwithstanding all the hype. Thank goodness for a friend who is a wiz at computers, I wiped my C drive clean and, with Windows 7, am now up and running.

And how!

I am like a child in a candy store, and have yet to fully explore and exploit my new system, but I already like what I’ve seen so far. It will probably be days, maybe even weeks, before I’ve checked everything out that I can, but I know this excitement will last me for quite a good long time!

365 Things to Look Forward to–Number 15: Getting a Bargain!

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15. Getting a Bargain!

That’s right, folks. Getting a bargain is certainly something to look forward to, especially if you weren’t expecting it. It’s like getting a bonus gift or a great discount when you weren’t looking for one. That really makes it a gift item, even if you do have to pay something.

I just got such a bargain today. I decided to go down to Michael’s and get some tubes of paint, and while searching for the cheapest tubes of reasonably good quality that I could find, I found one color on clearance at $1.99 for a 120 ml tube! Now that was a bit of a bargain. But my bargain day didn’t end there.

I strolled all around the store, as I love to do, looking at all sorts of items and taking note of where I could get some things and at what prices. After making a full round, I decided to go back to the art supplies and didn’t I see a lonely wooden painter’s case–one of those little suitcase-like boxes, with partitions inside for paints and brushes and a wooden palette to boot! All at a fraction of the original price, and just because there was a little chip in one outer corner of the box. Of course I grabbed it. Why wouldn’t I, at $12.99? I was in need of one, and here was the perfect box, presenting itself. Last in stock, last on the shelf. That was certainly a bargain I wasn’t counting on, but I did take advantage of it, and I am happy about that little thing.

It made my day.

365 Things to Look Forward to – Number 14: Finishing a book

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14. Finishing a book

Every time I start reading a book, I look forward to finishing it. Admittedly, I haven’t finished every book I’ve ever started reading, so finishing a book is really something I look forward to. Except when the book is exceptionally dull or convoluted or just plain unreadable.

I have always been an avid book reader. Ask all my classmates in grade school and high school. They’ll confirm that. They used to call me a bookworm, I took special pleasure in that nickname. I always carried a book in my pocket…if it would fit…or in my bag, if it was any bigger than my pocket. And if I didn’t have a bag, I’d still a have book in my hand, wherever I went.

During breaks and before and after class, you’d always know where to find me–either in the library or on the grass, reading. I never really thought much about my reading habits back then…I just wanted to read anything and everything I could get my hands on, especially if it was fiction. My choice of reading material, of course, changed according to the times and the need and my mood and interests at the moment.

At present, I have several I am reading simultaneously…not that I read them all at the very same time. Just that I am reading them all. I have a couple of books on words I’m chewing through (sheer pleasure), a suspense novel (pleasure and time-filler), an art book (study), the latest issue of Reader’s Digest (bus-stop and out-of-my-handbag reading), a crafts book (self-study), a book on freelance writing, and a book on children’s writing and publishing. Oh, and a science fiction anthology somewhere. There are also a couple of other books that I started but temporarily shelved because I didn’t think I felt like reading them, as they seemed pointless at the moment. And a dictionary of slang that I recently acquired, and another book of quotations.

These books are in different places, mostly, and I grab them when I feel like reading and am in a particular spot of the apartment. Some I read continuously—I could read my novels forever, if I didn’t have to go anywhere or do anything else. I don’t know anyone else who will understand how I read books this way, but that’s how I read books. I used to finish novels in a day of guerilla-reading, sometimes as quick as in an hour–which was the length of lunch break in high school. Now, I usually leave novels to my bed-time reading. Anywhere from 1 chapter to an hour before turning off my bedside lamp to sleep, or the same before I get out of bed in the morning, when I don’t have to be anywhere shortly after I wake up. So it takes me considerably more time finishing a book of leisurely nature nowadays.

Regardless of the type of book I am reading, when I decide to finish it, I keep at it. Others, I don’t see myself finishing any time soon. Dictionaries and other word books, books of quotations and all sorts of anecdotes and wise or witty words are books I enjoy nibbling at, much like a box of assorted chocolates, whose flavours I want to last forever. You take them a bit at a time so you can savour each delectable bite-size treat, look forward to taking another treat and relishing a completely different experience, and when the box is gone, look forward to another box.

Novels and other fiction of best-selling  nature are like spicy hot salsa you can have on top of anything you want, really, but you don’t leave it in your mouth long. Those books, you finish fast.

Science fantasy, fantasy, and period literature are a mixed bag of spices leaving different flavours in your mouth. Some you swallow quickly, some you want to roll around in your mouth before swallowing. Some you try once, others, you use over and over again.

Books for learning are books that either reinforce what I already know or can do, help me recall and practice what I want to strengthen, or provide me with completely new knowledge or details of old knowledge that I never knew before. These can be anything from business books to language books to arts and crafts books. These are my cooking books, my problem-solver books, and other how-to books. Most of these, I finish reading but return to every now and then, because I most likely would not have read it in detail the first time around. Usually, I just skim over these books and if I find something immediately useful, I jot it down. Otherwise, I make a mental bookmark then return to the book when I need it.

I’ll admit I have books that I acquired because they looked like something I might try later on…and I still do have a handful of books that are untouched, unread. Thankfully, they don’t rot like real food would. They’d be the dried fruit or dried mushrooms or something like that, that you can keep forever until you want to use them. I suppose they’d have a musky, concentrated flavour as well, which I’d have to sprinkle with generous helpings of magazine reading.

Which brings me to reading magazines. These are all icing on cake, though some of them have exceptional flavours or flavours you want to experience over and over again. I thoroughly enjoy going through the pictures and trying out recipes from these magazines. Some of them provide me with vicarious experiences that I know I will never have—plunging down the ocean depths to examine sea life or sunken treasure…living in deserts or forests or mountains…travelling to destinations around the world that would never be in your average travel brochure. These are experiences of alternate lives I might have lived had I chosen to go down those paths of archaeology, exploration, and science.

Some of you who know me are probably wondering, where are the classics? I love classical literature. I even majored in literature. My genre of choice is drama, and I had books on drama that are hard to find.  I had boxes of books of classical literature, the bulk of which are drama–and my nieces know that, because those books are now with them–except for a treasured few that I have kept, and a few more that I have acquired since setting roots in new ground. I did acquire a membership to The Folio Club, which can provide me with all the classics I want, in classic binding, at classic prices, which I can’t really afford. And some of those books, because I have already read them but wanted classic copies to grace my shelves, remain in their clear plastic wrap. Mint editions, that may one day be worth a fortune. Who knows, I may yet have grandchildren who will be bookworms as their grandmother was. I am done collecting classics. Nearly every book of classic literature that I bought, I have read. I have also read classic literature that was not in my old collection, nor in my new collection, because they were library books that I could not keep. I have even read some classic literature on-line. And I have read classic literature from Papa’s Classics Club collection, that I truly wish Mama had deemed fit to give to me. But of course, that wish is like asking for the moon. But the books I read are already in my heart, the stories squirrelled away in some neural wiring in my brain. The only real and extensive collection I have and continue to build is my collection of word books–dictionaries, etymologies, idioms, euphemisms, quotes, and such. My fascination with words far exceeds my fascination with literary plots and themes, because the plots and themes repeat themselves; the words don’t.

I will still read literature that may one day be the stuff of classic literature, and certainly, I hope to write more literature and eventually publish work that might be remembered vaguely in the annals of literature hundreds of years from now. I will still read literature that will be forgotten once a new best seller climbs to the top of the list, as well as literature that only a few people will ever care to read, and I certainly, as well, hope to write some of that literature and earn a living out of it.

But in the meantime, I am a reader, and nothing will stop that. I know that, if I ever lose my sight, I will have audio books and braille books to fill up the dark space before me with the multi-coloured images and scenes of books written by people for people like me who look forward to turning that last page of a book and take a long look once again at the front and back covers, maybe hold the book close to the heart, before putting it away on a shelf or in a box for others to read.

 

 

365 Things to Look Forward to-Number 13: A new bloom

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13. A new bloom

I have never had a green thumb. The best way plants grow with me is when I generally leave them alone. This is usually the case, since I am terrible at remembering to water them. So, unless they can grow on a low budget, with whatever earth I have in a pot or find around or dig up, and whatever water I remember to give them, and whatever sunlight they can get from wherever they happen to grow, then plants had better leave me alone.

It’s a completely different story, of course, when I receive a plant.

Someone gave me a fortune plant a couple about three years ago. As far as I know, they are a hardy bunch and not very easy to kill. Somehow, mine died. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t deliberately abandon it. It just sort of shrivelled away and died after several months. I think it didn’t like getting moved about too much, which is what happened when I had to move to a new place. But I think I either over-watered it or forgot to water it. I forget which.

On my birthday, someone gave me a tiny little rose bush in a wee pot. It have five pretty rose blossoms (okay, four and a bud) on it and was the prettiest thing ever. I know I was happy to get it, but at the same time, I was somewhat dismayed because I was so worried it would just die on me, like most of my other plants. Especially the ones I tried to take care of.

My birthday roses from Angela J.

Naturally, I couldn’t just abandon this pretty little plant that had been entrusted to my care. And so I began taking care of it. At first, I just kept on watering it. The leaves turned a bit yellow-green, instead of the nice rich green they were. I remembered something about over-watering and leaves turning yellow. I also realized it might be a good thing to take the wrapping paper (which was really plastic) away. Of course, the paper was full of water. With paper gone, the little plant improved a bit. I figured about an ounce or two of water a day would do. About three or four days after, the water just drained straight into the saucer I had put the pot on. Too much water. I cut watering down to every other day.

Then the bugs came. Tiny little creatures that deposited a white fuzz and little green and black spots on the backs of the leaves. A quick trip to my Practical Problem Solver book told me they were likely little mealy bugs or some other sort that like rose plants. I also learned I could get rid of them by wiping rubbing alcohol on the leaves with a piece of cotton. That pretty much got rid of most of the bugs. But there were some I either couldn’t find or were really good at evading me, because after a couple of days, there were white web-like threads on the edges of the leaves and more green-black spots on some of the leaves. The leaves were also getting horribly blotchy and dried too.

This time, I tried another remedy: the soapy water trick. I filled an old squirt bottle with soapy water and sprayed the leaves of my plant, as well as the branches and the soil. That finally got rid of all the bugs, but I was left with a plant that looked more dead than alive. My only hope was a few sturdy green leaves. The rest looked like they were doomed, and so they were. I figured that it would be such a shame to let this pretty gift plant die, and so began battle to save my rosebush.

My little rosebush has the best window seat on the floor beside my balcony windows, where it can get sunlight from when the sun rises to when it sets, almost. When there is sunlight, that is. So I open my blinds every morning to let whatever sunlight there is come in for my little rose bush. It got a full trim, all the dried leaves taken off when they were completely dried. A weekly soapy bath for a couple of weeks, then a regular soapy spray of the soil, which is covered with the dried leaves and prunings for mulch, have kept the pesky bugs away.

It wasn’t long before tiny new leaves started sprouting everywhere. The old leaves went a few at a time. Finally a bud showed, and when it was near opening, another bud showed! The first rose didn’t have several layers of petals like the original flowers that came with the rosebush, but it was a rose! And now, as its petals are curling backwards and getting ready to drop, the new bud is starting to open. Moreso, it does look like it has the same lush layers the original flowers had.

I’d been wanting to start an herb and flower balcony garden but didn’t trust myself around plants enough….now, I’m actually excited about the possibility of maintaining a blooming balcony garden!

old rose, new rose

 

 

365 Things to Look Forward to – Number 12: Reception!

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12. Reception for the artists featured in The Honourable Barbara A. Hagerman’s Summer Visual Arts Exhibit at Fanningbank

Wasn’t I excited when I received an invitation in the mail from the Government House? When I saw the way the envelope was addressed to me and “guest”, and when I turned it over and saw the PEI coat of arms on the flap and the PEI Government House address stamped in gold, I knew right away that my painting had been selected for the Summer Visual Arts Exhibit for Newcomers at Fanningbank, the Government House of PEI.

I right away called up my dear friend Nettie and told her the exciting news. If someone had taken a video of me that time, they would have laughed at how excited I was, hopping up and down and skipping and pacing back and forth.

Funny how, all my life, I’d always been so restrained and never showed excitement. I always just took everything in stride, shrugged my shoulders a bit, and moved on. Even when I received word that I’d won 3rd place in the 2007 Palanca Award for Literature, my excitement was totally contained and never really became the bubbly, happy excitement you see on videos and television, and other games. I suppose the most I ever ventured was a big smile, no matter that it was a gold medal and a 3-foot tall trophy I was receiving for a national competition.

Since late 2010, however, when I first received word that I had been picked to mount an exhibit of my works at The Gallery @ The Guild, I’ve been expressing my excitement in ways I never had before. It’s hard to explain that feeling of being so overwhelmingly happy that you actually, literally, jump for joy. Since I had never done that in my life before, it was a totally new and totally awesome, exhilarating experience. I suppose it comes with experiencing little successes in something that is totally of your own choosing.

So, back to the reception. When I received the invitation on the 3rd of June, I was literally jumping out of my skin for joy. I suppose that’s what it’s like when you say you’re beside yourself with joy. I must say that, apart from a couple of incidents in between, I was in a constant state of HIGH. I was so intoxicated with happiness that certainly kept me going for a long time, all the way to the day of the reception on the 17th June 2011.

The Honourable Barbara A. Hagerman, Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, and Me at Fanningbank

My insipid introverted self kicked in, of course, once I was there, although I did smile a lot, greeted people who greeted me, and said thank you when my work was praised or admired. I felt dwarfed by the attention the other artists were getting, even if there were only 17 of us. They had brought more guests, whereas I had only one.

Nettie and Me at Fanningbank

Nonetheless, I was in an altered reality. A dream state that I knew would end, and end it did, as soon as the reception wound down and people started drifting away and Nettie and I drove away from Fanningbank’s grounds. Nettie so wisely and nicely suggested we eat supper out…it extended the intoxication a bit so the hangover wouldn’t be so bad. And what a hangover. It took two days to get me back writing, when I know I promised myself I’d write every single day.

The reception is over. The exhibit will run from the 6th of July to the 30th of August, which is the summer tour season for Fanningbank. That in itself is exciting, as all sorts of tourists will see my painting. The exposure is fantastic, and my art career is moving forward slowly but surely. I’m back in my cozy apartment and trying to decide what my next painting subject will be for my next assignment. Waiting until I’m so inspired I just have to sit in front of my little easel and begin the preliminary work. Waiting until the next reception.

365 Things to Look Forward to – Number 11: Picnic!

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11. A Picnic

Picnic with Leander at Anne of Green Gables

I was out yesterday, entertaining a new friend, Leander, who is in PEI with his partner, Lorne. Since his partner is here on business in a conference or seminar of some sort, Leander has lots of free time on his hands, so we agreed to go around and see some sights.

Originally, we were going to just go around the downtown Charlottetown area to take photographs of old churches and old buildings. PEI weather being what it is, the morning turned out to be cloudy, but the weather report promised the sun would show itself around noon. So, on the spur of the moment, I called Neri to drag her along for company, then packed up some food for sandwiches and cans of pop for a picnic!

We headed for the house of Anne of Green Gables in Cavendish, where we took dozens of photographs, Leander more than I. Leander also had their adorable dogs, Max and Mini, who are featured in several of the photographs as well. We were properly impressed by the house and the antique furniture, crockery, architecture, and all that. We also took photographs with Anne and her bright red pigtails and bright friendly smile. Needless to say, the dogs got the most attention from everyone we came across.

After touring the house, we settled down at a picnic table behind Green Gables and shared a simple picnic lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a picnic…the last one was in my first year in PEI, on exactly the 31st of May 2008.

PEI is such a lovely place for a picnic, chill wind notwithstanding!

Picnic at Anne of Green Gables

365 Things to Look Forward to – Number 10: Getting Those Chores Done

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10. Getting Those Chores Done

No, I’m not a neat freak and no, I didn’t say I look forward to doing chores. I don’t hate them with a passion, but I don’t really look forward to them, either, so I guess that makes me somewhat neutral. I’ll do them because nobody else will, and if I forget about them, well one or two or three or more days without doing chores is a semi state of bliss.

But they need to get done.

When we were still children, my mother assigned chores to everyone and we’d switch them around every week. I guess that was her strategy for getting chores done, although they didn’t always get done thoroughly or quickly. Being a perfectionist, I’m pretty sure she cringed when there were dust spots left on the dark brown staircase. Still, I’m sure she believed we needed to know how to do housework as a life skill. So for  one day each week, we got to do dishes or cleaning. And, because I was the girl, I had the bonus of having to help out with the laundry or the ironing and folding. I didn’t mind back then, except when my brothers got in the way, usually on purpose. I had a horrible tendency to be neat, orderly, and organized, and if I didn’t watch out, I might have become obsessive about it. My sister did. So, as you can see, we were introduced quite early to chores and hence, I do not see them as a huge negative concept. I don’t know what my brothers and sister think or feel about them.

After several years of having my own places to live and being the one in charge, I have developed my own strategies to keep chores to a minimum and to keep the minor chores from from becoming major chores. Here’s how.

Sometimes, I just put used dishes and utensils in the sink and soak them until they pile up and I run out of forks and spoons and knives and plates to use. So I’m forced to do the dishes, and that is one hugely unsavoury chore. I always tell myself to clean everything as I go—and usually I’m pretty good at getting things I used all washed and cleaned right after I use them, so my sink is pretty much always empty. Then one day, I might decide to stage a mini cookfest and churn up a fancy meal (which, to me, basically means something not microwaved or eaten straight out of the fridge or a box or a can). I might even decide to do a bit of baking and launch into a mini bakefest as well. Then things pile up and the cleaning becomes a humongous chore. But I know I need to slug through it or the remnants of cooking will be stuck so hard on my pots and pans and the stove and the kitchen counter top and the sink then I’ll have to soak them much longer and scrape and scrub much harder. Moreover, the pile of used kitchen ware pretty much fills up the sink right away and sometimes twice over, so I really need to get it done right after.

It really doesn’t make sense to do the laundry more than once a week, since I don’t generate a lot of dirty clothing. While dumping everything into the washing machine then transferring them to the dryer isn’t a pain at all, getting them all folded up neatly and put away, and I must add neatly as well, is a chore. Thank goodness for wash-and-wear and more casual fashions that don’t require starching and pressing. I do have an ironing board, but very rarely use it. I have found that if you take clothes out of the dryer right away and hang them up or fold them neatly while they’re still warm, they won’t show any creases! As much as possible, I do not buy clothing that needs ironing. So I never really have to worry about it. And I fold my laundry while watching TV. So it becomes time well-spent and before you know it, the folding is all done.

House cleaning? Oh, don’t get me started about house cleaning, because I have reduced mine to a quick dusting, a thorough sweep of all places accessible by broomstick, and a superficial mopping to get stains and remaining surface dust off. Still, that’ll take the better part of an hour. More, if I pace myself and get distracted by sorting something out or putting some books away in the middle of it. Thankfully, I live in a place where there is very little dust, so I don’t really need to do it too often–about once a month is really satisfactory.

Again, living alone has its benefits. Because I am the only person who moves around in my apartment, where footwear generally doesn’t leave the immediate area of the front door, most of what I have to sweep up is debris from crafts work or cooking, and hair. It’s the downside of having long hair. So a good sweep once a week usually suffices to keep the floor clean, and the mopping is as needed, or once a month, just to pick up dust and hair in corners that broom couldn’t reach.

That leaves the bathroom. Again, judicious rinsing of the walls and the tub every day while in the shower is enough to keep the bath area clean. A mild scrub every two or three days with a scrub brush or a sponge scrubber is enough to keep the bath area smooth and clear. And the toilet and sink are quick and easy to do, again, because I am the only person who uses them. A good rinse after each use and a light scrubbing after brushing my teeth and the sink is shiny and spotless.

As you can see, I don’t have too many chores to do. I have pretty much designed my living so I have very few chores to do. Still, chores are chores and they’re a bore, and if I could avoid them I would. I can always think of a million better things to do than chores, including just lazing about. So it’s always a great relief and a great satisfaction when I get that major once-a-week hoe-down with the broom and mop and duster and get all those chores done!

 

365 Things to Look Forward to – Number 9: A Quiet Day at Home

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9. A Quiet Day at Home

Sometimes, there is nothing better than a quiet day at home.

We fill up our lives with all sorts of distractions. We have work, friends, family, events, meetings, school, and more work. We have worries about all sorts of things. We have obligations and responsibilities. And these can all be extremely exhausting.

Sure, you get caught up in the adrenaline rush all the busy-ness causes and your schedule is sometimes so full you barely have time to eat or even sleep. You always have to be somewhere with someone doing something. So you lose time to be with the most important person in your life—you!

I look forward to a quiet day at home every now and then, especially in the midst of a hectic schedule. Sure, I’m guilty of using that time to catch up on chores, do housework, write, or paint. But sometimes, I am actually able to tell myself “None of that!” and spend the whole day just reading, catching up on tv shows, or just simply catching up on sleep. I just do whatever comes to mind at the moment and not worry about chores. After all, it’s not going to kill me to hold the laundry another day or two; the apartment won’t fall apart if I don’t sweep or mop that day; I won’t starve to death if I don’t cook up a proper meal; and people won’t forget me if I don’t open my email or check out my Facebook messages for a day.

I think we all need a “me” day. Just to do whatever we want to do at home—all forms of work excluded—and just have time to relax, calm our minds and bodies, and recharge ourselves.

Understandably, you might sometimes need more “me” days, and if you can take them, you shouldn’t feel guilty about having them. I know I sometimes feel guilty that I’ve put off something I was supposed to do…not that it had a deadline at all, but I know I need to get it done. But, believe me, if anything becomes so urgent that you need to get it done this very minute, then you’ve probably been putting it off too long or taking on too many responsibilities.

When I was much younger, I took “me” days for granted. My schedule was always full of so many things to do and attend to that I sometimes spent days away from home, and very rarely had much time to myself besides to sleep. It’s not that I was always with someone, but I had so many activities and projects going on at the same time it just kept me perpetually busy.

Now, I cherish every day I don’t have to go anywhere or am expected to do something. I even cherish the half days I don’t need to leave home, and cherish the evenings I am able to spend at home. It’s probably the best thing about living alone. You have no one to answer to or answer for. You can do anything you want, any way you want, any time you want. You can be just you and simply you. As long as you don’t set any expectations for your special day by yourself, you’ll find that it will be something you will actually look forward to. No matter who you are, or what you do, you’ll find it’s a day to step back and see things from a distance.

If you are able to detach yourself from your usual busy self and do absolutely nothing related to anything else or anyone else but you, then you are on your way to enjoying a real quality “me” day.

 

365 Things to Look Forward to – Number 8: Random Acts of Kindness

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8. Random Acts of Kindness

I know I perform random acts of kindness whenever an opportunity presents itself, and these range anywhere from giving strangers a big smile to helping someone cross the street or giving away store coupons to the next person in line who has a huge purchase and no coupons. But I have not, to my knowledge, personally been the recipient of a random act of kindness. Until today.

It being Sunday and a day off from work, I decided to make it my laundry day as well. I had kept track of the wash cycle time and went down to the basement to transfer my laundry to the dryers, which would take 45 minutes to an hour. Back in my apartment, I continued browsing through magazines, to look for inspiration for my next painting.

As expected, I completely lost track of the time. I forgot what time I put my laundry in the dryers, so I estimated that I should be able to take it out around half past one. But I was in my book room, which was also my art supply room and just-about-anything-else room, which had a clock that I kept on “normal” time. (Every other clock in the apartment was on Daylight Savings Time.)

What else should happen, but I started nodding off as I browsed through old magazines. By the time I’d shaken the heaviness from my eyelids and looked up at the clock, it was nearly two, so I hustled to the to the basement, hoping I wasn’t keeping anyone from using the machines. I could hear the dryers still spinning, but it sounded like they were near the end of their cycle, or someone else had started laundry. Wasn’t I surprised to find all my laundry from one dryer neatly placed in my basket, and the sheets and other beddings from the other dryer folded and neatly piled on top of the dryer, waiting for me.

This was a really pleasant surprise, and I have to say that it has made my day!

It also made me wonder who would have done it….I have a guess, but I can’t be totally sure. I know that on the rare occasions someone got to my laundry before I did and took it out of the dryer so they could use it, they’d just taken it out and piled it up on the dryer…it seemed the usual practice in the building, and what I would also do, every time someone left their laundry in the washer or dryer (and didn’t move or claim it for at least 15 minutes of waiting). But to actually fold someone else’s laundry! I know I’ve been tempted to do it myself, but I’d always been careful about doing that, because I was wary of handling other people’s laundry, in case they felt it was a violation of their privacy or they didn’t want people they didn’t really know handling their clothes. So with being politic as an excuse, I never really did it.

It has made me think twice about how I deal with other people’s overstaying laundry. If I did it, though, I’d probably always be doing it…and it takes a good deal of time, and they might just get used to it!

Still, I think it was a lovely gesture. The first thing I wanted to do was to write a little thank you note and slip it down before the good-deed-doer’s laundry was done, but have decided against it. Simply because doing that would ruin the magic of randomness and unexpected kindness.

 

365 Things to Look Forward to: Number 4 – Early Bedtime!

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4. Going to bed earlier than usual.

I am a night owl and notorious for staying up very very late. This gets worse when I am caught up in a painting or writing frenzy. And it is absolutely disastrous when I get a really early phone call in the morning–early as in before the sun rises, or shortly after–which means I feel groggy all day long. When that happens, I do my best to sleep in the day after…as long as I don’t have anywhere important to go (like work or an appointment), but somehow, it just doesn’t seem enough. So once in an extremely rare while, I chuck everything, turn the TV off (I’m glad the major show seasons are over, and there evenings when there really isn’t anything I really want to watch), and turn in early.

On nights like that, I don’t even touch the books on my nightstand. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I switch off my bedside lamp, pull the sheets up to my chin, and close my eyes. Now mind you, some nights are near tortuous because even with that ceremony done, my overactive mind just keeps on tossing thoughts about clamoring for attention. On those nights, I end up sleeping at my usual later hours–or worse, not getting any real sleep at all. But on other nights, within seconds of  tucking myself in, I am blissfully unaware of anything and everything around me, as I fall into the deepest possible sleep.

That’s what happened last night, which is why I’m only posting Number 4 today!!!!