one; new dress.
two; canvas pattern.
three; jen corace poster
four; last week i went to see this lovely lady (five dollar signed poster).
five; herbert hoover stamp on letter from linsey.

I asked some folk on Twitter and thought I'd share some responses (working in a bubble tea shop sounds dreamy!);



I don't think I've ever really done any job very out of the ordinary. I am certain you'll have some weird jobs to share with me, no?

P.S. Not all the people on my list are female as the graphic might have you believe.
P.P.S. For any non-Australian readers 'Home & Away' is an Australian TV soapie.

I've been pretty sad lately, most days, more often than not, for no reason I can think of. A few months ago a lovely blog reader named Chanee recommended a book to me called '14,000 Things To Be Happy About'. I bought it for $9 on Book Depository and have been reading it before bed most nights. It is literally just a ridiculously long list of things that have made the author happy in 40 years, things like; the Dalai Lama's smile, compliments to the chef, noting the tiny details of drawings, elevators, the potential of 45,000 words per pencil, suspended overalls, eating peas with a fork, an inherited book collection, yin & yang, etc. The book doesn't necessarily fix my sads and sometimes I'm just not in the mood for it but it often it is a nice happy distraction. I agree with lots of her happy things (and I draw little arrows next to my favourites in the book) but I have also started writing my own happy things in the margins. Here are some of them:

☀ seeing old photographs of strangers and imagining/inventing stories from their life
☀ a self indulgent restaurant lunch, happily alone
☀ 30/5/11, 8pm; saw a man meditating on the side of a fountain in the freezing cold and he smiled when we rode past
☀ when your name is pronounced and spelled correctly
☀ wearing boyfriend's pyjamas
☀ the sound of a pepper grinder
☀ sleeping on a mattress in the lounge room so you can watch things on TV early in the morning
☀ porridge with sultanas, fresh nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar and soy milk
☀ tiny paintbrushes for tiny details
☀ anything that stays open 24 hours
☀ the sound of a single car driving quietly down your street early in the morning.
☀ memories of really good things eaten as a child
☀ personally witnessing a happy event in history
☀ listening for the sound of a key in a lock
☀ hand-claps and children singing in songs
☀ a charismatic TV weather person
☀ fun, genuine conversations with customers
☀ tablespoons
☀ licking a cake bowl
☀ even numbered ages sounding younger
☀ grating whole nutmeg seeds
☀ accepting a compliment
☀ pinwheels