A Couch Potato on the Run

I was tagged by the always-entertaining Miss Merry at On My Merry Way to list six things that make me happy. 2008 was a year that rarely made me happy, and I'm very glad to see it go, as it seems most of the country is. 2008 was a year of leaving behind friends (who admittedly hadn't been loyal to me, but it was still unpleasant), leaving a job that I had worked at my whole adult life, and finally, leaving the comfort of my house in McKinney.

Worst of all, of course, 2008 brought the diagnosis of stomach cancer to my boyfriend. The cancer news has been bad, then good, then bad again, and now as 2008 has come to a close, the cancer news is all good. So I'm hoping that 2009 will be a MUCH better year than 2008! Instead of hearing that Bas has a less than 3% chance of a cure (as we heard this summer), I'm hoping we'll have smooth sailing through his last few months of chemo as the cancer continues to die. I hope to hear he's in remission by the end of 2009. I have a good feeling about it, and am really happy to leave 2008 behind.

So! Here are six of the things that do make me happy, without fail, when I'm having a bad day or a bad period in my life:

• My handsome boyfriend. He is six feet and five inches of fun and happiness (and the cute Dutch accent is just an extra little perk). He has the best sense of humor in the world, he can always cheer me up even with a simple text, and even though we're thousands of miles apart, he is the closest person to me and I love him very much. I am so proud of how hard he has fought his cancer.
• Travelling! I seriously think, if I was forced to stop travelling, I would shrivel up and die. Travel is my life and my passion. Even if it's a short road trip somewhere, I'm happy. But even better is, of course, international travel. All the sadness, uncertainty, worry, and frustration in my life disappears when I am on a plane with my passport in my hand. When I hear a language other than English all around me and I'm in a place surrounded by people who have never heard of Plano, Texas....that makes me happy. I love exploring new places, and even when I have no job and no money, I still force myself to travel. It is truly the only way, in my opinion, to learn and grow as a human being in this global society. Better yet, it's fun.
• My kitty-cat. He's a Russian blue named Vladimir, quite possibly the ugliest name for a cat, and yet he's beautiful, with long silver fur. Even people who claim to be "cat-haters" seem to love Vlad. He's a pretty simple cat, but he's really attached to me. When I go out front to get the mail, he sits at the front door and meows for me to come back. When I'm taking a shower, he scratches frantically at the bathroom door, crying for me to either let him in or hurry up and come back out. He's not happy unless he's sleeping next to me (or on my bed, if I'm out of town.) He's not like this with anyone else. That kind of single-minded devotion and loyalty, which you normally only hear about in a dog, makes me feel happy and loved. Vlad's gotten me through some rough times, and I love him for it.
• My family. They've gone out of their way to help me during this bad year, when friends have deserted me and luck has been bad, and for their help I am very grateful.
• Caffeine. This isn't as warm-and-fuzzy as my first four "things that make me happy," but it's decidedly true. Deny me of the Diet Cokes and chocolate, and things will get ugly. FAST. Give me back the Diet Cokes and chocolate (and occasionally the iced coffees), and I will be your nice, even-keel, laid-back, happy-go-lucky Jess again.
• Being outdoors. It's hard to be outdoorsy in North Texas, where the summer heat is killer (literally) and there's no natural scenery unless you're willing to drive at least three hours. But still, whether it's running, hiking, biking, or just taking a leisurely stroll, I love to get out of the house on a nice day. Even better is travelling + being outdoors. I'm not a big camper, but for the right location (e.g., New Zealand) I could be out in a tent all year long and be a happy camper (literally). But I love hiking in different parts of the world, and maybe I'm lucky I live in North Texas, because if I lived somewhere fun and exciting I might turn into a mountaineering sherpa who eats too much granola and plays acoustic guitar all day.

So that's it, in a nutshell. I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve and will have an awesome 2009 to come.