Off-topic: Happy things

[MudFlap33]

My fellow board members, tell me - five things in your life that make it pretty damn good.

1) I've got great, supportive and loving friends and family all over the country (and some overseas). Not a single family member has ever said anything negative about the fact that I'm gay. And I know that there are so many people I could call on if I ever needed help and would receive it, no questions asked--and hopefully they know I would do the same for them.
2) I've been very lucky financially--from grandparents on both sides of the family who invested in my college from the day I was born, I received my degree debt-free, and still have some money to put toward grad school. And parents who have given me financial support even when it wounds my pride--paying for health insurance when I couldn't get it through work, continuing to keep both my brother and I on their phone plans to cut cost, helping me save on car insurance, etc.
3) I've had many opportunities to travel in my life (all up and down the east coast and parts of the midwest, to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, to Italy, to the Netherlands, to Bermuda, to Toronto and Montreal), along with enough schedule flexibility to be able to take short trips whenever I want.
4) I am in good health, despite not having access to preventive health care for the past five years or so. And I've begun to take steps to be healthier; now that it's actually still daylight out when I wake up (night shifter, here), I've been going running and getting out of the house like I did in the fall. And now I do have health insurance that can give me access, and must take advantage of it. I am even doing well mentally, and I still have my intellect, despite years of disuse
5) I may have moved to my new home for the sake of love that didn't last, but I'm lucky that she and I are still good friends, and that we live with other good friends, and that I happened to follow her to a city full of opportunities for school for me. All in all, Boston is a better place for me than rural south central Pennsylvania, and I'm grateful that circumstance took me here and that, so far, I've been able to afford it.

5) That there are songs out there that can destroy me like this one. Especially the ending of it, knowing the history between those two. Iesu Christos.

Thanks, Nobody...I just had a loud, emotional sing-along by myself (although, I must admit, Fleetwood Mac sing-alongs are also fairly common in my apartment when my roommates are home).

[Lia S]

Five good things:

1) I don't owe anyone any money.

2) I have a roof over my head (though I don't own it), a bed, enough to eat, and decent health.

3) I have a sense of humour.

4) I'm learning to be confident and assertive.

5) Um... I have internet access?

[Doc Harleen]

Five good things in my life:

1. My husband. We've been through a hell of a lot, but we've always been there for each other, and take care of each other in the ways we need it. I trust him more than anyone I know.
2. My flat. It's by no means perfect (I swear, the next place I live will have central air), but we've worked hard on making it just the way we want it to be. My new bed arrived this week, too, so maybe my back problems soon won't be as bad.
3. My parents and my in-laws. My mum has really been making an effort over the past year to fix the damage she's done to our relationship because of how she felt about my atheism. My dad's always been awesome.
4. I'm doing okay financially at the moment. No debt hanging over my head for the first time in a while.
5. My friends. I just wish I got to see them sometimes, but I'm so busy with school. They're understanding, though, and have always said they'll be around when I'm less busy.

[sgtrock]

Hmmm... 5 things that make me happy...

1) My wife, because she makes me laugh.
2) My wife, because she puts up with me.
3) My wife, because she still thinks this old man is cute.
4) Our kids, because despite everything they do to drive us crazy, they are still a good bunch. As my aunt fondly says about her brood, "Not a slug in the bunch!"
5) Baen Publishing, for making so many e-books available for free, and so many more with no silly DRM limiting where and when I can read them!

[svenman]

Wheeee no more work (in my job, that is) for the next six days!

Also, I found a nice birthday present for my mum (a DVD of a movie which she had expressed interest in).

[Valerie]

My fellow board members, tell me - five things in your life that make it pretty damn good.

God, do I need this.

1. Morgan. Morgan Morgan Morgan. Morgan. <3
2. My friends, you guys included.
3. This board. I've said it before, but I don't mind repeating it: you people are the only reason my brain hasn't dissolved yet.
4. ... Books. And the internet. And music. They keep my head occupied.
5. Caffeine. I've had three cups of coffee and a soda today.

[Alice Macher]

My five things:

1. Tamar. ♥

2. My family.

3. My friends, on- and offline.

4. Literature and art, highbrow, lowbrow and in-between. Also the satisfaction I get from creating my own fiction and art, just for the fun of it.

5. The fact that, although money is tight and the global economic outlook uncertain, there are still things that are absolutely free and available for the enjoyment of you, me and everyone. Sunlight. Birdsong. Grass, flowers and trees. Laughter. Hugs. Nature provides all of these and more, and doesn't ask for a cent in return. So we should enjoy them in the short, precious time we all have in this world.

[Zanosuke Kurosaki]

To add a #6 - you guys, who've posted your happy things. I've just found myself smiling each time I read your lists. You folks are awesome.

And this just made me laugh so hard I choked.
From The Pervocracy's Cosmocking series, I present:
[On making a sex tape]You know how crappy video quality is when you shoot in a dark room? Use this to your advantage. Opt for a few candles or a shaded lamp with a 25-watt bulb.
The problem is, you're probably not John Alcott making Barry Lyndon here. Making low light look good on film either requires a lot more light than you'd expect (I've worked on film sets where gigantic multi-kilowatt HMI lights were used to create ostensibly "dark" night scenes) or ultra-finicky use of super-fast film stock and lenses. So when you do this with your little FlipVideo camcorder, it's going to come out less "soft flattering glow" than "only known footage of the Chupacabra."

Eta: Also, the best re-imagining of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves ever.

[Trefle]

Pitch Black and Seven Honkies.

...PFFT.

Honestly, so far I found Fables' treatment of Snow White to be one of the best. XD Although...well, not the best exactly, if you get my meaning.

[CJ]

So I just found this site which tells you which famous author your writing style resembles, and so I used this random story I made up for Hexr back in the day to see how I write/talk normally. And I got H. P. Lovecraft. This amuses me to no end.

I know you guys actually do short stories and the like. Give it a go! I'm curious!

[Mr. Brightside]

I put in that fic I wrote a while back, the least obviously-padded chapter I could find in my Nano, and a... special-special-interest novella I wrote in January.

Dan Brown, Dan Brown, Anne Rice.

I has a sad.

[NobodySpecial]

I used one of my fics. I evidently write like Stephen King. Too bad I forgot the money part, eh?

Edit: Did all four of my fics. Two Kings, one Dan Brown, and one Chuck Palahniuk. I'll take a .750 batting average.

[Lia S]

Apparently I write like Cory Doctorow an J. K. Rowling (two chapters of the same story).

[Zanosuke Kurosaki]

I fed in one of mine - and came out with Chuck Palahniuk. Feeding in number two in that series yields - the same result. Maybe that's not a bad thing, at least it means my style is internally consistent. XD

[Alice Macher]

Mine are all over the place. I've gotten two Dan Browns, two J.D. Salingers, two Chuck Palahniuks, one David Foster Wallace, and one Stephen King.

It's a pity the site doesn't go into detail about how their Analyzer works, nor--something that's making me a tad skeptical about its accuracy--how big and how diverse is its database of fiction. I mean, there shouldn't be so many of us getting Dan Brown, Chuck Palahniuk and Stephen King as results...should there?