Monday
Late last year, I had adopted the habit of waking up and immediately thinking of three things that I am grateful for as part of my morning routine. I love having that bit of reflection instead of jumping right into turning on a morning podcast, making my bed, firing off the coffee maker. It's "practicing gratitude" as one of my favorite wrestling podcasters, Chris Van Vliet, says. Recently, I've fallen off practicing gratitude daily, but this week I am feeling very grateful.
It's my last week at work and I'm feeling grateful for the video team I worked with for the past almost-three years. Glad that they want to stay in touch.
Also feeling grateful for all the friends that want to get in hangs with me before I leave. And grateful for newer friends: a cool comedian dude I met in Hong Kong this past summer took it upon himself to start a group chat with a Taiwanese comedian friend to ask for stand-up comedy recs that I can check out in Taipei. Besides cycling, my other favorite thing to do is watch local stand-up comedy, usually the kind held at dive bars or small clubs. Last year was my first time searching out stand-up gigs to catch while traveling, starting with Hong Kong and Mexico City. People who seek out laughter will always be folks I want to be friends with.
I'm grateful that I got in a fun day trip with my mom this weekend where she didn't drive me too nuts (as moms can do). Also grateful that she has a group of friends now—she's going to a birthday party of one of the ladies from her after-church lunch crew this coming weekend. Now if only my dad would push himself out there more...
And I'm grateful that I'm not feeling stressed out about moving from my apartment, as I hate the process of packing and transporting stuff for moves. It's a huge factor as to why I'm a minimalist.
I'd like to move out of my apartment by Monday, where I will be leaving to temporarily be crashing at my dad's for 2 weeks before the big move-move. But I have 2 weeks and my final month is paid in full, so if I don't want to pack this stuff all at once, I have ample time. I'm grateful for that time as well.