Things that Brought me Joy, Vol. 4

I want to identify joyful things in my life because joy keeps me sane. For me, joy includes things that make me smile or laugh, as well as things that make me feel seen, appreciated, accomplished, present, and connected. I easily forget about and gloss over things that bring me joy, and I don’t want to take those things for granted anymore. Hence, this feature.

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Reads of Joy

• I’ve read Deidre Gould’s five-book After the Cure series, but I realized I hadn’t read the Before the Cure series. If you like zombie horror, these books are fanfuckingtastic! Oh, Neil Newton. I don’t know what’s going to happen to you yet, but having read the other series, I can guess. Unless Gould throws in a serious plot twist. Also, Gould published this at the start of the COVID pandemic, and holy crap, the echoes of what we’ve already been through.
• Questionable Content is a webcomic that I’ve read every day for probably fifteen years. Today, Roko Basilisk, one of my favorite characters, returned! They never actually disappear. The artist just focuses on different plot lines. It keeps it fresh. I don’t know how he keeps it all straight.

Games

I play Quordle every day. It’s a harder and better version than Wordle, and it’s from my favorite dictionary, Merriam-Webster.

Podcasts

These episodes from the Ologies podcast about ADHD! Recommended by my acupuncturist and friend, Kate Thomas, who always kills it with recommendations. Neither of us are great with listening to podcasts, so when she suggests an episode, I listen. It may take me six months, but I do it.

Anyway, these things came from the first episode that really stuck with me:

• ADHD folks might procrastinate due to “fear of boredom.” I knew about procrastinating due to fear of failing, but boredom was an epiphany for me. My fear of boredom stymies my business ideas. I’ve avoided and procrastinated on committing to a niche. It leaves me floundering. More on that in a later post.
• Dr. Russell Barkley said, “Use other people to manage yourself.” Ooooo, this was a biggie! It was validation for My (Potentially) Expensive Accountability Plan. Said plan has cost me about $30 so far. Grrrrrrr. But that shit works.

Money

I’ve earned $145.69 (nice) in interest in nine months! I do love my Wealthfront account. Neat thing though: If you start an account with Wealthfront using this link, we’ll both get an extra 0.5% interest for three months. My rate is currently 5%. That’s a fuck ton better than the 0.01% my credit union offers.

Memes of Joy

I’m saying “Godzooky” from now on.