Daily 5 - Day 236

Today's Daily 5:

1. Bought a car.  Can't drive it for at least a week, until I get a minor repair done, and take care of the insurance paperwork.  But I bought a car today.
2. Enjoyed working a half-day alone in the office.
3. Did a bunch of needed cleaning around my space - sometimes cleaning and restoring order is a way of praying for me, of quieting myself, externally and internally.  It was like that today, and that, in itself, was a relief.
4. Cooked a simple dinner for myself tonight, and prepared some relatively healthy snacks to get me through this busy week.
5. Dad came over and hung artwork for me.  My living situation is very much up in the air for a lot of reasons that I don't have freedom to talk about, but it feels nice to have some of my art hanging on the walls around my space again.
6. Filtered, mineralized water, in a crock, from a bottle.  In my basement space.  I'd been less hydrated since moving to Grandma's because filling my water bottle meant a trip upstairs and an inevitable conversation.  This is water that is far healthier than tap water, and it's in my space.
7. The satisfying feeling of marking items off of a personal to do list, especially in one of the busiest weeks of my year.
8. Thankful for dad's job - not something I'm often thankful for, but connections because of his job mean I've now bought two different cars for very affordable prices.
9. Thankful for friends who email, or facebook, or leave blog comments, or call, and generally let me know they care.  It means a lot, especially on the really hard days.
10. Catching up on some favorite television shows online - The cowboys on The Amazing Race went from last place to first place, with an extra "speed bump" task - so much fun!

My Canadian Name!

As an actual Canadian, this quiz was just too ridiculous to resist.

So, my Canadian name is:

Your Canadian Name is Amelie Anna Li

Ehh... whadya think eh?

What's Your Canadian Name?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

Anyone else get anything fun on this one?

Easter Monday thoughts

It's Easter Monday and I'm at the office alone.  We're technically closed today, but I had a lot to do, and decided to work for at least a portion of today, and earn some lieu time for later.  It's actually kind of nice to be here alone.  It's so quiet, no phones ringing.  I'm wearing jeans, and have worship music playing.  It's maybe one of the more peaceful places I've been in a while (ironic if you know much about the drama that often consumes my workplace.)

If I'm honest, Easter felt disappointing.

I wanted it to be some triumphant overcoming thing.  To bring some dramatic shift in a number of things in my life that are really challenging at the moment.  To bring change.  Instead, it was quiet.  A celebration of resurrection, to be sure, but no tangible change, not even in hope.  A day that ended up draining what little energy reserves I had remaining, so that, by the end of the evening, all I could think was how badly I wanted a hug, and how badly I wanted to live closer to a dear friend, and just let her hold me while I sobbed out all the stress and exhaustion.

So, this morning I'll start again.

Fight again.

For hope.

And joy.

And thankfulness.

Because even after pushing for that for months and months, it doesn't seem easy most days.

I'll start by enjoying the quiet here at the office.

And the fact that I am legitimately away from the tensions of my living situation. 

And the fact that though I'm working extra hours, I'll receive equal hours sometime in the future, at a time when others will be working.

And the wearing of jeans.

And my cup of passion tea.

And with that, I'm off to tackle the first on the longish list of tasks that I came here to accomplish today.