Some Tuesday Joys

I love many things in life. One of them being Portland - I've lived here since 2000 and over 8 years later I still find myself enthralled by the city in all of its rain-soaked, art-covered, beer-cheering, hybrid-loving glory. In addition - I love this time of year. The weather is getting a little bit warmer, the sun is shining a little bit longer. In honor of Spring (and Portland) here is a list of joys for me this Tuesday morning:

• I love my job. I do. I've had the horrible job where Bryce would have to literally drag me out of bed and kick me out the door. But being back at UP - I love love love it. I love the staff, the faculty, the students. I love the energy of being back on campus. I love the excitement of running into my old teachers and joking around with them. I enjoy being able to go for a run on my lunch break along the Bluff in order to release any stress. I'm just so grateful to be in a job where I find myself challenged and excited and engaged everyday .

• I've finally gotten over my fear of public speaking. I used to hate giving speeches in my classes. I remember how I used to get physically ill right before I had to stand up and deliver my topic for 10 minutes to my classmates. It was awful. But now - because I'm talking about something I truly care about (UP) it's easy. It's difficult to pinpoint what happened - my old advisor says that I simply grew up. I think that it's simply getting over that initial fear that I'm going to fail. I'm not really sure. But thank goodness I've finally overcome it!

• Crossword puzzles. Isn't this kind of sad? I really like doing crossword puzzles lately for some reason. UP always has copies of The Oregonian and The New Yorker available for staff and faculty and I love working on these before I go to bed at night. I even check my answers the next day. That's right - it's the simple things that bring me joy! :)

• Bringing my own coffee to work. I know this may sound strange, but I feel really good about myself when I bring my own coffee to work. For one thing, I'm saving a bunch of money. And I'm also doing my part for the environment by reusing my travel mug over and over again. It makes me sad to see all the people being wasteful and chucking their paper cups into the trash after only drinking a little bit of coffee. It's a very small thing - but I always feel proud of myself for doing it.

• Portland's public transportation system. Over the weekend Bryce and I went into town taking the bus and riding the Max. I think it's fantastic that Portland provides such a user-friendly transportation system. Again - I feel really good about myself everytime Bryce and I take the bus into town. Why not do everything we can to lighten our footprint on the earth?

• The smell of Powell's Books. I love walking into Powell's and smelling the excitement of new books to discover. It drives Bryce nuts but I take my time strolling aisle to aisle, glancing through all of the used, well thumbed through novels. You can't help but take a deep breath when you enter Powell's - smell the stories, the promise of adventure in a paperback, the history.

• Ordering office supplies. This is a really silly thing but I love being able to order any office supplies I need. I love colorful post its. I love R.S.V.P. pens. I enjoy picking out colorful flags for my notebook. Gel pens, calendars, and pencils - oh my! Plus after I place the order through Staples, they always deliver a package the next day - making me feel like I'm getting a present!