First of all – I’ve been pretty slovenly with my blog as of late – but no worries, I have no intention of stopping or even slowing down to just a weekly Top Ten list entry. I’ve just had a bunch of real world, “adulting” issues taking up a bunch of my time – stupid responsibilities and stuff. Needless to say, when all of these everyday challenges pop up, it’s not uncommon to have “one of those days.” You know, a typical Monday…all week long. BUT that brings me to the topic of this week’s TOP TEN TUESDAY (segues are cool) – tiny, unexpected, mundane events that can make you give your day the Breakfast Club fist pump!
10. Awesome Odors
So often your nose is assaulted with a double-barreled load of hot, nasty funk – garbage, moldy food, skunk spray, dirty diaper, kids (c’mon – I don’t care how much you love children, they smell). But what about when your nostrils are hit with an unexpectedly awesome odor? Maybe your neighbor just mowed the lawn. Maybe a warm spring rain shower just ended (the fresh clean kind, not the dead worm kind). How about a chicken barbecue pit sizzling away while you drive by with your windows down? Or getting to work and finding out one of your coworkers made popcorn and DIDN’T burn it! Sometimes all you need to bring a little smile to your face is to have a happy little sniff of something awesome.
9. Stopping the Gas Pump on the Exact Dollar
This is more than just an epic moment – this is a freakin’ super power! Back when gas was down around the $1/gallon level, it was a pretty regular occurrence – but now that we’re floating around the $3 range – those pennies fly by at the speed of light! If you can get that pump to stop with double zeros after the decimal point, you have accomplished a major feat! Even if you stop short by a few cents and need to ka-chunk, ka-chunk the pump handle a couple times but still land on that coveted target, it’s still impressive. Go ahead, spread your arms wide and let out a victorious “Booyah” on your way back to the driver seat – you’ve earned it.
8. Hitting All Green Lights
If you’re like me, you don’t go many places out of the ordinary on a daily basis, so the mind just goes on autopilot. Then, when you reach your destination, you look at the clock and see that you made really good time. How is that possible? Then it dawns on you…all the lights were GREEN! You didn’t need to stop once! This is so rare and so epic you actually share this accomplishment with anyone who will listen to you. How often do traffic lights make their way into your conversations? Hardly ever. But when you make it through a dozen intersections without having to hit your breaks, it is just too awesome not to brag about a little. Anyone who has had this experience, will share in your revelry and if they don’t, get new friends- these people don’t deserve your awesomeness.
7. Laughing
Whether something unexpected makes you laugh or you are lucky enough to find yourself with someone who has a knack for making you laugh – it always makes the day better if you find yourself laughing until your sides ache and you’re wiping tears from your eyes. It’s even a day brightener if you could make this amusing person laugh – or better yet, getting a notoriously stone-faced grump to crack a smile. There’s just something about having a good laugh or causing a good laugh that will give you a little more oomph to get you through some of the less amusing parts of your day. Plus, if it was a really good chuckle, it will creep back up on you throughout the day.
6. Epic. Road. Tunes.
Awwwwwww yeeeeeeahhhhh!!!! Your iTunes either has a good random shuffle or the radio station you’re listening to turns on that song. You know that song. All conversations in the car stop mid-sentence, the volume gets cranked, and the concert is about to begin. We’re talking steering wheel drum solos, air guitars, belting out the lyrics at the top of your lungs EVEN if you don’t know them all AND you even sing out the instrumental parts! We all have that song – Bohemian Rhapsody, Purple Rain, Rapper’s Delight, Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)…don’t hate…you know you rocked that song AND Hit Me Baby One More Time back in the day. You didn’t?! Liar.
5. Something Simple Made Perfectly
There is nothing extraordinary about a piece of toast or a grilled cheese sandwich. Even a notorious java addict like me will admit 99 times out of 100, it’s just a cup of coffee. But once in a while – you might not even know why – but something so ordinary just becomes mind-blowingly AMAZING! You slip on the butter when you’re making the toast, your grilled cheese has those little burnt cheese bits around the edge, you just cleaned the coffee pot and ground fresh beans – SOMETHING happens and you find yourself thinking about that little, insignificant tasty treat for the rest of your day.
4. Last Minute Cancellations of Unwanted Plans
You’ve had that dreaded meeting or obligatory dinner party appearance on your calendar for months. The day arrives and you look at it and sigh – today is the day you are going to have to deal with it. You muddle through your day hoping that for once the clock slows down and prolongs the inevitable. Then it happens. You get the message – it’s cancelled! Not only do you get out of that unwanted event but you also find yourself with no plans to take its place! You can get more things checked off your to-do list or go home early, slip on the grungy jammy pants and veg out to your favorite show on Netflix (bonus if they unexpectedly added new episodes – but let’s not get greedy).
3. Random Compliments
Now, there is a limit here. We’ve all had the sexual harassment trainings. Small compliments in passing are awesome. If you are told you smell amazing and the person just keeps grinning at you, call the cops. But if you’re just going about your daily routine and someone just offers you a little ego boost, it could really fuel the rest of your day. They may say that they like your shirt or your hair or ask you if you’ve lost weight – but in your mind all you hear is: You’re. A. Sexy. Beast. Go ahead, stop by the bathroom to give yourself a little wink and nod because, they’re right, you look fantastic.
2. Finding Money
Whether it’s a penny in the parking lot or finding twenty bucks in the pocket of an old pair of your jeans – you get a boost! Finding you overpaid a bill and now you have a credit on your account is like winning the lottery! It’s weird, most of the time when you find money, or have an account credit, or get a nice tax return, you’re thrilled – but it’s all your money anyway! But it was money you didn’t count on and that’s what makes it magical – extra money! So, check the coin returns in the vending machines and pull off your couch cushions and see what treasures you can find. It might just be a nickel and a stale, linty Cheeto, but it’s five cents you didn’t have a second ago…and, yeah, I won’t judge you if you eat the Cheeto.
1. FREE FOOD!
There are very few bad days at work that can’t be turned into good days (or at least less awful) when you just add snacks! It comes in all forms: someone brought in an office birthday cake, the person ahead of you in the drive-thru pays for your order, the vending machine drops two bags of chips. But whatever the vehicle, nothing pumps you up on a mundane day like unexpected vittles that cost you nothing! Even the pickiest eaters lower their standards when they are in the middle of a bad day and someone approaches them with a plate of free happiness – you can probably brighten a French chef’s bad day with a free McNugget! I work in a school and we just got through our big state exams and some people came up with the awesome idea of giving us little “thank you” treats and you instantly had a bunch of grown adults huddled in the corner acting like Gollum petting and caressing a donut. Oh yeah, the way to our hearts – and to an epic day – is definitely through our stomach.
I’d love to hear your additions to my list- comment away on what unexpected little thing makes your day an epic one!
“I hope everyone that is reading this is having a really good day. And if you are not, just know that in every new minute that passes you have an opportunity to change that.” ~ Gillian Anderson