It's the little things

Sometimes it's the littlest things that make me happy.  Like cleaning something that's really dirty.  Sometimes it's nice being a slob not a great housekeeper, because when I clean something, it's so dramatically different that it transcends clean and becomes awesome.  Like when I cleaned my refrigerator.  Or windexed my windows.  Or scrubbed the shit out of my shower...or cleaned and detailed the leather seats in my car.  These things make me feel so accomplished.

Fixing something that's broken is rad too. Like patching a thermarest, or a pair of pants.

Or simply maintaining something.  Lubricating my bike chain pretty much made my February.  You never realize how crappy it was until you fix it.

Finishing something is also good.  I can't WAIT to turn in this trout manuscript. It's like the manuscript that won't die.  I started this project the first year I was in grad school, started writing the paper before I got MS (to be more accurate, knew I had MS), and it's still NOT DONE. I did turn in a draft to Karrigan today though, so hopefully I'll get rid of this albatross soon. Then it bounces back to me, then to Molly (for her characteristic eviscerating editing...I shudder to think about it), then back to me, then to Eric, back to me, and hopefully THEN to Molecular Ecology...and then back to me, and then back to Molly and Karrigan, and then back to Molecular Ecology hopefully FOREVER.

 Until then, all of the cleaning and fixing and maintaining is just a form of "productive procrastination."

and of course, this: