Today, Dear Readers, is The International Day of Happiness. I forgive you for not remembering; after all, this Day is only two years old, officially declared back in 2012 by then UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. "Social, economic and environmental well-being are indivisible. Together they define gross global happiness," said the Secretary General. The UN then called on everyone, including organizations and governments, groups and individuals alike, to "observe the International Day of Happiness in an appropriate manner, including through education and public awareness-raising activities."Um...none of that will increase this individual's gross global happiness, to be honest. That all sounds like worky inservice stuff, which I retired from about three years ago. The happiest thing about all of That back then was that I didn't have to grade it.
And I'm unable to get too Happy at present. This beastly cold has morphed into Something Worse, and I am Down For The Count. I had to break my Sacred Vow to you, and I missed two days of writing here because I was so unwell. At the risk of TMI, just let me say that, if the Energy Conundrum could be eased by snot, I could bring the price of fuel down all by myself. Considerably.
But this is the International Day of Happiness! I have several readers in Other Countries! We can increase Gross Global Happiness right here. This article I read in LiveScience measured some happiness by looking at social media, which is the Most Scientific Data There Is. And the happiest US state is...Hawaii. Duh. I don't need an analysis of Twitter to tell me that. Giggling at the heels of Hawaii are Maine, Nevada, Utah, and Vermont. (California, where are you? And obviously, this study was well before the legalization of marijuana in Washington and Colorado.)Not so happy are Louisiana, Mississippi, Maryland, Delaware, and Georgia. (Ohio and Michigan, where are you? Leading the league in cheap vodka sales, that's where.)
Over on Instagram, Brazil is downright hysterical with happiness at number one, while Japan and Vatican City tied for the lowest. Take heart, VC! This data was collected early in The Francis Effect. The USA scored eighth, beating out Canada and the Bahamas. Canada, what is the matter? Why the long face? Is it Rob Ford? Is it the taxes? It certainly cannot be curling and its wonderfully outrageous uniforms. (Although I must make a correction here, pointed out by my Alert And Faithful Reader John S. of Pennsylvania, who reminds me that curling is Scottish in origin.) In any case, buck up, Canada. You know how I adore you.
In any case, I feel compelled to somehow celebrate this International Day of Happiness, especially since I missed World Nutella Day (Feb. 4). So, today I will be Happy. Happy that I can stay home because I am retired, and I don't have to go to work or prepare a bunch of monkey plans for a sub. I will be happy that I can still feel connected to the world via my computer, and I can be entertained by it, too. I will be happy that, if I feel at all better, I can get in my car and go someplace. I'm happy that I can finally see the grass in my front yard!
Maybe I'll make a dessert today, and that will make Rick happy, too. That's one of the things I like about Happiness. It grows when you spread it around.
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It's also National Macaron Day. Now, to be fair, it's mostly being celebrated in NYC. But that shouldn't stop us Regular Folk from indulging as well.
ReplyDeleteApparently, this is also "Proposal Day" and "Festival Of Extraterrestrial Abductions Day." So... we've got lots to be happy about, lol.
ReplyDeleteI'm putting my money on International Day of Happiness, however, as their is entirely enough grief and weirdness in the world, and I also have no one to propose to.
Making one's significant other happy sounds like a great way to celebrate it, and I am going to steal your idea of dessert. Apple crumble, here we come.
FE DE ERRATAS, Correction on previous post: ..."as THERE is ...."
ReplyDeleteGeez. That's not only a snafu, it's one of my pet peeves, lol: their vs. they're vs. there.
What! Ohioans aren't naturally happy? I cannot fathom what you mean. Say it is not so! Or better yet, pass me a shot of that vodka you've got going on there.
ReplyDeleteHope you feel better soon.
Nance, I've had the same crud. I jinxed myself by saying that I rarely get sick (which is true), and then Bam! It has taken the same progression as yours and I had to seek drugs. I took my last magical pill today, but it's supposed to keep working. Hope so as I still have symptoms. That four-letter "s" word you mentioned. :-( Hope you feel better soon and I do appreciate the reminder to be happy. I am happy this illness is mostly behind me, that I don't have to go anywhere unless I want to, that it's a warm sunny day here today and walking the dog only required a hoodie, that we got to see Son this past weekend and meet his girlfriend and much more. Thanks for perking me up!
ReplyDeleteShirley
Shirley--Virginia is gorgeous in early spring, as I remember from a couple of trips there. That alone can make one feel better. I'm still trying to avoid the doctor, but it's getting harder to do.
ReplyDeleteIf you sneak down one post, you'll see I gave you a mention. Hug The Boys At Home for me!
Ally Bean--I know, right? And our state song is Beautiful Ohio. There are pockets of loveliness, to be sure, but when it comes to weather, our song should be Barbaric Ohio.
Can't pass along any cheap stuff. I only buy good vodka. Three Olives is my favourite, and no flavours either.
Ortizzle--If we can combine your two holidays and have captives propose to their alien abductors, now that is festive! I could get happy about that.
I lost my will to prepare a dessert almost as soon as I finished typing my post. Today, however, is another day. I can try again. Rick loves an apple crisp/crumble, but alas, we have no apples. I have approximately eleventy hundred overripe bananas in my freezer, so perhaps something with those. I'm thinking a sour cream banana cake. But really, just thinking right now.
emengee--does Hot Cookie have macarons? If not, then adapt your celebration to cookies in general. I can't think of a single place within a ten mile radius where I can get macarons around here. I'm not too upset; I like them, but I don't think they're crazy good, like some people. A bit overrated, I think, and just a trend. I'd rather have a good chocolate chip cooky or a terrific peanut butter one.
Hope you're well. Say hi to everyone.
I am going to be a curmudgeon and harrumph that no one can command me to be happy, damnit!
ReplyDeleteBut really, I don't know why Californians aren't up there on the happiness scale. Maybe because our housing is too expensive and we can't enjoy our lives because we are too busy trying to pay our rents/mortgages.
Gina--I wouldn't think of it.
ReplyDeleteI hear that from so many resident Californians, and some blame it on the influx of tech workers. Their inflated salaries are what's driving the real estate market so high, according to them.
That's a shame. Some gentrification is desirable, and it helps rejuvenate neighborhoods that might otherwise be lost to urban blight, but I don't think that's what is happening. More like urban stagnation, it seems to me.