Data for last few days

I've been busy so although I kept numbers, I have not been posting.

4 12:22:00 10/3/2007 Sleepy
3 12:48:00 10/3/2007 panicky
5 19:21:00 10/3/2007 home
3 22:23:00 10/3/2007 exhausted
3 11:43:00 10/4/2007 nauseated
5 15:44:00 10/4/2007 recovering
4 17:41:00 10/4/2007 lonely
5 11:22:00 10/5/2007 warm
5 16:13:00 10/5/2007 full
6 19:23:00 10/5/2007 tiara
5 22:34:00 10/5/2007 Dancing
6 10:46:00 10/5/2007 Anticipating

I was sick, I got better. I went out.

Kara and I picked up boys. We often do, and I never do without her - so I'm thinking really Kara picks up boys, chooses one and I get cast offs. This tends to work out, though and did last night. It occurred to me as I was driving back to Portland this morning that the things that make me happiest may not be things I want to publish. This is still abstract, but one can imagine that what one gushes about to ones girlfriends may be less than wholesome.

I believe I may journal less and simply add data more until I've worked my baseline and come up with goals.

Monday's Happiness

3 - 9:47 - Frustrated
4 - 14:52 - Waiting
5 - 16:49 - Home
6 - 20:06 - Good Television

I think I've had bigger range of emotions before but I experienced the feeling of having things get better all day. That was nice. I'm trying to process everything with the car loss and the moving on and it's going ok - for today anyway.

The way things end strongly affect the way wet think of the whole. Maybe it's more important to have a good evening than a good morning. Besides, a good morning seems like an impossible goal.

You, too, can study your happiness.

The talented and time-generous Ian Dees has posted the ruby script I use to remind myself at random intervals t o make a note of my happiness.

http://pastie.caboo.se/102684


You'll need a backpackit account - http://www.backpackit.com but those are free. You can choose to have it email you or message to your cell phone, if your service is supported.

When I start developing analysis tools, I'll share those, too.

"Happy" Birthday

4 - Blah - 11:40
4 - Cold and Wet - 13:00
3 - Disappointed - 18:38
2 - Ill - 21:01

So, yes, I have had a hard few days. I feel slightly self-conscious declaring it like this. When I had to record my eating habits for the naturopath, the very fact that I knew I would have to admit it would steer me away from fast food and the like. But, unfortunately, I can't remain honest and say I feel any differently than I do. It seems to me that each year, my birthday is a disappointment.

This was a concern I had in the beginning of the study - what if it turns out I'm way more unhappy than I thought I was? How do I handle this information? I'll do my 14 days base before I have any kind of program of happiness increasing. I also think it's strange that I totally called this disappoitment and wonder if calling it caused it, at least a little.

I woke up Sunday morning feeling like, "Well, nothing else can happen." My expectations for the day were pretty mediocre - or so I thought. Dinner with my parents and my uncle - he'll probably bring me new books. My uncle forgot. My uncle forgot that he was invited for my birthday. I cried. I cry most years on my birthday. It seems like a good reason just to not have a birthday, if you know it's going to make you cry.

And then...as night fell...I developed symptoms of a urinary tract infection.

Happiness on the 29th.

4- 10:03 - Tired
5 - 3:20 - Shopping
6 - 8:30 pm - out for birthday


I missed one time. I don't know when it was. It's getting harder and harder to take a minute to record my happiness, I'm generally doing things like driving or walking. And I'm worried the text messages are going to cost me an arm and a leg!

Birthday was, as expected, pretty disappointing. We'll see how the actual day is. I get my hopes up and the next day I'm just bummed out. Again. The secret to happiness is to never expect that which will not happen. But as we've discussed, prediction is a tricky, tricky thing.

Third Day's Happiness

4 - Bored - 10:09 am
2 - Car Stolen - 1:01 pm
3- Car Still Stolen - 6:20 pm
3 - Insomnia - 10:40 pm

Well, I am certainly not happy. I'll muddle through, of course, as I always do. But damn. I have so much crap to deal with. Very interesting data, though.

Why can't we predict our happiness? Because life is unpredictable.

My car was stolen.

Some time between 12:30 pm and 12:50 pm.

Efficient thieves, no? If you see a 1985 Honda Accord, call the police, would ya?

I'm pacing, on the phone with the police, when the reminder comes in "Record Your Happiness" - at that moment, an obvious 2. But it was pretty hilarious, so I laughed.

I'll keep you updated and if the car is return, record how that affects my happiness. Just in case you were wondering, car stolen makes me sad.