Casual Conversation

PBSSpaceTime is one of the few things I look forward to.

• A dog I haven't seen before (ok let's be real, any dog) on my walk coming up to sniff me and say hi.
• Holding a door open for an older woman at the grocery store, her smile, and having her call me a gentlemen.
• Seeing someone being a good dad, seeing kids feeling safe and happy; in that vane, seeing my niece laugh and screaaam my name over facetime.
• An 'I love you' text from my brother in another state.
• The changing of the seasons! (I am from an eternal summer state and recently moved to a state with microclimates)
• Finding deer poo and sleeping beds (tall grasses pushed down) on my land, imagining the great big family travelling through and finding safety there.
• Incredible art/nature/photography I happen upon scrolling lemmy.
• An electric blanket and a hot coffee when it's cold and raining out.

I could go on and on and on and on - I've told many friends, both online and off, the key to happiness in the world as it is today is to think small. Think of your community, think of your friends, think of the people immediately around you - work to make that better and notice the small things.

Playing retro video games

Cats. If no cats in-person, then cat videos and cat pictures on the internet

Also pursuing & getting better at my hobbies

I dont know about you guys but I'm a big people watcher. I still give people their privacy but I keep tabs on those who are in my space, and notice when their not there. Over time I've noticed this is something that entertains me and leaves a smile on my face. I dont know many of these peoples names, and I probably never will. However I notice when they start wearing clothes that are bolder than they usually do, If their on time or they are late. One man always orders a BLTA no tomato add turkey at my work, another girl always has some type of quirky and niche outfit on that remind you of summer, even when its pouring down rain. On my typical bus route theres this kid who chats to the driver the entire way home, I never know what their saying, just that you'd never expect these two people to strike up a conversation. Through these small psycho-social interactions I form relationships to some degree with the people around me, it tethers me to where I am at and helps me feel like I am in a recognizable community. It is small, but it is the art of noticing and remembering, you should try it. There are hidden beauties.

My cat.

My soon to be wife.

I found a new hobby: there is a group practicing with katanas (Iaido) in my region. The people there are also very nice.

Since I am a computer guy, I'm having fun moving replacing more and more services from big tech with open source services.

Cats

DnD

A strong, satisfying bowel movement.

A refreshing sneeze.

Taking out a giant snot wad and having my breathing improve by at least fifty percent.

My baby daughter's smile when she sees me come home from work.

I love playing with my cats. It's about the only thing that makes me smile still.

My dog and my cat helps me at most, however do to the fact I'm in Amerikkka and disabled. It's impossible for me with my circumstances I have to be happy.

However my animals keep me just above borderline unaliving my self.

My animals do make me smile every day. Especially my service dog and how quirky and weird she is and does the most stupidest funniest stuff sometimes that I always get a kick out of.

My cat is the man of the house, constantly yelling, complaining and think he owns the damn place. He doesn't give a shit about me but absolutely loves my dog, he's very much a stereotypical man. Which is to me fucking funny because he's a small ass cat so I can just scoop him up whenever and cuddle with him.

Overall it's borderline but I'm still here ... At least for now.

Meetings getting cancelled

Shitposting and other people riffing on your shitpost because they get it.

Meeting new people in casual settings and hanging out. Typically hostel type places with communal spaces, but with your own room for privacy

We got snow last week and it was glorious to go out and just sit on the steps on my porch and listen to the snow falling.

I'm super happy seeing the ultra-blue skies contrasted with the brilliant white of the ground. It's crystalline and always makes me happy.

Dunno.. to the core of my being I am a winter person and when there is snow and it is snowing, all is right with the world at that moment in time.

My dogs.

Seeing my friend+.

• going to office with my colleagues which count as my mates, just having fun getting shit done, best of both world (the project sucks, so at least we are having a good time)
• Seeing my cates running after me and rolling at my feet
• Having funny out of topic conversations with my gf
• Thinking how I will be playing Nioh 3 when it releases, an how I will be smiling while playing
• Just having a wholesome interaction with a stranger

When things just go right for a change, personally.

Its hard nowadays. Things that bring me comfort still do but its muted. Hot drink, sleep, hot bath, a walk (especially with my dog). Those rare human connections. Its so much weaker and less long lasting than it used to be though.

My dog. Especially when I haven't seen him all day, but then he catches sight of me (he doesn't hear so well now). And he kind of goes crazy as we have this greeting and roughhousing thing that he loves.

Baking. Sudoku. Embroidery. A good night's sleep.

I've been listening to some funny podcasts that make me laugh.

I have a little greenhouse for some plants over the winter and they're happy.

I've got small personal goals for myself I've been making progress on.

Specific text formats make me smile for some weird reason.

I'll pet the pets for a bit and I'll get a smile.

A couple of shows I like have been in the rotation.

I've had some better than expected interactions with people, looking back on those makes me smile.

Aww jeez I guess typing out what makes me smile makes me smile, well done OP.

Now I'm scowling sarcasticlly.

My kids.

Kid at the after school program I work at recently switched schools and hes loving it and told me excitedly about his science project on the bus.

The previous charter school kicked him out because of behavior issues, so he had to start at a public school. The charter school in question is more like a prison than a school and doesn't actually seem to teach anything. The little dude on the bus literally said "They're teaching me science!!!" and I was both like happy for him and a little heart broken at the same time, like... did they not teach you science at the charter school?

Regardless, that he was happy about science and his new school kind of made me smile.

Things that also make me smile that are uh... less wholesome:

-Playing violent video games

-Fuckin'

-Outsmarting people

Until October it was riding around the Bay on my Jetski..

Unfortunately the skis are stored for the winter.

I've been hanging out on Threads lately (I know) and... y'know, it's actually a whole lot less toxic place than a lot of other social media. Makes me happy to see a bunch of folks lifting each other up.

citing facts from wikipedia or usa govt data and getted banned from lemmy communities for being a troll because that data isn't convenient to the narrative the userbase or mods are pushing.

it's almost as if people hate before informed when information disputes or challenges their over simplified beliefs that it's just 'those other bad people' who are causing everything to be awful.

Watching my intermittently reactive dog who sometimes misinterprets play signals decide that "I like this dog" and proceed to play well with it