The Busy vs. the Happy

Keep calm.  Think about the now.  Be in the moment.  Carry no baggage.

I'm thinking about the characteristics of happy people, having read a recent blog post on Successify:  http://successify.net/2012/10/31/22-things-happy-people-do-differently/.

I've said yes to so many things that my April, as I face it here on the first, is proving to look like a month-long gauntlet, finishing up as it will with a trip to Toronto to present at the HASTAC Conference, which I am definitely looking forward to.

In the meantime, it's worthwhile to consider how I got here, feeling a bit overwhelmed (and so early in the morning!).

• I'm doing the ACT prep session for high school kids tonight.
• My daughter's 30th birthday is Wednesday.  
• I'm helping some with the DSU play, Xanadu, this week.
• I'm presenting at a conference in Minneapolis on Friday.
• I've got committee duties that I'll have to get caught up on when I get back.  
• The last day to drop a course is Wednesday, so my grades need to be up to date.
• My grandaughter's first birthday is the 13th, with a birthday party in Minneapolis. 
• I'm the advisor for Sigma Tau Delta at DSU, and our spring banquet is on the 18th. 
• I'm doing a reading for a performance with my Indian dancing colleage Shreelina Ghosh on April 20 (Saturday).  (We are practicing today).  
• Shreelina, Stacey Berry, and I are presenting at the HASTAC Conference on the 26th.  
• Last days of classes
• Finals

Plus, there is the day to day.  I have papers to grade.  I have classes to prepare for.  I'd like to finish the back entry.  I'd like to get out my motorcycle.  I'd like to get my OTHER motorcycle working right.  I'd like to have some happy simple days at home.  I'd like to get together with my colleagues and friends.

So, anyway, I'm busy.  But we had a good weekend with my daughter, her man, and their little babe.  And we spent time with the wife's family, something we haven't done a lot of recently.

Meanwhile, I'll try to do the things that happy people do.