I was going to title this post "Good Mood Musings" but then realized that was very similar to the title of the last post. Which means I've been in an almost perpetual good mood for an entire week now, which has got to be a record.

Of course, a few things have happened in the last week that have helped keep me in a good mood:

1. I'm on a, well, not a diet, per se, but I'm cutting down on the amount of fast food I've been eating at lunch, not allowing myself to drink caffeine at home (one Dr. Pepper a day -- can you believe it?), and actually eating dinner when I get home hungry instead of snacking on a bunch of stuff. Also, I am starting up on the regular exercise again. I really think it's helped me sleep better and made me less moody.

2. Last Saturday was Roommate J's (I really have to think of a better name for him) birthday party, which was basically hanging out in Prospect Park all afternoon, on what was maybe the last truly summer weather day of the year. J1 was there, and Gel, and a bunch of Roommate J's grad school friends that those of us who didn't know him from grad school didn't really know, although they seemed perfectly nice. Us non-grad school friends kind of ended up in our own little knot of people, eating the chocolate cookies I made from my great-grandmother's recipie. It was just one of those rare occassions when everyone is completely relaxed and comfortable. Well, ok, not when the cops busted us for having glass bottles in the park (NOT IN ANY WAY MY FAULT) but even that was weirdly mellow.

3. On the way home from writing group Monday, I got on the subway to find a very large wooden beam (like the kind you might see decorating someone's ceiling) lying in the floor. When we got to the next stop, the two guys standing over it picked up either end and carried it out. "Well, that's something you don't see everyday," said the guy standing next to me -- who was dressed in full Scottish regalia, complete with kilt and hat. He and the MTA employee who got on at that stop proceeded to have an entire discussion about what the beam was needed for. "Oh, I know!" said the MTA employee, "they have to break down a castle door!" Also, I swear I kept hearing birds chirping, though I never saw any.
So deliciously surreal.

I should note that a "good mood" for me doesn't necessarily mean perpetual happiness -- it mostly means not being stressed out or annoyed when things outside of my control go wrong (i.e. the subway, which has been quite unreliable of late). Perhaps a more accurate description is a "peaceful mood." But peaceful is definitely good.