Day 366 - Hope

So 365 days have somehow whizzed by since I wrote my very first blog entry for Day 1, here we are at New Year's Eve again. What a year 2012 has been! I mean, come on, I finally achieved my lifelong dream of meeting my childhood heroes Hanson (twice, even!!) for chrissake... any year that THAT takes place is pretty hard to top!

When I was writing up my first blog post on the 1st of January, in the back of my mind I was already getting ahead of myself and was trying to imagine what this day would feel like - how it would be like to be writing my 366th post on the last day of the year. (Ok technically this is not my 366th post because as I'm typing this it's the 2nd of January 2013 and I have 83 unpublished backdated posts to complete!! But my rule is that a post will be done for every day of the year about what made me smile on that particular day, but it may not necessarily be done on the actual day itself (ha nice save Sammie).)

At that time, what this little project would look like by the end of 2012 was a massive unknown for me. Honestly, I was kinda nervous about it. I wasn't sure whether I'd have enough determination or motivation to keep writing everyday, and for all I knew then my blog could have ended up containing just 5 sad posts. Heck, I'm pretty sure Jon put money on me giving up after a month while Brett was kinder and said I'd probably sustain it for 3 months. They probably knew that I loooove proving people wrong (bless them), and knew that I would take their cynicism on as a challenge.

Day 289 - "I'm going home now" and smiling cucumber and bag

1. Felix Baumgartner, Austrian skydiver and BASE jumper, broke several world records today by free falling from an altitude of about 39 kilometres. It takes a certain kind of crazy, stubborn and brave character to achieve this incredible feat - I love that he said "I'm going home now" right before leaping off the capsule. As he said, "When you stand up there on top of the world, you become so humble. It’s not about breaking records any more. It’s not about getting scientific data. It’s all about coming home." Watch the video of the jump and read more about it on Gizmodo.


2. This is really silly, but my friend Becky posted this photo with the caption "THE CUCUMBER IS SMILING" on Facebook and it just about made my day.
   
   Then I saw this in an email.
   
   THE BAG IS SMILING.

Day 285 - Ice cream on a bad day

There's no way to sugar-coat this - today was a shit day.

It all started when I woke up feeling unsettled, unrested, annoyed and exhausted. Then hours later I got a call from a cunning elderly woman who wanted to sell me income protection. I know I probably brought this onto myself due to my stupidity as I usually politely answer a few questions when I get these calls as I somehow feel bad for them, but man this woman was a sly old coyote.. after answering a gazillion questions, before I knew it, she was asking me for my credit card details?!

That was when I cracked it. I lost my shit. I don't lose my shit very often and I don't like it when I do - it's like I'm possessed! My crazy angry eyes take over, my tone hardens, it feels like my heart's caught in my throat, I get light headed and I lose control over what I say, heck most of the time I don't even know what I hurl out of my mouth, but usually it's along the lines of "now you listen to me...". But it seemed to do the trick. She thanked me for my time. Goddammit I need to remember to hang up straight away next time.

The rest of the day didn't get any better. There was so much work to do, and a work colleague was being so snarky, condescending and self-righteous that I was so close to losing my shit again. But I managed to hold it together this time. I couldn't wait to get home so that I could give Snowflake a hug (which I did when I saw her sitting by the door waiting for me, and during a melodramatic moment I asked her to never leave me).

So on a crappy day like today, how do I cheer myself up?

Sometimes I indulge in some retail therapy, usually on ridiculously priced clothing or random crap I don't need. Sometimes I buy flowers for myself. Other times I crank up some music and dance and shimmy the badness away.

And sometimes I eat ice cream. Lots of ice cream.

It worked a treat!

Day 278 - Melbourne's quirkiness

Jon and I got another amazing coffee this morning from our now favourite haunt (yes we are coffee whores), The League of Honest Coffee. Generally, these guys make pretty awesome coffee. But when they have a really good coffee day like Tuesday and today, one sip and my knees goes weak! Oh my!

Steps away from The League's doorstep, we spotted a face. Yay!

But then a few more steps away from there, we came across this. No-yay! This is some sick shit right here. It's hard to see from this photo, but dangling off each handle bar is a baby doll's arm. Seriously disturbingly creepy. It looks possessed. And why are there cushions?!

But today was a lovely sunny day that reached a top of 29 degrees. We haven't had such warm weather for as long as I can remember, and when the weather's this nice it's easy to forget about disturbing bicycles with dismembered doll parts sticking out, but embrace it as part of Melbourne's quirkiness, along with its great coffee, many hidden faces in places, and bipolar weather that draws throngs of girls out in short shorts when it decides to shower us with some sunshine.

Day 272 - Comfort food

I woke up to the sad news that confirmed the grave fear I expressed yesterday for Jill Meagher - 6 days after her disappearance, her body had been found. She had fallen victim to rape and murder.

I found myself, along with what felt like the rest of the nation, devastated over this tragic ending and felt intense sorrow for the loss of Jill's life, even though most of us had never met her. In a way, this case has touched so many of us because not only did it happen in our backyards, it could have been any one of us. My friends and even myself have gone out for drinks and headed off home alone afterwards countless times. This has really hit home and come as a reminder that we really must be more vigilant.

My smile today came in the form of comfort food to lift my dampened mood - ice milo (my beverage of choice when I'm back in Penang)

and paper-thin, sweet roti tisu.

Day 271 - Random girl wearing I Heart Hanson tshirt

Today has been somewhat of a distressing day at work. Vendor issues, contractor issues, invoicing issues, software licensing issues, unreconcilable financial/headcount/resourcing issues, non-compliance issues, general stupidity issues etc.

To make matters worse, this afternoon Chan and I discussed the case of Jill Meagher who has gone missing, we both hypothesised about her possible abduction, agreed over how dodgy Sydney Road and Coburg were, and pondered about how safe it was for a girl to be walking on the streets by herself late at night.

Then to make matters even more worse, I read about the brutal culling and slaughtering of exported Australian sheep in Pakistan. As I read the article, the line "Like a giant mass of wool, bloodied and filthy, they lay in trenches - slit open, stabbed or clubbed to death, while many still wriggled with some life left in them, soon to be buried alive", my heart ached, my eyes swelled up with tears and my mouth tensed.

I left work and walked home with creepy predators and bloody, half-alive, bleating sheep on my mind. My heart felt like it weighed a tonne.

Then I saw a girl walking in the opposite direction towards me, and she was wearing this tshirt.

Source: Polyvore

I was so surprised by this sight that I simply broke into a jolly laughing fit there and then.

Day 252 - My cute niece and homecooked dinner at Keng's

My niece likes to do this thing that I find incredibly adorable. I've tried capturing it on camera a few times but failed - she becomes conscious of the camera that's staring right at her and begins desperately wanting to play with it (she's been exploring different textures recently). Basically what it is is every time I put her in her high chair and pop into the kitchen to prepare her food, when I look up at her over the counter she always waves gleefully at me. It's such a silly little thing, but I find it sooo cute!

Today, with Brett there to do all the waving, I managed to get a couple of quick snaps.


After a full day of babysitting, we headed over to Keng's for a homecooked meal.




And with all the wonderful food and equally (if not even more) wonderful wine, surrounded by amazing views of twinkling lights and free flowing conversation till 3am in the morning, I couldn't help but think to myself - life is pretty darn good.

I also fell in love with a "fruity notorious black tea"!

Day 190 - A resilient old woman

I was standing in line at the pet store waiting for my turn to pay for some cat food and kitty litter, and was halfway through daydreaming about yum cha that we were soon going to have for lunch when I heard a scruffy voice bellow "Hey! There's a line here and you've cut in front of me!".

I looked over and there stood a burly man with anger written all across the lines on his face, next to a white-haired woman who looked to be in her early 70s. She was standing in front of the cash register.

"Get back in line!" he continued to yell at her.

Seemingly a little startled, she said, "I'm sorry I didn't see you there. I didn't see the line."
What he said next caused me (and several onlookers) to raise my eyebrows. "Well you should open your fucking eyes and look properly then! You can't just do whatever you want."

The old woman barely batted an eyelash. "I already said I was sorry."


"Yeah whatever. Fuck you."

I must have gasped aloud. There were stunned faces all around.

The man charged to counter and paid for his bag of pig ears, all the while still swearing at the poor old woman. What a crazy dude. He seemed high off his face. On his way out of the store, the profanities kept coming. "Stupid blind old fuck, fuck you! Fuck you!"

Then the commotion started. "Oh my gosh did you see that?!" "Are you okay? What a psycho!" "What a terrible man!"

The old woman seemed unfazed and just laughed. "I can still hear him swearing down the street! He must not be having a good day."

And that was it! She simply shrugged and laughed it off. It's easy to get upset, not so easy to forgive and move on. After I paid for my goods, I smiled at her and told her that I wished everyone else would be a lot more polite to her for the rest of the day. She smiled back, put her hand on my arm and said thank you.

Day 181 - Destressing at work with Leslie and the grassy wall

The last day of the financial year is finally here. About freakin' time! It has been craaaaaazy and stress levels at work have been at an all time high.

When we need to destress at work, we play dress up with Leslie (it is strangely therapeutic)...

...and we stroke the grassy wall.

When life slips you a Jeffrey, stroke the grassy wall, stroke the grassy wall...

Day 160 - Eureka moment, hot dog, strange timing, deer having brain freeze, Leit's wedding video and it's the long weekend

1. =GETPIVOTTABLE(PivotTable,A3&" Total") was my Eureka moment that made me gasp "HOH!" loudly and earned me a couple of glances. So simple!


2. Mmmm hot dog! Thanks for the laugh B.



3. Strange timing and the wonder of it all makes me smile.   

I ordered a crepe from La Petite Creperie and had a brief chat with the cute French girl who took my order. After she wished me bon appétit and au revoir, I tucked into my warm nutella crepe. It started to rain, so I took shelter under the awning of a shop and people watched as I happily munched on the deliciousness I held in my hands.

After I finished my crepe and wiping nutella off my face, I fished my umbrella out of my bag, opened it and started my walk home. I waited at the lights. I looked at the people around me who were umbrella-less, and was about to tell someone, "You can stand under my umbrella ella ella ella" when I heard someone call out my Chinese name. Startled, I looked over and there stood a guy with a somewhat familiar face that I couldn't place. He flashed me a knowing smile. My mind raced but it drew a blank. Those few seconds of complete silence where we just stared at each other felt like hours. 

"Errrr I'm so sorry but I'm not sure who you are," I stuttered.

"It's Ronald."

My mind went blank again. Then the light finally flickered on upstairs (about time).

"OH MY GOD RONALD!!!!" I must have burst out. The old woman next to me jumped. 

Hey to my credit, the last time I saw Ronald was at least 10 years ago. Maybe more around 11 or 12 years. We spent the next few minutes speedily doing the whole oh my gosh it's been so long, what are you up to these days, how have you been, what do you do for work now, wow really you work in IT, but you don't look like someone who works in IT, it's been so long I couldn't recognise you you look so different, but you look the same you still have the same little girl face, we should catch up properly soon thing, as Ronald huddled under my umbrella.

Then I asked him where he lived. When he told me, my jaw fell to the ground. Turns out he's been living just around the corner from me, literally about 20 steps away, for YEARS! Ohhh it was mind blowing!

It's strange timing like this... when you mysteriously bump into an old friend you haven't seen in a decade at the lights, and you both just happen to be there at the same time, after you had taken shelter so that you could eat your crepe out of the rain and watch the world go by for a few minutes, after you decide to make a detour to go get a crepe on the way home... that really makes me laugh.


4. Oh I came across a cute picture of a deer having brain freeze hehehe



5. Received a copy of my cousin, Liet's, wedding video (it's been eager anticipated as the wedding was held in October 2010) along with a group photo and a handwritten note on Vera Wang stationery (which was a nice touch). Watching and reliving the wedding was a lot of fun! 



6. Yay it's Friday, AND a long weekend! Woo hoo!

Day 153 - Being welcomed to the end of the working week, Mel's birthday and Crazy Wing stories

1. It was late afternoon, I was on my way home after work, my head lost in the clouds when I noticed the city buildings bathing in the golden sunlight. I smiled to myself while admiring the beautiful sight, when a friendly stranger suddenly appeared before me, stopping me in my tracks, to wish, "Welcome to the end of the working week!" How lovely!


2. It's Mel's birthday today, happy birthday gorgeous!
   
   We celebrated over dinner...
   
   and (just enough) drinks...


and spent the night merrily snapping (too many) photos!






3. I made a new friend tonight who just had to share his experience at Crazy Wings. Crazy Wings is an eatery in Chinatown where they're famed for their crazy wings that make you go crazy from the crazy spiciness.

"I was at Crazy Wing with my friends and we ordered some crazy wings. They were having some 2 for 1 thing, and when I got there I was fucking hungry and said I wanted 20 skewers. So the 20 skewers came out and I was eating them and feeling great. They were great but so fucking spicy! I can eat really spicy food and I was just feeling really great. Then another 20 skewers came out. Oh my god! My friends were peeling the skin off so that it would burn less. But I was still feeling great. After dinner when we were standing outside Crazy Wing, there were some people handing out samples of frozen yoghurt! How awesome is that, after eating crazy wings you get some frozen yoghurt! I ate the frozen yoghurt and I was still feeling great, but then suddenly I started getting really fucked up. Like REALLY fucked up. I felt like I had been punched in the tummy. The pain in my stomach was just unbearable like I had been punched. Multiple times. And I couldn't breathe. I was really fucked up! I've been kicked in the balls before and this pain was just WORSE than that. We kept walking down the street and I think we ended up at Taxi. I felt so fucked up, I had been punched in the stomach and kicked in the balls and I couldn't breathe properly, and then it started raining. And I was wearing a nice jacket right, so I was like fuck I don't want my nice jacket to get wet. Then I realised it wasn't raining, I was just fucking sweating! Oh my god crazy wing... it's 3 levels of crazy, when you eat it, when it's in you, and when it comes out."

Day 147 - Winnie the Pooh's wisdom, beautiful mess of autumn leaves and my curious niece

I love...

...quotes from Winnie the Pooh. One of my absolute favourite quotes that I carry with me is of course, the classic, "You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think".

But this one is probably a close second.


...the gorgeous colours we're seeing now,

and the beautiful mess that the autumn leaves leave behind.



...a child's insatiable sense of curiosity and fascination,

and determination to investigate everything very closely!

Day 146 - David Attenborough marvelling at what a wonderful world we live in, nutella craving is satiated, Ladurée is opening in Sydney, free checkup and Korean stew on a rainy night

Here are a few things that put a smile on my dial today:

1. Nothing better than starting out a beautiful new day (despite it bucketing down outside - expecting 1 month's worth of rainfall in 1 day) with this remarkable video to remind me to be thankful of all the beauty in this world.



2. Finally appeasing my Nutella craving that's been hanging around for a fortnight. Nutella on white bread + hot cup of tea = win.



3. Finding out that Ladurée is opening its first Australian boutique in Sydney in July this year!! YAY! Fun fact - the macarons will be shipped in from Switzerland. 


4. Seeing my doctor for a checkup, for free..!  


5. Feasting on a hot Korean stew filled with random bits and bobs like macaroni, spicy sausage, soft tofu, rice noodles, thin sliced pork, kimchi and more on a rainy night. 

Day 135 - Simple joys

Today, it was about spotting and appreciating little, simple joys:

1. Witnessing multitasking in all its glory - I watched a girl having soup. On a moving tram. With a spoon. While she was reading a book. It looked like there were little wontons in the soup. Human beings never cease to amaze me.


2. Seeing 4 girls sharing 1 umbrella.


3. Feeling light rain gently falling on my face. When I gazed up to the night sky, the rain droplets looked like snowflakes dancing in the wind...


4. ...while I listened to one of my favourite Jay Chou songs, 七里香 (qi li xiang - common orange jasmine). As Jay crooned about "not bearing to eat up a feeling", and about "writing his eternal love for you into his poem's ending", I couldn't help but smile and feel incredibly grateful for my Chinese education - his lines are so abstruse yet eloquently and beautifully gut-wrenching, but they simply lose impact and depth when translated. 

Day 134 - Happy Mother's Day

For the past 4 years, I've been taking part in the Mother's Day Classic run.

Mother's Day is pretty much the only day of the year when I willingly get out of bed at an ungodly hour to put on work-out gear, lace up my runners and brave the chilly morning outside.

This morning, it was much colder and wetter than previous Mother's Days. Seeing so many ponchos in the colourful crowd was a funny sight!

I love participating in the run for so many reasons. I find it fun - yep, fun - to be running, jogging, walking, strolling, sometimes almost crawling, alongside so many other people who are there to support a good cause. There were 44,000 participants in Melbourne and a total of 125,000 across Australia this year.

Going down roads lined with trees wearing their autumn colours always take my breath away.


And I always look forward to gorging on copious amounts of fairy floss afterwards!


I'm very fortunate to have never lost anyone to breast cancer, but my heart always goes out to the participants wearing tribute cards. One of the tribute cards I noticed today was on the back of an elderly man, it had a picture of a woman and the words, "My shining light". It broke my heart. But at the same time, it was humbling to be amongst so many who had been affected by breast cancer. It was inspiring to see so many people trying to make a difference - to raise funds and raise awareness for breast cancer research.

I got to thinking later on in the day. Everyone - everyone you've ever met - everyone you've never met - every baby - every person who has died - everyone in every photo you have seen - everyone has, or had a mother. I started thinking about the role and the job of a mother, in light of something else I've been pondering over a lot recently - why do people have children? I can understand that the answer(s) are highly subjective and personal, and I haven't found or formed my own definite answer yet. I have an inkling, but I don't think it'll become clear to me until the second I hold my firstborn in my arms and become a mother.

No doubt about it, being a mother is tough. It's a demanding job. After performing 2 nappy changes and receiving an earful of waaaaaaaaaah yesterday, it dawned on me that this was just a tiny snippet of daily motherly life. Mothers around the world do this and much more, tirelessly, day in and day out.

As I grow older, I only begin to realise that it takes a lot to bring a child into the world. A mother's courage should never be downplayed or disregarded - from carrying us in her womb for 9 months and embarking on a life-long journey of riding the ups and downs with us, as well as everything in between. Mothers everywhere should be saluted - everyday should be Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day with all my love to my mother, my sister-in-law, and every mother out there.

Thank you mothers. We wouldn't be here without you.

Day 133 - Spending the day with my niece

Today was a day of many firsts.

It was the first time I spent all day alone with my niece.

It was the first time I fed her solid food.

It was the first time I changed a diaper!!!! Oh God I thought I was going to pass out!

But I survived, long enough to change another diaper! Eurghhhhh!! I have to say though, I think I expected it to be worse..?!? I must also add that I'm very impressed with the modern diaper - it holds everything in so well, and it's surprisingly easy to put on!

Anyway, moving along...

It was the first time the both of us had a big laugh together. When I was feeding her, she shook her head to indicate she didn't want anymore food - I thought it was the most adorable thing! I tried to talk her into having a few more bites, which led to more head shaking and laughter! I laughed at her because she was soo adorable, she laughed at me... probably because I looked like a crazy auntie in hysterics... I laughed at her cute laughter, she laughed at my laughter. This went on for about 15 minutes.

It was also the first time I was unable to put her to sleep.

As she cried, wailed wildly and screamed, I did my best to soothe her - I changed her nappy, I gave her more food, I sang to her, I gently rocked her from side to side, I cuddled her closely, I checked her nappy again, I offered her water... but all my efforts were futile. She wouldn't stop crying, and I couldn't figure out why.

With one of my ears deaf and the other one ringing, I had to remind myself of some sage motherly wisdom - this too shall pass. Whatever the moment, be it the crying, the shrieking, the giggling, the laughing, the tantrums, the spats, the sad tears, the happy tears, the milestones, the celebrations... all these precious moments, they all too shall pass.

So enjoy the moment everyday whether they're good or bad, because they won't last forever.


And almost always, you'll find that the journey was well worth it.

Day 129 - Destressing

What do I do to destress after a crazy day at work, that has left my mind feeling numb and my forehead and eyebrows hurting from my perma-frown?

I crank up the volume on my iPod and grab Snowflake for a boogie session...


(we were dancing to The Black Keys and Snoop)



...light a candle and take deep breaths...


...and submit to the mother of all comfort foods. 3 cheese pasta bake with mushrooms and bacon, topped with - wait for it - 3 cheeses. Oh yes. So bad. Yet so good. I'm sorry heart.

Day 115 - T-Rex hates chaturanga, Hoppípolla and Planet Earth, dancing in the rain and a steaming bowl of pasta

Man, what a day. Work has been incredibly busy and stressful for the past few weeks and today was no exception. It was 9 degrees when I left home this morning... and there was so much rain!

After spending most of today huddling in my scarf and gloves (both outdoors and indoors), and being very confused while trying to sort out calculations that even boggled our supplier and vendor, I had a great yoga session where the instructor really pushed us. Repeatedly having to hold chaturanga dandasana (aka one-sided push up in slow motion) for a few breaths was no fun (she even heckled, "Everyone's favourite pose!" as the class grunted) but I think I needed the extra exercise.

Oh and here's a yoga funny I came across:

Source: Yoga Dork

Post-yoga, I was warm, calm, relaxed and in a state of zen as Sigur Rós' Hoppípolla started playing on my iPod. I started to mentally watch this video in my head...


...and as the scenes flashed through my mind, I couldn't help but smile and think how amazing this little blue dot of a planet we lived on was.

I grabbed a green tea latte on my way home (it was too cold for frozen yoghurt) and laughed as rain started to drizzle down on me. It was a strange night - the streets were wet and deserted, and with so many roads closed off due to roadworks I found myself dancing in the middle of the street in the rain... just because I could!

Once I got home, I tucked into a big steaming bowl of spaghetti bolognese. Ahhh comfort food on a cold night.

Day 110 - The most astounding fact about the universe and interesting dinner conversations

Contemplating the universe and reflecting on life have made me smile today.

In light of yesterday's post where I mentioned #2 Remembering how lucky we are to be here right now from 1000 Awesome Things, Brett shared with me this incredible video of astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson's response when he was asked, "What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the universe?"

It moved me to tears.


Interestingly enough, over dinner with Brett, Keng, Graeme, Elma and Robert, a whole range of topics were covered in conversation including:

• The universe (and the video above) and our self-awareness of each of us being part of the universe
• An app called APODViewer which presents NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day
• Hubble
• Religion
• The art vs science of medicine
• Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
• Tree of Life
• Tivoli, Rome
• Freud
• Keats
• Consciousness when anaesthetised 
• Richard Dawkins
• Stephen Hawking
• Broken babies
• Different parenting methods
• Do iPads stunt child development?
• Krug Vintage 1998 
• Gotye

...and then more. All while getting drunk on 5 bottles of fine wine.

Being able to witness Elma and Robert, who are a couple of supposedly 80-something year olds, question, challenge, explore and indulge in their curiosity was an inspiring sight.

I expected to feel weighed down afterwards - we were delving in some seriously intense topics for most of the night after all - yet I felt refreshed, uplifted and optimistic. Must've been the fine wine's doing!

Day 109 - I think Darren Criss from Glee really loves Hanson, levitating llama, poor kitten left for zombies, the happiest coat lining, Snowflake is fat and Neil Pasricha reminding us to remember how lucky we are to be here right now

1. I brushed my teeth smiling while watching this this morning! But I'm still a little uncertain, do you think he likes Hanson?!



2. Oh my gosh isn't this the funniest thing?!?!?!? Thanks for the early morning chuckle Soon Yang!

Source: Icanhascheezburger


3. And the afternoon chuckle Jon!



4. This is the happiest coat lining in the world.



5. Michael: "Your cat's so fat. She's been climbing onto my lap a lot for a nap and she usually slides off while she's asleep because she's so fat. One time she was sleeping on my lap and she started sliding off, but then she startled herself and... (mad laughter) woke up just as she was falling off and fully sank her claws into my thighs to hang on and pull herself up. It was really painful! Man, she's so fat." 
   
   Exactly at that moment, Snowflake jumps onto the table where we were sitting, flops herself down while clumsily knocking a paper bag off the table, proceeds to roll onto her back sticking all four legs in the air, then blinks at us.  


6. Loved loved LOVED Neil Pasricha's post for today, # 2- Remembering how lucky we are to be here right now on his blog 1000 Awesome Things. I remind myself from time to time of this very humbling, spine-chilling sensation when you look at yourself, at everyone and everything that's surrounding you whether it's your family, your friends, your job, your environment, the food you eat, the roads you walk on, the buildings you go past everyday..... and you marvel at how everything came together, how everything just somehow fell into place so that you and all these things would be here, exactly as how you are and they are now. And how freakin' incredible is that?! Of course, Neil articulates it leaps and bounds better than I can. 

Never forget that you are so lucky to be here right now, doing whatever it is you are doing.