My wifi is screwed up, which means my life is in chaos. VERY grateful for restaurants with free wifi. And they have food, too.

What made you happy this week?

Welp, it’s summer so time to begin summer reading. That’s actually a leftover from when I was a kid in summer reading programs, which were pretty much redundant for me since I read constantly, the original four-eyed kid who spent all her time at the library. Thank god for libraries. In my definition, summer reading is anything I feel like reading. So pretty much the same as winter reading. This week it was Aaronovitch rereads and a Rosalind James newbie. And a lot of Rocky Start because we are closing in on the end of the first draft so I’m rewriting obsessively. Bob is being patient; he just wants a finished first draft. But first I have to fix this scene . . .

What’s your summer reading looking like?

I had a whole list of things to be done by June 1, and none of them are going to get done. I’d be depressed about that but the sun is shining and it was a random deadline, nothing is actually due, and I had way too much on that list. So I’ve decided my new deadline is July 1 because . . . uh, I think I’m going to give up on deadlines and just work.

What are you working on this week?

The Washington Post had an essay on happiness and why it’s not a goal: Happiness is an emotion, not a state of being. I’m not sure I agree with this, I’ve definitely been happy as a state of being many times, but I get the idea: emotions come and go, satisfaction tends to hang around if you work on achieving it. Fulfillment is the goal.

According to Gregory Brown, the essayist, “Fulfillment is a state of being. It is achieved when you accept who you are, make the most of what you have and are optimistic about the future.” Probably because you feel fairly sure you can keep what you have which, let’s face it, is not that guaranteed in these times. But there is a bright side to fulfillment, a side effect if you will. According to the essay, it often brings you moments of happiness.

How were you fulfilled this week?

First, this is Wear the Lilac and Carry the Towel day in honor of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. All together now, DON’T PANIC.

Second, Emily came home last night, yowling at the back door. I don’t know where she’s been for three days, but I should probably have her tested for STDS. Very happy to have her home, very.

Third, it’s Good Book Thursday and I’m rereading Pratchett because, well, it’s Wear the Lilac Day.

Fourth, what are you reading?

I was going through some old journals–I’m moving; “I was going through some old . . .” is the way most of my sentences start these days–and I found my old Brene Brown scrapbook and one of the pages was a personal soundtrack, five songs that summed up my life. I looked at my choices and thought, “Who the hell is this woman?” So I did a new list. The only one I kept was the John Hiatt, and I’m not even sure that one’s right. So here’s my new list:

Sara Bareille’s “Love Song” (because it’s the way I now feel about publishing and writing romance novels)
Rihanna’s “Umbrella” (because good friends are everything)
Lizzo’s “About Damn Time (because it’s about damn time)
Walk the Moon’s “Shut Up and Dance” (stop talking and start living)
John Hiatt’s “Child of the Wild Blue Yonder” (because I couldn’t think of a fifth new one and I like this song)

Your turn. What’s your soundtrack for where you are right now?

NOTE: I just realized it’s not Wednesday. Hey, it’s been a rough year. Sorry.

Apologies for the late post: When I went online last night, I couldn’t get into Argh. Did anybody else lose access seven or eight hours ago? I have Mollie working on it, which seems appropriate. Today I must clean the bathroom, revise my beginning scenes in Rocky Start, take pictures of a contract, and find my cat: Emily has gone missing and I’m worried. She was a stray for two years, so if she got out, she knows the drill, but she only has three paws, so I’m concerned. Just one damn thing after another.

What are you working on today?

Humor is a weird thing. It’s subjective, for one thing; what makes one person laugh annoys another. But it’s worth the risk: the thing I love most about humor is its effect on people. Humor, when it works, is good for you because it makes you laugh and then you relax and all those endorphins start pinballing around your system. Laughter is not only good for your health, it’s catching. When you laugh, the people around you look up and smile and sometimes laugh along; viral happiness. Laughter can come from blatant slapstick–Mildred Natwick rolling down the steps in Barefoot in the Park, Rick Moranis spitting coffee as his helmet closes in Spaceballs, most of Dodgeball, all of Airplane–or subtle wordplay–“Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines” Steven Wright–and anything in between.

So let’s be happy. What’s the funniest thing you ever saw, read, listened to? Share the laughter, please, and then tell us what else made you happy this week.

This week, I sorted through books. Many, many, many books. Moving is the pits; it doesn’t give you any time to read.

What did you have time to read this week?