Finding my happy place

-

These days, it is hard to find a good happy place. My definition of a happy place is where I can go when I am having a bad day or need to get away from the newspaper. My apartment doesn’t count. 

The library is my happy place. When I am upset, I can go there in the quiet cool that is filled with books and magazines. Walking through the stacks instantly brings my stress level down. With the exception of the library personnel  knowing me, I can walk around anonymously.  In those moments, I am not newspaper girl but just a lady in the library. Before I lived in RR, I collected libraries. I had cards to libraries big, small and in between. If I read a review of a book in Entertainment Weekly, I could be reading it in about two weeks. Those were some good times.

Things are different here. The county I live in is a tier one county, which means we are poor. It also means libraries in terms of priorities for the city and county do not get much funding. 
When I moved here, it wasn’t the fact there was no Target or bookstore that bothered me.  It was how different the libraries were from where I came from. It was an adjustment and took me six months to decide on  getting a card. 

I have adopted libraries as my thing as a reporter. I put them in my beat as education reporter. I write a lot of stories about the events and needs of the library. Why? It is my way of thanking the library for what it gives me. It gives me access to the latest Dean Koontz books for free. I am able to buy current magazines for 10 cents, paperbacks for 50 cents and hardback books for $2 or $3. And it is my happy place. 

Unfortunately, my going to library in RR will cost me $20 at the end of the year. I live right outside of RR city limits so a library card cost $20. I will still be able to go there but will not be able to check out books. And least there is no price on happiness.

DAILY DOSE
1. Having the best piece of chicken, coleslaw, green beans and cake for lunch EVER. I will dream about this meal.

2. Feeling all cute in my $4 dress from Goodwill. 

3. Having a good day 2 days in a row!

Comments

  1. CeCeSeptember 25, 2012 at 6:18 PM

    I rarely buy books. They are so expensive and then what are you going to do with them all after you read them? I love Libraries too; although I haven't been going like I used to. No matter how little money I had it was one place I could still go and pick out what I wanted and then it kept me entertained at home free. Sorry your libraries are not the same.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Square Peg GuyOctober 2, 2012 at 3:55 PM

    All of us Squares in the family enjoy the library. My daughter volunteers there every week. If I drive her there, I'll usually spend the entire hour reading or browsing the stacks. That's usually the fastest hour of the week for me, too.

    We're very lucky that our library is part of a network that shares books through an Inter-Library Lending program. If I want to borrow a book that's not in our town's library, I'll usually find it somewhere in the network.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stopping a downward spiral

-
In the past, my birthday has always been a trigger for me to relapse or get anxious. But for the past two years, my birthday has been my birthday. A day to celebrate my birth.  Around Thanksgiving, I started feeling different. December was just a month of misery. I now realize that my meds had stopped working. So here I stand at a crossroad--I can increase the dosage and continue on my merry way or not. Remeron not only stabilizes my mood but gives me an appetite.  I haven't had one since Thanksgiving. I eat based on time. If it is 7:15 a.m., it is breakfast. By noon, I must eat lunch and dinner between 6 and 7 p.m. If I increased the dosage, the appetite comes back for awhile  but I will gain more weight. This is why I was taking Seroquel to help with anxiety.  I don't think there is a enough Seroquel in the world to deal with my anxiety. And while my therapist is being helpful, he admitted this is beyond him. So we are looking for a therapist outside of the area...
Read more

Disturbance in the world of Jack

-
Let me start by saying that I am okay. And considering the way crime is in RR, it could have been a lot worst. I keep odd hours. I can leave for work at 7:30 a.m. and sometimes I don't come home until 8 or 9 p.m.  Last Friday night, I actually got done early at 5 p.m. and went to the grocery store. While at the store, I debated canned peas or frozen peas (very important later). I ended up with canned ones because the frozen brand I like was not at Food Lion. I drive home in a fairly decent mood because I will be home before 6:30 p.m. and can watch the news. I live on a street with lots of duplexes and kids. The road running parallel to my street is very busy, no sidewalks and no street lights. People walking tend to walk in people's yards so they don't get hit by a car. Plus, pedestrians and bikers in RR, don't wear light colored clothes at night. This puts them at serious risk for injury. This is a personal pet peeve of mine.  I pull into my driveway, park in front...
Read more

RR is alive with the sounds of music

-
Music is key in my life. I don’t know what I would do without it. As a teenager, I loved to make mixtapes for friends and families. And now, I love making mix cds to listen to on long road trips home or when I am out covering NH county. I guess along with pens, magazines and libraries, music is my thing. Most of the time, when I am writing, I like to listen to music. My favorite thing is to turn on Itunes radio and just listen to various songs. It is how I discover musicians like Evans Blue or Sia. It is one thing that remained throughout my struggles with my ED. I never loss my love of music. Sometimes it was the only thing that could calm my mind when it was consumed by thoughts of ED. Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought. --E. Y. Harburg Some of my favorite memories are tied to songs. I can remember my feelings being at that Dave Matthew concert. I can remember how I felt seeing my mom dance to Earth, Wind and Fire and Chic...
Read more