What made you happy today?

[IndigoErth]

Got a nice, roughly 95 million year old Spinosaurus tooth in the mail.

Attempting to do "Ninja Turtles Day" with my nephew to try to keep the kid busy and placated and as bribery to help him try to resist acting up. Only four and presently with the attention span of... well, maybe not a gnat, but still a swarm of gnats, with an equal amount of erratic, pest-like behavior, but for the most part has worked moderately well to keep him occupied.



Also just saw this segment of an article:

Sea turtles became an unexpected passion for Jones, who now often wears sea turtle T-shirts or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (TMNT) garb instead of his old Florida Gators shirts.

https://www.hakaimagazine.com/articl...s-in-the-city/

Laughed thinking he should be a Casey, knowing that is highly unlikely, but he really IS a Casey Jones.

[Leo656]

Popped open 14 packs of the Impel 1991 WCW trading cards. Two packs were identical to two others I'd opened, so I got a few doubles and even triples, but I still got 104 out of 162 cards, so that ain't too shabby!

Apparently I'm back into collecting non-sports cards again after a 25-year break. These things are like cardboard crack. Luckily, most of the sets I wanted to collect as a kid are dirt-cheap now, so there's really no reason not to indulge. I've got the Superman Platinum Series on the way already. Score!

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

A late Friday afternoon meeting became a Monday meeting.

We call that a victory, folks. But it also means I won't be daydrinking during said Friday afternoon meeting.

"So, Cylons, can you provide a cost estimate... um, Cylons?"

[Leo656]

Which reminds me... saw a commercial for the new Archer season last night. Sounds intriguing!

I'm guessing from the dialog that they pull a Barbara Gordon and spine-chip him. I mean they've already done that on the show before. Anyways, even if it's the last Season it'll be good to see some "real" material after three years of spinning wheels.

[AquaParade]

Does anyone here take anti-depressants? Seems pretty common these days and I'm wondering if that's where some of this happiness is coming from or if it's the organic type. Just curious.

[Leo656]

I was on Lithium for a while from 2017 up until over a year ago. It seemed to help in the short-term but I got fed up with the side effects. Sleeping too much, partly due to nausea, pissing constantly, and it's not good for your boner. Also, one time after a wrestling show I accidentally took two pills instead of one and got violently ill. A few months later I had to call in late to work because I just couldn't get rid of the sour stomach. I was getting my blood monitored like you're supposed to, but since I would still get angry if people yelled at me they weren't keen on lowering the dosage and in fact were talking about increasing it again. I was like "Nah, that ain't happening."

So I did what you're not supposed to do and just went cold-turkey. No ill effects, felt much better almost immediately. It did feel like it was helping me for the first 6-12 months but it didn't seem to do much good after that.

I'm generally very happy-go-lucky so long as nobody's yelling at me, as hard as that may be to believe.

I guess I just feel good because I'm trying really hard to make the best of this situation and so far it's working. I'm managing to save up some money, which in turn lets me splurge once a week on a few choice items I've wanted for years. Trying to get outside every day. Keeping up with my exercise to the best I can. Getting some kind of tan. Cleaning out the screenhouse after years of putting it off. Getting all my storage stuff in order. Working on my toy and video game collecting. Working on my action figure customs. Practicing painting and other skills.

I'm not gonna lie, I loved my job but I was constantly too exhausted to do any of this stuff when I was working. So I'm looking at this "extended vacation" as an opportunity to hit the Factory Reset button and do some mental and physical housecleaning. I fully expected to be extremely depressed and sleeping a lot, but so far, not really. Obviously I'm nervous about work but I guess I can coast a couple more months.

I'm very grateful that my wife's been understanding and supportive during this as well. Like "Dude, you never bought that ______ figure, you need to get that finally, c'mon." And again, by smart-shopping and budgeting wisely, I'm actually still putting a lot of money away despite splurging a little bit every week. So watching my collections grow has been incredibly uplifting during this time.

So yeah, I actually think I'm doing a lot better off the pills than before. My wife may disagree but she likes to oversimplify things. But yeah, I'm just trying to make the days count, and knowing that I'm getting things done makes me feel great. It's nice to fall asleep knowing you got something done. It's not gonna last forever so for now I'm just trying to live it up.
-----------

Today's Bonus: Mattel DC Multiverse "Batman V Superman" Batman figure I ordered just showed up. Viva la Batfleck!!! My Justice League Superman should be here tomorrow or Monday. Sweet!

I also bought a fancy dragon's head cane. I don't require a cane, I just felt like adding some flair.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Which reminds me... saw a commercial for the new Archer season last night. Sounds intriguing!

I'm guessing from the dialog that they pull a Barbara Gordon and spine-chip him. I mean they've already done that on the show before. Anyways, even if it's the last Season it'll be good to see some "real" material after three years of spinning wheels.

I know, right? Season 11 looks amazing. FINALLY done with this coma dream sequence 3 seasons' worth of BULL$HIT.

Wife and I are both stoked.

[Leo656]

How much you wanna bet they wrote themselves into a corner with Abigene, and just didn't wanna have to write material about Archer and Lana trying to co-parent a baby in between all the other stuff?

I'm sure there were other factors but that had to have been a big one. Having him in a coma for a couple years lets them conveniently leapfrog a bunch of stuff that probably wasn't gonna be very interesting in the first place. Did anybody really wanna see a baby added to the mix? To be blunt, that really started the show's decline for me before they even got into the coma stuff. Constantly stopping the usual antics to make jokes about changing diapers wasn't really all that funny.

I wouldn't doubt if some negative feedback, along with the writers just not wanting to deal with the kid, was partly why they just went off-kilter for a few years while they took their time figuring out how to navigate the situation. I'm fuzzy, but did he even think about or make any reference to having a kid while he was in the coma-verse? Like, he had dreams/delusions about Woodhouse dying and all the other stuff... but I don't remember any reference at all to his kid. That could be interesting foreshadowing of a sort.

I'unno, we'll see. I honestly wouldn't mind if this was the final season, it had a good run but they obviously hit a wall a while ago. Snappy banter can't carry you forever, although it STILL has the best dialog on TV, period. It's just... stuff has to actually happen, too, sometimes.

[PizzaPower1985]

I'm starting to feel better despite not having the prescribeD pills for whatever the helll you call this illness. Not 100% but I passed a very personal test last night between the hours of 11 and midnight. If I'm energetic enough for that, I think I am starting to get better. Sunshine and sitting in a hotbox is a hell of a lot better than spending $340 on pills. THAT IS MY HAPPYMAKER.

And as far as the question posed above about anti-depressants.... In the year 2001 because of some adolescent trouble some here may not be aware of... I was on Paxil, Clonopin, Sertaline, Trazodone, Wellbutrin, plus a host of other drugs to counter the side effects... about 14 different pills in all. From personal experience.... drugs are often worse than any mental anguish they may be prescribed for.

One time I literally was hallucinating that I saw Tony Todd's Candyman in the bathroom mirror and I smashed it to bits and nearly broke my hand.

BEING A MENTALLY STABLE, WELL ADJUSTED ADULT (debatable) really is priceless folks! Priceless. Thank god for TMNT and comics/superheroes because without them I may not be A MENTALLY STABLE, WELL ADJUSTED ADULT.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by Leo656

How much you wanna bet they wrote themselves into a corner with Abigene, and just didn't wanna have to write material about Archer and Lana trying to co-parent a baby in between all the other stuff?

I'm sure there were other factors but that had to have been a big one. Having him in a coma for a couple years lets them conveniently leapfrog a bunch of stuff that probably wasn't gonna be very interesting in the first place. Did anybody really wanna see a baby added to the mix? To be blunt, that really started the show's decline for me before they even got into the coma stuff. Constantly stopping the usual antics to make jokes about changing diapers wasn't really all that funny.

I wouldn't doubt if some negative feedback, along with the writers just not wanting to deal with the kid, was partly why they just went off-kilter for a few years while they took their time figuring out how to navigate the situation. I'm fuzzy, but did he even think about or make any reference to having a kid while he was in the coma-verse? Like, he had dreams/delusions about Woodhouse dying and all the other stuff... but I don't remember any reference at all to his kid. That could be interesting foreshadowing of a sort.

I'unno, we'll see. I honestly wouldn't mind if this was the final season, it had a good run but they obviously hit a wall a while ago. Snappy banter can't carry you forever, although it STILL has the best dialog on TV, period. It's just... stuff has to actually happen, too, sometimes.

I feel like they were doing a pretty good job of "Archer wants to be a parent, but he also doesn't want to lose his comfort zone of irresponsible idiocy", but I can easily see it not working for a lot of people.

I have been wondering what happens with Abijean. She does really weigh the show down as a limiting factor. The showrunners could easily send her to live with Lana's parents; off screen except for a couple of episodes where she fits well. It'd serve the characters well and not completely backtrack on what they've done.

Originally Posted by PizzaPower1985

I'm starting to feel better despite not having the prescribeD pills for whatever the helll you call this illness. Not 100% but I passed a very personal test last night between the hours of 11 and midnight. If I'm energetic enough for that, I think I am starting to get better. Sunshine and sitting in a hotbox is a hell of a lot better than spending $340 on pills. THAT IS MY HAPPYMAKER.

Glad you're feeling better, amigo! We've missed ya.

[AquaParade]

Thanks for sharing y?all.

[Leo656]

GREAT day today!

- The binder and sleeves for my trading cards came in the mail.

- One of my wrestling buddies sold me a bunch of the WCW cards I'm missing.

- One of the Superman figures I ordered came in the mail.

- The new ropes I ordered for restoring my WWF Jakks ring also came in the mail. So I can finally do the deal and get it fixed up like new!

- Picked up a bunch of used figures at the flea market for under $100.

- Went to Walmart and was totally blindsided when I literally turned around and almost bumped into the ENTIRE new Hasbro Ghostbusters line of action figures! The guys, Gozer, Dana... they were all there! My wife said she'd never forgive me if I didn't get all of them right away. So I went way over my weekly budget but f*ck it, man, I was never gonna get that lucky again!

We also played the Ghostbusters board game from Cryptozoic last night for the first time, so yesterday was pretty great too. It's a little tricky to set up but once you get going it's easy to get going with. I like it a lot.

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

Wrote some more of my book after about a week of not writing anything

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Yeah those Ghostbusters figs are great! I have been eyeing the ones at my local WalMart as well. They also have some of the "classic" figures, too, and I kind of want those, too.

My happy maker is having our weekly game group today. Doing our beginning of the month movie day.

[Leo656]

Movie Skeletor arrived today! NEAT! Still gotta take a picture of it yet, but it is AWESOME!

I try and set it up so that I get something cool in the mail every day. Sometimes it's one thing and sometimes a few things. But it definitely helps the days go by.

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I try and set it up so that I get something cool in the mail every day. Sometimes it's one thing and sometimes a few things. But it definitely helps the days go by.

I've kinda been doing that to an extent... but, you know, "accidentally," because eBay is a thing.

[Leo656]

Amazon, too. Apparently Amazon and Big Bad Toy Store deliver on Sundays! My Funko "Savage World" Cheetara came in the mail this afternoon, also.

I spent most of the afternoon cleaning up my old Jakks WWF ring and scraping the old, beat-up stickers off of it so I can put new ones on. Took some elbow grease - along with some Goof-Off, an ice scraper and a heavy-duty wire brush - but it's all "naked" and almost box-fresh. Tomorrow, I'm gonna give it one more soak-and-rinse to try and get a few deep-caked stains out, and then I'll go ahead and slap the new ropes and stickers on. At a glance it looks almost brand new; hopefully I can get those couple stains out, but I'm not sweating it too bad.

It wasn't quite as tough as I expected, so that makes me pretty happy. Damn humidity made it tougher more than anything!

[Leo656]

Power came back on yesterday, got my hair cut today finally, and got a ton of awesome stuff in the mail. Makes up for the first half of this week being crummy.

[AquaParade]

I just lost my wallet for about half an hour. Gave up and found it inside of jeans, which I had put on, and decided were too hot to wear, before immediately stuffing them back into a drawer.
I'm elated. There is no pleasure without pain.

[DarkFell]

A potential break in the job-hunting quest: I actually got a different response from an employer other than another rejection. I'm curious to see what day I am going to work.