A Little Pimping & Happy 101

One thing I don't mind doing is promoting the work and good-doings of talented writers within my 'circle of friends'. I'm thinking that most of you who drop into my blog also follow, or at least are familiar with, the talented Cate Gardner over at The Poisoned Apple.

A collection of her short stories, Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits and Other Curious Things, will soon be published by the good people at Strange Publications. I have been following Cate's stories online and in print for about a year and have never been disappointed with her servings of horror with healthy sprinkles of quirkiness on top...follow the links or stay tuned here and I will keep you updated.

I was bestowed an award by Cathy Olliffe at Life on the Muskoka River. The Happy 101 award(or as I prefer to call it: the Sprinkly Cupcake Award) requires me to list 10 things that make me happy...guess that's why it took me a week to get around to the list. Happiness is not a state I walk around in all of the time. Nor is sadness. I think a state of oblivious contentedness is closer to the mark. Anyhow, for those who care to learn more about me (as if you regular followers hadn't heard enough about me already...) I present you with my 'Happy List'.

1. The community of writers and bloggers (or both) that I have surrounded myself with that have both entertained me and taught me a lot about writing in the past year. My 'Circle of Friends' and story-tellers of horror, spec fic, steam punk, humour or generally spin a good yarn about the human condition. Well done, my friends!


2. The inhaling of my morning cup of pot of coffee... combined with the reading of my friend's blogs, local and international news and the hockey stats (in regards to the current hockey pool I participate in through work).


3. Winning of the current aforementioned hockey pool...there is only one more night of hockey left in the regular season of the NHL and I have I lead that I believe can not be caught (knock on wood). I have participated in this for about 12 years and have 2-second place finishes, but have never won. I play, of course, not for money but for the supreme joy of winning ;)


4. It makes me happy that my Ontario employer, an un-named manufacturer of fine steel buildings, allowed me to work from home in what could possibly be the greatest place in the world.


5. I am happy that the people here seem to have accepted us, even though we carry the labels "CFA and BFA". My wife is a BFA, or back from away, a native Newfoundlander that left years ago and returned home. Sean and I are CFA, or come from away. That's a bit of a stigma here, but if you absorb the culture here and mesh well with others things go smoothly. I had heard of the third, more derogatory, label of BIFFO. Sean is a bit quick on giving his opinions and we thought he might earn this label. Oh, you want to know what it means? Big Effin' Know-it-all From Ontario...


6. I am happy that my parents and sister have also moved to this island, keeping the 'Davidson Clan' in one place. However my sister has followed the route of many other Newfoundlanders and currently works in a camp in the Fort McMurray area of Alberta (though she is currently home for a week).


7. Travelling and seeing different places make me happy. As readers of this blog know, I just returned from the Caribbean (our first holiday away since moving here 4 years ago). I feel fortunate that I have seen Canada from coast to coast and many metropolitan centres in the US. Having family in the UK has allowed me to visit several times in a 'budget' fashion.


8. A hamburger at 'Fog City' with my wife followed by a movie. The proverbial date night, which in fact was the name of the movie we saw last night (our son is away with the cadets at the provincial marksmanship competition...which also makes me happy).


9. Listening to the Homebrew radio show on K-Rock on a Sunday morning (which I am doing right now) while keeping up with writing or the blogs of others.


10. My wife and son make me happy. They occasionally drive me crazy, but it's balanced by the joy and entertainment they infuse into my life...after all, I am a Libra.

I am now supposed to pass the Cupcake award to five other folks. The evil voice I hear from my right shoulder chortles and says that I should pass it on to the incomparable Anton Gully...five times...just to hear his verbal tirade. The good voice, whispering from my left shoulder, says that I should invite all of you who wish to share more to me and others in this growing circle to do so. What's your list of happiness? Don't be shy.