What makes you happy?

[Robert]

Thinking we could have something opposite to the pet peeves thread. I try to be a positive guy, so what makes me happy?


My family, of course.
When I get a good guitar tone and the inspiration is there, I want to play for hours and hours... :)
Nice weather
Trying new guitar gear
Getting new guitar gear in the mail or from the brown truck...
Setting a new personal best in a running race
People who are honest and sincere
Fly-fishing on a small trout stream
When I for some reason made somebody happy
Receiving compliments for my lessons, videos or just my regular ol' guitar playing :)

[Tone2TheBone]

1. Family - when family is at peace with each other...without the stress of work or school interfering.

2. Having lunch with my friends during the week.

3. Fishing with my friends. Hunting too.

4. Playing my guitars when I'm really in the mood to play and everything's sounding dang good.

5. Searching for a new pedal or guitar - even though it can get nerve wracking sometimes, it still makes me happy.

6. Getting some new guitar gadget in the mail always makes me happy.

7. Giving something to someone and they like what I've given them.

8. Good beer always makes me happy.

9. Good food too.

10. A good night's sleep.

11. A good night's.....fun. Or day's. (sexsual content)

[oldguy]

Family also, esp. alone time w/ them at home-most special.
Accomplishment-doing something, doing a good job, at work, at play.
Learning-gaining knowledge about things I'm interested in.
Helping others.
A good movie, song, etc.-something that stimulates the senses.
Sleeping like a rock after a hard physical day at work- I always wake up refreshed, and happy. (+what Tone said- it don't gotta be hard work that makes me sleep good).

[Plank_Spanker]

My wife

A beautiful spring morning

Grilling / smoking

Playing guitar

The rush of a good gig

A good book

A clear night out with my telescope

A good cup of coffee

An expertly mixed martini

Good wine

Pulling off a challenging work assigment

Cooking

Random acts of kindness

A good night's sleep

The list good go on and on........................I guess I'm a fairly happy person. :D

[Tone2TheBone]

Dude you got a telescope? I'm gonna pick your brains for one now.

[Plank_Spanker]

Dude you got a telescope? I'm gonna pick your brains for one now.

Feel free, man! It's my "other" expensive hobby..........:D

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a36/axepilot/100_0579.jpg

[oldguy]

Feel free, man! It's my "other" expensive hobby..........:D

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a36/axepilot/100_0579.jpg

OMG, Plank, that is absolutely gorgeous!!

If Tone could get pics at his workplace his eyes would have fallen out on his desk as his jaw smacked the floor.

That is one beautiful piece of optical equipment, my friend. :AOK: :AOK: :AOK:

[Plank_Spanker]

Thanks!

It took a little while to trick it out, and it's my "baby". :D

[Robert]

Looks like a freakin' cannon! You shoot ET out of the sky wit dat thang?

[Radioboy950]

Feel free, man! It's my "other" expensive hobby..........:D

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a36/axepilot/100_0579.jpg

Holy Moly! How many watts??:D

[Plank_Spanker]

Not quite a cannon..................just a large mortar. :D

[Robert]

It's even got a remote control! :eek:

[Plank_Spanker]

The mount is motorized to track the sky, and it has a GPS receiver onboard. Once I get a good present postion from GPS, I'll aim the scope at two known stars and set the alignment. Once that is done, all I have to do is command the scope to whatever I want to look at with the hand controller.

It's pretty sweet.................:D

[Bloozcat]

Hmmm, what makes me happy....

My wife makes me happy, and so does making my wife happy...
My faith...
My friends...
My family...
My freedom...
My health
My cat...
Travel...
Great food...
Great wine...
Humor...
Learning for the sake of learning...
Projects that turn out as planned...
All the music gear I have...
All the hunting and shooting sports gear I have...
This website and all the great people here...
To name just a few...

I think the things that make me unhappy would be much easier to list...:)

[Bloozcat]

How's the light pollution where you are, Plank? I know you're in the Pine Barrens where it's pretty remote, but is that far enough away from all the light sources in that area?

[Plank_Spanker]

I think the things that make me unhappy would be much easier to list...:)

Same here, Blooz....................life is good. :D

[Plank_Spanker]

How's the light pollution where you are, Plank? I know you're in the Pine Barrens where it's pretty remote, but is that far enough away from all the light sources in that area?

It's actually not bad right from my deck - once I get my next door neighbor to kill his outside flood. I live right on the border of a state forest and it gets fairly dark. My main objects of interest up yonder need dark sky - galaxies, nebulae, and clusters. I manage to bag most of what I'm trying to see.

[Danzego]

Once that is done, all I have to do is command the scope to whatever I want to look at with the hand controller.

Would that include the wife of the guy living 5 miles down the road? :munch: :drool:

:D

[Plank_Spanker]

Would that include the wife of the guy living 5 miles down the road? :munch: :drool::D


Sadly - no. :D

[Bloozcat]

It's actually not bad right from my deck - once I get my next door neighbor to kill his outside flood. I live right on the border of a state forest and it gets fairly dark. My main objects of interest up yonder need dark sky - galaxies, nebulae, and clusters. I manage to bag most of what I'm trying to see.

I'm always amazed at the night sky up in central Georgia where I hunt. It's incredible what you can see there on a cold clear night. It's even more impressive when you get up into the Rockies. It's really is amazing what we miss with all the lights in most places.

BTW Plank, have you charted any near earth asteroids in your searches? Don't forget to share if you see one coming, ok? :o

[Plank_Spanker]

Central Georgia? I lived in Warner Robins for 5 years! :D

Sorry, no near Earth asteroids..................I'm just a tourist.

[Brian Krashpad]

Lots of things make me happy. I guess I'm easily amused. ;)

Family, #1. Just hanging out really, and seeing my wife and kids happy with school/work/home.

Beer. Mmm, beer.

Being onstage, or practicing with my bands. Side band has a show Jan. 30th, after the drummer and lead singer had a drama-queen contest a few days ago that momentarily threatened to scuttle things but good. I can hardly wait to get practiced up and play! Especially since we'll be a 5-piece again and I will play guitar instead of bass (I like bass, but my last 2 shows were on bass and I wanna play guitar!).

Camping with the boy. He's ending Cub Scouts in about a month, hopefully getting the Arrow of Light (which is Cub Scouts' highest award, and the only one that can be transferred to a Boy Scout uniform). He'll be in middle school next year and probably too busy to continue scouting (he's gifted, but also dyslexic-- meaning schoolwork can take a lonnnnnnnnnnng time to complete) at least for the near future. I'll miss that if that's how it works out, and would love to start taking him and his sister on some family campouts instead.

Going to church, especially when I can play a musical instrument in the service. I played in a church band for a decade and then bad stuff went down (pastor left, nasty power struggle ensued, we left) and I'm now churchless. I miss that and am hoping that eventually it will work out so that I can do that again somewhere. It's a totally different experience than playing in a rock band.

Almost forgot-- writing and recording! I don't home record, so going into a studio is a big deal for me. Writing a song is lots of fun, and gives me the freedom to not be fettered by my vocal or instrument limitations, as I might when playing a rock cover or doing a peice in church from lead sheets. Since I've written it, it sounds how it sounds and that's how it's supposed to sound. To me that's way more fun than playing a cover.

[Justaguyin_nc]

man, great scope...I only got a small cheap one.. but it gets the neighbors a block away fine..or the cabins across the mountains when we go.. anyways..

1.My woman
2.My Children
3.My GRANDBABIES! (probably #1)
4.My Peace within
5.My Mother

now..the normal ones..

6.taking a nap
7.passing gas when waking from a nap
8.taking a nap after eating
9.taking a nap after drinking
10.taking a nap after a good smoke
11.napping during a slow movie
12. a good nights sleep
:AOK:

[Robert]

With all that napping, you probably don't have much time to play the guitar! :)

[Childbride]

Plank, that's awesome!!! :)

... lessee. [excellent thread, Robert]

my husband

my kids-by-proxy [my stepson is s'posed to be coming tonight, and i'm twitching like i have a.d.h.d. waiting for the phone call that he's on the way]

my family and superdog Katie [my BGF]

my friends

guitar/music generally

my work... when someone hugs me in court or shakes my hand, and i leave knowing i made a difference... i have started collecting kids' pictures from couples i have in court to post on a bulletin board in my office... they remind me why i go to work...

weekends/vacations

Stephen King

my charities

beer... :beer: :D

when my Muse decides to hit me, all of a sudden, and i write something from start to finish and it just works... that's a rush. :)

a full night of deep sleep [i suffer a great deal from insomnia]

the first snow of winter [we had our second today]

actually, i agree with what was previously said. easier to list the things that peeve me, Life is Good. ;) i paid penance the first part of my life to get to the Best Part.

[edit to add the Katie and snow part]

[Childbride]

:pancake: :beer: :dude: :D

sneaky young man took a half day off and just walked in the door!!!

ok, i'm officially ecstatic for the rest of the weekend!!! [laugh]

[just strum]

First - Plank, do you have pedals for that thing?

Now Happiness

*wife and kids

*complete quiet - in the past 14 years I've only experienced it once. It was almost as if I had stepped into another dimension.

*my dogs

*spring days after a long winter.

* surprisingly, cutting the grass

*breathing

*playing my guitars

*visits to the music shop

*visits to loews or Home Depot

*Lobster

*Days off

[sunvalleylaw]

My family

Being outside.

Snow, and softly falling snowflakes. (that fall on my nose and eyelashes . . .) :rolleyes: :D

Music

Smiles given and returned

Sunrises and sunsets

Flat water and a boat with my brothers, a waterski and beer.

Being tired from having worked out hard, esp. on skis or a bike.

Sensations of centrifugal force and speed.

Playing my own music, especially with others.

Lots of little things, and noticing little things.

Doing something nice for a stranger, or making friendly contact with one.

Lots more. :)

[sunvalleylaw]

It's actually not bad right from my deck - once I get my next door neighbor to kill his outside flood. I live right on the border of a state forest and it gets fairly dark. My main objects of interest up yonder need dark sky - galaxies, nebulae, and clusters. I manage to bag most of what I'm trying to see.

Our night sky here in central Idaho is quite good! The stars and how they appear in the blueing twilight amaze me. Summer late evening twilight on the horizon has be be one of my favorite sights.

[PAPPY]

LIFE makes me happy. Cherishing old friends and making new ones makes me happy. Being in the middle of nowhere all alone on a dark clear night, knowing I am in the presence of my Lord, hearing the booming bellow of a bullfrog way down the creek and the bellowing bugle of an ole coonhound way down the creek in the opposite direction gives me a feeling of contentment that's undescribable. Keeping my grandaughter every day and watching her grow through heartache and joy,discovering the blessings of being alive. My grandson who thinks he has already got it figured out at the age of ten. Most of all my wife who is my best friend and has stood by me through thick and lot's of thin. Everything else is iceing on the cake.

[jpfeifer]

Lots of things make me happy:

Spending time with my wife an kids

Cooking a nice meal and having it with my family

Playing guitar and learning something new

Jogging outside with my daughter in Arizona in the wintertime

Getting together and playing music with my friends

Learning a new joke

Finding a new song that I really like

Trying guitars at the music store

Doing a good job at work and being recognized for it

Teaching someone something new

Feeling like I made the most of each day ....

-- Jim

[Tone2TheBone]

OMG! Plank...dude you've got like...the awesomest most freakin' coolest...THING I've ever freakin' seen dude! OG you're right I didn't even see that pic till late tonight...and hours later after I PM'd Plank about his umm..."telescope". That rig is incredible!!! :O :)

I must agree with my fellow fretters. Robert I think this was one of the best threads ever created here. I've enjoyed reading what makes my brethren and wimmethrens happy. There is no emoticon big enough for this at the moment so I'll just rock out :rockon: :)

[Kazz]

Dag.....what every guy needs....a remote controlled spy scope....how many layers of curtains does that cut through? j/k....well maybe...


Hitting the right notes in the arrpeggio
my 2 year old rolling around on the floor with me.
running a rack in a match of pool.
making the 8 on the break
new electronics whether it be computer related or guitar does not matter
bonus checks

[SuperSwede]

Food
Women
Beer
Whiskey
Family
Guitars
Peugeot 307sw (vroom vroom)
Sunday afternoons on the couch watching old war movies and drinking coffee.

[luvmyshiner]

Plank, I gotta say that is one COOL toy ya' got there!:master:

I've actually had to think about this thread. We tend to get so caught up in the things that piss us off that we forget about what's really important.

1. My lovely bride and spending time with her
2. My children
3. Making music
4. Weekends
5. Spending time on an island
6. Friends
7. BEER!
8. A good batch of Kentucky Bourbon
9. Grilling/smoking/cooking
10. A good football game

This is just the short list. Once I started thinking about the question, the list kept growing, and I think that's a good think.

[just strum]

Steve (SV), were you reading the Playboy centerfold when you put your list together. :D

[tot_Ou_tard]

I tried making such a list, but something didn't seem right about it.

Happiness doesn't quite work that way in my experience. It's more like a place or an energy that is as likely to be found unappreciated and barely glowing in a pile of sh!t as it is to be attached to even the most noble of the things on one's list.

Kind of like how the Super Bowl isn't usually the best football game of the season.

I do know that happiness appreciates being noticed & appreciated & that it is one slippery cosmic joker. :D

[sunvalleylaw]

Steve (SV), were you reading the Playboy centerfold when you put your list together. :D

No, but why do you ask? :)