The Opposite of Happiness is Boredom

The opposite of happiness is not sadness as it turns out. According to my new favorite book The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, it's BOREDOM!

Which explains a lot. Like, why I keep procrastinating in getting my work done (WHY THE HELL DID I TAKE ON THIS CONTRACT ANYWAY, DOING THE JOB IS AS EXCITING AS WATCHING PAINT DRY), why I keep putting off what I REALLY need to do to feel better in general (RUNNING AN ULTRA MARATHON, NOT JUST TELLING MYSELF TO GO OUT AND RUN FOR HALF AN HOUR AND THEN FINDING EXCUSES TO STAY HOME ON MY KEISTER).

I AM EFFING BORED BECAUSE I HAVE LOWERED MY STANDARDS AND EXPECTATIONS FOR MYSELF AND THAT IS THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD YOU CAN DO TO YOURSELF.

As a result, what I am SUPPOSED to be doing (as defined by ME) is MEDIOCRE, BORING CRAP that I have NO INTEREST IN DOING.

I AM DESTINED FOR GD GREATNESS (pardon my French)!! I just COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THAT (does that ever happen to you??)

Now, to be fair, I do not believe that everything has to be exciting all of the time, but I have generally lost touch with what I find EXCITING and WORTH MY PRECIOUS TIME. I need to get back to KNOWING what will make me SUPER MEGA PSYCHED to wake up in the morning (although I do not wake up unhappy, I am not JUMPING OUT OF BED the way I could be).

My TO-DO List has nothing to do with what I am DYING to do before I DIE. So I am creating a new list (don't laugh).

I know it is strange, but this revelation (the opposite of Happiness is Boredom) explains my SEA LEVEL EXISTENCE over the last six months: why I fell off my Vegan diet (still vegetarian but HATING IT, want to get Cheese out of my life for good!!) and can't get  motivated to create a lifelong healthy running habit past the next small roadrace. I am running but have gained 25 (not kidding) pounds since Christmas. This has GOT to stop.

So here is what I am going to work on in the SHORT TERM (0-6 MONTHS)

1) Write consistently (blog and other writing) and finish my next book on learning foreign language super fast.
2) Sign up for an Ultra Marathon (50k or more. I may do the Bora run because it is in Trieste). I am not a fast runner, but the spare tire around my middle tells me I am meant for DISTANCE!!
3) Learn Swedish so I can get in touch with my mom's roots (and read IKEA boxes better). For this I will use Duolingo.
4) Sign up for the Stockholm marathon in June and thus kill three birds with one stone (running goal, practice my Swedish, dig up my Pippi Longstocking long lost relatives and hopefully talk my mom into coming along for the ride).
5) Make a plan to become financially independent (I live in Trieste, so I am looking at real estate opportunities) and cover my expenses so I can be free to plan even wackier things that are NOT BORING.
6) Finish my house inside and out so I can rent her out and get paid to go on crazy vacations around the world with my family (wish list: Turkey, India, Japan, Sweden, Middle East, Greece, Brazil, and go back to Belgium, France and Brazil to visit old friends)
7) Find the joy in the jobs I am doing. Everything I do must be AWESOME
8) Get a new bike.

This list should keep me busy and get me motivated again.

My friend Monica used to tell her students that being bored is a reflexive verb in French (Italian, too). That means getting out of it falls entirely within our own control.

I feel like it is my responsibility.
Wish me luck.

Welcome to Ricmanje

Now that we have moved to a small village in Val Rosandra, our life has changed. While we live about five minutes away from our old apartment in the periphery of Trieste, it's like we moved to a new planet.

Today I want to tell you a little bit about my new village: Ricmanje, or San Giuseppe della Chiusa, as it is known in Italian. The fact that it has two names gives you a sense of the place. It has a split identity and the name you choose to use with people says something about YOU (hint. with Slovene speakers say Ricmanje).

Here are some other fun facts!

1. Ricmanje has a unique  sign on the Bike Path that cuts through it. It looks like someone designed and made it in metal shop class during their lunch hour. There is no other sign like it on the bike path. It catches your eye as you pass on your bike or you huff through on foot. 

2. Ricmanje is part of the Comune of San Dorligo, which means it is in Val Rosandra, so it's on the prettiest part of the bike path (not to brag!!)

3. It is 124 meters above sea level. From here you have a view of Cattinara hospital (isn't that everyone's dream?) and the gulf of Muggia (just in case you thought, like I did, that you had to live in Barcola to have a sea view!)

4. If you live here you do not need a watch. The church bells tell you everything you need to know. During the week they even ring at 6am (first chime of the day, time to start waking up) and 7am (too late!)

5. The village has two symphonic bands. I guess there used to be just one but there was a split at some point. Isn't that crazy? I live close to the place where they practice. This summer it was like having a free concert every night.

6. There are two actvie Osmizas here. There used to be 15.

7. San Giuseppe is full of cats. If I were a photographer (which I am not, as you can tell by this blog) I would make a poster and profile each one and call it "The Cats of San Giuseppe" in the style of "The Doors of Dublin" my mom used to have hanging on her wall. Feel free to steal that idea. I will buy a copy of it and put it on my wall!

8. The houses here were built around the church and the ones closest to the church are about 1000 years old (although our house had its last face lift at the end of the 1970s, doh!)

9. The church here is famous because a miracle happened here in 1749 the Priest is an Exorcist. I am not kidding. All well documented.

10. When locals order pizza delivery, if they want their pizza to be hot when it gets here they order from San Dorligo, the only pizza place that knows what questions to ask to be able to find your house which is NEVER "what is your address?" Houses are numbered  in the order they were built. The question to ask when you make an appointment in San Giuseppe is "where are you in relation to the church?"

If you want to come up, take the number 41 bus from the Station. Check the schedule, though. There are few busses during the day and the timetable largely reflects the old train schedule that took people to work in Trieste in the morning and brought them back to San Giuseppe in the evening.

My house is on the street below the church. If your back is to it, hang a left. If you go around the big curve, you have gone too far.