Houston Day 483 - my top two reasons for wanting to naturalize

I can't change my address on my driver's licence online like the average Texan because non-citizens are not allowed.  Apparently not being born in the glorious nation I now call home means that government agencies are allowed to cast aspersions on my ability to use the internet.  I have two words for you, United States of America: INTERNET BANKING.  Discover it! Wow, turns out people outside your country use the internet, and they do it more effectively than you do.

Zing, take that, enormous and very powerful nation who won't listen to me coz I can't vote.  Take that.

Houston Day 480 - can't sleep, might as well blog

It's 1.30am.  I should be sleeping, coz I know Lucas is going to want me to be awake tomorrow morning before he leaves.  He and I have very different attitudes to sleep and alarm clocks, and I'm surprised it's never been a source of conflict before now, given that we've been sharing a bed for well over five years now.
The man leaves in the morning for "Flagship 2: Fundamentals of Stratigraphy" or something to that effect.  ExxonMobil have these training courses that for reasons of pomp and pretence are called Flagship courses, and Flag 2 (as those in the biz call it) involves my man being away from me in the deserts of Texas, Utah and New Mexico for two weeks.  I think I can't sleep coz I'm feeling pre-emptively lonely!
Might as well be honest and say that the old marriage has been through some pretty rocky days since the move.  Actually the move was good - it was once we started feeling at home here that things got tricky :) I read in The Happiness Project that you're more likely to recall experiences that match your current mood, which makes total sense to me as I can never figure out for sure whether there are more good or bad days, because my memory of their respective proportions seems to be constantly shifting.  When I'm depressed about anything, I'm more likely to declare that I've never been happy ever in my life, but it's like the characters in Doctor Who came out of the TV and put a perception filter on my happiness.
In other news, the house is a mess, and I'm bored and not busy enough.  You'd think that I'd put those things together and be both less bored and surrounded by cleanliness, but it's pretty apparent that we all know how to sabotage our own happiness.  If anyone in Houston is reading this, come over and have a cleaning party with me.

Houston Day 477 - a list!

I'm reading The Happiness Project, lent to me by Ashley.  The woman who wrote the book is a list-maker almost to the point of making me suspect she has OCD.  Her lists often have really fun titles, like "Splendid Truths" and "Secrets of Adulthood", which reminded me of Janet's habit of creating mental lists titled "These Things I Know to Be True", and inspired me to write my own list today.  (It also reminded me of when I shared a flat with my friend Jana and I posted on the cupboard a list of "Small Things that Make Amy Happy".  This had the lovely results of Jana knowing how to cheer me up and people giving me small thoughtful gifts!)  Some of these items are things I have discovered myself, some of them are things repeated to me by my parents or friends I look up to.  One of them was the best piece of practical advice someone gave me about making life in Houston comfortable...can you guess which one?

"Advice Amy Attempts to Live By"

If it is not a finite resource, don't treat it as one.

Suspend your judgement.

Do not buy or accept for free clothes that do not fit perfectly.

Advice is sought much less often than it is given.

Money changes situations and people.

If you understand how the public transport system works, you can own the city.

Always carry a sweater in your handbag.

Most people are doing the best they can most of the time.

If you're someone's guest, you don't have the right to complain about how they do things.

Look behind you when you leave.

If it's mine, it's yours.

"No day but today."

Anything is possible.

What do you think? What advice you do attempt to live by?

Houston Day 476 - chit-chat catch-up

So apologies on the slowing down of the blog posts. I get distracted. Also, I write other stuff: check out my latest post on the Hope Stone blog!

Have also been rehearsing for Awesome America, taking a Meisner class with Kim Tobin which is freaking blowing my mind, redoing my audition portfolios, and watching copious amounts of Doctor Who. We are discovering that ExxonMobil really mean it when they boast about their super work-life balance options, so because America moves in to the theatre this week, making me busy every evening, he went in to work late this morning and will work later while I'm out this evening, and he'll do the same on Thursday. Hope Stone classes started again last week, and my dear friend Leslie is my intern, which is great.

In other exciting news, Joel & Heidi from Stone Stoup are coming to visit soon, AND....WE BOOKED OUR TICKETS TO AUSTRALIA! We arrive Christmas Day.

 Ciao for now!