Clearly the Friday Five are not very punctual when they visit this journal...

[magnetic_pole]

Giving thefridayfive another try this week. Do you know, I had to look up "fate" and "karma" to answer these questions, that's how rarely I think about these things.


1. Do you believe in fate? In the sense that certain things were meant to happen or inevitable? No. But I'm also a deeply anxious and superstitious person, despite what my more logical brain tells me. Subconsciously, do I believe there's something I need to avoid? Does that count as fate? Hm. Mostly, my heart keeps telling me things are always on the verge of going wrong, while my head reassures me it's all fine.

2. If Karma was to visit you now, would it be kind or kick you in the butt? I'd hope it would be kind, because I've been trying hard to do good things for the right reasons. But I haven't always been as successful as I'd like.

3. Do you believe you have lived another life previous to this one? No.

4. What do you believe in with an unshakable resolve? Very little. Death and taxes. Corruption at the top. Tea and coffee make everything a bit better.

5. What one factor influences your life the most? Yikes, this is hard! Let's say sunshine: I find myself in a good mood with it and struggling without it.

Comments

[alisanne]

Oh, I'm like that with sunshine, too, come to think of it.
I get depressed when it's overcast too many days in a row.

Corruption at the top for sure. Ugh.

Are you sure you're not English? They do like their tea and they think it solves everything. :)

[magnetic_pole]

Hee! I actually began drinking tea when I was doing a semester abroad in London (AWESOME FIVE MONTHS) because my rented apartment came with 1) an electric kettle, and 2) not much heat, so I wound up drinking a lot of hot tea. (Also, randomly, baked potatoes, since I'd never cooked for myself before.) Nowadays, the better half and I buy our teabags online by the 500-pack. :)

I wish you sunny skies and beautiful, warm temps! M.

Better than me

[jesse_the_k]

I decided that me and that Friday Five were on different astral planes.

What teabag brand do you prefer?

(Tea is my primary fandom.)

[semielliptical]

Sunshine! It makes such a big difference to me, too. It's frustrating that on a cloudy day I'll look outside and recognize that the lack of sunshine is affecting my mood, and I feel like that should mean that I can reason away the lower mood ("it's just the cloudiness, I shouldn't let it bother me") but I can't. I guess at least when I recognize it I don't blame something else.

[magnetic_pole]

It makes such a difference, Semi! We're having sunny skies and temps up in the 70s today and tomorrow, and everything just feels *easier.*

I feel like that should mean that I can reason away the lower mood ("it's just the cloudiness, I shouldn't let it bother me") but I can't.

I know. Which drives me crazy. Who's in charge here, anyways? (Not my brain, that's for sure.)

Your icon is quite cheerful and lovely--thank you! M.

[jesse_the_k]

Unsolicited advice: (skip) Sunlight-equivalent bright light boxes have almost made winter bearable for me. Much more detail https://jesse-the-k.dreamwidth.org/226060.html

[lash_larue]

The "lack of sun blues" is an actual, physical thing. "Daylight" light bulbs can help a little, and the led ones use much less power and generate less heat. For me, the quality of light is better than incandescent bulbs as well.

There are also led replacements for fluorescent bulbs, but not all fixtures can use them without changing the ballast. That made a huge difference in our kitchen.

*more unsolicited information from Lash*

L

[magnetic_pole]

No, no, unsolicited advice is welcome (so long as you don't expect me to act on it quickly--I'm often very stubborn about making positive changes in my life. :) I learn so much from the flist.

So I've got one lamp that I turn on in the mornings, but it doesn't seem to be doing much. *sigh* Though the light is very nice at night--you're right. Does it work for you, if you've got the same SAD problems?

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but part of the problem may be my night owl tendencies--on days I don't teach, I tend to wake up around 11:00, so during the winter, my days are very, very short. I'm trying to make up for it by taking a quick mid-day walk whenever the sun comes out. M.

[shadowycat]

I have difficulty with a lack of sunshine, too. It really can affect my mood a lot. I wish I'd been more aware of just how cloudy it is where I live. It wouldn't have changed anything. We didn't move here for me, but I'd have been a bit more prepared for the gloom.

[magnetic_pole]

It's funny that people don't talk about it more, actually. It seems to be a truism that warm climates are nice, but I'd rather have cold weather and lots of sun than a milder climate and a lot of grey days.

And thinking back to your recent vacation--how perfect when you can have both! M.

[spikesgirl58]

Amen to the tea and coffee. It does make such a difference. And I totally agree with the sunshine. It is a life changer.

Thanks for participating in the Friday five!

[magnetic_pole]

Somehow warm drinks are so comforting to me! Even just a little warm water, when I've had too much caffeine. You, too?

Thanks for posting this set of questions, S! I'm enjoying the weekly prompts generally--I need to some help to get posting more regularly--but I like being prompted to think about things differently. M.

[splix]

I've lived in NM too long now to do without sunshine for long. SAD hits me hard in the winter, and it's not even that cloudy here!

[magnetic_pole]

I've only spent one gorgeous weekend in NM, so I'm a bit biased, but it seems like the kind of place it would be hard to leave. How long have you lived there?

Ugh, SAD. Sorry it's hitting you so hard this year. *hugs* The short days are such an issue. I long for June and July. M.

[kelly_chambliss]

Death and taxes. Corruption at the top. Tea and coffee make everything a bit better.

This.

I'd just add ice cream and gin to the last.

[magnetic_pole]

Oh my word, Kelly--I had ice cream for the first time in about a year last weekend, and it was *amazing.* (Normally I save my stomach for baked goods, but I should reconsider that policy.) And it was just vanilla! M.

ETA: Plus: the grading is never done.

[tjs_whatnot]

*sigh* Sunshine.

I needs it! It really does change everything for me and my outlook on life.

♥

[magnetic_pole]

Yes! I wish you a lovely warm and sunny day sometime very soon! M.

[ancientreader]

#2 is the kind of question anyone raised Roman Catholic can be made to lie awake worrying about.

I don't believe in fate, either, but I do have my doubts about free will.

I enjoy these posts of yours!

[magnetic_pole]

Thank you for reading along and commenting! It's actually a lovely thing that my life is so dull lately--no news is good news--but given that my fandom involvement is so low these days, I don't have much to post about. Prompts are a lovely excuse to chat.

Free will, ugh. I am definitely of the "you did not build that yourself" camp. M.

[secretsolitaire]

Ha, I took one look at this list of questions and knew I wasn't up for such deep thinking. *g*

That said, I could answer #5 with "how my body feels." Pain (even if it's not severe) can send me into anxiety and distraction.

I agree with you about sunshine though. Too many gray days in a row can definitely put me in a funk.

[magnetic_pole]

Ha, I took one look at this list of questions and knew I wasn't up for such deep thinking.

Hee! I didn't have anything especially interesting to say to these, but they certainly got me thinking: I'm such a non-believer when it comes to these things. Lots of respect for folks who do--I just don't seem to work that way.

I'm sorry pain has been such a big factor in your life lately, S.

I think you don't live too far away from me/don't have such a different climate---winter's never great, but this year hasn't been so bad, has it? A couple warm and sunny days in Janaury and February really make a difference. M.

[write_out]

Tea and coffee- can't have a day without one or the other, sometimes both!

I will say one nice thing about Maine winters is that we do seem to get plenty of sunshine. There's zero warmth from the sun, but at least it's bright! I remember one spell in Seattle in which we went something like 90 days without significant sunshine. :|

[therealsnape]

I'm so with you on the sunshine thing. Although I can really enjoy a rainy day with a good book. But at some point one craves light.

I'm with you on the niche thing of licorice tea, though. Not too much of it, only now and again, but I do like it.

[magnetic_pole]

Tea and coffee- can't have a day without one or the other, sometimes both!

Sometimes I have a cup of both going at the same time. :) I'm not sure if I typed this in a place where you'd see it, but I started drinking tea when I was first in London, because our apartment (flat!) had an excellent electric kettle but patchy heat. I drank warm drinks pretty much 24/7 and never looked back.

Do you have an electric kettle? There's not nearly as common here, are they?

A little sunshine goes a long way. I don't know how you did it in the Pacific NW--as I was saying to TRS below, it was my one real complaint about London, the unending grey skies. :( M.