The Book of Even More Awesome (2 page)

 

“Toe-curling, hug-inducing, blanket-snuggling AWESOME.”

—Youngme Moon, author of
Different
, professor of business administration and associate dean, Harvard Business School

 

“Pasricha emerges a committed but inviting optimist, combating life's unending stream of bad news by identifying opportunities to share a universal high-five with humanity.”

—
Publishers Weekly

 

“Celebrates and honors the little joys of life!”

 

“It's nice to remind yourself of life's sweeter side and the pleasures to be had from the small things—like peeling the thin plastic film off new electronic gadgets or sneaking your own cheap snacks into the cinemas. Life really is awesome after all.”

—
The Guardian

 

“Laugh out loud. You feel like you've thought of these things a thousand times but just haven't stopped to write them down.”—BBC South America

 

“Reading your blog always brings a smile to my face & I feel like I am talking to you.”

—E-mail from the author's mother

 

“Laugh out loud funny tinged with just enough sarcastic nostalgia.”

—
Wired magazine

Published by G. P. Putnam's Sons
Publishers Since 1838
Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) · Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England · Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) · Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) · Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India · Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) · Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

 

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Copyright © 2011 by Neil Pasricha

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions. Published simultaneously in Canada

 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

 

Pasricha, Neil.

The book of (even more) awesome / Neil Pasricha. p. cm.

Summary: “The second book of awesome things by internationally best-selling author Neil Pasricha”—provided by publisher.

eISBN : 978-1-101-51422-1

1. Conduct of life—Humor. I. Title.
PN6231.C6142P
808'.607—dc22

 

 

 

All photos by Sam Javanrouh (
dailydoseofimagery.com
) with the exception of “Napping with somebody else” by Jenny Rigby, “Waking up to the smell of sizzling bacon” by Rich Gidvilas, “Realizing you still remember your childhood friend's phone number” by Meghan Hughes, “Finally getting the perfect picture” by Natalie Mazzarelli, “That feeling in your stomach when you go really high on the swings” by Jeremy Marr, and “The sound of snow crunching under your boots” by Connie Tsang. Thanks to all of them for their beautiful images.

 

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

 

Hoping and thinking and dreaming and playing and being and living and loving.

AWESOME!

We're all gonna get lumps.

We're all gonna get bumps.

Nobody can predict the future, but we do know one thing about it:
It ain't gonna go according to plan.

Yes, we'll all have massive highs, big days, and proud moments. Color-faded,
postcard-streaked blurs
will float and flash through our brains on our deathbeds, of wide eyes on graduation stages,
father-daughter dances at weddings
, and healthy baby screeches in the delivery room. And dotting those big moments will be smaller ones too: fragile hugs from Grandma on
Christmas morning
, two-year-olds handing you a bouquet of dandelions and saying “I love you,” or your boyfriend staring into your eyes
and smiling
while lazing in bed on Sunday morning.

But like I said.

We're all gonna get lumps.

We're all gonna get bumps.

It's sad but things could happen or hurt you that you just can't predict.

Your husband might leave you,
your girlfriend may cheat
, your headaches might be serious, your dog could get smacked in the street. Yes, your kids might get mixed up with tough gangs or bad scenes. It's sad but your mom could get cancer ... or your dad could get mean.

There will be times in your life you're tossed down the well too. There will be times you'll cry yourself to sleep,
with twists in your stomach
, with holes in your heart. You may wonder if it's all worth it and you may think that it ain't. You may wonder if you can handle it or
you may beg for restraint
.

But when bad news washes over you and when the pain sponges and soaks in, I really hope you feel like you've always got two big choices:

Sure, life has dealt me some blows in the couple years I've been writing about awesome things. There was the
mindnumbing loneliness
of moving to a brand new nowhere town, the broken heart of a broken marriage, and the searing waves of regret when a friend took his own life.

But I'm lucky because I've had
a way out
for the past two years. I've had a secret pill to swallow, a magic potion to swirl, and a bubbly cauldron to sip from every time I felt down
or felt black
or felt blue. And I hope you know that remedy and I hope you feel it too.

After all, you're reading it right now.

Yes, awesome things make my life better
,
people. And I hope they do the same for you.

I honestly can't go a day anymore without smiling at a couple tiny awesome things in my world. Whether it's stepping on barely frozen puddles,
finally peeing after holding it forever
, or driving to an intersection just as the lights turn green, these tiny things make a great big difference.

So come on. Come on! Are you with me? Who's with me? I say if you've got a couple fist pumps in you, if you've got a
sneaky twinkle in your eye
, if you've got an itchy old soul that loves smiling at strangers, dancing at weddings, and popping the heck out of Bubble Wrap, then come on in and join
The AWESOME Movement
.

It's my sincere hope that awesome things help those of us who need them to grieve and
move on
, and remind us that the best things in life are free. For us, maybe it's a ladder out of the well or a dusty flashlight beam in the darkness. For others, perhaps it's just a little laugh on the back of the toilet,
a bit of peace before bed
, or a spark for debates about what matters most to you, you, or you.

For me, I know I'll have more dark days, and I know my friends will too, but I like thinking that glue movies,
flavor pockets
, and big night naps will always cheer me through to the other side.

While polar ice caps melt,
while health care debates rage on
, while buzz saws chop down forests, while wars go on and on, I hope there's always a special secret place where we can turn off that bright light,
snuggle right on up
, and get comfy to chat about the sweetest parts of life.

Thank you for reading
The Book of (Even More) Awesome
. I feel so incredibly grateful, lucky, and honored to walk down this road with you. And thank you for letting our stories all
tightly twist together
as we all keep moving forward and we all keep moving on.

Hope you enjoy the book.

 

—Neil

Do you remember your
Worst Sleep Ever
?

Man, I sure do. It was back when I was in college and a few friends and I drove a
skiddy van
across a snowy highway in the middle of a blizzard to crash with my friend Chad. It was a frozen weekend full of laughs and catching up with friends who had all been pulled apart after high school.

Now, it was late Friday night in this quiet college town when a few of us figured it was time to hit the sack. There were no fresh linens, soft pillows, or fluffy towels waiting for us there. Nope, all we had in that cold, dark basement were a
couple ratty couches
, a hollow wooden door to the blizzard outside, and some cheap ticking clocks on the wall.