F.I.G Collective – Week 1

It’s time for the F.I.G. Collective, hosted again by Elisabeth this month. 

What is The F.I.G. Collective, you ask?

It’s an online group that tracks little moments of gratitude each day in February. (F.I.G. stands for Finding Joy in Gratitude). Here are all the details. I remember from last year how badly I needed this gratitude practice at the time and since 2026 has started off with its own challenges, I am grateful to participate in this exercise of looking for the little joys in every day again!  

February 1 

I was able to meet up with Tanja and my sister for a fun Speed Training ride on the Peloton. I still cannot get over the fact how cool it is that we can be virtually connected and work out together at the same time. 

February 2 

I found out today that, despite being told otherwise before, my office will be able to award performance bonuses for fiscal year 2025. (Now, before you get too excited for me, performance bonuses in government service are comparatively small tokens of appreciation that our Science Center can give out to people who have above satisfactory end-of-year performance reviews, IF there is any money leftover in the budget. It’s usually a cash or time off award (from a few hours to a couple of days). It’s not a HUGE bonus, but it’s surely not nothing, and I am appreciative. 

February 3 

I booked my flight home, to celebrate my birthday with my sister and to go on a family skiing trip in the Dolomites in March. Let the countdown begin!

BONUS FIG: I went for a beautiful, sunny walked with 3 other #BCBabes (Peloton friends scattered around the country) and it made my day to (virtually) chat with these ladies and get some steps in.

February 4 

My colleague traveled to Egypt and visited the Pyramids (among other things) in January, and she brought me back this miniature teal-colored pyramid (it’s a paperweight) as a souvenir. It’s so beautiful. What a sweet gesture! 

February 5 

I felt smug today because I figured out how to manipulate a Python script that my old colleague wrote for me. It was supposed to help with batch-processing files, but the script which wasn’t executing. I know just enough in Python to be dangerous, so I am proud of myself for getting it to work without breaking anything else. I will admit, I am usually a bit AI-averse, but in this case, Microsoft Copilot (which we’re encouraged to use at work) pointed me in the right direction. 

February 6 

I had a long overdue phone call with one of my closest friends in Germany. Our “new year’s resolution” was to check in with each other more often because if we let too much time pass, we can easily spend a few hours on the phone catching up. I’d rather talk to her more often, but for a shorter period of time, to be honest, and so we’ll try this by setting up regular phone calls this year. We had timed this particular phone call well because it was right before her birthday (which was Saturday). It was wonderful to catch up.

February 7

I picked up my anke boots from the shoe repair place and love that I am getting more use out of them (instead of tossing them). I call that a frugal win (although the heel cap replacement wasn’t really that cheap). 

BONUS FIG: I completed my long run (8 mi). I am slowly ramping up mileage and it feels good to feel comfortable getting back to longer runs again. Also, it was a beautiful, warm day.

Share one of your FIGs with me!