Endorphins

Endorphins are produced by the pituitary gland (you'll find it at the bottom of the brain) and the hypothalamus in vertebrates during strenuous exercise, excitment, pain, death and orgasm, and they resemble the opiates (opium) in their abilities to produce analgesia (pain killers) and a sense of well-being. Endorphins work as "natural pain relievers" (whose effects may be enhanced by other medications).
The term "endorphin" consists of two parts: endo- and -orphin; these are short forms of the words endogenous and morphine, intended to mean "a morphine like substance originating from within the body."

Mmm ... Where to start ?
First of all, thanks to Wikipedia for the info ... FYI, i cut the medical-scientific crap out of the definition but you're more than welcome to check it yourself!

Endorphins, the hormone of happiness, the natural opium created by your body. How about THAT for a start! No wonders sportsmen arent serial-killers or suicide bombers (ok, we'll set OJ apart). They're happy going little fellows.
No wonders either sex and tattoos are addictive - they bring out 2 of the endorphins production sources! Not too sure about the death part though !! What is that supposed to mean? That dying makes you happy or that killing makes you happy? They really should be more specific cuz it could bring a lot of confusion here. Like if dying makes you happy, well, you first need to be depressed to commit suicide and then, shit, you get the orgasmic experience after you throw yourself out of the window, enjoy the "ride", feel the rush and miserably crash on the pavement 10 storeys below. Yeah well, way to go buddy, you can't even do it again (dumb ass). Now if it's killing that makes you happy, well that will definitely lead you to a pretty ... mmm ... interestingly dangerous path.
So about the death part, i'm still a bit confused, none of the 2 possible explanations i found are attractive to me. But hey, there are freaks everywhere.

So all of this to say that yeah, i've become a happy little fellow as well cuz i'm doing sports! I wish my production of endorphins would be thanks to excitment and/or wild orgasms but hey, you dont always chose that kinda thing and in my oh-so-boring jobless situation, i'd rather take the safe route to happiness ... sports (not too convinced myself on that to be honest but oh well).
I walk my dog, twice a day, 20 minutes in a morning, 60 to 70 minutes in the afternoon. It's not the granny walk who takes her poodle out for its pee, it's active bad ass tiring walk to drain my hyper-active dog so i can sleep in an extra hour in the morning! Still can't believe a non-pubescent dog has more energy than i do. And she's only half way through her weight ... Oh dear.
Adding up to that (which i think it's already pretty decent exercise, considering that in normal cruise-ship days, i stand in the sun all bloody day and walk an average of 8 kilometers, yes sir, i measured it ... 23700 steps (approx. 12 km) was my busiest day ever). So i was saying, adding up to that (that being the walks with the dog), i hop on my exercise bike for another 20-25 minutes with WEIGHTS on each ankle (1 kilo to be exact). Not too sure if all this is considered "strenuous exercise" but it surely feels good. Reminds me this reebok poster i used to have in my bedroom saying "l'effort vous rend belle" (effort makes you beautiful, ladies).

En fin ... all this to say that in these hard crapy times of laziness and unemployment, might as well do something about this aging body of mine. Not too sure rewarding myself with a double decker nutella sandwich is the best way to go but oh well, we could discuss the virtues of chocolate later ... (think happiness, excitment, pain-killer and orgasm might kick in the definition again!)

And for the anecdote ... endorphins first got discovered in the brain of a ... swine ! JA ! I'll let you sneeze (bless you), i mean, SLEEP on it ;)