The dinosaur museum memory is awesome. I like the concept of an 'expectation hangover'. My wife says that I am an incorrigible optimist, and I think it might have to do with the fact that I recover from expectation hangovers very quickly. Expectation is a significant part of the experience, after all.
At first I thought that his example of McDonald's was an odd one to use regarding what happiness is. But then I put myself in the shoes of first grade me and I knew exactly what he meant. Not only did he get to buy his lunch himself but he DIDN'T get a kids meal, he got what the big kids got. Why? Because autonomy! I am really enjoying putting these together. Everybody is so different and has such different takes on the questions, it's pretty neat.