50 Things That Make Me Happy
1. Sunny days-- days when you can take off your jacket, loosen your collar, and enjoy your walk, rather than hustle to the nearest bastion of warmth with your head down.
2. Discovering odd little flowers in the cracks of the sidewalk, or strange alien-looking plants just off the path.
3. The sensation you get when you've been lying so still in the bath that the water is mirror-like. Soporific and calm.
4. Discovering a new food that I like. Remember when I first found sushi? I went on a month-long sushi binge.
5. Getting unexpected mail-- cards, letters, funky little trinkets. Knowing that someone cares enough to send those things.
6. A positive bank balance. The knowledge that all of my bills are taken care of, and I still have a little left over.
7. A book that I can completely immerse myself in. I get so engrossed, I involve myself in the characters' inner workings. A good book is one of my finest pleasures.
8. Hanging out with old friends and remembering familiar jokes, falling into familiar patterns.
9. Getting all of my calligraphy inks out and creating something beautiful, something worth preserving.
10. Finishing a little snippet of writing that I'm satisfied with.
11. A nice bottle of pinot noir and stimulating conversation.
12. A small square of rich, smooth dark chocolate left to melt on the tongue.
13. An exquisite perfumed tea, savored slowly.
14. Playing music that I love really loudly when no one else is around. Singing along.
15. Completely dorky academic humor that only a handful of people will ever find funny. For example...
16. Sneaking my favorite unwieldy words into conversation. Undulate. Sybarite. Lupine.
17. Simple moments of enchantment-- sunlight beaming gold through trees, or the falling veil of twilight. The soft slush of snow underfoot, the crunch of fallen leaves.
18. Truly evocative perfumes-- the tang of a balefire or of golden apples, spring's first blossoms or autumnal spices. I love when a scent can transport me somewhere else.
19. Re-watching my favorite movies for the 79th time. Still laughing at the jokes or gasping at the ending.
20. Finding a new dancing skirt or dress that looks like a million bucks. It makes my confidence go through the roof.
21. Shimmery, sparkly, shiny eyeshadows. I'm currently digging iridescent purple. It's so optimistic.
22. My mouse, Jaques. Last night, he fell asleep curled inside his food bowl.
23. "Hey Heather--" "What?" "Your mom called."
24. Europeen!
25. Finding old letters that remind me how blessed I've been to have known the people I've known.
26. Doing a move correctly on the dance floor. You have no idea how hard I've struggled over seemingly simple things. The chase in the cha-cha, for example. But when something goes right, there's this rush of pure joy.
27. Brightly-colored LUSH baths.
28. The lingering scent of incense that hangs in the air and on my bedsheets after a good night's writing session.
29. "WILL YOU GO TO THE PROM WITH ME? AND DANCE AND DANCE AND DANCE AND DANCE AND DANCE AND DANCE?!"
30. Spurring a memorable conversation in this journal. I love the interaction that goes on here, I love the people I've met through this place.
31. Singing. I can't wait to join another choir. I just heard from Margie, and she's doing Carmina Burana in June. I already know all the soprano parts, but I don't think I can make it to the rehearsals. I think I'll join Masterworks Chorale right after they finish with there Handel concert. Handel makes my skin itch.
32. Swinging on the swings in the playground like a five year old.
33. Unexpected beauty, like a man standing in the middle of an open-air plaza, singing Unchained Melody at the top of his lungs. Stopping to watch, awestruck.
34. Breakfast for dinner after a long, hard day.
35. The first sightings of Cherry Blossoms in the spring. Bouquets of fragrant Stargazer lilies. The bright, winking eyes of Gerbera daisies.
36. Walking around South Baltimore and Washington, DC. These places evoke so much in me that I can't begin to put it into words.
37. Wearing my boyfriend's boxer shorts.
38. SUSHI.
39. Falling asleep on the sofa on a Saturday night. It's not like I have work the next morning, after all. It's such a guilty pleasure.
40. People-watching. I do it all the time, and it's endlessly fascinating.
41. Getting caught up in fandom love. Watching S2 Buffy and remembering why I loved the characters so much in the first place.
42. And Anna was like "WHEE!" We sometimes laugh so hard I'm afraid she'll crash the car and kill us both.
43. Falling asleep next to the person I love. Waking up there, too, just as tangled and close as the night before.
44. The scent of the city on a warm spring night. The whole world comes alive, it thrums with potential and energy.
45. Writing letters on beautiful stationery, sealing them with gold wax.
46. Leaving work for the day. It's like school letting out, a rush of freedom.
47. Gonging my roommate's pet parrot. When she sqwawks like a nutcase, I whip out my gong and whack a good one, then yell "you think you're loud?" It's vindictive, but the silence that follows is so satisfying.
48. Dangly earrings. Especially if they're made of amber.
49. Skyler and me in the car. We call each other goofy names, we poke each other, we stick our our tongues and screw up our faces. We giggle and make funny voices. And the he turns to me, suddenly confessional and bemused. "I love you so much."
He'd better. I'm the only person who'd tolerate him. And vice-versa. :)
50. This bit of writing, which I read this morning:
2. Discovering odd little flowers in the cracks of the sidewalk, or strange alien-looking plants just off the path.
3. The sensation you get when you've been lying so still in the bath that the water is mirror-like. Soporific and calm.
4. Discovering a new food that I like. Remember when I first found sushi? I went on a month-long sushi binge.
5. Getting unexpected mail-- cards, letters, funky little trinkets. Knowing that someone cares enough to send those things.
6. A positive bank balance. The knowledge that all of my bills are taken care of, and I still have a little left over.
7. A book that I can completely immerse myself in. I get so engrossed, I involve myself in the characters' inner workings. A good book is one of my finest pleasures.
8. Hanging out with old friends and remembering familiar jokes, falling into familiar patterns.
9. Getting all of my calligraphy inks out and creating something beautiful, something worth preserving.
10. Finishing a little snippet of writing that I'm satisfied with.
11. A nice bottle of pinot noir and stimulating conversation.
12. A small square of rich, smooth dark chocolate left to melt on the tongue.
13. An exquisite perfumed tea, savored slowly.
14. Playing music that I love really loudly when no one else is around. Singing along.
15. Completely dorky academic humor that only a handful of people will ever find funny. For example...
16. Sneaking my favorite unwieldy words into conversation. Undulate. Sybarite. Lupine.
17. Simple moments of enchantment-- sunlight beaming gold through trees, or the falling veil of twilight. The soft slush of snow underfoot, the crunch of fallen leaves.
18. Truly evocative perfumes-- the tang of a balefire or of golden apples, spring's first blossoms or autumnal spices. I love when a scent can transport me somewhere else.
19. Re-watching my favorite movies for the 79th time. Still laughing at the jokes or gasping at the ending.
20. Finding a new dancing skirt or dress that looks like a million bucks. It makes my confidence go through the roof.
21. Shimmery, sparkly, shiny eyeshadows. I'm currently digging iridescent purple. It's so optimistic.
22. My mouse, Jaques. Last night, he fell asleep curled inside his food bowl.
23. "Hey Heather--" "What?" "Your mom called."
24. Europeen!
25. Finding old letters that remind me how blessed I've been to have known the people I've known.
26. Doing a move correctly on the dance floor. You have no idea how hard I've struggled over seemingly simple things. The chase in the cha-cha, for example. But when something goes right, there's this rush of pure joy.
27. Brightly-colored LUSH baths.
28. The lingering scent of incense that hangs in the air and on my bedsheets after a good night's writing session.
29. "WILL YOU GO TO THE PROM WITH ME? AND DANCE AND DANCE AND DANCE AND DANCE AND DANCE AND DANCE?!"
30. Spurring a memorable conversation in this journal. I love the interaction that goes on here, I love the people I've met through this place.
31. Singing. I can't wait to join another choir. I just heard from Margie, and she's doing Carmina Burana in June. I already know all the soprano parts, but I don't think I can make it to the rehearsals. I think I'll join Masterworks Chorale right after they finish with there Handel concert. Handel makes my skin itch.
32. Swinging on the swings in the playground like a five year old.
33. Unexpected beauty, like a man standing in the middle of an open-air plaza, singing Unchained Melody at the top of his lungs. Stopping to watch, awestruck.
34. Breakfast for dinner after a long, hard day.
35. The first sightings of Cherry Blossoms in the spring. Bouquets of fragrant Stargazer lilies. The bright, winking eyes of Gerbera daisies.
36. Walking around South Baltimore and Washington, DC. These places evoke so much in me that I can't begin to put it into words.
37. Wearing my boyfriend's boxer shorts.
38. SUSHI.
39. Falling asleep on the sofa on a Saturday night. It's not like I have work the next morning, after all. It's such a guilty pleasure.
40. People-watching. I do it all the time, and it's endlessly fascinating.
41. Getting caught up in fandom love. Watching S2 Buffy and remembering why I loved the characters so much in the first place.
42. And Anna was like "WHEE!" We sometimes laugh so hard I'm afraid she'll crash the car and kill us both.
43. Falling asleep next to the person I love. Waking up there, too, just as tangled and close as the night before.
44. The scent of the city on a warm spring night. The whole world comes alive, it thrums with potential and energy.
45. Writing letters on beautiful stationery, sealing them with gold wax.
46. Leaving work for the day. It's like school letting out, a rush of freedom.
47. Gonging my roommate's pet parrot. When she sqwawks like a nutcase, I whip out my gong and whack a good one, then yell "you think you're loud?" It's vindictive, but the silence that follows is so satisfying.
48. Dangly earrings. Especially if they're made of amber.
49. Skyler and me in the car. We call each other goofy names, we poke each other, we stick our our tongues and screw up our faces. We giggle and make funny voices. And the he turns to me, suddenly confessional and bemused. "I love you so much."
He'd better. I'm the only person who'd tolerate him. And vice-versa. :)
50. This bit of writing, which I read this morning:
"'It's a very Greek idea, and a very profound one. Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it. And what could be more terrifying and beautiful, to souls like the Greeks or our own, than to lose control completely? To throw off the chains of being for an instant, to shatter the accident of our mortal selves? Euripides speaks of the Maenads: head thrown back, throat to the stars, 'more like deer than human being.' To be absolutely free! One is quite capable, of course, of working these destructive passions in more vulgar and less efficient ways. But how glorious to release them in a single burst! To sing, to scream, to dance barefoot in the woods in the dead of night, with no more awareness of mortality than an animal! These are powerful mysteries. The bellowing of the bulls. Springs of honey bubbling from the ground. If we are strong enough in our souls we can rip away the veil and look that naked, terrible beauty right in the face; let God consume us, devour us, unstring our bones. Then spit us out reborn.'"
-- from The Secret History, by Donna Tartt