100 things that bring me joy.
Nothing is off-limits.
Shallow things count.
Not necessarily in any order.
(These are the first 50.)
1. Eric: (Please see above photo. I don’t think I need to say more.)
2. Oz and Magellan: The joy bugs themselves. I see why it’s been said that pets add years to your life. It’s hard to be sad and upset when a cat reaches out a paw for you, as Oz is prone to do. They provide a much needed dose of silliness each and every day, and I’m far too attached to them. I love these guys.
3. Memories of Buddi: My dear wonderful Buddi was an Akita/mutt who I was fortunate enough to spend 15 years with. It still makes me smile to think of her wet nose, the way she smelled like hay, her sweet spirit, and what a troublemaker she was. She got drunk on rotten apples fallen from a tree once. Seriously.
4. Documentaries: I like learning things, and I also find documentaries to be one of the coolest uses of the film media. When done right, like “Monster Camp,” “The King of Kong,” or the chilling “Jesus Camp,” it can open your eyes to a whole new, real, world. I’m interested in the real world, and have a great appreciation for filmmakers bold enough to let the story tell itself. Also – I adore MTV’s “True Life,” which I’m including here.
5. Frankenstein: The book, and the lore of The Shelleys/Lord Byron/William Godwin/Clare Clairmont, etc. I find it all very grand and fascinating. Mary Shelley had depression, which is also interesting to me. In fact, I think I can say that though I love the novel, I loved “The Monsters” which is about the people who were there for the creation of the novel even more.
6. Horror franchises: Though it’s no secret that my greatest love is Nightmare on Elm Street/Freddy Krueger, I am also a die-hard Hellraiser, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw, Saw, and Child’s Play fan. (Friday the 13th never really did it for me, but then again.. I saw Jason X in the theatres, so…) There’s something just so amazing about the evolution of a horror franchise in all it’s peaks and valleys. Love it. Can’t wait for the NOES remake – Jackie Earle Haley for the win.
7. Tea: Iced or hot. Green, black, orange, or any color. Any time of day. It’s the most perfect beverage on earth.
8. Britney Spears: Who I’m fascinated by. First of all, her music makes me want to dance and run, which is awesome. She’s not the greatest singer in the world, but who cares. Girl can entertain. And I adore her, openly. Crazy or not.
9. Travel: Sigh. Thinking about travel, dreaming of places to travel, reading about traveling, playing around on travelocity pretending I have unlimited funds to go places, watching the Travel Channel… it’s wonderful. (Though flying stresses me out, getting there is always worth it.)
10. Bookstores: Well, books are one of my favorite things, and a whole store full of them equates to so much possibility. I don’t want a kindle. I want paper and ink and printings. I want editions and the smell of books. I like browsing shelves, picking up books, putting them down, sitting on the floor. It’s an experience I cherish.
11. Nutrition and Fitness: Almost two years ago, when I started on my weight loss journey, I knew nothing. Since then, I’ve become a mini-textbook of information about nutrition and fitness, and I get a kick out of finding new recipes, new workouts, and new ways to get in/stay in shape. I honestly enjoy tracking my calories and hanging out on the sparkpeople.com message boards (and not just for grammar highlights like “I need to loose weight..” “I have so much quilt on my shoulders…” etc)
12. 5ks: “I like 5ks more than I like running,” said Laura Blegan before the Hot Chocolate 5k last week, and she was so right. 5ks are the reward for running. The goody bag, the people, the excitement.. it makes it all worth the slogging hard work of training.
13. Super Mario Bros 3: I can only say I’m good at one video game, and that is Super Mario 3, which I still contend is the greatest game of all time. Still, playing it thrills me. I also enjoy the rest of the Mario Universe (particuarly Princess Peach), but nothing is like SM3. If you play me, I will beat you.
14. Writing: I don’t know if I’m good at it, but I most certainly enjoy it. My favorite part of theatre was always “stories,” and I like to create them on paper. I also really like pen on paper over typing, though admittedly typing is faster and spellcheck a blessing from The Computer Gods.
15. Blogging: Maybe I’m fooling myself, but I like the idea of a public diary. I like the idea of a sounding board and a place to keep record of things I’ve done and how I’ve evolved as a person. I like going back to old blogs and remembering things. I like reading blogs, and I like having one. It’s fun. (And sometimes, it surprises you.)
16. My Wedding Dress: It hangs in my closet like my great rebellion, not costing a million dollars and yet being everything I could dream of. I can’t wait to wear it. It’s gorgeous.
17. Talking about theatre with Bob: It’s like having a soulmate. When you’re both so seeped in theatre lore that you can complete each other jokes and other people can’t even understand your conversations, you know you’ve got a friend. I can’t even begin to explain the geeky games we play on gchat. (Can you connect Emily Skinner to Marilyn Manson?)
18. Legally Blonde, the musical: Haters, shut up. In the past 10 years, I can’t recall a score to a musical being as touching and moving as LB, and the cast recording brings me endless, incredible joy. From the amazing performances (Laura Bell Bundy owns) to the great uplifting melodies (How many times have I run to the remix of the title song?) it’s motivating, and inspirational, and gorgeous, and perfect to me. And that’s enough.
19. Holidays: Right? Who doesn’t love holidays, whether it’s Christmas or whatever. They generally equate to days off work, which everyone loves, and are usually spent in pursuit of fun things. Huzzah.
20. Painting: I’m not terribly good at it, but I enjoy zoning out with paints.
21. Alpena: “Home sweet Home.” Or something. No, it’s not a perfect town – far from it – but it’ll always ring true in my mind as a safe haven. Going “home” for the holidays is a nice thing, and I can’t imagine missing it. (The house above is not mine, but if you’re from A-Town, you know it.)
22. Doing things for people: I am currently so excited about Eric’s birthday surprise plans. Things like that, making people happy, rock my socks.
23. Costumes: Halloween. Theatre. Whatever. I like dressing up. I always have.
24. Farmers Markets/Art Fairs/Etc: Though I dislike crowds, I like places of community there good people come together to share their art or peddle their wares.
25. Honest, well-produced theatre: There’s a lot of crap in the world of theatre, just like there’s a lot of crap in movies, music, and television. When a see a show like “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity,” it gives me hope that there are still people in the arts who have vital, interesting things to say and care about saying it in interesting ways, free of pretense.
26. Time Out Chicago/Chicago Reader/local ‘zines: You can get general news from a big paper like the Tribune or the Sun-times, but if you want to know about things going on in a city like Chicago (or even Lansing, Michigan) you gotta turn to smaller papers and magazines. I pick up Time Out and the Reader with anticipation, and Lansing’s CityPulse is a mini-adventure in itself.
27. Quotes: Much of the world’s great wisdom has been passed down through quotes.
28. Pumpkin Pie: I love it so much I (usually) only allow myself to eat it in November. This year, I had it in October, and it was simply grand.
29. Las Vegas, Nevada: I love the over-the-top splendor of the Vegas strip. I can’t wait to go back in February. It’s a city of silliness and excess, and it’s just awesome. My heart about exploded in the Paris hotel.
30. BBC America: God bless you. For Doctor Who, Little Britian, Kitchen Nightmares, and You are what you eat. Addicting.
31. Orchids: Such an interesting flower. So much life.
32. Animals: I’ll watch puppy videos on youtube for hours, don’t tempt me. I also
33. Museums: I love museums - be it the Art Institute of Chicago or something like the Shedd Aquarium (which I think counts.) So much information and history. That reminds me, I need to visit the Field Museum.
34. Amusement Parks: Roller coasters are decidedly NOT my thing, but I like rides like the Tilt-a-whirl a lot. I have nothing but great memories of childhood summers at Cedar Point, and had a great time a few monts back at Six Flags.
35. Shopping/Malls: Much like bookstores, I like the possibility of malls and shopping. So many choices, who knows, maybe the thing that’ll change your life is right around the corner? Stores I particulary love include Macys, Sephora, Nine West, NY and Company, and – don’t judge me – Payless Shoes.
36. Skittles/Tootsie Rolls: Re #11, I can’t gorge on candy as much as I’d like, but that just makes a bag of Skittles or a Tootsie Roll SO much more enjoyable. Also, M&Ms and Snickers for the win.
37. Purple: The color. Every shade. I also like grapes, and that fake grape taste/smell.
38. Office supplies: Sharpies, colored paper, stickers, manila things… Oh man. Good times.
39. Bejeweled: I could play that damn game all day every day.
40. Board games: I don’t play enough Monopoly, or Clue, or Life, or Battleship.
41. Literature: This is a pretty HUGE collection of individual things, and I thought about doing individual books and writers, but.. that would have been the whole list. Special mention: Stephen King, Christopher Moore, Jane Austen, The Brontes, Bram Stoker, The Hobbit, J.K. Rowling, and Judy Blume.
42. True Blood: Best show ever on television? Perhaps. With the best cast ever? Perhaps. (Though if you put it and Arrested Development in a room to duke it out, I don’t know who’d win, honestly.)
43. Batgirl: I just think she’s grand. In the Yvonne Craig version that is. None of this Alicia Silverstone crap.
44. Autumn Leaves: I really don’t like that they’re a sign of cold weather to come, but I think they’re the most gorgeous thing nature’s got.
45. Bodies of water: I grew up in Michigan, a land of a batrillion lakes and rivers, so I’m attached to water and don’t like to be land-locked. The Great Lakes, even in their polluted parts, are astonishing, and I’m a big fan of the Atlantic Ocean as well. I haven’t made it to any other oceans yet, but it’ll happen. Long Lake, an inland lake in the Alpena area, is my favorite. It’s so clean and calm.
46. Microbreweries: I’m more in love with the idea of microbreweries than I actually am with beer as a beverage, but when it’s right (like the Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale) it’s so right.
47. Sledding: So much fun. One of the few good things about winter.
48. Clever Bakeries: Like Bleeding Heart in Chicago, I like Bakeries who don’t sacrifice their sense of humor for taste. Want a sprinkle covered cake ball? Done.
49. Baths: I miss having a bathtub with a stopper, let me tell you. My last 3 apartments have been without the ability to take baths, and I miss it dearly. Bubble baths. So relaxing.
50. The Ipod: I can’t express my love for Bleeker, my 80G ipod Classic. He carries all my music around so I can listen to whatever I want, whenever I want – on the bus, on the train, the treadmill, while cleaning… 8000 songs, endless possibilities. I’d be lost without him. Also without my pink Shuffle, Farrah, who accompanies me on 5ks.
51-100 will come Monday! Stay tuned!
TokyoBay Inc’s Rose Satchel.
