Now that we’ve covered what perplexes me, onto a list of things I love. We’re talking superficial, fleeting love here — i.e. stuff I am loving at the moment — not the kind of love I reserve for my husband, dogs, Bee Gees, or self.
Orchids. I received a yellow orchid plant for my birthday, and I’m gonna try with all my might to keep it alive, even it means taking it with me on road trips that may or may not be in my future.
80’s and 90’s Movies. I’ve been on a kick lately, watching everything from Short Circuit to My Best Friend is a Vampire, to Beethoven’s Second.
The Sunday New York Times. I got a print subscription (also for my birthday) and I am in love. I’m pretty sure I fit their target demographic squarely in the eye, so this is no surprise, and probably no great insight into my personality, but my enthusiasm knows no bounds.
Country Music. I’m not talking Top 40, per se (I can’t name a single Carrie Underwood or Tim McGraw song), but I have a real affection for certain stuff from the 90’s that my husband introduced me to, like Dwight Yoakam, Alabama and Clay Walker. The latter has a song called “Jesus Was a Country Boy” that we both really dig in a partly ironic/partly sincere kind of way. I also love “cooler” artists like Townes Van Zandt and Gram Parsons. I think it’s sad when people say they like “any kind of music but country,” and it makes me assume they are boring.
Benjamin Percy. This guy is such a good writer, it’s scary. And he’s only 30 (young geniuses always give me an inferiority complex). I’m currently reading
Refresh, Refresh.
Laughing Cow Cheese. When I first tried it in Africa, I wasn’t convinced. In the last year I’ve fallen for it hard, and it’s one of my staples. I eat it with baguettes, make tofurkey-laughing-cow-spinach wraps, and even mix it in with pasta sauce to make it creamy.
Ritter Sport – Dark Chocolate with Hazelnuts. I’m a chocolate kind of person. I can usually take or leave cookies, cake or pie (unless it’s frozen lime pie), but I kinda have to have chocolate everyday, sometimes multiple times a day. All those cheesy theories about women and orgasms and chocolate are probably true.
Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred. Yes, I’ve written about it before. And I’ll probably tire of doing it five times a week in another month or so, but I really like being strong and this is one of the few strength training programs I’ve been happy to stick with. There is something about having a “trainer” that makes me work so much harder than I would ever work on my own. I truly enjoy letting her kick my ass daily.
Google. It’s hackneyed, but it’s true. I use at least four Google products a day, usually chat/email, calendar, search and reader, though often checkout, video, news, igoogle, books, and Youtube (duh). Just as I’m thankful to live in the Internet age, I’m thankful to live in the age of Google. As a future librarian, I’m excited to see what happens with Google Book Search.
Blogs. I could (and often do, given my current employment state) read other people’s blogs for hours. I try to keep track of the ones I like in Google Reader, but often get a little enthusiastic clicking on blog rolls and forget to go back to the original blog I was reading. I also like writing this blog.
Libraries. Every time I’m in a library, it makes me excited to be in library school. Libraries are sacred spaces to me, imbued with a kind of magic of possibility.
Cleaning and Organizing. I don’t like to admit to it, especially in front of my husband, but I take great pleasure in cleaning our apartment, and even greater pleasure in filing and putting things away in boxes. If I feel depressed, I will usually clean the kitchen.
Hosting Dinners. Gawd, I’m sounding like such a little 50’s housewife. I love gathering people together and cooking with or for them. Now that nice restaurants are officially financially ruinous to my bank account, I strongly prefer making a nice home-cooked meal to eating out.
Parenthetical Thoughts 