The Anti-List

Looking back at some of my older entries, I realize that I spend a lot of time ranting and complaining about the many annoyances of my life. I'm ok with that, it works for me, but one might come away with the impression that I'm a huge ball of negativity that shuns joy in favor of the dark and bleak. While that's not that far from the truth, I do occasionally let a few of rays of sunshine into my cold, dead heart. What is about to follow is a recitation of some of the things that fill me with peace and happiness. It's The Anti-List, if you will.

1)Television. Come on, you knew it was coming. I could and do watch hours upon hours of TV. It's an activity I find surprisingly interactive, not just with my equally-obsessed roommate, but with the programming itself. People who shut off their brains while watching are missing out, because the best shows can make you ponder life's questions while the worst ones can really sharpen your snarking skills. And you really don't want to let those get rusty.

2)In a related note, TV box sets on DVD. Seriously, these are like my crack. I love being able to watch my favorite hours of television any time I want, not being a slave to the scheduling monkeys that program TV content. The biggest problem with these is that they can be kind of expensive which is an issue when three of tour favorite shows come out with releases within weeks of each other.

3)Bendy Straws. They satisfy my oral fixation, while being extra fun.

4)Madonna. I saw her concert a few weeks ago, and it was like being in church. In the non-sacrilegious way. I saw her Drowned World Tour a few years ago, and while I loved every second of it, despite my distaste for large crowds, my one (tiny) complaint was that she didn't sing any of her classic stuff. So when I heard those first few beats of "Vogue" I nearly teared up. I was finally about to hear my favorite artist sing live some of my absolute favorite songs. And with Madonna, you're not just hearing some music, you're seeing a show. It was so damn entertaining that I think all the dancing that I was doing was the best workout I've had in years. It was totally worth the astronomical ticket price.

5)My iPod. It holds my entire music collection onto something smaller than an index card. That's genius. Between that, and iTunes, I've barely touched my cd collection in months, except to download more music.

6)The kind of laughter that hurts your stomach and makes you fall to the floor, rolling and gasping for breath because you are guffawing too hard to control your own body.

7)Puzzles. I'm not sure why, but if you were to get all psychoanalytical on me, you could probably say my love for puzzles stem from the fact that I'm so confused about my own life and future, that figuring out a complex puzzle brings a badly needed sense of control and accomplishment to my life. Or that they're pretty.

8)Coke. It's the official soft drink of heaven.

9)The Olympics. I love watching obscure sporting events that we only even see every four years. I love the grand pageantry of it all. I love that it always contains a few upsets and surprises. I love the hot swimmer boys. The Olympics basically have just as much drama as anything projected on a movie screen.

10)My friends. Aww. Now enough schmaltz. Go away.