25 Things I Never Tire Of

February 25, 2008

I normally don't engage in these sort of "memes," because I tend to find them cheesy and of no interest to my readers. Plus, there are some things I write that, when I read them later, make me harf like Chet in Weird Science after he tells his brother he loves him. (I have the same reaction when I mistakenly run into my poetry-phase journals from junior high. I'd get rid of them, but full body shuddering keeps me humble. Plus, it took me a really long time to come up with that rhyme to "Uecker.")

The other problem is I usually can't come up with anything more clever than, "I like things. Things that make me go." However, the Oscars always get me in a cheesy state of mind, and after reading lists of others dear to my heart, I found myself mentally listing the things that I really enjoyed over and over again. So, I sat down to write, and interestingly enough, it's not food that gives me the most enjoyment. It's family and the outdoors.

With all that disclosed, small printed, and forewarned, here's my 25 Things I Never Tire Of list:

1. Hunca Munca's lack of a neck
2. Poppadum's softness
3. Purring
4. Laughing until it hurts with Mathra over the silliest things
5. Emails to Mathra from ecstatic or grateful students
6. Emails from readers taking the time to tell me how hard I made them laugh
7. Ocean Beach in any kind of weather
8. The sweet ache and body drowse of a good run or walk
9. The security of a full tank of gas
10. The excitement of a full fridge
11. Exchanging cat stories with my little sister
12. Discussing books with my mom
13. Hearing my dad's chuckle
14. The feel of clean sheets on my feet and legs
15. Loud midwestern thunderstorms (we never get enough here!)
16. Fog
17. The smell of spring
18. The feel of fall
19. The sound of a snow-muffled city
20. Late-night phone calls to Boston friends
21. Watching all of my grandfather's movies
22. Hearing Mathra say, "I want to explain my math to you."
23. The thrill of being genuinely satisfied with a finished assingment.
24. Rediscovering childhood books
25. Every purring, whirrupping, hungry, scampering, cuddling moment of Hunca Munca and Poppadum's lives