bananas.
It could be said that I can be a little serious at times.
In fact, it should be said that I can be a little serious at times.
And when I say a little serious, what I mean is really serious and when I say at times? I mean often.
Not in the sense that I don’t laugh or smile, mind you. It’s hard to miss that I’m a complete goofyass.
I just tend to get all fierce and impassioned about things while everyone else is going, “Um?” Which leads to the impression that I’m insane.
I’m fine with it, though.
I get fired up about things. It’s just how I am. I feel stuff strongly, and I’m not really planning to change that. Unless I am arrested, and then I will stop until bail is posted.
I could probably stand to feel a little less impassioned about coffee, but that’s like asking two year-olds to give up on Elmo or teenage girls to stop going on and on about boyish television stars with three names (everyone from Mark-Paul Gosselaar — ZACH! — to Chad Michael Murphy) or easy listening radio stations to stop playing Elton John or Rod Stewart.
Not going to happen.
But fortunately, in the midst of getting fired up about politics and social justice and human rights and gender studies (I know, I know… it’s my damn degree that started it, and I can’t seem to stop flailing about), I manage to reserve some of my eye-popping intensity and unabashed love and hand-talking for… other stuff.
Other stuff which may or may not be embarrassing.
Other stuff which may or may not cause people to point their fingers and laugh.
Other stuff which you may scoff at.
And that’s okay. Because we’ve all got weird things we get excited about, and I’m pretty certain that I don’t have the weirdest interests out there.
In fact, my obsessions are probably fairly pedestrian, since none of them requires a secret room in my home or a fake eBay account or regular vaccinations.
But let’s get on with it. It’s time to share the things that make me vibrate with joy on a daily basis…
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1. My laptop. Ah, Martin. That’s his name, you know. Well, you do know, if you’ve been here for very long. I love my iBook like few other objects I own or have EVER owned. I’m one of those “drank the Kool-Aid and then bathed in it” Apple people that everyone loves to scoff at, and I DON’T CARE. Martin has never blue-screened, crashed, had a bloody spool error, harassed me to install Service packs, or loaded up the Browser of Certain Death.
He is still white and fresh after 16 months, thanks to a Mr. Clean Magic Sponge, and will only ever be replaced by a MacBook Pro, which I will be able to afford right around the time that I rob a drunken stockbroker in a club in Yaletown or sell my novel (which might take a bit, since I haven’t started it yet.) Our apartment is a blessedly wireless universe, so no matter where I sit or stand, there is always the possibility I can pop Martin open and check…
2. My email. I have a near perverse love of the email. Getting it, sending it, checking it, taking it on island getaways to sit by the pool and intertwine our MIME headers… whatever. I have in excess of twenty-seven email addresses, but I only really check three of them with any regularity. And when I say “any regularity”, I mean ALL THE TIME WHERE IS MY EMAIL CAN I SEE IT MY EMAIL THANKS. It’s not like I get that much of it, and it’s not even that all of it is fun. I just find that I feel an odd kinship with my inboxes.
My brain actually works a lot like email. It tends to amass tons of useless and random information, file it in ways that no one can really understand, and delete old (and useful thoughts) by accident in favour of really stupid items. One of these days, I will forget my name and where I live, and end up wandering the streets mumbling about special episodes of the Partridge Family. Which leads me to…
3. Really odd TV. Now, I’m not one of those Survivor people or Amazing Race people or America’s Next Top Model people or someone that gets genuinely excited when reality stars get married or have babies or go on other TV shows in which they interact with B-list movie actors and rock stars just minutes out of rehab. You will never catch me tuning in to Beauty and the Geek.
But, heaven help me, if they’re showing it on A & E, I have a really hard time not watching it. Dog the Bounty Hunter? Check. Gene Simmons Family Jewels? Check. American Justice? Check. Cold Case Files? Check. City Confidential? Check. Really, if it has an arrogant man with problematic hair or Bill Kurtis anywhere in the mix, I’m on it like Beth Chapman on a clear wedge heel.
In addition to A & E, I also tend to obsess about PBS cooking shows (NOT the Food Network, which makes me want to slap people. Bobby Flay? Rachael Ray? Ew!). Give me old Julia Child re-runs or Jacques Pepin or Ming Tsai, and I’m nearly weak in the knees. I want to make everything they’re making and feed the world with love. Or just me. With extra butter.
4. Cleaning products. Oh, do I love the smell of really strong, toxic chemicals burning the germs from my counters and the hairs from the inside of my nose! Nothing really compares to the magic of the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser or Fantastic with Bleach or Lysol Orange Scrubbing Wipes or Comet with Bleach or CLR or Palmolive Oxy Power with Lemon and Bleach. Don’t even get me started on Tide or the oxygenated laundry stuff with the annoying man in the commercials.
I don’t use rubber gloves, I don’t use it sparingly, and I probably don’t NEED to Comet the sinks quite as often as I do (while giggling merrily), but dammit. That stuff is like crack. Well, probably if I snorted it, it would be. Right before I died.
5. Skin products that produce their own heat. Something tells me that this and the previous item are related.
Tiger Balm, Too-Faced Lip Injection, Du-Wop Lip Venom, A535, Biore Warming Cleanser, Clinique Pore Minimizer Thermal Cleanser… you name it. And then there are all the acidic products that just make you feel kind of burn-y, like my Origins Modern Friction.
I think I just need to feel things working, and heat says YES IT’S WORKING AND YOUR FACE IS MELTING! MELTING!
Love it. And no, I don’t have any weird or adverse reactions to any of this stuff. My skin is like a weird combination of Teflon and Pyrex .
6. Non-shoe shoes. Oooh, Havaianas. I have only nine pairs right now (3 of them are black) but MAN, if I’m ever rich and famous and companies want to sponsor me and send me heaps of their products, I’ll donate most of them but I AM KEEPING THE FLIP FLOPS. I blame my shoe hatred on years of working with kids or in casual offices, and also my need to be ready to run through grass or into the ocean at a moment’s notice. And finally…
7. Everything else: Peanut butter cups; pomegranates; internet research; Sephora; chocolate-brown-and-ice-blue colour schemes; Moleskine journals; french fries; singing; cucumber, lemon, grapefruit, vanilla and jasmine candles; neo-soul music; white sheets; smartass men; San Diego; Benetint; architects; hockey; Firefox; adding lemon juice to everything; Northern Ireland; Essie nailpolish; nutmeg; singer-songwriters; large, weird rings; olives; complaining about the weather in Vancouver; the ocean; sushi; edamame; Verve complilations; McSweeney’s; cleverness; breath mints; peonies; people who use scads of technical terms in conversation and actually know what they mean; Illy coffee; magazines; taking pictures of small, fat birds; babies; avoiding side hugs; apple crisp; blogging; 90’s hip hop; British men; farmer’s markets; The Weather Network.com; snow; blue cheese dip with hot wings; the smell of new books; babbling about love; the last word.
So. What gets you all in a frenzy?
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1. Five foods you can’t stop eating.
2. Five things you have to do every day or you will GO NUTS.
3. Five things you must have in your home (no points for bed, TV, fridge, toilet… don’t EVEN!)
4. Five smells that make you happy.
5. Five things that get you through the day.
Tell!
February 19th, 2007 at 10:44 am
1. salt & vinegar chips, Reece’s pieces, cheese (any kind, really), sourdough bread, raspberries
2. snooze the alarm at least twice, listen to music as much as possible, check my email (only 3 addresses…), read my favorite blogs, drink Diet Pepsi
3. Photos of friends and family everywhere, BOOKS, two cats, music, and company
4. Anything baking, Target (Yes, it does have a smell, and it smells like HOME), clean laundry, just-cut grass, and my expensive perfume because it means I’m going OUT!
5. Music, email, friends, caffiene, and laughing at my own silly self
February 19th, 2007 at 11:06 am
1. soup. avocado and cottage cheese. reese’s peanut butter cups. pistachios. cheetos.
2. shower. wash my hair. read. check email. say I love you to my family.
3. books. books. books. books. pepsi max.
4. cinnamon. freshly-baked bread. vanilla. oranges. ALMOND.
5. work. projects. laughter. love ones. willpower. :P
February 19th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
1. tuscan bread, cherry liquor chocolates, greek yogurt, homemade jam, umeboshi
2. Read my favorite blogs, check flickr obsessively, go for a walk, make at least one pair of earrings, meditate
3. calendar, bookshelves full of my favorites, plants, a great writing desk, Persian rugs
4. Baking tarts, freshly-brewed coffee, bubbling homemade tomato sauce, jasmine, my boyfriend’s sweater
5. Coffee, sitting in the yard watching the birds and lizards, skype-ing with my long-distance boyfriend, working on my book, dreaming about Italy
February 19th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
1. Rolo ice cream, Oreo Cookies, Spinach, Chocolate Covered Raspberries, Cottage Cheese
2. Have a yogurt, triple check that I have my watch, check my email before work and every hour after, read my daily blogroll, check the results of my hockey pool.
3. Books, CDs, DVDs, a big comfy couch, a bathtub.
4. Rain, fresh cut grass, oranges (more specifically, Satsuma from the Body Shop), Swimming Pool, boy smell (you know, that clean, soapy, musky smell that makes you weak in the knees)
5. Music, Starbucks, laughter, Prison Break (not even lying, it’s like crack!), and my family.
February 19th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
1. Five foods you can’t stop eating.
Butter. Macaroni and cheese. Cheese. Bacon. Refined flour, dammit.
2. Five things you have to do every day or you will GO NUTS.
Shower. Put on lip balm. Check email. Check blog comments. Check Flickr comments.
3. Five things you must have in your home (no points for bed, TV, fridge, toilet… don’t EVEN!)
Kitties. Books. Magazines. White Christmas lights. Candles.
4. Five smells that make you happy.
Lavender. Sweetgrass. Vanilla. Rose. Grapefruit.
5. Five things that get you through the day.
Hope. Dreams. Friends. Laughter. Prozac.
February 19th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
I love your passion for the things you are seriously serious about!
1. really dark chocolate, baby spinach, oatmeal, plain yogurt, and cheese
2. vacuum, do laundry, check my email, read a few chapters of my current book(s), watch at least ten minutes of the local news.
3. a human-sized bathtub, fluffy cotton bathmats, cream tab-top curtains, fuzzy blankets, many bookshelves full of books
4. coffee, lavender, rosemary, sandalwood, home-made irish soda bread
5. the baby’s magnificent cheeks, going for walks, emails from my mom, Scrubs, yoga
February 19th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
1. Five foods you can’t stop eating.
Cheese, plain greek yogurt with honey, dark chocolate, fresh cherries, and those damn Fritos (even after my lips are numb)
2. Five things you have to do every day or you will GO NUTS.
meditate, have that afternoon java, hug the hubby, check e-mail, check message boards/blogs
3. Five things you must have in your home (no points for bed, TV, fridge, toilet… don’t EVEN!)
photos, music, books, plants, aquarium
4. Five smells that make you happy.
babies, clean laundry, lavender, mint, citrus
5. Five things that get you through the day.
hubby hugs, meditation, afternoon java, music, power nap/siesta
February 19th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
1. Five foods you can’t stop eating.
Ice cream, pizza, mac’n'cheese, rice pudding with raisens, fresh cherries.
2. Five things you have to do every day or you will GO NUTS.
Drink my morning coffee, 30 minute cardio workout, read, declutter the house, pet the dog.
3. Five things you must have in your home (no points for bed, TV, fridge, toilet… don’t EVEN!)
Pets, books, Nag Champa, candles, friends and family.
4. Five smells that make you happy.
Lavender, coffee brewing, puppy breath, new mown grass, freshly turned garden soil.
5. Five things that get you through the day.
Full retirement in 315 days ;), conversations with family and friends, morning coffee, blogs, being greeted by my dog when I get home.
February 19th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
1. French fries, bread, chocolate, strawberries, popcorn
2. brush my teeth, check my email, online banking, put cream on my face, surf the net
3. iBook, wireless internet, PVR, soft sheets, grape juice
4. freshly cut grass, clean laundry, fresh baked bread, fresh ground coffee, Cinnamon buns
5.cup of tea, email from a friend, positive thinking, surfing the net, knowing i can soon go home and watch season 2 of grey’s anatomy
February 19th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
1. Five foods you can’t stop eating.
Twinkies, grapefruit, cherry cordials, fresh bread, pumpkin goodies (muffins, breads, pies)d
2. Five things you have to do every day or you will GO NUTS.
Read blogs, check email, hug my husband, talk on the cell phone, play some kind of game (crossword, suduko, Jewel Quest)
3. Five things you must have in your home (no points for bed, TV, fridge, toilet… don’t EVEN!)
Lamps with full-spectrum bulbs, comfy reclining chair for laptop happiness, Music of the Spheres windchimes outside said chair, TIVO, a couch so comfy I can nap on it.
4. Five smells that make you happy.
clary sage, jasmine, myrrh, sandlewood (in moderation), fresh bread
5. Five things that get you through the day.
my husband, that I have a job I love, that I work for myself in a non-corporate atmosphere, the meds, keeping a low-pressure lifestyle
February 19th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Hi Meg, I just recently found your blog. I’ve really enjoyed reading your perspective on life!
1. Five foods you can’t stop eating.
Cheese, Coconut soup w/ sticky rice, Starbucks’ scones, bagels, peanut butter
2. Five things you have to do every day or you will GO NUTS.
Shower, drink coffee, smell nice, talk out loud to someone, have some private time
3. Five things you must have in your home (no points for bed, TV, fridge, toilet… don’t EVEN!)
Internet access, a book to read, past books that were important, yummy smelling soap, flute
4. Five smells that make you happy.
The CA desert, fresh coffe, my boyfriend’s skin, my honey scented soap, orenge blossoms
5. Five things that get you through the day.
My boyfriend, my amazingly supportive friends, coffee, effexor, humor
February 20th, 2007 at 5:49 am
1. If coffee does not count I will have to say jalapenos, pistachios, hummus, cucumbers, tomatoes.
2. Get my Americano with two raw sugars and and inch of steamed milk. Check my bank balance, use the tweezers, watch tv in bed, listen to traffic reports on the radio, give the dog about 100 kisses on her nose.
3. Five things you must have in your home Internet connection, laundry soap, plants, my wind chime and more plants.
4. Coffee, my dog, spanish rice on the stove, Secret Shower Fresh, fresh rosemary, fresh air on a warm (not hot)day.
5. Huge Americano, knowing that I can lay in bed at the end of the and watch mindless Anna N!cole Sm!th drivel, American Idol (or anticipation thereof), using my expense account, anticipation of a hot and super soapy bath.
February 20th, 2007 at 6:50 am
You do know those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers have formaldahyde in them, right? Like, the stuff that preserves dead pig fetuses in jars? Major carcinogen? I won’t handle the things without a nice, thick rubber glove on.
February 20th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
1. chocolate, cranberry trail mix, salt and vinegar potato chips, cinnamon roll oatmeal, sun dried tomato pesto.
2. shower, scrub the kitchen sink with comet, scrub the kitchen counters, cuddle with my kitty, cook something.
3. kitchen aid mixer, computer, friends, comfort, cheer.
4. coffee, bread baking, bacon, vanilla, freshly cut grass (even though i am allergic to grass).
5. chocolate, laughing with my co-workers, looking at the pictures of my friends/family/kitty on my desk, knowing people care for me, cuddling with my kitty.
February 20th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
Foods: Really expensive crackers
Turkey stuffing (the main reason for cooking a turkey)
Homemade Worcestershire sauce (it’s not a food exactly, but it makes all other foods taste better) Berries, in winter, that we picked in season and froze;
Last night’s cold tuna casserole
Do every day: Wish I didn’t have to work for a living
Phone my 80-year-old mom
Imagine what I’d do if I won the million-a-year-for-life lottery
Read whatever words I happen upon
Recline
Have in home: Who cares what’s in it–it’s a home! Not enough bookcases or room to put them
Sharp carbon steel kitchen knives
Big stock pots
A living room suitable for reclining
Smells: Garlic! On people! Do you hear me???
Practically any cooking smell that the kitchen fan blows out as I trudge up the back stairs
The pizza place on the main street in Port Townsend
The smell of willows by a river in the hot summer
Pitiusa, a cologne from Ibiza that they don’t make anymore… and I’ve only got about an ounce left!
Things: My darling
A sunny disposition
Sheer amazement at all the wonders of our planet and the universe
Uncensored, usually politically incorrect laughs
Knowing all the words to hundreds of songs