Day One Hundred and Forty-Nine - The Pursuit Of Happiness

Okay, I'm not the happiest camper in the whole...camp? In fact, I'm very cynical and negative and nihilistic. My blog does a pretty good job of masking a lot of that, though, which is intentional as I use it to boost me up a bit. The other day, a fellow thing-a-dayer, Colette, posted a list of 50 things that make her happy. So, in the interest of being a big copycat and as a personal challenge to myself, I made a list of 50 things that make me happy. In no particular order, here they are [if you read the whole thing I bet you probably have a pretty boring job]:

1. Ruffled chips with cream cheese dip

2. Blue cheese

3. Pizza done just the way I like it – thin crust, lots of zesty tomato sauce [lots of garlic and a bit spicy] and multiple cheeses

4. Maki with crunch that is wrapped with the seaweed on the inside

5. Noodles – big fat udon noodles, pho noodles, spaghetti noodles

6. Peanut butter and chocolate together – especially Quaker peanut butter granola bars dipped in peanut butter and Reese peanut butter cups

7. Popcorn sprinkled with parmesan cheese – this was an idea I got from DOOL where it was mentioned as a joke – it’s great, but don’t salt the popcorn or it will be too salty

8. Vegan chocolate cake @ Juice for Life

9. Crispy tofu in the Ninja bowl, also @ Juice for Life

10. Chocolate chip cookies – mainly the ones made from Amy Sedaris’ recipe and never ever eaten when freshly baked and warm

11. Soft cheese croissants

12. Coke Zero…by the bucketload – it is magic

13. Really good French fries with mayo – in Belgium

14. Chocolate waffles – with the fresh, warm chocolate – also in Belgium

15. Champagne

16. Miso soup with lots of bits of spring onion and seaweed

17. Pep – the candy bar, not the feeling

18. Email – you probably thought this was going to be 50 foods that make me happy – any kind of email – work email, personal email, forwards…I love it and I feel it’s going the way of the dodo as everyone uses instant messaging and Facebook

19. Comments on my blog – I think I’ve gotten maybe a dozen total, but it thrills me

20. Battlestar Galactica – this is only so far down because I’m hungry and feeling a
bit lonely

21. Late night TV – Jon, Stephen, Dave, Jimmy and Conan are all my favourites – I know that’s a lot of favourites…but it changes often

22. True crime shows and Bill Kurtis [he’s amazing]

23. TV that is kinda cheesy, but still watchable – examples include DOOL, classic TV shows [Wonder Years, Three’s Company, Dallas] and of course 90210

24. Bitchy, vampy TV characters who kick ass, take names and don’t give a damn – examples include Nicole on DOOL, Val on 90210, Starbuck on BSG

25. Baseball – I love watching it live, up in the cheap seats with overpriced beer and pizza, fries, hotdogs, etc. - but it’s also just fine to watch from the comfort of my sofa

26. Silence – I know, I’m old, but I just love quietness

27. When a good song comes on my nonPod and there is no one around and I can sing and air drum and make an idiot of myself

28. Egg McMuffins – without the weird piece of ham of course – McDo breakfast is such a guilty pleasure and leaves me feeling quite strange, but it’s even better if it’s a surprise breakfast

29. In fact, good surprises of any kind – I still think of my surprise birthday party as being the best ever and best holiday ever was the surprise trip to Italy – surprises don’t have to be so grand, but I’m always genuinely shocked that anyone cares enough about me

30. Really clever modern art – just being around art of most types makes me feel wonderful, but contemporary art is my favourite

31. My mum sending me $20 in the mail – it’s something that my dad used to do when I was in university, my mum now does it whenever I find myself unemployed or in school

32. Listening to classical music in the bathtub – a really hot bath

33. Surprising other people – like when I go out to the airport to meet someone, the time I bought the Wii [and hid it in the closet for a whole weekend], buying theatre tickets for my mum

34. Cooking something special – I like cooking everyday, but I love having a recipe, assembling the ingredients and ending up with some new, exciting dish

35. Grocery shopping

36. Playing board games/trivia games – but only if I win [and convincingly]

37. Being in an airplane – you can’t beat that feeling as you are powering down the runway and then you just stop being on the ground – every time it happens, it’s a marvel

38. Going out to a nice restaurant and lingering over everything – I know this can bother servers, but I tip well and I will only do this if the restaurant isn’t superbusy

39. A really nice espresso

40. My nose piercing – if I could put my hoop back in I would be in heaven

41. La Perroquet – my favourite restaurant in the world [it’s in Belgium]

42. Kitties! I love animals of all type, but kitties and monkeys/apes are my favourites – kitties win because primates don’t have an Lolcat equivalent

43. Photos of celebs without makeup/celebs with cellulite – not because of the schadenfreud [sp?] factor, but because it makes me feel infinitely better about myself

44. A really smooth ride on a roller coaster – this doesn’t happen much @ Wonderland, sadly

45. Finding clothes/shoes in my size [that don’t need to be altered] with the bare minimum of hassle

46. Boots – they give such attitude – either sexy, tight boots with a killer heel or clunky, I can kick your arse kind of combat boot – I even love my winter boots!

47. A big snowstorm – this is new for me as coming from the snowbelt I hated the snow for 6 months of the year thing, but now I like it because it takes away the pressure to leave the confines of one’s home

48. Lego Star Wars – this game made me actually kinda like the real Star Wars, plus I like playing with Joseph and I like the fact that you never really die – can’t wait for Lego Indiana Jones

49. The Bloor Cinema – often talked about, one of my favourite places in Toronto

50. The new announcements on TTC buses and streetcars – they are on the subways as well, however only the bus and streetcar ones make me feel like I’m in London on the Tube

Yes, lots of food things, which indicates my very complicated relationship with food. I think trying to cure emotional eating is very difficult - I mean, certain foods will trigger your brain's pleasure centres and it's damn tough to fight biology. I'm pleased with the list, but it's so self-serving and reflects my current lifestyle - I bet in 6 months I would come up with a totally different list!