this stuff makes me smile

12/20
never having to be snuck up on by the boss who travels like a shark again

12/19
never having to do tedious busywork to pass the time again

12/18
never having to work with that one nasty person again

11/19
when you know you've made somebody's day

11/09
when, for the past year and contrary to what your loved ones tell you, you're convinced you're absolutely no good at what you do and that everyone is out to get you, you have one 45-min conversation that turns that around. except the out to get you part. because paranoia never rests.

11/04
even though it took YEARS, hearing that in the end, i was right about him all along. damn straight, i was.

11/01
commitments that will only make me stronger

10/29
a *real* date. in person.

10/28
proving to any naysayers that i CAN, in fact accomplish what i set out to do

10/27
finishing a book in one planeride. even if it was plagiarized

10/17
talking monkeys

10/16
come-from-behind victories!

10/1
the magical music store

catching the game AND making it to the airport

9/30
garibaldi, the 'goldfish of the ocean'

unique jewelry

dolphins

9/29
when you actually like all of the items included in your airplane snackpack

when you swipe the in-flight magazine because you know your boyfriend would appreciate one of the articles and when you give it to him, he says he read part of that on the way to see you last and was hoping to get another look at it one day.

hot and sour soup

9/25
when you fear the worst out loud but hope for the best inside

9/24
when bad music can save the day

9/12
when your normally stoic kid brother tells you he loves you

9/7
when you've found someone who actually sort of appreciates your offkey renditions of bad '80s tv commercial jingles.

8/14
when you think your birthday is really going to suck and are all set to wallow in the fact that you'd be trapped in the dungeon, your supersweet boyfriend calls to ask you to pick him up from the airport! and when you find out that your family members had tried to help, too, it's all the better. there's nothing like being loved on your birthday.

8/5
when you and all (3) of your blood relatives on this continent gather together for a few tv-, radio-, telephone-less rounds of card games full of laughter and accusations of cheating, even if it's just for a few hours after which life interrupts and everyone goes a separate way.

7/29
getting gussied up (even though you'll never admit it)

pulling a speech out of nowhere and knowing that your procrastinated, adrenaline-fueled excuse for behavior has still got it. sort of.

a really good band

having someone at your side who actually isn't selfish

weddings that are OVER

7/16
smiling to yourself when it's 100 degrees outside because you don't wear much makeup so it's not melting off your face like other people who turn into a jabba-the-hut mess when they step out on the sidewalk.

6/23-6/26
dumplings
muffins
grandmas
salsa
oldschool music stores
previews
castles
the history channel
cozy dining
photobooths
powerwheels

knowing that i was right all along

4/26
finally getting a reprieve from uncertainty, if only just for a moment

4/24
a gorgeous and slightly breezy 20-block walk in downtown chicago

4/23
pizza delivery and bad cable movies

4/22
when people step out of their comfort zone to try something just because they know it'll make you happy.

4/21
weekend getaways

4/8
the 'crackhouse' that is the fabric store

realizing that 'shop around the corner,' 'good old summertime,' 'you've got mail' are essentially the same movie -- and that you've loved two of them and have already added the third to netflix because you're sure you'll love it just as much.

4/2
realizing that this is the day you don't have to make a 36-mile commute for the first time in something like 17 days

4/1
not having to enforce the forty-minute rule when a movie you think is really going to suck turns out to be not so bad after all

3/31
reliving old times with my roomie over oreos/milk and E! True Hollywood Story: Desperate Housewives

3/30
encyclopedia brown-- he's such a clever guy

3/28
forgetting to move your car and fearing it has been taken to the tow-yard of hell, only to discover that it's there, sitting pretty, AND NO TICKET! :)

3/25
feeling that silly, giddy camaraderie over tagine food, belly dancing and board games with some of your bestest pals

3/24
breaking 100 points at bowling and having ice cream cake

3/23
video messages

people sacrificing their sleep to entertain me.


3/22
the amazing race. it's freaking awesome.

3/17
when whatever it is that was out of joint for a month pops back into place and though you were functioning before, things are right again.

3/14
when the special thing you saw in somebody many months ago comes through-- in a box full of styrofoam peanuts-- to prove that you weren't completely off after all.

3/11
non-junk mail. even if it has a cat on it.

watching parents-to-be glow with the anticipation of their bundle of joy

being taken in a cab to where you had parked your car, even though it's just three blocks away, just to make sure you don't get jumped.

3/9
saying what you need to say and having it heard.

3/7
confirmation that yes, your mother ALWAYS knows the right thing to say to make you feel better. at least for a little while, anyway.

3/4
seeing awesome dancing, hanging at a diner and laughing harder than you have in months and doing a little dancing yourself

getting sweated by foreigners

3/3
getting a photocopy in the mail of a list your college roommate wrote years ago of 21 reasons why she thought you are awesome that she didn't end up giving you on your 21st birthday. for no reason at all, besides the fact that she found it at her mom's house. and it arrives the last day of one of the worst weeks of your life to cheer you up.

3/1
the love and generosity of great friends who will shelter you from the worst of storms

2/26
a poetry-bearing puppy

2/25
a tiny light at the end of a very long tunnel; at least it's a direction. sort of.

2/18
sleeping in

cruising down division with two of your best friends, all three singing along to madonna's 'sorry' at the top of their lungs for three different reasons, and nobody feels silly.

2/17
having a much needed day off

2/16
the dungeon maintenance man who has been working there nearly as long as you've been alive, hinting that he might want to set you up with his pimped-out-hydraulic-car-driving, supermarket-managing son, whose car may be used in a movie it's so sweet

2/15
when the annoying person who was waiting in line behind you to check in ends up sitting really far away from you on the plane

when people at work tell you they've missed you after five days off

when, even after all these years, your daddy still gets you beautiful flowers and candy on valentine's day, despite being only his second-best girl. and knowing that they're on the coffee table with your name on them before you even get home two days after the occasion

your pops being a good sport about getting up at 3 a.m. to drive 31 miles in crappy weather to come get you from work

2/14
cruising on the PCH

somehow entrancing the hostperson to let us cut in front of everyone in line at the restaurant and avoid a 1 1/2 hour wait because he can tell just how much i don't want to be forced to eat at Baja Fresh on valentine's day

1900 songs. all in a row.

2/12
homemade breakfast

2/11
sleeping in

2/10
85-degree weather when it's snowing at home

2/4
waking up to french toast in the morning

2/3
a country boy who introduces himself by his full name because 'it's only proper' and then apologizes for dropping the f-bomb with, 'sorry, i'm southern; i cuss.'

2/2
someone who will come to your room to see if you're dead when they hear you hacking up part of your lung at 5 a.m.

1/28
a group of people you've known for almost 20 years, with whom you can still have a fabulous time trapped in a small room with nothing but yourselves to entertain each other.

1/22
thinking you're having a good chat with someone and then looking at the clock to realize it's been nearly seven hours

1/19
coworkers who wait around while you sort out a big mess just because they want you to hang out afterward

1/16
getting to work so early that you have time for a toasted caprese (!)panini and a chat with a good friend

1/14
causing a ruckus with 20 ladies you haven't been able to see in a really long time in the private party room of a steakhouse and then being called 'hotties' as you and three of them are walking through the restaurant to the restroom

1/13
finding out that the gift you found is not only so cool you get one for yourself, but it's also on sale so you can get her the matching totebag, too -- which is sweet because when you swing by again 2 days later, they're totally sold out

1/6
when the dungeon security guard tells the shuttle to wait because he saw you pull into the parking lot and knows full well there are no spots any closer than a football field's distance away around the corner and that you really need to make the shuttle so you won't be late. and you're running between parked cars, even though you saw the shuttle pull out of the parking spot and you know you've probably missed it and will have to walk really far and be tired and late and sweaty, but then you emerge to see him grinning at you with a knowing smile in front of the shuttle, which is waiting just for you, and you thank God for this guy and that the jerk from the main office security doesn't work over here.

1/5
words of wisdom disguised as a grammar lesson

1/4
hanging out till the very last possible second

1/3
not having to move the car

1/1
figuring out how to work a foreign shower's hot/cold water