Things I Love Thursday

AAAGH quick, post something! There are only 55 minutes left in this Thursday!
I promised myself a while ago that I would be better at this. I think a small part of me hoped that by forcing myself to write here, no matter how irrelevant or pointless it may be, I will be more inclined to work on my thesis.

well, HA. joke's on you, self. If my thesis was an animal, it would be a tiny fish, flopping about on the shore and gasping for air.


too bad, little fish. You're only 45 pages shy of thriving.

But that's depressing. And that's not why we're here. Let the happy musings begin!


Rainbows and butterflies, activate!

(1) Twitter - I love Twitter. It is the silliest of Internet phenomena but something about it is so addicting. Condense your life into 140 characters. And then do it again 15 minutes later if you so choose. It is microblogging at its finest. Some people are frustrated by the character limit but I see it as a challenge: how can I pack wit, insight, and a coherent thought into such a small string of letters? I don't know if I've quite figured it out but I sure try. Sometimes multiple times a day. I am 100 percent aware that it is self-indulgent and meaningless. But there is something so satisfying about being able to take a whim, a moment of frustration, a stream of consciousness and publish it immediately. I often think, "what a pompous creature I am, to expect the world to want instant updates on my life." But then someone retweets me or @replies. The pompous creature adjusts her crown and smirks. And the cycle continues.

(2) Sudoku - Speaking of addictions, how about those Japanese number puzzles? When they first became popular in 2005, my math teacher loved to give them to us as busy work and extra credit. Since they were associated with math class and numbers, I was predisposed to despise them. I didn't understand how to do them and was frustrated that they were irrelevant to the mathematical concepts I was allegedly learning. However, once on a long trip, I bought a book of Sudoku, mistaking it for a book of crossword puzzles. (Apparently proving that I was predisposed to illiteracy as well.) Stuck with nothing to do but these cursed number games, I slowly figured out the way to solve them. And I was hooked. Now, I cannot tell you how many boring lectures, clerical meetings, and waiting rooms Sudoku puzzles have helped me suffer through. Until I get to the five star ones. Then I just count ceiling tiles.

(3) Long walks - on the beach. Kidding. This is not my online dating profile. Because I don't have one.

Maybe.

What?

But seriously. There's nothing that clears my head like a long stroll outdoors. Not just any outdoors, it has to be a rather calm setting. I don't often walk around outside at school because let's face it, even if the sidewalks weren't teeming with noisy college kids, there would still be the constant hum of traffic. and the sirens. and the construction. Oh, how I hate the construction. Living in a cluster of buildings that has been undergoing renovation for the last three years is definitely taking its toll. But that is a story for another time. Moving on...
I just adore taking a jaunt around the neighborhood when I'm home, like last weekend. Saturday dawned so very clear, feigning innocence of the ferocious winter storm it hurled down on us the night before. The blue sky/white snow was a dazzling combination that beckoned me outdoors. What a pleasant refreshing walk it was! Until I fell into an unsuspecting creek. Yet another story for another time...

(4) Valentine's Day - "What a cliche you are, falling for that corporate-sponsored myth of a holiday. You don't even have a boyfriend! HA! Loser." (That was the voice of the Pompous Creature who Twitters. She is also my alter ego who is not allergic to cats, and likes to lord that over me too. ) Well stuff it, Pompous Creature. Go crawl back under the figment of imagination you came from. I'm not ashamed and I will declare it from the rooftops: "HEY. I LOVE VALENTINE'S DAY!"

Yes. I appear to be a bird. Hey, I work with what Flickr gives me.
I love the shades of pink and red and white. I love the hearts, the x's, the o's, the glitter, the conversation candy, the saccharine poetry, the heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, the flowers, and the sweet signature of a child on the back of a store-bought card. I love exchanging cheesy gifts with my sister and my friends. Most of all I love love. That king of emotions that everyone wants so desperately to have, to feel, but defies explanation. But more importantly, the Love that is boundless, true, deep, and everlasting; the Love that is not of man, but is given without reserve and extends beyond the grave. That's the love I love the most.

(5) Making Lists - duh. The reason I enjoy Things I Love Thursdays the most: I can write in a list format. My life exists in lists. Case in point, I made a list during class today of the five things I was going to include in today's post, and have been checking them off as I type this. Also, upon finishing, I will be checking "update blog" off today's to-do list. And then will be checking "complete 2/11/10 list" off of this week's to-do list. I could go on, but it dissolves into an M.C. Escher scenario.


You get the picture.

This has gotten quite out of hand. I hope this Thursday finds you happy. And so I leave you with a pretty, vintage Valentine's Day image that will make the Pompous Creature cringe.

Now I need to go brush my teeth after all that sugary sweet.