Nine of My Favorite Things

I hate Top 10 lists, so I limited this to 9 things (in no particular order, other than how they popped into my head). If you choose to add yourself to this thread, feel free to stop at 8 or go beyond all the way to 11.

MUSIC. Music is such a core part of my humanity, that it's difficult to describe. I love making music. I love listening to music. I love teaching about music. I love learning about music. I love to cry while listening to a tragic operatic aria, and rock my ass out while listening to Led Zeppelin. I love to entertain myself during boring conversations by thinking of song lyrics that closely match the phrases I'm hearing. When I sing or play music that hits my sweet spot, my natural reaction is to laugh out loud. I can't help it. Music that resonates within me makes me laugh. I can't tell you how many arguments I've started or people I've offended by laughing inappropriately at music, but I can't help it. That's just what happens to me. I have no doubt that if someone could find a way to codify the electrical firings of the cortical neurons in my brain, and therefore "listen" to my thought processes, they'd be able to hear composed, organized music. I know in my soul that music is the language of my brain.

TEACHING. I'm a damn good teacher, and I know it. I'm a cash cow for my college, because all my sections are always full. I still can't believe that I am so incredibly lucky enough to have made a career out of teaching. I'm good at relating to students. I'm good at breaking down concepts into digestible portions so that they can understand and comprehend. I'm able to recognize their struggles and know how to adjust my teaching to help them understand at last. I'm good at finding connections between what I need to teach and what they think is important. I am a ninja at teaching. I can drop into an unknown circumstance, evaluate my situation, and adjust my teaching flexibility on the fly to match and mold whatever I'm facing into a success.

MY WIFE. Make no mistake about it - before I met my wife, I was an asshole who was convinced of his own perfection and charm. I owe everything I have and everything I am to her, because she was able to sift through the bullshit to find my valuable core and help me to grow it. I'm ashamed to admit that I almost certainly would NOT have had enough patience to return the favor, so it's a damn good thing she was pretty close to perfect to start with. I don't have any doubt that I would be dead by now if it weren't for her. I owe her my very life, and she is the best thing about me.

AUBURN FOOTBALL. If you turn on any sports radio show in Texas, you'll hear a little bit about the Mavericks, and a little bit about the Rangers, and a little bit about the Cowboys, and a little bit about the Longhorns, etc. In Alabama, the only thing you will hear on EVERY sports show is Auburn and Alabama football. Period. No pro sports of any kind. Just Auburn and Alabama, and I THANK GOD I was born into an Auburn family. I can tell you at any given time how many days there are until the next kickoff. When the Auburn team takes the field each Saturday, and I see those blue jerseys run out of the tunnel, I start crying. Every single Saturday, every single time. It always makes me cry.

THE SOUTH. This is probably the only area where I'm a little oversensitive, but that's only because Southerners have had to endure crap about it our whole lives. And no matter how much energy and effort is put into the project, no one will ever make me feel ashamed for being a Southerner. Hopefully, by now, you can read these words from me without picturing me in a white sheet (and I almost hate to admit this), but the opening strains of "Dixie" quickens my pulse, clogs my throat, and moistens my eyes every time I hear it.

OUTDOORS. I love and cherish being outdoors as much as possible. I hate when it rains a lot, because I can't get outside. When I get home from work, I usually work in our yard until it gets dark. On the weekends, I get outside at about sunrise and work until it's too hot (10 or 11-ish), then return for more outdoor work later in the afternoon. I never watch TV on the weekends, unless it's late at night. If I tried, I'd just spend the whole time thinking about the outdoors anyway. Although I would never be so arrogant as to call myself a farmer, I seem to have a lot of instinctive knowledge about farming, and I'm naturally gifted outdoors. I'm good at identifying plants, understanding trailcraft, and maintaining a sense of direction. Day or night.

COOKING. I don't have any idea what I'm doing when I cook, but I just know that I love it. I don't have any fancy utensils or appliances, or any exotic ingredients or recipes, but I still LOVE to putter around in the kitchen and cook. I like to watch those chef competition shows, but I'm not even in the same galaxy as those people. I have no skill, knowledge, or training in cooking - I just like to do it.

THE MACABRE. Ever since I was a really little kid, I've been addicted to the spine chill I get from scary things. The first models I put together weren't cars, boats, or planes - they were the Universal horror movie monsters, such as Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, the Mummy, the Hunchback, and the Phantom of the Opera. When the new TV Guide came every week, I'd scan through and find all the horror movies. I love gothic horror novels and writers, and I especially love macabre music from the 19th century.

THE DARK TOWER. Okay, I know how nerdy it is to admit this, but Stephen King's Dark Tower series changed my life. I've read a ton of other books that might have had a momentary effect on my personality, but nothing like this. I've walked out of movies thinking I wanted to be just like one of the characters - walk like him and talk like him - but it usually wears of after a day. The Dark Tower is SOOOO different to me. It changed my vocabulary, my actions and reactions to situations, my outlook on life's mysteries, and so much more. An untold amount of my day (every day) is filtered through my knowledge of The Dark Tower, and if Stephen King knew that, he'd probably dial the insane asylum for me.

 

I've been thinking about this since you posted, warrrreagl , I'm just still gathering my thoughts on narrowing down the stuff that *I* love. I enjoyed reading yours, though.

 

(not necessarily in this order)
A glass of wine and a cigarette after work
My garden in summer
My kids now that they're 4000 miles away
My job (yes - I love it!)
My husband (dogs in general)
Debating politics with extreme right wingers
My bed
American diners and English pubs
A good cup of coffee

 

I like this thread...ummmm, I need to meditate on this because it deserves my best.

 

In no particular order:

1. Women. I love looking at pretty women. I love watching women move and talk. I love being friends with women, and hanging out with women. I love interactions with women: casual, professional, friendly, romantic, sexual. Chicks rule. Bonus points for lesbians, since I basically am one: I love my lesbian friends, I love hanging out with lesbians, I love lesbian artists, and I tend to share a lot of cultural, political, and social tastes and preferences with lesbians. Plus, you know, the whole having sex with other women thing. Hot. And cool.

2. Art. In all its forms: visual, musical, literary, and everything else. I don't necessarily like every work of art I encounter-- I actually have fairly established and specific tastes-- but I constantly appreciate and value the existence of art and artists, and relate to much of life's experiences as art, and as an artist. I like experiencing art, I like others experiencing it, and I like producing it (writing poetry, fiction, and professional prose; singing; cooking).

3. Travel. I really like seeing new things, going new places, experiencing different kinds of art, culture, cuisine, lifestyle and attitudes, and such. And I'm really mostly interested in going to places for cultural experiences, social exploration: I don't really do Nature vacations, that's not my thing. I'm too interested in human beings and what they do and make.

4. Mysticism and magic. I like my mind open and my soul cranked to 11. And I like learning how others do the same, and sharing those experiences.

5. Being Jewish. God damn I love being Jewish! The holidays, the obligations, the history, the philosophy, the tradition, the law, the food, the customs, the music, the art, the theology and mysticism, the community. It all just fucking rocks. Even the Jews who get on my nerves and I want to wring their necks: they kind of rock in their own ways, sometimes. Even the parts of the tradition that need radical reinterpretation rock at least a little, sometimes. I fucking love it. I love living the Jewish life, I love my Jewish brothers and sisters, and I love hot, smart Jewish girls.

6. My family. I love my wife. She is so amazing. She's one of the strongest people I know, one of the sharpest people I know, one of the truest people I know. She's funny, she's clever, she's an incredible rabbi, she's a terrific writer, and she's a minx in the sack. She makes me a better person, every day, in a hundred different ways. And I love my son. He's the sweetest little guy, with the greatest little smile. He's so happy, and full of joyful curiosity, awe and wonder, love, and he just throws himself into every moment he lives. Nothing will ever be better than the way his face lights up when he sees me.

7. Sex.

8. Food. Not eating it, though that's lovely and I enjoy it. The whole process of food, from growing/getting it (not that I farm or garden or slaughter animals, but I enjoy reading and learning about it), to selecting it, to cooking it, to serving it, to the experience of sharing it with others around a table. I love the cultures of food in different places, the traditions and customs that grow up around the experience of cooking and eating, the way people come together over food and drink. Food is/teaches art, sociology, psychology, aesthetics, ethics, anthropology, biology, agronomy and botany, husbandry, religion, history, technology, politics, geography, meteorology, geology, oceanography and zoology, and sometimes sex.

9. Learning things. Knowledge isn't just power, it's life.

 

In no particular order:
1. Television. I couldn't live without it. It's what keeps my mind working right.
2. Debating with people, especially about religion. I love debates with both people who can rationally communicate with me and complete idiots whom I can run circles around.
3. Bugs. All kinds of bugs. I constantly catch and care for insects of all kinds. Right now, I'm supporting a large tarantula whom I can pet and hold and shove in my sister's face. He's flippin' adorable.
4. Books. The other only thing that keeps me sane.
5. Smartasses with their blogs and books.
6. Being a smartass.
7. Mythology, paranormality, magic, and everything in between.
8. Sleeping could probably make up this whole list.
9. Everything biological. I love biology and science in general.
10. Strategy. I love strategy. I was a natural at every strategy game I ever played as a child. When I was made team captain during water balloon wars, I wouldn't just beat the enemy team. I would crush their will to live.
11. My pals. I love how stupid we are together.
12. Writing.

 

"Hey! Just what you see, pal."

 

In no particular order...

1. Trees. I think that I could do without direct sunlight my whole life if only I lived under a canopy of green.

2. Human touch. The favourite of which being a touch from my girlfriend, her skin is so soft and so beautiful.

3. Cold colours. Purple and Blue.

4. Science. Science experiments. New scientific discoveries. Learning new things and having my mind blown.

5. Being on the road. Driving down the highway by yourself with the wind in your hair, or in the passenger seat at night looking up at the stars as they slowly glide by, or even sitting solitary on a bus looking out the window with headphones on your ears. I love travelling in general, but my favourite part is actually being en route.

6. a)Sex. b)Masturbation. (Two very different things, but related enough to be grouped together so I still have room for three more things). I used to think I was a sex fiend as a teenager... If only I knew back then how i'd be at 30.

7. Art. Fabric patchwork, stainedglass, and watercolours.

8. Bilingualism. Well, multilingualism in general, but i've come to terms with the fact that mastering my second language will probably be as far as I go. I am fascinated by people who can fluently speak many languages though. I have been a student of the French language ever since kindergarten, doing many immersion courses along the way. I lived in a very rural/Francophone area of Quebec for a year, and when I left I felt homesick without that constant flow of foreign language wrapping itself around me. It was no surprise to my friends that I found love in a bilingual girl from Montreal. Even though she communicates to me in French on an almost daily basis, I still can't say that i'm perfectly fluent myself. I think it will be a life-long learning process.

9. Teaching. Specifically, teaching elementary school students. I just feel this need to share what i've learned... I don't know how else to explain it. And in teaching others you always learn new things, fueling that circle. It's amazing to see just how intelligent young kids are and how open they are to new ideas. I also love the challenge of figuring out the best way to teach in order to accommodate different learning styles. It's an arduous but rewarding profession.

--- merged: Jul 14, 2013 at 1:54 AM ---
Can I just say, I love reading about what people are passionate about. I love this thread

 

Let's see....

1. God. Without God, my life would be a wreck. I would be divorced, and or dead.
2. My wife. She's stuck with me through the best and worst of me.
3. Sex (with my wife!).
4. My children. They are so awesome. A parent couldn't ask for better kids!
5. Music. I love love music!
6. The beginning of Fall. Love the cool mornings, but a bright warm sun in the afternoon.
7. Ohio State Football.
8. Detroit Red Wings

I'm sure there's more, just off the top!

 

In no particular order:

1. Making music, specifically chamber and symphonic orchestral music.
2. Nature, and being outside in it. I crave natural light, smelling trees, hearing wind blow through pine boughs, watching birds, catching (or rescuing) insects, falling asleep to the sound of rain, being surrounded by thunder and lightning, walking under stars, etc. I could easily list birds separately as I utterly adore them, but I'll keep them as a subset of the previous for now.
3. Writing: when I was doing it regularly a few years back, I took a lot of pride in the things that I wrote.
4. Riding my bike, my preferred mode of getting anywhere and everywhere, as often as I can.
5. Snow, and everything there is to do in it and with it. This includes but is not limited to skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, shoveling, snowball fights, and just watching it fall.
6. Pushing myself physically and mentally. I appreciate challenges, and I love the feeling of doing something well.
7. Roller coasters: no explanation necessary.
8. Physical contact from the people—and especially the person—I love.
9. Dreams, and my ability to remember them. Sometimes they terrify me, sometimes they inspire me, but I'm still very happy to have them regardless.
10. Urban decay and civilized ruins, specifically abandoned infrastructure—it haunts me in the best way possible.
11. Wonder and awe: one of my strongest held beliefs is that we can't know everything, and perhaps we aren't meant to. I embrace the mystery of everything around me and accept the challenge of living with and appreciating it.

 

I like stuff, and things. Can't decide which I like more though...


And being a smart ass. That's probably number one.

Actually: ( no particular order, and probably incomplete )

1. Reading: mainly novels, mostly horror genre
2. Eating/cooking: Just about anything...
3. Learning: It keeps my mind from circling around with dumb or destructive thinking. Coursera and edX are cool
4. Making things: Though I don't do this enough, I like building things or taking them apart and then rebuilding them. Whatever is around, no particular tech
5. Lifting weights: I just like pushing hard, and the rituals calm my mind. Not to mention no energy left for destructive thoughts/behaviours. ( I always put a 'u' in such words, am I some kind of Canadian? )
6. Women: I like them a lot. I only wish they liked me back, heh.

 

Coffee
Driving alone on village roads
OPB
Music
The job
Innocence of a child
Good food
Conversations with Strangers(!)
Porn
Masturbation

 

In no particular order
1. golf - I'm not particularly good, but I'm still hooked
2. good food - both things I/we cook at home and also going out to eat. Some things you can skimp on - food really isn't it
3. coffee - and I mean buying freshly roasted beans. Nespresso isn't real coffee - someone should just blow them all up!
4. beer - I'm partial to a glass of wine, but much prefer a cold lager on a hot day
5. women - they are beautiful
6. books - I love to read and especially fantasy and sci-fi. I'm not talking high brow literature - this is pure escapism!
7. my family - their ratbags, but their my ratbags.
8. music - not playing it - I'm fairly sure I can make people's ears bleed - listening to it. Nothing specific - My CD collection (and yes actual physical CDs, not this new fangled itunes melarchy) ranges from AC-DC to ZZ-Top (and all the letters in between). Actually now I think of it, ABBA comes before AC/DC
9. stopping at 8 because that is the way I roll