Things I Love

They say one of the benefits of getting older is that you "get to know yourself" better than you ever could when you're young, that you become "comfortable in your own skin." At the sage age of 28, I'm not quite to that point yet I don't think, but I am able to realize there are certain things that I do absolutely love and probably always will. Luckily for me, most could be typified as simple pleasures. I think a person is defined by the things they love and hate as much as they are by anything else.

In no particular order, these are some of the things I absolutely love:

1) Coffee - Ever since my pops passed down his espresso/cappuccino machine, I've been having an espresso after dinner a couple times a week. It's a nice capper, I think. I am definitely one of those people that needs their coffee every morning. Not for the caffeine (not always anyway), but just as part of the morning routine. Speaking of that routine...

2) The morning paper - I like the smell of it, the feel of it, and the idea of people around the city (or globe) reading it at the same time as part of their morning routines.

3) Wine - A bottle of red, a bottle of white, it all depends upon your appetite.

4) Beer - preferably something full bodied and hoppy.

5) Karaoke - I went last night and despite being tired and slightly hungover, I've got a spring in my step today that I would not otherwise have even on a Friday. Last night's repertoire:

A Long December
Island in the Sun
Stuck in the Middle With You
Cheers (TV Theme)
Don't Look Back in Anger
The Joker

And I've got more in the hopper for next time!

6) Baseball - One of the things I love most about baseball is that in all its complexity, it is the one sport I still learn something new about every single season. I can't provide any examples or even explain it really, but baseball, to me, feels more organic than any of the other sports. We leave for spring training, four weeks from today, fellas!

7) Disneyland - Having grown up on it, it could actually be the Happiest Place on Earth. It is for me whenever I'm there anyway.

8) Live music - I love concerts. My favorite venue, as it's been well documented, is Largo. It kind of feels like being able to live in your favorite movie.

9) Sunset walks along the beach - Just kidding.

10) Traveling - The bitch about this is the more wonderful places you discover, the more you miss them. Also, it can sometimes make the daily grind in Burbank a lot less satisfying once there's someplace like Paris to compare it to. But what am I saying, it's a good thing.

11) Cheese - This is a big one.

12) Cookies - My Achilles heel. Nice, soft, chewy, delicious chocolate chip cookies.

13) Movies - I realize this is pretty generic, something that most people love. I don't know what else to say but that when it comes to my favorite movies I really really really love them. They're not just entertainment or an enjoyable way to kill some time. They help me find meaning in life.

Well, I think that about covers the basics. I'm sure I'll be updating it as more occur to me. Not that I presume you give a crap. :-) As long as I can have most of the things on this list, life will be just fine by me. I was thinking of doing an accompanying Things I Hate List, but that list gets enough attention as it is, I think.