There are 26 parts now to Things I Hate and this is only the 5th Things I Like. Something is wrong with that. Inspired by my new friend Brother Jon who was inspired by my series of Things I Like in a big circle of inspiration, here’s another edition of Things I Like.
1. I like small victories. For example, getting to a restaurant when there’s no one in line and leaving to find a crowd of people waiting, or just barely getting across the train tracks or intersection before the light changes to red. Those tiny victories are sometimes all we have.
2. I like grilling. At my last house, we had a backyard and a covered patio. I really miss that covered patio since I spent a lot of my time out there. On that patio was a huge man-sized grill that belonged to my roommate and honestly, it scared me a little. I left the grilling to my roommate or Male.
Since I moved, I really miss grilled food, so I thought, what the hell? I can grill… maybe! So, I bought a tiny propane Hibachi grill.
(homedepot.com)
And you know what? I can grill! My tiny grill isn’t scary at all. Every weekend for the last month, I’ve been experimenting with new things to grill. Grilling is awesome.
3. I like being polite. I like holding doors for people, helping someone pick up something heavy, wishing them a nice day. I am not an overly friendly person. I don’t want to start a conversation with strangers, but I do like the general pleasantries of living in civilization. It costs nothing to wish someone a nice day.
4. Skills. I like having them. I like using them. I’m a good graphic designer. I’m a decent writer. I know how to use power tools. I can do most home improvement projects all on my own.
Except, I did a project not too long ago with PVC pipe and I couldn’t get the PVC cement bottle open. I felt like such a failure and a total girl. I had to ask my neighbor, a man, to open it for me, which he did with relative ease and a confused look as to why I would need a PVC cement bottle opened.
(homedepot.com)
But, once the bottle was open, I continued with my project and all was well. Thanks, dad, for showing me how to do things.
5. I love tool shopping. If you took me to a hardware store and we got separated, odds are that I’d be in the tool section drooling over the tools I’d like to own. I really wish I had room (or even a justifiable need) for a compound miter saw, but I don’t.
(dewalttoolsreview.com)
I have to make do with a circular saw. Boo hoo.
6. Text messages. I’m really not a fan of talking on the phone. I’m not a big talker. But, text messages rock. You can convey information simply and easily without awkward silences. You never have to worry about interrupting someone. You send it, it’s there when the recipient wakes up or gets out of that meeting and they can reply at their leisure. I can send “Hey, I saw this and thought of you” type messages. I wouldn’t call someone up and tell them that, but I can put it in a text message. No pressure.
7. Getting excited about things. As kids, we have tons of reasons to celebrate. We have birthday parties and Christmas and the end of school and Tuesday. You can’t wait until you’re a teenager, you can’t wait to graduate, etc. As an adult, there aren’t all that many reasons to celebrate really. So, I really enjoy looking forward to things. Male is coming home tomorrow night and I’m anxious like a kid on the last day of the school year.
8. I like writing. I love the fact that words come into my brain and I just write them down. I realize how lucky I am to be able to write down my experiences in a way that is comprehensible, compelling and sometimes funny. Not everyone can do that. I can’t imagine how awful my life would be if I didn’t have the release valve of writing and this blog.
9. I love the community we have here. I’ve never met any of you in person, but I’d consider some of you my friends anyway. It doesn’t matter if we don’t know what each other looks like. What matters is that we connect through our words and I’m happy to be a part of it.
10. The internet. What did we do before the internet? If not for the internet, this list wouldn’t exist. What would I be if I wasn’t a blogger? How on earth would I ever know anything? It boggles the mind.
High five!
Fish Of Gold 