Unlike Beyonce (who I still love) and Lady Gaga (duh), I am not too proud to say when I am completely stealing or ripping off someone else's idea. My boyfriend and his BFF recently wrote their own top 10 lists of things that make them happy. Other than the items listed below, shit like this makes me happy because I love getting to know people and finding out things I never knew and boy, do I love a prompt.
This past week being Thanksgiving, I've naturally been thinking about things that I'm thankful for, which it turns out, are many of the things that make me a happy Wes. I hoped to write this before Thanksgiving, but my parents were in town and we were super busy doing things to make my mom happy. Speaking of, what a great place to start my list (in no particular order):
My mom. My mom is the most selfless person I have ever known, as she has quite literally given up her self to raise my brothers and I. She devoted her life to us and our needs for over 20 years. She cut our grapefruits individually every morning, woke us up in the cheeriest of moods, drove us to practices, made our dinner, washed our clothes, cleaned our rooms, spoiled us rotten, and always, always, always was positive, supportive and cheerful. Things have been tough for her recently, but like me and Beyonce, she has turned a corner. We call her "Libbie 2.0" because she's a new woman. She's sober, happy, and deeper than ever. When things were hard, we would have conversations for hours and I would try to put things in perspective by asking "what makes you happy?" She would always respond "seeing you guys happy." As sweet as it was, I always wanted it to be something else - something just for her. But now, I get it. Because nothing makes me happier than seeing my mom happy.
Seeing movies by myself. I often get judged when I tell people that I like to see movies alone, but I don't care because they clearly haven't experienced the simple joy of watching a movie solo. I really love to see the heavy, beautifully depressing movies (think Revolutionary Road) by myself because I can cry and feel it all without having someone next to me who "doesn't get it," or who is incapable of showing emotion (or should I say showcasing emotion). As of now, there are only two people who I can actually enjoy seeing movies with and everyone else inhibits me from getting the most out of a viewing.
Throwing parties. I have always loved to throw parties, and after reading Mrs. Dalloway my senior year of high school, I had a newfound appreciation for party-throwing (and suicide). In college, I would throw theme parties several times a year that were taken very seriously. Everyone knew to show up in theme or be ridiculed. Since moving to New York and wisely choosing to live out in bumfuck, Brooklyn (affectionately known as Little India) I haven't been able to entertain as much as I'd like, but I get such joy out of planning a great party, making the playlist, coordinating and cooking themed snacks and creating cocktail lists, decorating, and then anxiously reminding everyone in the week leading up to the party before having a mini-panic attack over whether anyone is actually going to show up or not. If that's not happiness, I don't know what is.
Honorable mentions:
Receiving good gifts. I know that giving is supposed to be the best, but I can't lie: receiving a thoughtful gift is one of the best things ever. My favorite gifts to get are not the ones I've made known that I want. They are the surprises and are best when randomly given, like the old-fashioned robot my boyfriend gave me just because, or the Viva Pedro collection of DVD's that my roommate bought me that I never even knew existed.
My friends. This should go without saying, but my friendships make me so happy. I am so fortunate to have friends all over the country and to have developed the kind of stable, solid relationships with them where we can keep in touch or not - and whenever we see each other, we can pick up where we left off. The construction of these relationships hasn't been without difficulty, but that's part of what I love about them: that they have been earned.
Excel. As stated, I love organization. I also love technology, and this is the convergence of those two things in the most magical of ways. I can see the eyes rolling now, but I don't care. I love making Excel spreadsheets, and have made them for remembering what movies I've seen and what I thought about them, keeping track of ex-boyfriends and hookups (one of my more bored moments, but the payoff was hilarious and amazing), and keeping track of which recipes I liked and didn't like. Judge away, but at least I'm a happy nerd.
This past week being Thanksgiving, I've naturally been thinking about things that I'm thankful for, which it turns out, are many of the things that make me a happy Wes. I hoped to write this before Thanksgiving, but my parents were in town and we were super busy doing things to make my mom happy. Speaking of, what a great place to start my list (in no particular order):
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| She's shy. |
Cooking. I'm not the best cook, but I love to do it. I haven't always cooked, as having a mother who cooks for you all the time makes that rather difficult, but one of the things I find sexiest in a guy is the ability to cook. Naturally, in an effort to make myself more sexy... for myself? I took up cooking. I hate microwaves, and I'm a big romantic believer in cooking for other people and the love that comes through that process, which is why I love to cut onions and cry like a little bitch. Don't get it? Read Like Water For Chocolate. I'm still a baby chef though: following recipes to the 1/8 of a teaspoon, anxious about being adventurous, unsure of proper technique, and unwilling to take compliments on my cooking seriously (who's actually going to tell you that your cooking sucks?) However, I have approximately 4 sure-thing dishes that I have learned in 2 years. At this rate, I'll have enough to publish my very own cookbook by the time I'm 68.
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| No Doubt, 2009 |
Live music. Some of my favorite memories involve going to concerts with friends. We are experts at Ticketmaster - almost always getting front row or close to it and we make events out of it. I've traveled to Vegas, Anaheim, Atlanta, New York (before I lived here) and had my best friend, Mike, cross the country for concerts. We go, scream like teenage girls, make eye contact with our favorite superstar singers, get pulled on stage sometimes, go backstage sometimes, and then go out afterward, stoned out of our minds from the experience. Concerts bring me months of happiness: the time leading up to the show, the show itself, and the months following recounting our memories.
Seeing movies by myself. I often get judged when I tell people that I like to see movies alone, but I don't care because they clearly haven't experienced the simple joy of watching a movie solo. I really love to see the heavy, beautifully depressing movies (think Revolutionary Road) by myself because I can cry and feel it all without having someone next to me who "doesn't get it," or who is incapable of showing emotion (or should I say showcasing emotion). As of now, there are only two people who I can actually enjoy seeing movies with and everyone else inhibits me from getting the most out of a viewing.
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| Playing in an abandoned fridge. |
Trouble-making. I know, this is hard to believe as I'm such a good boy, but I love to go out and cause trouble. I've always been a big practical joker, but my jokes tend to skew on the more... illegal or dangerous side of things. I don't like to do things at the expense of others (unless you count moving someone's inflatable Christmas decorations across the street to their neighbor's house in the middle of the night), but I love to cause trouble and not get caught. I have a mischievous streak, and some of my best friends are the ones who would help me push port-o-potties over, change church signs from "Thanksgiving Service" to "Thanks Penis Service," or "Great Senior Blood Drive - Do It!" to "Give Blood Or Die!" and make lawn-ornament reindeer hump each other. Yes, I'm immature... but I have fun.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I may be immature, but I can also have fun in adult ways, like indulging in the magical realism of Garcia Marquez. I first read Love in the Time of Cholera and it was like a revelation. I felt like I had found my spirit animal and it was this author. When I read One Hundred Years of Solitude, my life changed. I can't remember reading anything so beautiful. I want to live in the world he describes, and I want to love in the way he envisions it. My only complaint is that I don't know Spanish, so I can't appreciate the true power of his words, but I hope to before I die.
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| Toga Party, circa 2006. |
Cleaning. Since I am the only one who actually cleans my apartment, this is a good thing. I live to clean. I blast music, strip down to my undies and a t-shirt, and clean the shit out of my home. I also really enjoy cleaning other people's spaces, too, because it's very thoughtful and sweet unless they are a crazy person who doesn't like you touching their things. I have always been an organizer, as evidence by me asking for folders and containers for my birthday one year. I was eleven. I love to make chaos into clarity. I truly believe this is why I let my room become a disaster area and then spend an afternoon cleaning it: because it's more fun for me to do it all at once and conquer it than to do it little by litte, or than to never let it get that way. I feel so fulfilled and accomplished and love to just sit and do nothing in my freshly cleaned house. Sometimes, I'll even get up to go pour myself a glass of wine and slip and bust my kneecap on the wood floor that gets so slippery as a result of my dusting obsession (I'm allergic so I have to be obsessed). Okay, and I'm just going to stop now because I am pretty sure reading about cleaning brings no one happiness.
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| Believe! |
Dreams coming true. This might be a silly one, and a total "duh," but I love having my own (and watching other people's) dreams come true. This one really hit me on Thanksgiving when I took my mom to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I learned two things: 1) don't listen to all cynical New Yorkers who roll their eyes and say "I'd rather die" than go to that; and 2) dreams really do come true. It was surprisingly very cool in the way that seeing something so untouchable that you grew up with actually happen in front of your very eyes is very cool. My mom spoke in the highest register her voice could muster for 2 hours straight, she was so excited. I've been lucky enough to have some of my life's dreams come true: moving to New York City, meeting some of my idols, seeing Keith Haring art up close and personal, seeing Madonna in concert. Whether through hard work, a gift, or just plain chance, these moments make me a happy little fella.
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| The kind of lights that set Xmas trees on fire and kill entire families. |
Christmas. Christmas makes me happy because it makes me feel like a kid again, and there's nothing I love more than childhood. I love it because it combines so many of the other things that make me happy: Cooking, my mom, throwing parties, cleaning the house (for said parties), dreams coming true, receiving good gifts, and trouble-making (it's no coincidence that so many of my trouble-making memories involve the holidays). My favorite things: Home Alone, Christmas Vacation and Love Actually (I'm a sucker), the Charlie Brown Christmas album, this version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, my homemade cranberry apple crisp, old-fashioned Christmas lights, and snow.
Honorable mentions:
Receiving good gifts. I know that giving is supposed to be the best, but I can't lie: receiving a thoughtful gift is one of the best things ever. My favorite gifts to get are not the ones I've made known that I want. They are the surprises and are best when randomly given, like the old-fashioned robot my boyfriend gave me just because, or the Viva Pedro collection of DVD's that my roommate bought me that I never even knew existed.
My friends. This should go without saying, but my friendships make me so happy. I am so fortunate to have friends all over the country and to have developed the kind of stable, solid relationships with them where we can keep in touch or not - and whenever we see each other, we can pick up where we left off. The construction of these relationships hasn't been without difficulty, but that's part of what I love about them: that they have been earned.
Excel. As stated, I love organization. I also love technology, and this is the convergence of those two things in the most magical of ways. I can see the eyes rolling now, but I don't care. I love making Excel spreadsheets, and have made them for remembering what movies I've seen and what I thought about them, keeping track of ex-boyfriends and hookups (one of my more bored moments, but the payoff was hilarious and amazing), and keeping track of which recipes I liked and didn't like. Judge away, but at least I'm a happy nerd.
It also makes me happy that you're reading my blog still, even after disclosing my love of Excel. So, thanks! What makes you happy?
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