I Like Things

So here I am, sitting in the basement with my laptop where it belongs (i.e. in my lap) and I'm thinking- Dang it. I need to write about something.That's happening, and all that's coming up is stuff I want to complain about, like kids these days, and what's on TV, and how living with an old person afflicted with Alzheimer's is a terrible thing- but you know what? No.

I'm going to write about something that's cool, and that I like. That's what this Monday is going to be all about.

What do I like?

I like reading.

I like writing. I like reading. I like being outside. I like cool breezes on days when its overcast but not too chilly, when there're just enough clouds to keep the sun from blinding you in the face (I know that's redundant).

I like books that bring you places, that take you by the hand, then either lead you gently or just drag you violently to where they want you to go. I like authors who understand how people think, and who are willing to take something as played out as zombies and who are willing to do in-depth sociopolitical research to determine how the world would react if they really did exist (props to you, Max Brooks).I like authors who force me to pick up a dictionary with words like cachinnation, deshabille, and consanguineous.

I like writing (with a pen).

I like being able to pick up a pen and put thoughts on paper, because then it's like, whoa, these are my thoughts, except in line-form on a really thin piece of processed wood fibre that only those with the gift of literacy can decipher. I like that you can invent worlds that are sprawling and magnificent, and that you can create worlds that are really just stupid. I like that even though you can't hack or stab someone with a pen (like you can with a sword) you can use that pen to write "REMEMBER TO EMAIL PARENTS" on your inner arm (which sure, you could do with a sword, but at what cost?).

I like living.

I like walking to the subway station on the way back from work and having someone working for Delissio giving me a free Pepperoni and Fire Roasted Peppers Crispy Flatbread Pizza. I like walking across the bridge to a farm on a hill and drawing pigs for half an hour. I like taking snapshots on Skype when the other person makes a ridiculous face and then acting like I didn't do anything. I like counting down the days until StarCraft II comes out, because I know that the wait will make the game itself so much sweeter when it arrives. I like meeting people in the Hong Kong airport who I never thought you'd bump into. I like seeing a loonie on the streetcar, asking anyone if they dropped it, having no one respond, and putting that in my pocket, because that's going out and getting money, and how often does that even happen? I like the internet because even though it can be full of filthy, vulgar things, it can also provide a solid dose of pick-me-up with videos like this: http://www.todaysbigthing.com/2010/05/17. I like going out on a run and grabbing a copy of the Metro on the way home, walking slowly and stopping whenever I get three or four clues in the crossword puzzle.

I like that you actually read all of that up there, to get down to here. I like that.