Metatalktail Hour: December 7, 2019 5:55 PM Subscribe
This week, for Metatalktails, signal suggests: name one or more things that you love and none or few other people know about or appreciate. Basically, a little thing you hold close to your heart.
As always this is a conversation starter, not limiter. Come on in and let us know how things are or what's new for you.
As always this is a conversation starter, not limiter. Come on in and let us know how things are or what's new for you.
I love that moment when someone comes with a problem and I can recognize it as a known quantity; the "I have just the thing!" moment.
I adore the very moment when a mug of coffee passes from juuust too-hot-to-sip to juuust cool-enough-to-drink.
I relish the feeling of getting home from a trip and being able to just put off unpacking until tomorrow because I'm home where the rest of stuff is and I don't have to live out of the suite case anymore.
I savour the first bit of the crunchy peanut butter jar that's extra crunchy.
I look forward to that moment when I've been away but my dog spots me and knows it's time for greeting.
posted by mce at 6:43 PM on December 7, 2019 [9 favorites]
I adore the very moment when a mug of coffee passes from juuust too-hot-to-sip to juuust cool-enough-to-drink.
I relish the feeling of getting home from a trip and being able to just put off unpacking until tomorrow because I'm home where the rest of stuff is and I don't have to live out of the suite case anymore.
I savour the first bit of the crunchy peanut butter jar that's extra crunchy.
I look forward to that moment when I've been away but my dog spots me and knows it's time for greeting.
posted by mce at 6:43 PM on December 7, 2019 [9 favorites]
I'm deeply sorry, but I'll be that person: I'm the only person I know who reads MetaFilter regularly. I've tried to get some people into it, but if it has ever worked none of them has admitted it. I've never been an especially persuasive person.
posted by Tehhund at 6:45 PM on December 7, 2019 [34 favorites]
posted by Tehhund at 6:45 PM on December 7, 2019 [34 favorites]
A warm mug of homemade chicken (or in my case this week, post-Thanksgiving smoked turkey) stock, with little shiny beads of fat swirling around the top.
Piping hot crispy crunchy seasoned skin from a roast chicken just out of the oven.
A perfectly seasoned and seared medium-rare NY strip steak (I know, lots of people think ribeye is the best but I think NY strip is more flavorful than ribeye, so sue me).
BBQ anything.
Garlic just barely beginning to simmer in good olive oil.
Trying out a new recipe for the first time and pulling it off successfully.
Opening a bottle of Lagavulin 16 and smelling the peat and the fresh sea air.
That first swig from a cold pint of beer after working outside in the summer.
(sensing a strong food theme here - which wouldn't surprise anyone who knows me. Let's see if I can branch out a bit...)
Certain chords - major 9th especially.
This choral piece.
Putting clean socks on clean (dry) feet after a shower.
Falling into bed after a long day of hard work, hiking, etc.
Coming up with a joke comment or punchline a split second before the comedian/comic actor on the screen says it.
Sitting outside in the shade with a beverage and a snack, reading a book.
The smell of sweetgrass on a hot dry summer day.
The sheer luck of having a life that allows me to experience all those things.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:00 PM on December 7, 2019 [10 favorites]
Piping hot crispy crunchy seasoned skin from a roast chicken just out of the oven.
A perfectly seasoned and seared medium-rare NY strip steak (I know, lots of people think ribeye is the best but I think NY strip is more flavorful than ribeye, so sue me).
BBQ anything.
Garlic just barely beginning to simmer in good olive oil.
Trying out a new recipe for the first time and pulling it off successfully.
Opening a bottle of Lagavulin 16 and smelling the peat and the fresh sea air.
That first swig from a cold pint of beer after working outside in the summer.
(sensing a strong food theme here - which wouldn't surprise anyone who knows me. Let's see if I can branch out a bit...)
Certain chords - major 9th especially.
This choral piece.
Putting clean socks on clean (dry) feet after a shower.
Falling into bed after a long day of hard work, hiking, etc.
Coming up with a joke comment or punchline a split second before the comedian/comic actor on the screen says it.
Sitting outside in the shade with a beverage and a snack, reading a book.
The smell of sweetgrass on a hot dry summer day.
The sheer luck of having a life that allows me to experience all those things.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:00 PM on December 7, 2019 [10 favorites]
the smell of the buds and new leaves of cottonwoods
the smell of cleome
wineberries
an album called Jesus Doesn't Live Here Anymore by Tom House
posted by Redstart at 7:01 PM on December 7, 2019
the smell of cleome
wineberries
an album called Jesus Doesn't Live Here Anymore by Tom House
posted by Redstart at 7:01 PM on December 7, 2019
The moment when you start reading a book ... and you just KNOW that you’re going to love it.
When your pet chooses your lap... out of all the places in the house... to curl up and take a nap.
posted by bookmammal at 7:10 PM on December 7, 2019 [19 favorites]
When your pet chooses your lap... out of all the places in the house... to curl up and take a nap.
posted by bookmammal at 7:10 PM on December 7, 2019 [19 favorites]
So I still do film photography and still process my own film in the darkroom. You load your film in the dark on a reel and put the reel blindly into a coffee-can sized canister. Then you pour a series of chemicals into the canister and and shake it to make sure the chemicals flow around all the surfaces of the film roll. After the developer and fixer and various washes, you finally can take the top off the canister in the light and unroll the roll of film and hang it to dry.
That moment when you unroll the roll of developed film and finally see the little tiny negative images of your shots is just magic. Or it's magic when it works; sometimes you get nothing or you get really thin underexposed shots but when they're good, it feels great.
posted by octothorpe at 7:24 PM on December 7, 2019 [18 favorites]
That moment when you unroll the roll of developed film and finally see the little tiny negative images of your shots is just magic. Or it's magic when it works; sometimes you get nothing or you get really thin underexposed shots but when they're good, it feels great.
posted by octothorpe at 7:24 PM on December 7, 2019 [18 favorites]
This poem and its reading by John Giorno. I've loved it for years and have shared it many times and everyone tells me they can't make it through it.
I'm also fond of Robert Pattinson's reading of this James Wright poem from The Paris Review podcast.
posted by dobbs at 7:28 PM on December 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
I'm also fond of Robert Pattinson's reading of this James Wright poem from The Paris Review podcast.
posted by dobbs at 7:28 PM on December 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
I've got an all makes auto repair manual from 1920s. It has instructions on how to do common and uncommon automobile tasks of the time like rebuilding mufflers and pouring babbit bearings. It's a joy to pull down and read a section or two even though I'll never perform any of the instructions. It might be the only copy in existence.
Most autoparts stores sell WD-40 in spray bottle dispensers and 1 gallon/4l jugs if you have one around (and 20l buckets but that is a lot of WD-40 for a home shop).
posted by Mitheral at 8:28 PM on December 7, 2019 [5 favorites]
Most autoparts stores sell WD-40 in spray bottle dispensers and 1 gallon/4l jugs if you have one around (and 20l buckets but that is a lot of WD-40 for a home shop).
posted by Mitheral at 8:28 PM on December 7, 2019 [5 favorites]
Also I love the feeling of swimming in a 10 degree river on a 40 degree day. Head and shoulders baking out of the water and everything else almost uncomfortably cool.
posted by Mitheral at 8:30 PM on December 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 8:30 PM on December 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
(Americans: I am sure Mitheral is speaking in Celsius.)
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:36 PM on December 7, 2019 [24 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:36 PM on December 7, 2019 [24 favorites]
Or maybe Mitheral is a polar bear.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:44 PM on December 7, 2019 [38 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:44 PM on December 7, 2019 [38 favorites]
I did some Very Light, Very Inept Carpentry the other day to make an apparatus to store my shoes that wasn't "drop them on the floor, shove them into the corner, look fixedly away". It took an hour, it is ridiculous and unstable, but I keep just looking at it like it's the most elegant solution the world will ever know. because it's inexpert and petty, but it works for me and my life and it's a thing I did. it's done. accomplished.
my lord, Tess, you keep dropping your expectations like this and you might just end up happy.
posted by Tess of the d'Urkelvilles at 8:44 PM on December 7, 2019 [31 favorites]
my lord, Tess, you keep dropping your expectations like this and you might just end up happy.
posted by Tess of the d'Urkelvilles at 8:44 PM on December 7, 2019 [31 favorites]
That's 50 and 104 for Americans.
Double the Celsius ( 10 x 2 = 20 ), subtract the ten's digit ( 20 - 2 = 18), add 32 (32 + 18 = 50). (40x2=80, 80-8=72, 72+32=104). Error is within a couple of ℉.
Having a script that looks up Unicode Characters.
Makes me happy.
posted by zengargoyle at 8:45 PM on December 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
Double the Celsius ( 10 x 2 = 20 ), subtract the ten's digit ( 20 - 2 = 18), add 32 (32 + 18 = 50). (40x2=80, 80-8=72, 72+32=104). Error is within a couple of ℉.
Having a script that looks up Unicode Characters.
Makes me happy.
posted by zengargoyle at 8:45 PM on December 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
Just under a year ago I got hooked on Servant of the People while I was writing an academic paper about Volodymyr Zelenskyy. I’ve sat multiple people down in front of it since he rose to prominence in the U.S. news media, but (except for my husband) they’ve all been bored by it.
posted by armeowda at 8:49 PM on December 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by armeowda at 8:49 PM on December 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
Thinking about how to answer this question led me to mentally compiling a whole list of things that made me happy, which was really pleasant way to end my Saturday night. Reading all of the posts above was the cherry on top.
Things I'm quiet about:
Going to a bar solo, getting a beer or a glass of wine and reading a book.
The scratchy feeling of cat licks
When both my circadian rhythm and herd of animals let me sleep in late
Things I'm not quiet about, but I think are pretty individual:
Luge! Watching luge makes me so happy. I will get up at 4 a.m. in order to watch the World cup races in Europe during sliding season, and I feel like the only other people that do that in the US are the USA Luge Association employees and the lugers' parents.
My boyfriend's face. I think he is the cutest thing ever, and I love looking at his face. We're 7.5 months in and I'm still ridiculously smitten.
Dog snores, and when they end their yawns with smacking their lips a couple of times.
+1 for Metafilter.. I evangelize about this place a lot.
Adminning Card Club, and seeing how generous people are with their time, writing supplies, and postage. It's so rewarding to be able to facilitate connections made between members of this community.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 9:19 PM on December 7, 2019 [19 favorites]
Things I'm quiet about:
Going to a bar solo, getting a beer or a glass of wine and reading a book.
The scratchy feeling of cat licks
When both my circadian rhythm and herd of animals let me sleep in late
Things I'm not quiet about, but I think are pretty individual:
Luge! Watching luge makes me so happy. I will get up at 4 a.m. in order to watch the World cup races in Europe during sliding season, and I feel like the only other people that do that in the US are the USA Luge Association employees and the lugers' parents.
My boyfriend's face. I think he is the cutest thing ever, and I love looking at his face. We're 7.5 months in and I'm still ridiculously smitten.
Dog snores, and when they end their yawns with smacking their lips a couple of times.
+1 for Metafilter.. I evangelize about this place a lot.
Adminning Card Club, and seeing how generous people are with their time, writing supplies, and postage. It's so rewarding to be able to facilitate connections made between members of this community.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 9:19 PM on December 7, 2019 [19 favorites]
When something fits something it may not have been made for.
Like, I bought some little plastic boxes last year that were being sold as crayon boxes, but they’re also the right size for a deck of cards.
Until the End of the World. Like I know the soundtrack album was popular, but almost the only people I know who have seen the movie are people I showed it to.
When things have all the new edges worn off, so instead of prickly and harsh like a freshly-clipped fingernail, they’re smooth and friendly like an old handrail or an old coin.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 9:40 PM on December 7, 2019 [8 favorites]
Like, I bought some little plastic boxes last year that were being sold as crayon boxes, but they’re also the right size for a deck of cards.
Until the End of the World. Like I know the soundtrack album was popular, but almost the only people I know who have seen the movie are people I showed it to.
When things have all the new edges worn off, so instead of prickly and harsh like a freshly-clipped fingernail, they’re smooth and friendly like an old handrail or an old coin.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 9:40 PM on December 7, 2019 [8 favorites]
1.5 Tequila
.5 rye
.5 Punt e Mas (or a bitter sweet vermouth / amaro)
.5 Cointreau
Stir vigorously with ice for 13 seconds.Strain into a rocks glass with one large cube. Garnish with an orange peel. Call it a Two-Legged Dog.
I've had this drink made for me in 6 countries. One of my favorite things to do is sip it sitting solo in a bar without televisions and take in my surroundings.
posted by dobbs at 9:48 PM on December 7, 2019 [7 favorites]
.5 rye
.5 Punt e Mas (or a bitter sweet vermouth / amaro)
.5 Cointreau
Stir vigorously with ice for 13 seconds.Strain into a rocks glass with one large cube. Garnish with an orange peel. Call it a Two-Legged Dog.
I've had this drink made for me in 6 countries. One of my favorite things to do is sip it sitting solo in a bar without televisions and take in my surroundings.
posted by dobbs at 9:48 PM on December 7, 2019 [7 favorites]
Reading on the subway. I’ve read and loved so many books on the subway and there’s something about that experience that is, for me, perfect. You’re in a crowd but you’re in a book. Things happen, maybe, you look up interact or not, then go back to the book. If the book is great the whole trip becomes about the book, if not, it’s still an easy, time limited clump to read in. And maybe the book gets better.
Another favorite is the motion of a sailboat when she’s all balanced and the designers knew their stuff and she moves with her own coordinated pitches and dives and surges in a way that is just barely comprehensible but intimately immediately knowable. The wind changes and you can feel and react to it. A friend got into sailing over the last decade and I’ve gotten to be there for a lot of it. At the beginning she was tentative at the helm as anyone but she’s sailed a lot and at some moment last year we were out on the water and a cross wave came and was going to shove us upwind, but she felt it as it was happening corrected and somehow that made me Inordinately happy - that she understood/felt the way to handle the boat when my own feeling was ‘oh, here comes a wave that’s gonna shove us upwind better start falling off now get some momentum on our side’ and she did precisely that. The calm and relaxation the swept over me, knowing I did not have to think about ‘this’ was like sinking into a bath.
posted by From Bklyn at 10:01 PM on December 7, 2019 [13 favorites]
Another favorite is the motion of a sailboat when she’s all balanced and the designers knew their stuff and she moves with her own coordinated pitches and dives and surges in a way that is just barely comprehensible but intimately immediately knowable. The wind changes and you can feel and react to it. A friend got into sailing over the last decade and I’ve gotten to be there for a lot of it. At the beginning she was tentative at the helm as anyone but she’s sailed a lot and at some moment last year we were out on the water and a cross wave came and was going to shove us upwind, but she felt it as it was happening corrected and somehow that made me Inordinately happy - that she understood/felt the way to handle the boat when my own feeling was ‘oh, here comes a wave that’s gonna shove us upwind better start falling off now get some momentum on our side’ and she did precisely that. The calm and relaxation the swept over me, knowing I did not have to think about ‘this’ was like sinking into a bath.
posted by From Bklyn at 10:01 PM on December 7, 2019 [13 favorites]
The first several pencil lines at the start of a new space\object, and that magic moment when a blank sheet of paper becomes an image of a new thing I'll bring into the world.
Finding a new rose that looks like it just might be fragrant and finding that YES it is fragrant, all the happier if it smells like Turkish delight!
Another +1 for Metafilter, I learn so much here, and have neat conversations with folks across the planet.
posted by unearthed at 10:02 PM on December 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
Finding a new rose that looks like it just might be fragrant and finding that YES it is fragrant, all the happier if it smells like Turkish delight!
Another +1 for Metafilter, I learn so much here, and have neat conversations with folks across the planet.
posted by unearthed at 10:02 PM on December 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
Certain moments in music that just send me--something in the harmony. Right now it was the last movement of the Pastoral Symphony.
I've been eating a lot of roast chestnuts lately, and some of them slip out of their shells perfectly whole, without getting stuck in the shell or the inner coating, lovely and brown and delicious.
When something that I didn't think would be anything special in a story turns into a whole paragraph that clicks, and leads into the wider frame of the story as well.
posted by huimangm at 10:23 PM on December 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
I've been eating a lot of roast chestnuts lately, and some of them slip out of their shells perfectly whole, without getting stuck in the shell or the inner coating, lovely and brown and delicious.
When something that I didn't think would be anything special in a story turns into a whole paragraph that clicks, and leads into the wider frame of the story as well.
posted by huimangm at 10:23 PM on December 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
sliding season
I am now unexpectedly happy about that phrase.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:44 PM on December 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
I am now unexpectedly happy about that phrase.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:44 PM on December 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
This is a fun topic! The first thing that comes to mind is Mad Mark's Castle on the Albany Bulb, near San Francisco. It's a brightly painted, multi-story castle built on an old landfill by someone with serious delusions. ("Mad" isn't a great word, but his best friends called him that. And, it's the only way to find the thing.) Living as an often-homeless guy, he bought the cement and paint one backpack at a time and carried it miles on foot to the bulb over several years and made a really sturdy and beautiful thing.
It's not entirely unknown, but it doesn't make the tour books. It's not even second place among the best public art on the Albany Bulb, but it's the most sincere and permanent. Or, it was. I discovered it a few weeks after moving to town and it convinced me I'd found a real home that I wanted to live in. (I didn't yet how entirely divorced the bulb community was with the NIMBY assholes who make laws in Albany. . .)
I love the city I live in. But, I miss being able to watch the sunset and drink a beer on the Castle. Among places I feel nostalgia for, it's very high on the list.
posted by eotvos at 11:13 PM on December 7, 2019 [5 favorites]
It's not entirely unknown, but it doesn't make the tour books. It's not even second place among the best public art on the Albany Bulb, but it's the most sincere and permanent. Or, it was. I discovered it a few weeks after moving to town and it convinced me I'd found a real home that I wanted to live in. (I didn't yet how entirely divorced the bulb community was with the NIMBY assholes who make laws in Albany. . .)
I love the city I live in. But, I miss being able to watch the sunset and drink a beer on the Castle. Among places I feel nostalgia for, it's very high on the list.
posted by eotvos at 11:13 PM on December 7, 2019 [5 favorites]
I just need to share this because apparently the worst thing about me is I can't stop over-sharing, I thought my family was "one of the good ones"* until my mom, dad, and brother all agreed that I shouldn't share the difficult health situation my hubby and I are dealing with on fb (and I only have people I have an active positive relationship with on there) and that I especially shouldn't have referred to it as "bullshit" bc my dad is concerned that his stuck up relatives overseas who I barely know will judge HIM for not raising me right. And that someone can always use details about you against you. Who would do that and why, they don't know, but that's the point, you never know. I'm like what is this, game of thrones? I never hear from or talk to anyone, in what situation would they even need leverage against me and how can knowing that I think meaningless bureaucracy is bullshit possibly BE leverage? This has been bothering me for like 2 days and I have no one I can tell it to to get it off my chest.
*this is a joke I guess they're still pretty good I was just blindsided by this on an extremely difficult day
posted by bleep at 12:21 AM on December 8, 2019 [10 favorites]
*this is a joke I guess they're still pretty good I was just blindsided by this on an extremely difficult day
posted by bleep at 12:21 AM on December 8, 2019 [10 favorites]
The first thing that comes to mind is Mad Mark's Castle on the Albany Bulb, near San Francisco. It's a brightly painted, multi-story castle built on an old landfill
I only went to the Albany Bulb a couple of times, probably 2003-ish, I definitely remember the castle and how much awesome art there was around the whole site.
posted by bendy at 12:51 AM on December 8, 2019
I only went to the Albany Bulb a couple of times, probably 2003-ish, I definitely remember the castle and how much awesome art there was around the whole site.
posted by bendy at 12:51 AM on December 8, 2019
I love watching and photographing clouds. Since I live in the city it's hard to get an unobscured view of the sky. I have scoped out a couple of parking garages that are taller than the surrounding buildings and trees and powerlines and I will go spend an hour or so up on the top with my camera or sometimes just sit and watch. People know I have a thing for clouds but not where I watch them.
A few coworkers who know how much I love interesting clouds will come tell me to go look outside when they notice good clouds, but none of them want to stick around while I gaze at the sky.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 12:55 AM on December 8, 2019 [16 favorites]
A few coworkers who know how much I love interesting clouds will come tell me to go look outside when they notice good clouds, but none of them want to stick around while I gaze at the sky.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 12:55 AM on December 8, 2019 [16 favorites]
Mister Moofoo, you are now the other person I know who's seen Until the End of the World. I hesitate to recommend it to people because the opening, to me, is pretty clunky. It starts off pretty cheesy, with some bits that just don't work to me, before getting into the absolute wonder of the second half. As far as things I treasure, that movie has at least three, the moment In the Blood of Eden comes on over the Outback, and Solveig Dommartin screaming "my heart, it is dead" as one of the most abject moments of despair I've ever seen in film, and one more, which is just for me, that I feel is a stunning moment in the film, which I treasure and hold close.
Just now, double checking the spelling of Dommartin's name, I found out that she passed away in 2007 at the age of 45. Damn. Somehow I missed that.
posted by Ghidorah at 1:45 AM on December 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
Just now, double checking the spelling of Dommartin's name, I found out that she passed away in 2007 at the age of 45. Damn. Somehow I missed that.
posted by Ghidorah at 1:45 AM on December 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
When I first climb in bed at night, the feeling of the bodily tension melting away as I lie down
That moment after a shower when I am dressed in comfortable clothes and am finally completely dry, including hair and ears. (The damp, chilly post-shower state is sensory misery for me)
When I get up from my desk at work, having sat for a while, and walk a lap around my building. Getting the kinks out of my muscles feels great
Munching on those soft ice pellets
A mug of hot broth or soup as comfort food (sipping a mug of tomato soup right now)
A bowl of cold applesauce
Quiet
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 2:19 AM on December 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
That moment after a shower when I am dressed in comfortable clothes and am finally completely dry, including hair and ears. (The damp, chilly post-shower state is sensory misery for me)
When I get up from my desk at work, having sat for a while, and walk a lap around my building. Getting the kinks out of my muscles feels great
Munching on those soft ice pellets
A mug of hot broth or soup as comfort food (sipping a mug of tomato soup right now)
A bowl of cold applesauce
Quiet
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 2:19 AM on December 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
Oh! Here's one that is maybe a little less common (although in my experience of the world, enjoying quiet seems fairly uncommon.)
I love the smell of hot tar, tire stores, & auto mechanic shops.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 2:29 AM on December 8, 2019 [13 favorites]
I love the smell of hot tar, tire stores, & auto mechanic shops.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 2:29 AM on December 8, 2019 [13 favorites]
A mug of hot water. No tea, no nothing. Just hot water.
Angostura bitters (the cheap kind from the grocery) and soda water. It’s a miracle when you have trapped gas and it tastes kind of like a dry root beer.
My dog’s one slightly crooked bottom incisor. It’s just so cute. Also the herbal sagey smell on his coat when we come back from a hike.
posted by HotToddy at 3:44 AM on December 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
Angostura bitters (the cheap kind from the grocery) and soda water. It’s a miracle when you have trapped gas and it tastes kind of like a dry root beer.
My dog’s one slightly crooked bottom incisor. It’s just so cute. Also the herbal sagey smell on his coat when we come back from a hike.
posted by HotToddy at 3:44 AM on December 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
I love a 1990 French short by Jean-Pierre Jeunet called Foutaises.
Here it is with English subtitles but worse quality
posted by growabrain at 5:14 AM on December 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
Here it is with English subtitles but worse quality
posted by growabrain at 5:14 AM on December 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
So this happened last night.
My son is in love. He's fifteen, and he had a big crush once before, with his best friend, but it wasn't reciprocated. Fortunately, the friendship survived, but he's been moping around for about six months thinking he'll forever be alone, as one does at fifteen. But then he met Teddy.
At first my wife and I speculated that Teddy might live in Canada because we never met him or even saw a picture of him on our son's social (which on second thought, makes me wonder if he has more than one account) but on Friday he agreed to bring Teddy along to our weekly family going out for dinner night and we finally got to meet him and I think I like him. He's funny and sweet, gentle and graceful, and so kind and loving toward our son. He's older, seventeen, and he has a license which we're a bit cautious about, but so far, it's been a delight watching them fawn over each other. They are constantly holding each other's hand.
So last night Teddy came over and they were alone in the living room watching the Harry Potter movies and I came in from my office in the garage and I guess I was too quiet because when I walked into the living room they separated quickly and my son grabbed his glasses and put them on and they both sat up straight on the couch, pretending they had been like that all along. Clearly they felt like they were caught, but they both had their clothes on and as best I could tell they were just cuddling, so I just said hi, and went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge, then went back out to my office.
About an hour later I wanted another beer and I went back into the house, popped into the living room, and again found them holding each other and watching the movie, and again they quickly sat up and my son put on his glasses. I said hi and turned to go to the kitchen. I grabbed another beer but felt compelled to go back into the living room and tell them, "You know, it's okay to cuddle. We don't care. You can even take your glasses off. Maybe your shoes too. Keep your clothes on, but please feel free to hold each other. We're cool with it." And I left.
My son is so happy that I'm really loving being around him. And I'm so happy for him. He's trans so we knew it would take someone special to love him and frankly I worried that it might take a really long time, but he's having his first love experience right now and wow, I can't believe how happy it's making me and his mother. I thought I'd be more worried, and I am a little about that one day in February that separates Teddy's eighteenth birthday from my son's sixteenth birthday, and about what's going to happen next year when Teddy graduates in the spring. And about Teddy's upcoming auditions for music departments at out of state universities. That could lead to a few tears. But for now, they're in that falling in love phase, and they are really fun to be around. Their happiness is radiant. My son's first love is that special thing that I'm carrying around in my heart right now, and I absolutely adore it.
posted by Stanczyk at 5:36 AM on December 8, 2019 [115 favorites]
My son is in love. He's fifteen, and he had a big crush once before, with his best friend, but it wasn't reciprocated. Fortunately, the friendship survived, but he's been moping around for about six months thinking he'll forever be alone, as one does at fifteen. But then he met Teddy.
At first my wife and I speculated that Teddy might live in Canada because we never met him or even saw a picture of him on our son's social (which on second thought, makes me wonder if he has more than one account) but on Friday he agreed to bring Teddy along to our weekly family going out for dinner night and we finally got to meet him and I think I like him. He's funny and sweet, gentle and graceful, and so kind and loving toward our son. He's older, seventeen, and he has a license which we're a bit cautious about, but so far, it's been a delight watching them fawn over each other. They are constantly holding each other's hand.
So last night Teddy came over and they were alone in the living room watching the Harry Potter movies and I came in from my office in the garage and I guess I was too quiet because when I walked into the living room they separated quickly and my son grabbed his glasses and put them on and they both sat up straight on the couch, pretending they had been like that all along. Clearly they felt like they were caught, but they both had their clothes on and as best I could tell they were just cuddling, so I just said hi, and went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge, then went back out to my office.
About an hour later I wanted another beer and I went back into the house, popped into the living room, and again found them holding each other and watching the movie, and again they quickly sat up and my son put on his glasses. I said hi and turned to go to the kitchen. I grabbed another beer but felt compelled to go back into the living room and tell them, "You know, it's okay to cuddle. We don't care. You can even take your glasses off. Maybe your shoes too. Keep your clothes on, but please feel free to hold each other. We're cool with it." And I left.
My son is so happy that I'm really loving being around him. And I'm so happy for him. He's trans so we knew it would take someone special to love him and frankly I worried that it might take a really long time, but he's having his first love experience right now and wow, I can't believe how happy it's making me and his mother. I thought I'd be more worried, and I am a little about that one day in February that separates Teddy's eighteenth birthday from my son's sixteenth birthday, and about what's going to happen next year when Teddy graduates in the spring. And about Teddy's upcoming auditions for music departments at out of state universities. That could lead to a few tears. But for now, they're in that falling in love phase, and they are really fun to be around. Their happiness is radiant. My son's first love is that special thing that I'm carrying around in my heart right now, and I absolutely adore it.
posted by Stanczyk at 5:36 AM on December 8, 2019 [115 favorites]
My heart grew three sizes after reading your comment, Stanczyk. First love!
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:45 AM on December 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:45 AM on December 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
Stanczyk—that is a beautiful story in all kinds of ways. Thank you so much for sharing it!
posted by bookmammal at 5:57 AM on December 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by bookmammal at 5:57 AM on December 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
There's a tea experience...a cup of tea at just the right temperature so it's cool enough to not just sip, but gulp. But it's hot enough that you can feel the warmth of the tea going do your throat settling in your stomach. It only works from a ceramic mug. You'll never get this from a starbuck take-out cup -- maybe something about sipping from the little hole that ruins it. Not every cup of tea will do this. Most won't. Like maybe 2-5% cups of tea will provide this experience. That's why I have to drink a lot of tea. Just always searching for that next hit of tummy-warming comfort.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:46 AM on December 8, 2019 [9 favorites]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:46 AM on December 8, 2019 [9 favorites]
On my days off, I wait to have a cup of coffee until I've done some chores, gone for a workout, taken a shower. I prolong that cup until I know I'm good to just sit for a few hours and not be bothered by needing to do things. It's something I take extreme pleasure in doing. I know some might say, just have your cup of coffee and do the chores later, but delaying that bit of gratification is worth it for me, it makes the first sip that much better.
posted by Fizz at 7:12 AM on December 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Fizz at 7:12 AM on December 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
The ginkgo tree living behind my apartment has survived being truncated by a hurricane and by a tornado, and just last summer, after 20 years of being my neighbor, it grew wide enough for me to shake hands with it from my balcony.
During just a few days each fall, it lights up my entire apartment bright gold in the morning when the sun hits it.
posted by moonmilk at 7:32 AM on December 8, 2019 [17 favorites]
During just a few days each fall, it lights up my entire apartment bright gold in the morning when the sun hits it.
posted by moonmilk at 7:32 AM on December 8, 2019 [17 favorites]
That moment after a shower when I am dressed in comfortable clothes and am finally completely dry, including hair and ears. (The damp, chilly post-shower state is sensory misery for me)
Same here! I do not enjoy showers and now that my hair is almost sit-on-able, I dislike them even more. I so do not like the cold, wet feeling that lasts from towel-off to dressed. Even in summer heat.
posted by sundrop at 7:45 AM on December 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
Same here! I do not enjoy showers and now that my hair is almost sit-on-able, I dislike them even more. I so do not like the cold, wet feeling that lasts from towel-off to dressed. Even in summer heat.
posted by sundrop at 7:45 AM on December 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
Metafilter: keep dropping your expectations like this and you might just end up *happy*.
posted by theora55 at 8:39 AM on December 8, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 8:39 AM on December 8, 2019 [6 favorites]
I like the Metafilter: comments.
Having a glass of wine at the end of the day, and feeling the tension in my shoulders dissipate.
My dog is @ 13, and increasingly vocal, with a low but expressive muttering when he is puzzled about stuff. And he snuffles in his sleep. Totally endearing.
It snowed the other night and I didn't go out because driving 45 minutes each way on slippery roads was unwise. I don't know why the Inuit don't have 50 words for snow and ice. It was a type of snow I've seen before, but not often - beautiful, crystalline, and sparkly, big shiny fluffy flakes of diamond. absolute magic.
I took a short test drive in case the driving was okay. The car spun on the icy parking lot, haven't done that in a while. left some figure ∞s. Wheeeee!
I have a small wood stove to keep the living room toasty without heating the whole (small) house, and because having a fire is really pleasant. I hate/love stacking and hauling wood. Also, I have a view of a lake, and there isn't a day I don't enjoy and appreciate it. As of this week, it's frozen over, but the ice is thin. I'll get used to the frozen lake, and the 1st day the ice is gone and the lake sparkles in the sun is just joyful. In summer, the 1st day the water is warm enough for swimming.
The 1st cup of hot coffee on any day.
posted by theora55 at 9:02 AM on December 8, 2019 [11 favorites]
Having a glass of wine at the end of the day, and feeling the tension in my shoulders dissipate.
My dog is @ 13, and increasingly vocal, with a low but expressive muttering when he is puzzled about stuff. And he snuffles in his sleep. Totally endearing.
It snowed the other night and I didn't go out because driving 45 minutes each way on slippery roads was unwise. I don't know why the Inuit don't have 50 words for snow and ice. It was a type of snow I've seen before, but not often - beautiful, crystalline, and sparkly, big shiny fluffy flakes of diamond. absolute magic.
I took a short test drive in case the driving was okay. The car spun on the icy parking lot, haven't done that in a while. left some figure ∞s. Wheeeee!
I have a small wood stove to keep the living room toasty without heating the whole (small) house, and because having a fire is really pleasant. I hate/love stacking and hauling wood. Also, I have a view of a lake, and there isn't a day I don't enjoy and appreciate it. As of this week, it's frozen over, but the ice is thin. I'll get used to the frozen lake, and the 1st day the ice is gone and the lake sparkles in the sun is just joyful. In summer, the 1st day the water is warm enough for swimming.
The 1st cup of hot coffee on any day.
posted by theora55 at 9:02 AM on December 8, 2019 [11 favorites]
I was just thinking about this the other day for some reason. There's a certain type of weather that I love to go flying in - overcast and calm. The clouds are low enough that most folks are grounded, but it's smooth as glass up in the air and you've got the whole sky to yourself. No one's chatting on the radio because there are so few people flying. You can get the plane trimmed out just right so that it's basically flying itself, even without the autopilot.
If the weather is just so and your altitude is good, you're flying maybe a thousand feet below the tops. Sometimes you can't see the wing tip, but all around is a bright glow as the sun struggles to pierce the haze. It's an otherworldly experience - there's no perception of motion and no contact with the outside world. Just the roar of the engine and the instruments in front of you providing any indication that anything still exists.
posted by backseatpilot at 9:05 AM on December 8, 2019 [13 favorites]
If the weather is just so and your altitude is good, you're flying maybe a thousand feet below the tops. Sometimes you can't see the wing tip, but all around is a bright glow as the sun struggles to pierce the haze. It's an otherworldly experience - there's no perception of motion and no contact with the outside world. Just the roar of the engine and the instruments in front of you providing any indication that anything still exists.
posted by backseatpilot at 9:05 AM on December 8, 2019 [13 favorites]
I fell in love with the Basque language a few years ago. I can recount how that happened, but not exactly why. I knew that Basque was a linguistic isolate in Western Europe and was curious about it. I only intended to learn something about the language. I had no intention of actually learning it. But then I stumbled into Basque pop music, some of which I really liked, and gradually got hooked.
It makes no logical sense for me to be doing this. I'm in the US. I have no Basque ancestry. I don't know any Basque speakers. I've never been to Basque country. I don't know if I'll ever be able to go there. But here I am trying to learn it. The best explanation I can give is that the language is like a beautiful, intricate puzzle, and the more progress I make in understanding it, the more I want keep going.
posted by nangar at 9:55 AM on December 8, 2019 [18 favorites]
It makes no logical sense for me to be doing this. I'm in the US. I have no Basque ancestry. I don't know any Basque speakers. I've never been to Basque country. I don't know if I'll ever be able to go there. But here I am trying to learn it. The best explanation I can give is that the language is like a beautiful, intricate puzzle, and the more progress I make in understanding it, the more I want keep going.
posted by nangar at 9:55 AM on December 8, 2019 [18 favorites]
That frisson of pleasure when I'm troubleshooting a computer and I get the, oh yeah, that's the problem flash.
posted by Splunge at 10:28 AM on December 8, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by Splunge at 10:28 AM on December 8, 2019 [5 favorites]
There's something about that period of time between delivering a punchline and the person visibly understanding the joke.
If you pay attention closely, that's the moment that joy is being created.
posted by Twicketface at 10:45 AM on December 8, 2019 [8 favorites]
If you pay attention closely, that's the moment that joy is being created.
posted by Twicketface at 10:45 AM on December 8, 2019 [8 favorites]
It makes no logical sense for me to be doing this. I'm in the US. I have no Basque ancestry. I don't know any Basque speakers. I've never been to Basque country. I don't know if I'll ever be able to go there. But here I am trying to learn it. The best explanation I can give is that the language is like a beautiful, intricate puzzle, and the more progress I make in understanding it, the more I want keep going.I realized at some point that I really love learning stuff for no other reason than to learn it. People are often like "what are you going to do with that?" and most of the time, the answer is nothing. I'm going to learn it because it's fascinating and amazing. This is kind of a problem for me, because I'm an academic advisor for college students, and they're often like "is this a wasted class?" or "when am I ever going to use this?" And I'm like "I don't believe in wasted learning! Everything you learn will make you a better person. Everything you learn will make you smarter and better able to deal with the world, sometimes in ways that you may not even realize." And they're like "ok, boomer." And I'm like "no, this isn't an age thing. Your parents think it's stupid, too." But look: the world is cool and interesting, and it is ok to want to understand it just because understanding stuff is great.
That frisson of pleasure when I'm troubleshooting a computer and I get the, oh yeah, that's the problem flash.Oh, yeah, that. There's nothing better than when you're trying to code something, and you hit run to see what error message you get this time, and it actually works.
Also: Big Trouble, which is the spin-off series to The Fosters, which follows Callie and Mariana as they try to make it as young professionals in L.A. In general, I love Freeform TV, formally ABC Family, a formerly-Christian (but now definitely not Christian) TV channel for which I am not the target audience, but I don't care.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:46 AM on December 8, 2019 [8 favorites]
Reading on the subway. I’ve read and loved so many books on the subway and there’s something about that experience that is, for me, perfect. You’re in a crowd but you’re in a book. Things happen, maybe, you look up interact or not, then go back to the book. If the book is great the whole trip becomes about the book, if not, it’s still an easy, time limited clump to read in.
I submit to you that, as long as you have a seat and it's not insanely noisy, reading on the bus during a winter dusk, occasionally looking up to see the city lights, all those thousands of lives at home around you, is an exceptionally cozy experience.
(Even if, like yesterday, a guy nods out straight into the aisle, then gets back up and lights up a cigarette! An older lady whipped out the bottle of Febreze she apparently carries everywhere with her and sprayed it in his direction.)
Also, sometimes when I'm depressed, I dig out one of the ancient old Greek grammar tomes--Smyth, of course, but also, e.g., Denniston on particles. It's all so orderly, over this substrate of wild texts, the author using a quote like (the Greek original of) "horror of horrors!" to illustrate a use of the genitive case.
posted by praemunire at 10:52 AM on December 8, 2019 [8 favorites]
I submit to you that, as long as you have a seat and it's not insanely noisy, reading on the bus during a winter dusk, occasionally looking up to see the city lights, all those thousands of lives at home around you, is an exceptionally cozy experience.
(Even if, like yesterday, a guy nods out straight into the aisle, then gets back up and lights up a cigarette! An older lady whipped out the bottle of Febreze she apparently carries everywhere with her and sprayed it in his direction.)
Also, sometimes when I'm depressed, I dig out one of the ancient old Greek grammar tomes--Smyth, of course, but also, e.g., Denniston on particles. It's all so orderly, over this substrate of wild texts, the author using a quote like (the Greek original of) "horror of horrors!" to illustrate a use of the genitive case.
posted by praemunire at 10:52 AM on December 8, 2019 [8 favorites]
You know how when you reheat meat in a microwave and it dries out? Spray it lightly with Duck Fat Cooking Spray first. Trust me on this.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:00 AM on December 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:00 AM on December 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
I haven't done this since I was a kid, really, but...you know Lemonheads? The candy? Turns out if you can get them in just the right conditions of age and humidity, you can bite down on them with your incisors just so and peel off the outer shell, leaving you with a central core of tart sour goodness. It's as much an art as it is a science.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 11:12 AM on December 8, 2019 [12 favorites]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 11:12 AM on December 8, 2019 [12 favorites]
One of my favorite little things is watching shows dubbed into French (if Netflix) or Spanish (if hbo) and reading the subtitles. Something about the way my brain is makes it easier and nicer for me to consume, I don't know why.
posted by bleep at 11:37 AM on December 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by bleep at 11:37 AM on December 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
When you first turn on the AC or the heat after it’s been off for months, that smell you get, I love that smell.
When I park the car at home after running a bunch of errands, turning off the car and just sitting there for a bit. I’ve found a spot and I know in a minute I’ll be hauling stuff inside, but for now I can just sit.
Getting out of the shower, moisturizing, wrapping myself and my hair in good towels, and sitting on my bed with cup of coffee (morning) or tea (night). Especially true if I’m supposed to be getting ready to go somewhere and I can daydream about just blowing it off and sitting around in my bathrobe instead.
Internet comments from older people of my parents’ generation reminiscing about their childhoods, especially if the comments are on banal YouTube videos or the like. It reminds me the real value of online/social media isn’t the platforms, but the people, who exist offline also.
you know Lemonheads? The candy? Turns out if you can get them in just the right conditions of age and humidity, you can bite down on them with your incisors just so and peel off the outer shell, leaving you with a central core of tart sour goodness. It's as much an art as it is a science.
Getting the mozzarella out of a mozzarella stick without breaking the shell!
posted by sallybrown at 12:02 PM on December 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
When I park the car at home after running a bunch of errands, turning off the car and just sitting there for a bit. I’ve found a spot and I know in a minute I’ll be hauling stuff inside, but for now I can just sit.
Getting out of the shower, moisturizing, wrapping myself and my hair in good towels, and sitting on my bed with cup of coffee (morning) or tea (night). Especially true if I’m supposed to be getting ready to go somewhere and I can daydream about just blowing it off and sitting around in my bathrobe instead.
Internet comments from older people of my parents’ generation reminiscing about their childhoods, especially if the comments are on banal YouTube videos or the like. It reminds me the real value of online/social media isn’t the platforms, but the people, who exist offline also.
you know Lemonheads? The candy? Turns out if you can get them in just the right conditions of age and humidity, you can bite down on them with your incisors just so and peel off the outer shell, leaving you with a central core of tart sour goodness. It's as much an art as it is a science.
Getting the mozzarella out of a mozzarella stick without breaking the shell!
posted by sallybrown at 12:02 PM on December 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
Getting the mozzarella out of a mozzarella stick without breaking the shell!
Are you not supposed to eat the shell? Are they crustaceans?
posted by Stanczyk at 12:16 PM on December 8, 2019 [6 favorites]
Are you not supposed to eat the shell? Are they crustaceans?
posted by Stanczyk at 12:16 PM on December 8, 2019 [6 favorites]
No, you save it for last because it’s the best part! Same with the marshmallows in Lucky Charms. Kid junk food rules.
posted by sallybrown at 12:22 PM on December 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by sallybrown at 12:22 PM on December 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
I like the musty smell of a hand towel that's been sitting by the shower for weeks but never used, so it doesn't smell sweaty or dirty - just kind of damp and woodsy. The old gift shop at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden smelled just like that, probably from watering all the plants in there. The new gift shop is all shiny and clean and smells like HVAC :(
posted by moonmilk at 12:30 PM on December 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by moonmilk at 12:30 PM on December 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
When I wake up in the morning to find my dog and cat both curled up in the bed next to me, with everybody cuddling. It's hard to get out of bed, though.
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:43 PM on December 8, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:43 PM on December 8, 2019 [6 favorites]
when it's a rainy day, and I get out for a walk, and I time it perfectly so it fits right into a small window of non-rain, and everything smells so incredible from the soaking it's been getting, and the air is wonderful, and then as soon as I go back inside the rain starts up again, underlining how excellent my timing was. Got it right just this morning
posted by fingersandtoes at 1:19 PM on December 8, 2019 [19 favorites]
posted by fingersandtoes at 1:19 PM on December 8, 2019 [19 favorites]
The click and squeak of pebbles at the waterline as small waves drag them back and forth.
Scronching through dry snow.
My hairless cat has a way of tucking himself against my body that takes several tries to get just right and results in a tight curl, and then he falls asleep sound enough to snore gently. He’s all hot and sticky, it’s like having a sentient hot water bottle.
Ever since we moved into our new house I have quietly been taking immense pleasure in it, and in the view down the long slope of the back yard into the trees, and in the convenience of it (it dates to 1972 and was thoughtfully built to be comfortable and efficient.) I am really enjoying being a homeowner, which sort of surprises me since I had never before yearned to own property.
—-
In other cat news, my older cat, who received a cancer diagnosis on Friday, now has a little hospice setup in our living room. No more going downstairs to the cold basement for food or catbox, he can walk three steps from his new low bed to poop or eat, and then drag his poor nonfunctioning leg back to the cosy spot. He seems a lot happier. I’m not super psyched about the catbox in the living room (one of the nicest things about moving to the new house last summer was getting separation from the cat stuff) but if it makes his last (week? several weeks? dunno how long this will take) better it’s worth it.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 1:23 PM on December 8, 2019 [15 favorites]
Scronching through dry snow.
My hairless cat has a way of tucking himself against my body that takes several tries to get just right and results in a tight curl, and then he falls asleep sound enough to snore gently. He’s all hot and sticky, it’s like having a sentient hot water bottle.
Ever since we moved into our new house I have quietly been taking immense pleasure in it, and in the view down the long slope of the back yard into the trees, and in the convenience of it (it dates to 1972 and was thoughtfully built to be comfortable and efficient.) I am really enjoying being a homeowner, which sort of surprises me since I had never before yearned to own property.
—-
In other cat news, my older cat, who received a cancer diagnosis on Friday, now has a little hospice setup in our living room. No more going downstairs to the cold basement for food or catbox, he can walk three steps from his new low bed to poop or eat, and then drag his poor nonfunctioning leg back to the cosy spot. He seems a lot happier. I’m not super psyched about the catbox in the living room (one of the nicest things about moving to the new house last summer was getting separation from the cat stuff) but if it makes his last (week? several weeks? dunno how long this will take) better it’s worth it.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 1:23 PM on December 8, 2019 [15 favorites]
things that you love and none or few other people know about or appreciate
Unexpected impressions in nature, always. The effect is unpredictable most of the time, but there can be this sudden "ahh-this-is-nice" moment, almost no matter the weather or other circumstances. It's atmospheric, smell-triggered, color-triggered...
I like the lazy sounds of crickets (and other crickety insects; I have once counted around 12 distinct creaky sounds in a rural Virginia night) in the fall. They remind me of little plastic toys that got somewhat worn by too much use; they've lost their summer-edge and found a more rounded, contemplative note.
And then, things that happen in music, when listening or when working/preparing my own stuff. Music is kind of an alternative universe for me, where I find a space to be, for a little while.
posted by Namlit at 1:44 PM on December 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
Unexpected impressions in nature, always. The effect is unpredictable most of the time, but there can be this sudden "ahh-this-is-nice" moment, almost no matter the weather or other circumstances. It's atmospheric, smell-triggered, color-triggered...
I like the lazy sounds of crickets (and other crickety insects; I have once counted around 12 distinct creaky sounds in a rural Virginia night) in the fall. They remind me of little plastic toys that got somewhat worn by too much use; they've lost their summer-edge and found a more rounded, contemplative note.
And then, things that happen in music, when listening or when working/preparing my own stuff. Music is kind of an alternative universe for me, where I find a space to be, for a little while.
posted by Namlit at 1:44 PM on December 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
The smell of the used book store I frequent. There's just something about old books, especially really old books. with their smell and feel, that I can never get enough of. I even tried a candle that was supposed to smell like "Old Books", but to me it smelled like hay (also, not a bad smell at all!) which was very disappointing.
Walking in nature with no other humans around. I can spend such a long time, patiently watching small birds flitting about, ignoring me, as I hope for a good shot with my camera. The feel of the wind; the sounds of leaves rattling; the call and song of birds...this is my center.
Strolling through ancient graveyards and old cemeteries, reading epitaphs of the inhabitants, showing my respect to the interred. I admire the artistry of the monuments and stones; the history; the peace of the place; and more bird watching!
posted by annieb at 2:13 PM on December 8, 2019 [8 favorites]
Walking in nature with no other humans around. I can spend such a long time, patiently watching small birds flitting about, ignoring me, as I hope for a good shot with my camera. The feel of the wind; the sounds of leaves rattling; the call and song of birds...this is my center.
Strolling through ancient graveyards and old cemeteries, reading epitaphs of the inhabitants, showing my respect to the interred. I admire the artistry of the monuments and stones; the history; the peace of the place; and more bird watching!
posted by annieb at 2:13 PM on December 8, 2019 [8 favorites]
Getting up very early, before dawn, for a road trip; even if I'm not that excited about the drive or destination itself (lots of boring same highway around these parts). But the cold fresh air, the glow of dawn on the horizon, turning out of the driveway and street, heading to the highway when most everybody is still asleep, only a few cars and trucks in normally congested areas. Feeling like I'm someone else, one of these road people, and stopping for bad coffee and a stretch after 3-4 hours and it's barely morning for that other me in that other life at home.
posted by twentyfeetof tacos at 2:35 PM on December 8, 2019 [15 favorites]
posted by twentyfeetof tacos at 2:35 PM on December 8, 2019 [15 favorites]
LobsterMitten, that game is a perfect gift for my partner (and me); very excited to learn about it! On another train note, I had sort of the opposite experience of this metatalktail today when I took a ride on the NYC nostalgia train, which is a super old train that runs on the regular subway tracks. When it came into the station everyone cheered and I felt unusually connected to my fellow humans.
posted by ferret branca at 6:29 PM on December 8, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by ferret branca at 6:29 PM on December 8, 2019 [6 favorites]
Being awakened in my tent by pre-dawn light at Burning Man, and riding my bike out to the deep playa to watch the sunrise.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 6:30 PM on December 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by ZenMasterThis at 6:30 PM on December 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
Driving along and seeing the flash of the bottom of silver maple leaves, waving in the wind. The unexpected joy of coming across that variety in a new neighborhood. Then keeping watch for the tree ever after.
posted by TrishaU at 7:04 PM on December 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by TrishaU at 7:04 PM on December 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
I forgot one - the smell of woodsmoke in my clothes when I get home from a camping trip.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:09 PM on December 8, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:09 PM on December 8, 2019 [6 favorites]
Greg_Ace, I’m with you on that. I love when I’ve done a long day of smoking bacon, or making pulled pork, or whatever, and there’s that random moment where my nose loses its gotten-used-to-it-ness towards the smell, and I realize that I smell of hickory or apple smoke.
That, and living in Japan makes this rare, but walking down the street and catching a whiff of wood smoke (almost always cherry) from a restaurant. Cities aren’t just overwhelming in a visual or auditory sense, the smells can be a bit much (even when they’re positive), but that quiet, warm, deliciousness of a random waft of cherry wood is always a welcome moment of deep-in-the-forest-stillness that makes a day that much brighter.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:49 PM on December 8, 2019 [5 favorites]
That, and living in Japan makes this rare, but walking down the street and catching a whiff of wood smoke (almost always cherry) from a restaurant. Cities aren’t just overwhelming in a visual or auditory sense, the smells can be a bit much (even when they’re positive), but that quiet, warm, deliciousness of a random waft of cherry wood is always a welcome moment of deep-in-the-forest-stillness that makes a day that much brighter.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:49 PM on December 8, 2019 [5 favorites]
I can *really* get into weird music stuff on youtube. Today I researched the Drum and Fife Blues tradition in Mississippi and stumbled across an absolutely amazing fife player (not an instrument I‘d usually seek out). It actually made me kind of sad to not be able to share this, and my ideas on it, with anyone (i mean, I tried, but it is kind of an eclectic topic).
I know, stuff for an FPP...maybe some day.
posted by The Toad at 8:55 PM on December 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
I know, stuff for an FPP...maybe some day.
posted by The Toad at 8:55 PM on December 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
Waking up in my room at 3 am while it's raining, the petrichor scent coming through the slightly cracked window- San Francisco due to it's drought/deluge cycles is great for petrichor this time of year. It always gives me a thrill.
I spose I owe you folks an update or two. I am growing a tea plant. Yes tea, Camellia sinensis. Why? Because I can. There is no other greater reason I find. But alas, the rains have come. Good for my petrichor lust, bad for... well not bad for the garden, it's just an adjustment on my part. I'm not worried about my potted Camellia, as it's a native to China and therefore is probably quite happy in a monsoon. I did have enough pictures and time in a break to put together a Captain's log, but it's less what I'm doing and just what's happening without me. I have though decided not so much to embrace Christmas but rather it's byproducts. Noble Fir trimmings make great acidic mulch. I have so much work to do- and we'll see if I get enough dry weather to do it. But the smell of the rain is enough to make me feel pretty good.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 8:58 PM on December 8, 2019 [18 favorites]
I spose I owe you folks an update or two. I am growing a tea plant. Yes tea, Camellia sinensis. Why? Because I can. There is no other greater reason I find. But alas, the rains have come. Good for my petrichor lust, bad for... well not bad for the garden, it's just an adjustment on my part. I'm not worried about my potted Camellia, as it's a native to China and therefore is probably quite happy in a monsoon. I did have enough pictures and time in a break to put together a Captain's log, but it's less what I'm doing and just what's happening without me. I have though decided not so much to embrace Christmas but rather it's byproducts. Noble Fir trimmings make great acidic mulch. I have so much work to do- and we'll see if I get enough dry weather to do it. But the smell of the rain is enough to make me feel pretty good.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 8:58 PM on December 8, 2019 [18 favorites]
I don't know if these are related etymologically or anything, but in French, "chou" (sounds like "shoo" in English) is used as a term of endearment ("ma petite chouchou!") and in Russian, there's a very similar word, it sounds basically like shoot-shoot, that means "a little bit," and so to my ears sounds like a potential term of endearment, too. There's a dog in my building called Shoo-shoo and I think it's such an adorable name, I have such a soft spot for her. So I asked her owners if they had gotten the name from French...or from Russian...or...? And the owners had never heard of either of those usages, the dog was just always getting in their way and so they started calling it "Shoo!" and then "Shoo! Shoo!" and now that's just her name.
So, shoo-shoo (or chouchou or чуть-чуть) is something that...I guess a TON of people know about but is a little something (kinda literally) that I hold close to my heart.
posted by rue72 at 9:38 PM on December 8, 2019 [8 favorites]
So, shoo-shoo (or chouchou or чуть-чуть) is something that...I guess a TON of people know about but is a little something (kinda literally) that I hold close to my heart.
posted by rue72 at 9:38 PM on December 8, 2019 [8 favorites]
Definitely metafilter. People in the real world don’t seem to get it even when I explain it.
For many years, my most treasured “me” time was going to the gym for cardio and weights, followed by a good hot cleansing shower, then 20 minutes in the steam room sweating and relaxing all my muscles, followed by a cold Viking shower. Then getting dressed and getting a piping hot bowl of spicy pho. I’d get that ritual 2-3 times a week.
I love knowing things that are completely mystifying to others in my social circle. Growing up in scouting, I’m completely comfortable spending several days in the wilderness without a truckload of REI gear. Taking my kids and nieces who never experience that sort of thing is thrilling.
Knowing how cars work and how to fix them. “Oh that’s just a simple timing adjustment, I’ll be right over with my tools and timing light.”
Watching a baseball game, and being able to explain the things going on in the managers’ minds, the pitcher’s mind, the batter and the baserunner’s mind to a baseball novice who’s interested in knowing.
The first three Love and Rockets albums, which form a trilogy about mysticism and religion and are just some of the most brilliant pieces of art rock ever recorded, even if perhaps a little dated by now. Maybe someday I’ll write the definitive criticism but I keep thinking its one of those “If you write it down and explain it, it loses its power and meaning” kind of things. But I’d love to sit down with David J and Daniel Ash and ask so many questions.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:43 PM on December 8, 2019 [6 favorites]
For many years, my most treasured “me” time was going to the gym for cardio and weights, followed by a good hot cleansing shower, then 20 minutes in the steam room sweating and relaxing all my muscles, followed by a cold Viking shower. Then getting dressed and getting a piping hot bowl of spicy pho. I’d get that ritual 2-3 times a week.
I love knowing things that are completely mystifying to others in my social circle. Growing up in scouting, I’m completely comfortable spending several days in the wilderness without a truckload of REI gear. Taking my kids and nieces who never experience that sort of thing is thrilling.
Knowing how cars work and how to fix them. “Oh that’s just a simple timing adjustment, I’ll be right over with my tools and timing light.”
Watching a baseball game, and being able to explain the things going on in the managers’ minds, the pitcher’s mind, the batter and the baserunner’s mind to a baseball novice who’s interested in knowing.
The first three Love and Rockets albums, which form a trilogy about mysticism and religion and are just some of the most brilliant pieces of art rock ever recorded, even if perhaps a little dated by now. Maybe someday I’ll write the definitive criticism but I keep thinking its one of those “If you write it down and explain it, it loses its power and meaning” kind of things. But I’d love to sit down with David J and Daniel Ash and ask so many questions.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:43 PM on December 8, 2019 [6 favorites]
I have a thing for old paper: handling old books, or just being around them; but also writing letters on old notepaper. Having haunted ebay in search of vintage stationery, I now have numerous boxes of the stuff: much of it 40, 50, 60 or more years old; and I get a bit of a thrill from putting a pen to it, or feeding it into one of my typewriters & starting to write.
posted by misteraitch at 12:25 AM on December 9, 2019 [9 favorites]
posted by misteraitch at 12:25 AM on December 9, 2019 [9 favorites]
Every morning I take my first cup of coffee in a giant ceramic mug from World Market that says GOOD MORNING. We’ve had it for many years; one of our marriage rituals used to be figuring out who had the worse night of sleep and assigning this giant mug to that person, until eventually we were given a second. At some point this beloved mug got a chip in the rim near the handle, just the shape and size of my thumb. Now every morning I make sure to take the one with the chip in it and I caress this spot like a worry stone. Many others have a mug almost exactly like mine, maybe even some MeFite reading this has one; but nobody else has the one with the worry stone.
posted by eirias at 4:24 AM on December 9, 2019 [10 favorites]
posted by eirias at 4:24 AM on December 9, 2019 [10 favorites]
Nice to see you back here, H.n. :)
posted by eirias at 4:29 AM on December 9, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by eirias at 4:29 AM on December 9, 2019 [6 favorites]
I like the smell of patchouli--I don't care what anyone says.
posted by scratch at 5:31 AM on December 9, 2019 [11 favorites]
posted by scratch at 5:31 AM on December 9, 2019 [11 favorites]
Er... this might be TMI, but
Last thing when getting undressed at night, kick your underwear off your foot into the air, catch them, then throw in the laundry.
Bonus points if you launch them higher than your head.
No day is completely wasted if you can win at pantstoss.
posted by Pallas Athena at 8:02 AM on December 9, 2019 [13 favorites]
Last thing when getting undressed at night, kick your underwear off your foot into the air, catch them, then throw in the laundry.
Bonus points if you launch them higher than your head.
No day is completely wasted if you can win at pantstoss.
posted by Pallas Athena at 8:02 AM on December 9, 2019 [13 favorites]
Years and years ago, I moved in with my then-girlfriend/ now-wife in a double wide immobile home, which backed onto a dry creek. It had a tin porch roof outside the bedroom, and when it rained, we'd open the window to let in the cool, moist breezes and hear the plink-plink-plink of the rain on that roof. When we got enough rain, we would hear the creek come back to life and burble happily. Then some frogs would come out or come along, adding to the pleasant sounds. I love where we live now, but when it rains, I remember that space and time, and being in bed with my wife, being warm and cozy on cool, rainy days.
A more portable good feeling: hearing new music that makes me stop and listen, or better, get up and dance. This is why I keep seeking new sounds. And live music in general is grand, but music to make me dance is better. I feel sorry for folks who go to shows and aren't moved to move.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:09 AM on December 9, 2019 [11 favorites]
A more portable good feeling: hearing new music that makes me stop and listen, or better, get up and dance. This is why I keep seeking new sounds. And live music in general is grand, but music to make me dance is better. I feel sorry for folks who go to shows and aren't moved to move.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:09 AM on December 9, 2019 [11 favorites]
When I was a kid and taking the bus to middle school, in the winter I'd come downstairs in my PJs and toss the clothes I was going to wear into the dryer while I ate breakfast, and then put on freshly warm clothes right before going outside. The feeling of very warm socks and underwear in the cold is pretty perfect.
posted by ChuraChura at 9:41 AM on December 9, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by ChuraChura at 9:41 AM on December 9, 2019 [6 favorites]
you are now the other person I know who's seen Until the End of the World
I have! The soundtrack to that movie has a few songs I can't get enough of. Sleeping in the Devil's Bed is one of my faves. Strange movie.
+1 to troubleshooting, patchouli, woodsmoke smells, the perfect book, (and subway reading) and, oddly, BASQUE.
For me a few of those things are
- a warm bed on a cold snowy night. I know this is sort of normal but I'm always surprised everyone in VT doesn't have mattress pad warmers.
- being able to match a thing to give away with a person who needs a thing. I cleaned out an old tech cabinet recently and a few people were like "Oh hey I need _______" and it was nice to be able to place my extra stuff meaningfully.
- a podcast that ends just as I'm arriving in my driveway
- bulk bin food that fits exactly in the container I have for it at home
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 9:50 AM on December 9, 2019 [8 favorites]
I have! The soundtrack to that movie has a few songs I can't get enough of. Sleeping in the Devil's Bed is one of my faves. Strange movie.
+1 to troubleshooting, patchouli, woodsmoke smells, the perfect book, (and subway reading) and, oddly, BASQUE.
For me a few of those things are
- a warm bed on a cold snowy night. I know this is sort of normal but I'm always surprised everyone in VT doesn't have mattress pad warmers.
- being able to match a thing to give away with a person who needs a thing. I cleaned out an old tech cabinet recently and a few people were like "Oh hey I need _______" and it was nice to be able to place my extra stuff meaningfully.
- a podcast that ends just as I'm arriving in my driveway
- bulk bin food that fits exactly in the container I have for it at home
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 9:50 AM on December 9, 2019 [8 favorites]
This is definitely a little thing, though probably pretty popular:
The thing in songs where there are three sustained notes and the second and third notes each descend from their predecessor. Can you tell I know nothing about musicianship?
I seem to reliably enjoy any song that does that (even this one: "Magic Power" by Triumph; the thing I'm alluding to is right after the "want to be free" lyric in the chorus). It's one of the essential ingredients in the "Comfortably Numb" guitar solo, the best guitar solo in human history.
Anybody actually know the term for this, if there is one?
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 10:38 AM on December 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
The thing in songs where there are three sustained notes and the second and third notes each descend from their predecessor. Can you tell I know nothing about musicianship?
I seem to reliably enjoy any song that does that (even this one: "Magic Power" by Triumph; the thing I'm alluding to is right after the "want to be free" lyric in the chorus). It's one of the essential ingredients in the "Comfortably Numb" guitar solo, the best guitar solo in human history.
Anybody actually know the term for this, if there is one?
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 10:38 AM on December 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
Using a multiplication symbol ( × ) instead of an x, when writing things like 8×10.
posted by oulipian at 12:04 PM on December 9, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by oulipian at 12:04 PM on December 9, 2019 [6 favorites]
I feel like I'm one of the only lifelong nonsmokers I've ever met who likes the smell of tobacco smoke. Like, a lot. Stale, it is the worst thing in the universe, and I'm fully logically aware of how terrible it is health-wise and would never suggest anybody take it up. I have never smoked a single cigarette in my life. But... I still kind of miss when there were always people around in my life smoking.
posted by Sequence at 12:41 PM on December 9, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by Sequence at 12:41 PM on December 9, 2019 [4 favorites]
Ok, this is so first world problems I feel guilty about even admitting this.
Despite having lived a pretty rough and tumble life and projecting a lot of self-denying hardiness I intensely and deeply enjoy being pampered and it doesn't happen often enough, and it when it does happen I go all in and really get into it and appreciate it.
Whether it's a professional massage or a hotel room all to myself or a soak in a float tank or sauna or even a heated pool or hot tub I will properly wallow and be in the moment. The rare times I get a pro massage I make my own playlists, sometimes even listen to my own ambient music. Put me in a lot of warm water and I turn into an otter or even become liquid.
A favorite recent birthday present from a friend was effectively taking me to do bunch of laundry and take a really long shower, treating me to a float tank soak gift cert and basically let me do as little as possible with their car instead of me hiking everything everywhere, and then topped it off with some fancy hot cocoa and fixings. It was perfect.
I wouldn't say no to a whole week at a fancy spa or retreat where I did nothing but get massages, soak in hot water, take mud baths, get manicures/pedicures and generally laze about taking naps, drinking tea and/or mimosas and lazing about in pajamas and comfy clothes. If I ever won the proverbial lottery this might be the first thing I'd do.
I also sometimes like getting flowers, which happens.
posted by loquacious at 12:49 PM on December 9, 2019 [4 favorites]
Despite having lived a pretty rough and tumble life and projecting a lot of self-denying hardiness I intensely and deeply enjoy being pampered and it doesn't happen often enough, and it when it does happen I go all in and really get into it and appreciate it.
Whether it's a professional massage or a hotel room all to myself or a soak in a float tank or sauna or even a heated pool or hot tub I will properly wallow and be in the moment. The rare times I get a pro massage I make my own playlists, sometimes even listen to my own ambient music. Put me in a lot of warm water and I turn into an otter or even become liquid.
A favorite recent birthday present from a friend was effectively taking me to do bunch of laundry and take a really long shower, treating me to a float tank soak gift cert and basically let me do as little as possible with their car instead of me hiking everything everywhere, and then topped it off with some fancy hot cocoa and fixings. It was perfect.
I wouldn't say no to a whole week at a fancy spa or retreat where I did nothing but get massages, soak in hot water, take mud baths, get manicures/pedicures and generally laze about taking naps, drinking tea and/or mimosas and lazing about in pajamas and comfy clothes. If I ever won the proverbial lottery this might be the first thing I'd do.
I also sometimes like getting flowers, which happens.
posted by loquacious at 12:49 PM on December 9, 2019 [4 favorites]
Seeing hummingbirds aflight at a distance.
posted by y2karl at 3:07 PM on December 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by y2karl at 3:07 PM on December 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
I don't think anything gives me more quiet joy right now than when my dog decides to rest her little head on my foot.
posted by Mchelly at 3:50 PM on December 9, 2019 [13 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 3:50 PM on December 9, 2019 [13 favorites]
Because I'm strongly media/consumption-led I reflexively reached for an obscure favourite song or similar. Bit my tongue and instead I'll offer this.
Been a while, but more than once I've Walked All The Way Home with my mate post-pub/club because we were talking brilliant bollocks and both enjoying it. To his home that is, i.e. a good half-hour past mine to get there and an equal half-hour getting back. You, dear reader, have doubtless done something similar too in your time, but critically not with My Mate and with His Bollocks!
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 7:34 PM on December 9, 2019 [5 favorites]
Been a while, but more than once I've Walked All The Way Home with my mate post-pub/club because we were talking brilliant bollocks and both enjoying it. To his home that is, i.e. a good half-hour past mine to get there and an equal half-hour getting back. You, dear reader, have doubtless done something similar too in your time, but critically not with My Mate and with His Bollocks!
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 7:34 PM on December 9, 2019 [5 favorites]
Secretly, I kind of like a light amount of secondhand smoke. It reminds me of adult parties when I was a kid.
Pitting cherries. The noise of all the jar lids going "ping."
Stamping with stamps. There is a good deal of this in the library and to me, it never gets old.
When the two cats I used to live with would each pick a side to sleep on and snuggle so closely I was pinned down under the blankets by these leaden cats.
posted by blnkfrnk at 7:54 PM on December 9, 2019 [3 favorites]
Pitting cherries. The noise of all the jar lids going "ping."
Stamping with stamps. There is a good deal of this in the library and to me, it never gets old.
When the two cats I used to live with would each pick a side to sleep on and snuggle so closely I was pinned down under the blankets by these leaden cats.
posted by blnkfrnk at 7:54 PM on December 9, 2019 [3 favorites]
One of my favorite films is the French musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Something about it just tickles me in the right spots and I have seen it multiple times.
Oreo cookies dipped in milk is calming to me and still reminds me of childhood.
posted by vacapinta at 1:08 AM on December 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
Oreo cookies dipped in milk is calming to me and still reminds me of childhood.
posted by vacapinta at 1:08 AM on December 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
I know a lot of people like hugs but that moment when the hug lasts long enough that I drop my shoulders and take a deep breath, that is the thing.
posted by wellred at 5:57 AM on December 10, 2019 [8 favorites]
posted by wellred at 5:57 AM on December 10, 2019 [8 favorites]
The first free breath out of both nostrils after a cold...
posted by ChuraChura at 6:36 AM on December 10, 2019 [7 favorites]
posted by ChuraChura at 6:36 AM on December 10, 2019 [7 favorites]
After dinner on Easter. I have Easter dinner at my house, usually around a dozen people including a handful of kids. We have ham, pierogies, potato salad, kielbasa, and dessert. After everyone is gone my house is super clean from having company, the fridge is full of delicious leftovers, there's a bit of wine still in the bottle, spring is in the air. Wonderful.
Also in the summer I love to sit in my small, usually very disheveled backyard on a sunny day and look up through the green maple tree leaves to the blue sky.
Finally, Two Dots. I love Two Dots, and almost no one else I know plays.
posted by lyssabee at 6:49 AM on December 10, 2019 [4 favorites]
Also in the summer I love to sit in my small, usually very disheveled backyard on a sunny day and look up through the green maple tree leaves to the blue sky.
Finally, Two Dots. I love Two Dots, and almost no one else I know plays.
posted by lyssabee at 6:49 AM on December 10, 2019 [4 favorites]
I play two dots! Lysabee, have you noticed how the game has changed sometime in the past couple of weeks? You can no longer return to map wihtout losing a life. And it seems like the starting configuration for levels doesn't change anymore. You get the same dot arrangement at startup..for a day? a certain number of hours? It does change eventually, but it repeats for a long time. I don't like the changes.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:10 AM on December 10, 2019
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:10 AM on December 10, 2019
The feeling of going to a place that you have been to before - and knowing what you want to do when you get there.
When I go to Tokyo, I know I want an Ice Royal Milk Tea. I know what that convenience store is going to look like. I await what the shouts of 'welcome!' from the workers. I can smell the Japanese magazines as I pass by, all gently thumbed by public. I meander through the unloved bentos and hope to find something I like, all while trying to ignore the repetitive company jingle.
I know the feeling of digging into my bag and looking for 110 yen. Crunching the short Japanese receipt paper. The thin plastic bag that I don't need but somehow end up with. The stacks of umbrellas by the door. Then ... back outside again with tired feet, heading back to my hotel.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 10:48 AM on December 10, 2019 [6 favorites]
When I go to Tokyo, I know I want an Ice Royal Milk Tea. I know what that convenience store is going to look like. I await what the shouts of 'welcome!' from the workers. I can smell the Japanese magazines as I pass by, all gently thumbed by public. I meander through the unloved bentos and hope to find something I like, all while trying to ignore the repetitive company jingle.
I know the feeling of digging into my bag and looking for 110 yen. Crunching the short Japanese receipt paper. The thin plastic bag that I don't need but somehow end up with. The stacks of umbrellas by the door. Then ... back outside again with tired feet, heading back to my hotel.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 10:48 AM on December 10, 2019 [6 favorites]
I loved Two Dots, but mainly for the soundtrack. Which you can download.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:57 AM on December 10, 2019
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:57 AM on December 10, 2019
I know a lot of people like hugs but that moment when the hug lasts long enough that I drop my shoulders and take a deep breath, that is the thing.
Our bestie, when he's in a good mood, gives these long long hugs with a little back scritch at the end and you can just feel your tension drop. It's really nice.
posted by joycehealy at 11:36 AM on December 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
Our bestie, when he's in a good mood, gives these long long hugs with a little back scritch at the end and you can just feel your tension drop. It's really nice.
posted by joycehealy at 11:36 AM on December 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
Vacapinta, that is one of my favorite movies of all time. I used to check it out from my undergrad library and just leave it on to hum along with while I did homework.
posted by fairlynearlyready at 6:28 PM on December 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by fairlynearlyready at 6:28 PM on December 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
I love spotting an animal while driving and then not telling anybody else in the car, cause they can never see it in time and are just disappointed. It some how feels like I'm secretly communing with the deer or whatever.
posted by Uncle at 7:40 PM on December 10, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by Uncle at 7:40 PM on December 10, 2019 [5 favorites]
Ruining songs with fake mondegreens. For example, biscotti rather enjoys Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, so it's on in the basically-hers car some of the time. One of their songs, "Berlin," has the words "Suicide's easy / What happened to the revolution?"
Or it did, until she was driving along and I sang out "Suicide Seasnake! Haberdasher revolution!" and now that's pretty much all she can hear.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 7:51 PM on December 10, 2019 [8 favorites]
Or it did, until she was driving along and I sang out "Suicide Seasnake! Haberdasher revolution!" and now that's pretty much all she can hear.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 7:51 PM on December 10, 2019 [8 favorites]
GCU SaFoG: depraved paradise, portable parking lot (oo la la)
posted by moonmilk at 7:59 PM on December 10, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by moonmilk at 7:59 PM on December 10, 2019 [3 favorites]
Some of these responses remind me of this poem I love:
What the Living Do
by Marie Howe
Johnny, the kitchen sink has been clogged for days, some utensil probably fell down there.
And the Drano won't work but smells dangerous, and the crusty dishes have piled up
waiting for the plumber I still haven't called. This is the everyday we spoke of.
It's winter again: the sky's a deep, headstrong blue, and the sunlight pours through
the open living-room windows because the heat's on too high in here and I can't turn it off.
For weeks now, driving, or dropping a bag of groceries in the street, the bag breaking,
I've been thinking: This is what the living do. And yesterday, hurrying along those
wobbly bricks in the Cambridge sidewalk, spilling my coffee down my wrist and sleeve,
I thought it again, and again later, when buying a hairbrush: This is it.
Parking. Slamming the car door shut in the cold. What you called that yearning.
What you finally gave up. We want the spring to come and the winter to pass. We want
whoever to call or not call, a letter, a kiss--we want more and more and then more of it.
But there are moments, walking, when I catch a glimpse of myself in the window glass,
say, the window of the corner video store, and I'm gripped by a cherishing so deep
for my own blowing hair, chapped face, and unbuttoned coat that I'm speechless:
I am living. I remember you.
posted by southern_sky at 8:02 PM on December 10, 2019 [12 favorites]
What the Living Do
by Marie Howe
Johnny, the kitchen sink has been clogged for days, some utensil probably fell down there.
And the Drano won't work but smells dangerous, and the crusty dishes have piled up
waiting for the plumber I still haven't called. This is the everyday we spoke of.
It's winter again: the sky's a deep, headstrong blue, and the sunlight pours through
the open living-room windows because the heat's on too high in here and I can't turn it off.
For weeks now, driving, or dropping a bag of groceries in the street, the bag breaking,
I've been thinking: This is what the living do. And yesterday, hurrying along those
wobbly bricks in the Cambridge sidewalk, spilling my coffee down my wrist and sleeve,
I thought it again, and again later, when buying a hairbrush: This is it.
Parking. Slamming the car door shut in the cold. What you called that yearning.
What you finally gave up. We want the spring to come and the winter to pass. We want
whoever to call or not call, a letter, a kiss--we want more and more and then more of it.
But there are moments, walking, when I catch a glimpse of myself in the window glass,
say, the window of the corner video store, and I'm gripped by a cherishing so deep
for my own blowing hair, chapped face, and unbuttoned coat that I'm speechless:
I am living. I remember you.
posted by southern_sky at 8:02 PM on December 10, 2019 [12 favorites]
Ms. Moonlight, if you don’t want that plastic bag, the magic words are sono mama de (sono like sonogram, mama like a kid would say to mom, and de like “deh”), which just means “as is.” They’ll put a little sticker on it that shows that you bought it. Works at pretty much any store selling stuff in Japan when you don’t need/want a bag.
posted by Ghidorah at 11:40 PM on December 10, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Ghidorah at 11:40 PM on December 10, 2019 [3 favorites]
Thanks Ghidorah. :)
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 10:56 AM on December 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 10:56 AM on December 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
I have become addicted to fuzzy microfiber blankets, I have replaced my top sheet with them - you know how it takes a while to warm up your bed after you get into it? fuzzy blankets feel like that right away. I sleep nekkid and the toasty feeling I get all over when I get under the covers is just so luxurious.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 6:58 PM on December 11, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 6:58 PM on December 11, 2019 [6 favorites]
I love the smell of hot tar, tire stores, & auto mechanic shops.I agree about hot tar & mechanics. Also skunks. But, the one that really makes me and nobody else happy is diesel bus exhaust. It's harder to find around here these days (which is definitely a good thing), but the smell of an indoor bus depot is a highlight of traveling. It's the smell of traveling.
posted by eotvos at 3:59 AM on December 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
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For a different kind of example, I love this old-ish obscure-ish boardgame called On the Underground. It's been out of print for a while, but when I've shared it with people they immediately get why it's so great. Well I just found out, it just got remade! I had no idea anyone else remembered this game, and I'm really excited for it to get a second chance.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 6:08 PM on December 7, 2019 [12 favorites]