Great loves (or, YOU DON'T KNOW ME!)

Everyone has their own quirks and idiosyncrasies, particularly when it comes to things they like. I am no exception, although my gleefulness when I encounter one of my favorite things may rival that of a child on Christmas day, while simultaneously coming across as weird. Really weird. One of my favorite things is the first day of school, particularly when I was younger, because it always smelled different. And we had to wake up early when we weren't used to it, so it felt different too. And because I got fresh school supplies.

To this day, I love looking at a fresh sheet of paper, just ready for my writing. Same goes with index cards. And brand new planners. 

I love anything that comes in the mail. My boyfriend (Leonidas) thinks my obsession with checking the mail every single day (and sometimes, admittedly, twice a day) goes beyond the scope of normal behavior. I say, WHO CARES? (And I absolutely love bubble wrap that packages are wrapped in. I'm six years old. And what???) This may also be attributed to the fact that Maxine eschews checking the mail, and I could have had TONS of mail just sitting in our PO box, just gathering dust. Gah.

I love new mascara. Something about taking the brand new wand out and putting on that fresh coat....oh yes. Same with most new makeup, really (but mascara is seriously the best). Hair products are in this same category. I just want to go home and use them. 

New books that haven't been cracked yet, especially when they are leather. Especially not when they are legal related. 

Chips and salsa from a particular Mexican place in town, which has precisely the right amount of cilantro in the recipe. Oooh, and mixing queso with the salsa in a separate bowl (which Leonidas finds repulsive).

Printing out papers and stapling them and having them so fresh and so clean-clean. 

One of my most favoritest things in the entire world? FALL. Growing up in the deep south, I never experienced seasons like we do up here. Our leaves didn't slowly change colors. You just woke up one morning and they were all shriveled up and dead on the ground. I love cold weather. AND TURTLENECKS! (I don't know what my obsession with turtlenecks is, other than when I was young and my family was poor thrifty, we would get the 3/$30 deal from the Penny's catalog in all different color turtlenecks. And I thought I was the SHIT. And a few years, I demanded and received penny loafers. To this day, I still love penny loafers. Maybe that should have been my mom's clue I was to someday become a lawyer.) And I love that first day when you wake up and go outside and your breath fogs! It's delicious.

I know I mostly do legal stuff. And perhaps the next one I write about will be what I love about the law. But I don't think it will make me as happy, as the list is shorter. And comes with all kinds of qualifiers. 

Right now, I'm just content with listing the things that make me unabashedly, unqualifiedly happy to be alive.

Because sometimes, they can seem worlds away. Which is just ridiculous.