five things, and thirty more things...

i got a text from a friend this afternoon, asking me, "u dont blog anymore?" which made me feel a touch guilty. y'see, when i started this thing, i wanted to write every single day. and i really thought i could do it. but i very much underestimated the time it would take to complete such monumental works of genius on a daily basis. or... i'm lazy.

AND i'm long-winded. deadly combination, that.

but i do love this blog. maybe not as much as i love, say, the opening weekend of nfl football, but it's an extremely close race. and that's saying something!

what i love most about this-- the blog, not the football-- is the way it's kept me on my toes. because i've noticed already, in the month or so i've been at this, that i've generally been in much better spirits. and i think that's partially due to how often i'll find myself just walking down the street, searching for things and people and places to "fall in love with".

so, in a very real way, when i miss a few days behind the keyboard, i'm kind of hurting myself a bit. and so, with that in mind, i thought i'd dedicate a blog or two, every now and then, to catching up with all the "five things" i've missed.

so... it turns out i've been blogging for... (wow, i really hate math.......) ...39 days now. and i've written 32 blogs. which means i've missed seven, and seven times five is...??? (help me out, smart lady.......) yikes! 35! thirty-five things i love.

i think i remember squeezing in ten things i love into one blog, but... eh, i'll stick with the number 35. because i'm sure there's a monday somewhere in my near future in which i won't be loving anything or anyone or anyplace. and, i s'pose, if i am going a bit overboard tonite, it will only grant me permission on that wretched monday to just say, "screw you, bitches! i didn't fall in love with shit today!"

but, no. that's not today. so here we go...


the thirty-five things i fell in love with today...

1) loving a football team passionately, and bragging about their six super bowl rings!
2) the leaves are starting to change already. i'm actually a summer guy, but autumn in new york really is something to see!
3) only two more months until 'up' is out on blu-ray!
4) jay-z. he's so damn cool.
5) that, no matter how drastically the world changes, a kid will always come into school with a huge smile on his face on the day he's wearing his brand new sneakers!
6) on my way home tonite, i thought i was going to witness a fight between a BIG honking seeing eye dog, and two tiny yip-yip puppies. and i'm very glad it was averted. coulda been ugly. for so many reasons.
7) finding yourself alone at the exact moment the urge strikes to sing "brimful of asha" by cornershop: "everybody needs a bosom for a pillow, everybody needs a bosom! everybody needs a bosom for a pillow, everybody needs a bosom..." (sadly, this was not the case last night-- apologies again, walmart shoppers. that must have been odd).
8) boston market.
9) francis albert sinatra.
10) brother ray charles-- my favorite musician ever.
11) the three year old who told me yesterday, "ryan! i'm a grown man!"
12) only three more months until the fifth season of LOST is out on blu-ray!
13) that i was warned ahead of time about the '400 lb. snake' video that's been circling around the web lately!
14) NEW BABIES!!!!!!!! i met my coworker's weeks-old baby girl today! so cute!!!
15) madonna's speech at the beginning of the mtv music video awards the other night. i'm not a fan of hers at all, really, but i thought what she had to say was very moving, very sweet, very sincere, and spot on. well done, madonna!
16) beyonce-- classing up the joint by inviting taylor swift back onstage at the vma's! i thought she turned a ridiculously awkward situation around in the best and most beautiful way possible! she's so great! i like her. i shoulda put a ring on it.
17) resisting the urge to ask a coworker, "hey, how do you spell 'bosom'?"
18) ben
19) my recent blitz of friend requests to people i've never seen before in spite of their appearance on my "people you may know" facebook page has been fun! as meeting new homies often is. although i have had a friend send me an email asking, "dude, why are you friend requesting my mom?" (to this i've replied, "because she is goooooooood-lookin'! hubba, hubba!!!" wish me luck with that!)
20) pixar movies. i was reminded of how much i loved them when i was watching '9' last weekend. i felt like i could almost hear the director telling the animators, "hey, that's good enough, let's move on, time is money!" but there's never any compromise at pixar. the story always comes first, and because of that, you always, always, always care about their characters-- even if it's a car, or a bug, or a robot.
21) jerry.
22) there's a dude who just started working in our kitchen, and-- poor bastard-- he looks a lot like me. i think it's pretty funny, though, as the preschool kids always shout at him (even when i'm in the same room!), "HI RYAN! HI RYAN! HI RYAN!!!" lol
23) that i've yet to give into the temptation to buy the new beatles box set. i'm getting better at saving money!!! feels good!!! w'hooooooooooo!!!
24) FRIZZY!!! my long-lost homie is moving to white plains soon!!! w'hoooooooo!!!
25) "a moo point." joey from friends: "yeah... a moo point. it's like a cow's opinion. it doesn't matter. it's moo." LOL!
26) i met ron howard once. very cool. i was working part time at a movie theater, and he came in with his family and asked me, "hey, how old do you have to be to work here?" and, i'm usualy pretty cool with celebrities, but, at that moment i just got really caught up in not only how many things ron howard has done that i loved, but who he's worked with-- tom cruise, tom hanks, jimmy stewart, john wayne, the FONZ!!! and i thought, "wow, this is so great! i just shook his hand! we're having a conversation! ron howard is asking ME a question!!! and... crap, i don't know the answer to that question!" i'd just started working there that week! so, i tried to explain that to him, but-- dork that i am-- got a bit flustered and said to him this painfully accurate quote...

"uh, well, it's my first very week, so... uhm... uhhhhh..."

and he just nodded and smiled very politely and said, "oh okay!" and walked into whatever movie they were seeing. and i've always loved him for that. y'know, for not saying to me, "oh! i see. it's your first very week with grammar, is it? and you're a moron? great. got it. thanks... ASSHAT!!!"
27) eh, forget getting better at saving money!!! it's THE BEATLES!!!!! w'hooooooooooooo!!!
28) loving a baseball team passionately no matter how hard we suck.
29) the compliments our classroom has received over the past few days! good times!!!
30) a new 18-month old toddler didn't wake up screaming like a crazy person at naptime this afternoon! first time ever!!! whew!
31) that i've never pissed off serena williams while she's had a tennis racket in her hands.
32) red dawn, ghost, donnie darko, and the outsiders. rest in peace, patrick swayze.
33) billy graham.
34) mo willems.
35) i got a text from a friend asking me, "u dont blog anymore?" which made me feel like people are actually reading my stuff!!!

:)

playlist of the day (though not necessarily in this order). a dozen GREAT songs you've probably never heard before...

"not the girl you think you are" by crowded house
"rafiki" by zap mama
"do i wake or sleep?" by homer hiccolm & the rocketboys
"destiny calling" by james
"don't tell your mother" by the sundays
"nylon smile" by portishead
"independence day" by elliot smith
"these foolish things" by ella fitzgerald and louis armstrong
"put a penny in the slot" by fionn regan
"mossback" by the parson red heads
"raindrops in my coffee" by sexsmith and kerr
"this must be the place (naive melody)" by shawn colvin

movies of the day...
because i've heard from many people what a great guy he is (used to come into that theater quite a bit, it seems, and always had a kind word for everyone), and because i think he's also a damn good filmmaker, i'm going to suggest a ron howard marathon! here are eight of my favorites...
apollo 13, cinderella man, frost/nixon, cocoon, a beautiful mind, the da vinci code, the paper, and ransom.