What made me smile so far today.

Some days it's good to keep mental inventory of the little things.

Like when the raccoon-eyed teen at Target robotically tells me to "Have a nice day" without looking up, I can latch onto their radiation-vibey flow and have an honest chat. Let them know, "Yes...yes, I have already experienced these moments upon which you have expressed your trust in aspiration. Truly an amazing, epochal rotation of our Mother Earth's axis has bestowed it's graces, and for thine I am blessed. Thank you, O' mysterious gypsy well wisher, my hope for you be tenfold in riches."

Or just say nothing. She don't really care. She's got a bad homemade dye-job, glitter shoes, and a button with friggin' "High School Musical" or something, fer feck's sake.

But today I loved:

1. Vanilla Coke Zero.

God's nectar.

2. Videos from www.hornblasters.com/video.php.

Every successive video I watch elicits an internal review in my head: "Same." But holy hell this is a damn funny link. Huge train horns masquerading around in everyday cars, scaring the living bejebus out of unsuspecting bystanders. And they all react in that duck-down, bird diving, hiccup-scaring strike zone crouch. I laughed almost until I couldn't breath for a good, oh, few seconds. Then I grew weary of it. Just pick any video and watch, you'll get the visceral feel and start drooling on your keyboard. If ever there was anything I truly wanted from Santa, mental note for next year that I will never, ever, ask for anything again if I can just get one of these. Better than t.p.'ing the neighbors. And paintball shooting at pedestrians can suck it until 2009; now if I can just figure out how a kid's car seat will fit over the air compressor...


3a. The duck - like sound my cat Jack makes to no one in particular: "mwak...mwak."

This, I predict, will be the exact sound I will make in early stages of losing my mind. Up in here. Up in here.

3b. Green-headed, Mallard-esque ducks on the Riverwalk at lunchtime. Awe.

Until arriving back to my car to find they had shat all over the windshield. Those ducks are dead to me now.

4. Hot chocolate and an oatmeal raisin cookie on a cold gun-metal grey, rainy Chicago afternoon.

And my jeans didn't even get wet on the walk back out. Nothing my soul shaking than wet denim sticking to your skin.

5. A friend's two-year old daughter consoling me on the phone, after a particularly brutal morning meeting.

The most genuine, heartfelt verbal epiphany I could ever imagine - "It'll be awight" - almost like she plopped down on the floor beside me, gazed all-knowingly at me with her big brown eyes, and reassuringly patted me on the back. Coached or not by her Mama, I'll take it over any reward or recognition. I gotta make me one of them there two-year olds to keep for my own some day.


Be thankful. Stop walking around with the Tigger medicine-face and cheer up.