Down

I just came back from hanging with an old friend who I don't see enough. We went for happy hour sushi and drinks at a place right around the corner from me, then went to a bar across town that has a bunch of video games. Some of them didn't work, and we were the only ones in there, but we'd been talking about going there for so long...

Maybe that was part of the let-down. I'm here at home now, and I'm kind of bummed for reasons I can't put my finger on. I have a lot of stress going on right now, so that's probably some of it, but it feels like I'm more sensitive to it at this moment for some reason. I'm aware that I'm down, I don't really know why, and I don't really know what to do about it. So I'm sad.

But I know that there are many things to be happy about. There's a comic, Tom Rhodes (you may remember a Saturday morning show many years ago called "Mr. Rhodes". That was him, which is funny because he's a stand-up comic. And if you know anything about comics, the line to a time slot normally reserved for Smurfs is not exactly linear.). Anyway, so Tom knows a comic friend of mine from back in the day, and Tom was in town doing a show, so our mutual friend coerced me into going.

I'd never paid that much attention to his act; I always knew he was funny, but he never resonated with me personally. The production we saw was less comedy act and more a one-man show. He's traveled all over the world and met all sorts of people (mostly a lot of women)...just really lived life. He was funny quite a bit, and also a little inspirational.

Some of what he talked about was a list of things that make him happy. He keeps it on his website; you can find it here. He's up to 1150. It includes such examples as "orange juice", "performing at the Hotel du Nord in Paris", and "knowing that God looks out for comedians and retards".

So, with that in mind, and in an effort to try to ward off this sadness - actually, scratch that, I want to kick this sadness in its balls - I'm starting my own list on this blog. I'll continue to write about bullshit like Mr Mister videos and what I'm up to in the future, but I'll try to add to this list from time to time. 'Cause dude, I could really use a reference point for this stuff sometimes.

And I encourage each of you to start a list and share.

So here goes:

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

1. Knowing that my friends, even just a few of them, read this and care.
2. Decent, $3 happy hour wine
3. Hearing the latest awesome, sometimes ridiculous stuff that Nolan is in to
4. Reconnecting with friends on Facebook
5. Watching 'Sex and the City' reruns on TV before bed even though I've seen them five times each already
6. Doing the same with 'Gilmore Girls"
7. The configuration of my living room
8. Having a piece of original artwork on my wall that was made by my friend Drew, who's a real artist
9. Steve Martin's smiling face
10. Coming home to a book I'm excited about.
11. Browsing Barnes and Noble on a Friday night with nowhere else to be
12. Finding a song I love and being able to download it from iTunes at anytime, even 3am
13. Hearing a room full of people laugh at comedians I've booked
14. Target
15. Running errands in my neighborhood when traffic isn't busy
16. Having a reason to be up at 5am and getting out into the world that early and feeling like the city is my own
17. Being at Starbucks that early
18. Being up that early and getting a ton of stuff done, and then taking a nap at 11am
19. Coming up with a finely crafted comment on Defamer that makes me laugh
20. Nebraska football games, both live and on TV
21. Red Sox bars
22. Sam Adams Light
23. Marlborough St in Boston
24. The Public Garden in Boston
25. All things Boston
26. Woodburning stoves
27. Flipz, the chocolate-covered pretzel snack
28. Rain in Wyoming
29. A point on Yellowstone Rd where there are no street lamps and no stop lights, only stars
30. Le Petit Cafe in Santa Monica and how it actually does feel like being in France
31. Making a mix cd for a friend
32. This free t-shirt/hoodie I won at a KCRW raffle that fits perfectly
33. Fishing in Wyoming
34. Hearing my Dad call me "kiddo"
35. Fuzzy dogs
36. Puppies of all kinds
37. Brunch at my friend Jason's
38. Chinese food
39. Finding a great present for a friend
40. How my car looks when it's clean
41. Dodger games
42. Walking with my iPod
43. Jon Stewart when he gets silly
44. How obnoxious Stephen Colbert's "character" is on the "Colbert Report"
45. The fact that the "t" in "Report" is silent
46. Steve Carell in anything
47. How Rainn Wilson pronounces "Dwight Schrute"
48. "Kelly Kapoor"
49. Eating at Mama's with Zach
50. City Lights bookstore in San Francisco
51. Tosca in SF
52. Vesuvio in SF
53. Breakfast burritos from the MTV commissary in Santa Monica
54. Coming home after my house has been cleaned

Ok, I need to go to bed, but this is a start. Honest to God, I do feel a little better.