A Few of [Whose] Favorite Things

I used to read self-help books.  I am not entirely sure if they really did help, but there is no real way to know, is there?  We never stop learning and growing, and all that.  Even as I write this, I am waiting for the library to deliver to me a copy of “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck”.  I am #110 on 6 EBook copies, and #223 on 20 audiobook copies, with wait time of at least six months, according to the library website.  I am expecting that half a year from today (at least), I will be so much cooler and calmer and more collected.  Until then, I have to keep relying on old coping skills. 

One of those is a list of 100 things that bring me joy.  I made this list almost a quarter of a century ago, and I still have it.  I have never revised it.  Looking at it now, I am generally in agreement with my younger self.  However, there are some items that are genuinely puzzling:

#15:     Playing badminton.  Not that it is not fun, but seriously—when did I play so much badminton in this lifetime that it merited its own entry on the list?  I mean, badminton got into Top 100, and even Top 15?  OK, the list is not in order of priority, but to have thought of badminton so early on?  A head-scratcher…

#19:     Lilliput Lane houses.  Again, Top 20 in the Spirit of Acquisition?  I have a few of those cute miniatures, but since I have been focused more on unloading than acquiring crap, I mean, stuff, in recent years, I have to say that this one is decidedly off the list.

#41:     Trivial Pursuit.  Is it even a thing these days?  I think it might have been replaced by Cards Against Humanity in my life.  Maybe less intellectual, but a lot more laughs!

#51.     Jelly Bellies.  Whoa, really?  I used to love Jelly Bellies, but that much?  Glad they are not in the Top 50—that would be embarrassing.  Bottom 50 is OK.

#61.     TV Guide.  That’s a heartbreaking one. I used to love TV Guide so much, when it was in that little compact format.  In high school, I used to trek to Meijer’s Thrifty Acres weekly to buy TV Guide as soon as it was out on the stands.  It was so important in the pre-internet days, my main source of information that counted (don’t judge!).  Then they changed the format, which made me super-mad, because then it looked like any other magazine.  And I just could not keep up with the thousands of new channels anyway.  And then technology got so ahead of me that these days I can only turn the TV on with express instructions from my spouse and children. Oh, but I still miss TV Guide!  I wish I had kept that issue with Richard Chamberlain as Father Ralph from “The Thorn Birds” on the cover…

#89.  Fashion magazines.  I have no idea who actually made this entry, although the handwriting seems to be mine.  It must have been a minor case of possession, as I do not recollect ever purchasing or even looking through a fashion magazine.  I must have been running out of things that brought me joy…

Then there is a handful of items that are largely gone from the world:

#17.  Bookstores.  Oh, what a joy it was to browse at Borders or even Barnes & Noble (but Borders was the ultimate)!  But who am I to complain, when I so utterly and completely, albeit somewhat belatedly, jumped on the Kindle/Audible/OverDrive wagon and have not physically set foot in a bookstore in years?  If Borders was still around, I would still be buying books there.  I can safely tell myself this.

And finally, something that was not on the list decades ago, but would be #1 today:

Dogs.  I love dogs.  But I did not even like them when the list was initially written. Which just goes to show how much things can change in one lifetime, as I write this while wearing my “Home is where the dog is” T-shirt, given to me by my mom. [Who also did not make the Top 100 list then, but definitely would now!]