girls. digital cameras. ginger ale. rain when i'm running in the morning. 5 siblings. cheese. puppies. camoflague cargo shorts. fresh-cut grass. swimming pools on hot days. martial arts. providence rather than coincidence. skydiving. gravity. that i knew all of my grandparents and they all lived long lives. snow. skiing. working with high schoolers. the internet. so very much the internet. gmail. im. flickr. del.icio.us. my biblical namesake. well-read books. low cut backs on dresses. a clean house. the smell of soap on your skin. hot salsa. falling asleep to the sound of waves crashing. falling asleep on a wrap-around couch. falling asleep with your head on someone's lap. falling asleep. a well-timed foul word, where no other word would quite do the trick. sarcasm. movie quotes. egg rolls. enchiladas. guacamole. well-worn jeans. being a guy. the differences between the sexes. clean, neat architecture. bar tricks. ghetto slang. clever friends. adrenaline. quiet saturday afternoons. blogs. bacon cheeseburgers. wakeboarding. sailing. ivy-covered trellises. fishing. classic movies. my guitar. being in joburg the night that south africa won the rugby world cup. spirituality replacing religion. joy instead of happiness. the feeling you get in your stomach when you realize you're talking to a really cute girl. a well cut pin-stripe italian suit. steinbeck. wind-chill. really loud thunderstorms. rules. breaking rules. organic strawberry yogurt. new business ideas. helping someone when you know no one will ever find out about it. settling arguments between other people. not ever having to worry about money. photo-journalism. spurgeon, calvin, edwards, mlk jr, and lewis (not necessarily in that order). flirting. working up a good sweat. horses. the nfl. mountains. yosemite. sushi. a belt that perfectly matches the shoes. the inability of science to prove the existence of time. meteor showers. constellations. gentle kisses. hard kisses. kissing. fast cars. speeding, with the classical station blaring. classical hymns, preferably with a choral accompaniment. unconditional love. jack daniels. woodwork. secrets. swing dancing. cell phones. physical therapy. air conditioning. summer dresses. sunsets. being alone. being together. old ball caps. amazing grace. random facts. thin, white flowing curtains in the summer breeze. frequent flier miles. trains. surfing. beach volleyball. bonfires on the beach. anything on the beach. letting somebody else go first. skype. german shepherds. nyc. massages. texas hold-em. learning a new language. palm trees. ticklish sisters, also, wrestling with my brothers. theology. social networking. hip hop, rock, country, big band, techno, blues and most other types of music. running shoes. the way a girl's hair smells. being commended on a job well-done. letting go of grudges. forgiving people who never knew they wronged you. forgiveness. trader joe's, also, whole foods. the fact that the holidays only comprise a season, which has an end. founding fathers. flip flops. wet suits. surfboards. bikinis. tan lines. dostoyevsky. espn. somebody you can count on to be there for you. netflix. metafilter. power tools. a well-done shoe shine. people who honestly, earnestly want to do a good job, even if its just shining shoes. moleskines. non-greasy hand cream. my hearing disorder. electric toothbrushes. tacos. greece. shorts, and toned legs. and...

baseball.

(this was based on a comment i put on another blog back at thanksgiving, last year, about things i'm thankful for, and i meant to post it here at some point. then it was christmas, and i still failed to get around to it. so, now its a list of things i love. and am thankful for.

on a holiday that has always been somewhat sublimely fashionable to hate - and being someone who's always been somewhat sublimely fashionable, i thought it might be a nice twist on things.

also, pitchers and catchers reported today. joy.)