i prefer…

ok, since it appears i may be on an upswing of writing activity, i thought i’d update this entry so new readers can get an idea of who’s behind these words. i believe it used to be favorites-only, but will go public this time around. (see the influnce that living behind large windows in the middle of the city has already had on me?)

(thanks Sassy, for pointing out my spell-check omission!)

[4/10/04: This is raw, and outdated (lots of sugar references here, and now I’m a low-carber),
small (ha!) sampling of things I like. updates from the present are italicized]

[10/2/05: in the city now. updates sometimes ellipsis-ed, but mostly just mixed in without differentiation, like people are here]

8/17/2000:
sometimes i seem contradictory
like being frugal and buying things on sale
and always trying to save money
but only buying pop tarts, even if they are twice as expensive

…occasionaly buying top quality
cutting fringe expenses to enjoy more top-quality purchases

when i like something, i like it for logical reasons,
or purely emotional, but rarely a mixture

i like experiences that you can just not imitate; like good art,
the las vegas strip, chicago blues bars,
and the first spring look of a green baseball infield

i like pop tarts
i like dark beer
i like mechanical pencils; .4-.5mm, not .7
i like pilot pens, fine point when i was younger, now i prefer medium point
i like maxell audio and video tapes; i buy different levels, use the better ones for material i like better
i buy other tapes when they are on sale, and tape movies with reckless abandon
…i don’t tape anything anymore; i dvr it
i like the fact that i miss wrapping, labelling, and indexing physical tapes
i like the extra time i have because of not doing those things

i like toaster strudels better then pop tarts if i’m eating them as a desert

i don’t care what type of duct tape i buy, as long as i have some duck tape on hand

i buy used cd’s; they sound the same
i like iTunes
i like that the only physical cd’s i still buy are local or independant artists
i like Hershey’s chocolate syrup in chocolate milk; i don’t like chocolate milk made with powder
i like whole milk, especially in cereal; the less fat it has the less i like it
skim milk is like chalky water
i don’t like chalky water

i like to change the radio station in my car constantly in search of the perfect song for the momentary mood; i like to leave on the blues or jazz station at home for hours at a time
i like my iPod
i like listening to my entire music library on shuffle, and not knowing some of the songs

i like to watch some movies over and over again; i don’t like to watch a drama series episode more then once (except Soprano’s); I’ll watch comedies endlessly

in high school i liked watching late-night reruns of wkrp, mash, cheers, soap; now i like late-night reruns of newsradio, frasier, mash, the simpsons; raymond, king of queens, newsradio

i like andie macdowell, angelina jolie, ashley judd, winona ryder, moira kelly, michelle pfeiffer, gina davis, heather graham, jeanine garafolo, holly hunter, sherilyn fenn, mariel hemmingway, ione skye, joana going, drew barrymore (who i liked through all ages while growing up), julia roberts, rose mcgowan, sarah michelle gellar, aj langer,

i like brendan fraser, robert downey, jr., matthew broderick, michael j fox, johnny depp, bruce willis, joey slotnick, richard dreyfus, kianu reeves, al pacino, bill murray, jack nicholson, jude law, ray liota,

i like watching baseball live, but if I can’t see it live, I like listening to it on the radio, or over the net, better than watching it on tv

my grandfather used to turn on the radio sound and watch the tv broadcast because he liked the radio announcers better; the announcers used to switch in the middle of the fourth inning, and so would the sound source in grampa’s living room; there would occasionally be a delay between the video and sound, especially after commercials, but he didn’t mind

i listen to the internet broadcast to hear the baltimore announcers while watching the video through the cable broadcast, which is usually the visiting team’s video feed with the visiting team’s announcers; there’s a second or two delay between the video and sound, but i don’t mind

i like salted peanuts, planters, not so much the honey roasted
unsalted peanuts may as well not even exist

at baseball games or in local bars, i like peanuts in the shells
but not at home

i like soy nuts, the little tiny ones that break up easily and almost dissolve completely in your mouth

i like canada dry ginger ale, then any clear soda, then iced tea and lemonade
iced tea with splenda, diet rite soda, Fruit2O

from the Hershey miniature variety packs, i like special darks and mr. goodbars
(if only they would combine the two…)
Russel Stover sugar free chocolates- especially the coconut flavor (which happens to have a purple accented box; I like purple)

i don’t like the way the tv networks shrink the credits and put ads for future shows on the majority of the screen; i like to stay and watch the credits at movies, especially the music section, which is last

i like the white-out pens, not the brushes, not the tape

i used a mower that you push and the blades go around; two wheels and blades; no gas, no oil, no smoke or exhaust, and a little bit of a workout; i paid $5 for it at a yard sale in the early 90’s, and the total cost of using it over 12 or so years has been the same $5, plus a little sweat

i like that I like that lawnmower

i like local, family owned hardware stores where the people can tell you how to do things, and they know exactly which aisle you need to go to, and what other parts or tools you might need for your project

i like to park my own car, and pump my own gas
i like that once i moved to the city, i got rid of my car and motorcycle
i like the perfect walk to work- where the lights turn at the right time, cars are spaced perfectly, and the path in front of me steadily opens within the sea of rushing people

i like to hear the bass when i listen to music; but don’t think others should hear my bass from outside my car

i like roulette, and even though it’s the game with the worst odds i win at it more often than any other game i might play; i like playing numbers straight along with a few scattered bets; i don’t change my number until it wins, but the side bets change each spin

i like dennis miller, bill maher, ellen deGeneres, steven wright, jeanine garafalo, eddie izzard

i like the box of 8 crayons; 16 at the most; more than that and you’re an artist

I like stand-up basses

i like to recognize the voices of cartoon characters as some of my favorite actors
i like the sound of my girfriend’s voice, and the resulting feeling I get when I hear it
i’m not currently recognizing anyone’s voice that way. well, maybe my own inner voice. and that’s just as satisfying, on a differnet plane of existence.

i like disc one of the beatles white album, sgt peppers, and abbey road, and then the rest of their albums are tied for fourth; i like that the beatles songs are not over played (or ever played?) in movies; i don’t like the fact that no surviving beatle owns the rights to their songs to make this choice

i like the way women look in oversized button down shirts on weekend mornings

i like salty chips, martins kettle cooked in vegetable oil, or utz, cooked in lard, like aunt mary used to make

i like hints of accents in women’s voices
the accent doesn’t matter, but Australian always has an edge

i like thinking about relativity and the structure of space time
…i like the half-awake, confused-but-enlightened haze that follows from dozing off after thinking too much about relativity and the structure of space time

i like writing in journals and reading them years later
i like being surpised, impressed, confused, and entertained by these writings

i like movies based on plays

i like alan parsons, moody blues, steve miller, allman brothers, tool, enya

i like glaring juxtapositions

hot chocolate with buttered toast
toasted cheese sandwiches with tomato soup
scrambled eggs with ketchup
the versatility of catsup

when women take off their bra from beneath their shirt

finding out new things about old friends

kung pao chicken, extra spicy (big hot)

tums

reading things that people i know write, listening to music of people i know, listening to local musicians, even when I’m not in my local area

i like taking the back way whenever i can; i like traffic lights that know you are coming and change as soon as possible

i like when the cashier counts change up to your tender amount,
although very few of them know to do that anymore

i like atari 2600 games, and old pinball machines

i like Macintosh computers, still

i like living close to work, working close to where i live
close to the train station
…right in the city

i like ceiling fans overhead when i sleep, and open windows on cool, dry nights

i like listening to thunderstorms from a distance, and the steady, summer rain
i like that, because of a much-too-personal experience with lightning, i want to emphasize the phrase from a distance

i like looking at the stars, in open fields, on clear nights, with friend or two

i like being sore after working out, or having fun playing a sport; racquetball, softball, biking, rock climbing i like that i am getting more conservative with the activities I do, and am not talking as many risks with my body as i used; i like not being injured all the time
i like the current irony of that last statement, as i mentally prepare for inevitable surgery on my spine

i like puns, Shakespeare, philosophy, quantum physics, cartoons, yoga, tai chi, paranormal stories, days of summer with looming thunder storms, watching lightning, doing laundry, playing chess,

jazz, blues, metal, rock, pop, big band, classical, new age, electronica

cooking on the grille, making breakfast foods at midnight

The Princess Bride, The Matrix, The Fifth Element, The Sixth Sense, Seven, Sliding Doors, Dead Again, the scene to Bill Wither’s ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ in Knotting Hill, Green Card, Groundhog Day, Multiplicity,The Passion of Darkly Noon, Die Hard, Being John Malkovich, With Honors, Unbreakable, Message in a Bottle, Dream for an Insomniac, Scent of a Woman, Ladyhawke, Metropolis, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Tron, Still Breathing, Raising Arizona, Punch-Drunk Love, Always, Simply Irresistable, American Beauty, L. A. Story, 50 First Dates, Field of Dreams, Two Girls and a Guy, Go, Back to the Future trilogy (the best trilogy ever made, btw- you heard me!), Vanilla Sky, Waking Life …Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Dopamine, What the #$*! Do We (K)now.

meeting new people and liking them immediately,

dreaming
letting go of dreams to make room for others

dreams that die by turning into memories