mirror ball 11: the last 24 hours

Something that made me happy in the last 24 hours:

Kevin: Remembering that I have nothing to be unhappy about.

Martha: Finding an inexpensive flight for my nephew's wedding.

Gus: Finding a bag of marijuana stuck to the seat of my pants five minutes before I walked into a police station.

It was actually 48 hrs ago, but we are a day ahead in Australia (ignoring the fact it took six days to reply to this email). Whether it belonged to the driver of the cab I had just stepped out of, or his last customer, I'm not sure. But he seemed happy enough to dispose of it for me. Did I mention I was late for a press conference on a bombing attack on a Hells Angels club house?

Garris: I know it's really corny.... but nothing makes me happier on these cold winter nights than when my dog jumps in the bed with me and sleeps right beside me.

John: Thanks to Facebook, I've been hearing from a group of former classmates from the NYU Drama Department, circa 1981. In the last day many of us have posted memories from back then. It's been great (and usually hilarious) to have confirmation that half of our acting teachers were very odd ducks, indeed. The other half were wonderful, and remembering them feels good, too.

Jen: Coloring the Pottery Barn catalogue with my 21-month-old niece. :)

Joseph: I had a really great 24 hours with my boyfriend!

Dan: Looking at my cell I knew it was Garris calling. I had left a "Happy Ground Hogs Day" message in some kind of Opryland high pitched southern drawl. So I answered the phone. "Hey There how are you." in the same high pitched voice.
On the other end - a stumble "I’m trying to speak to Danny Baum".
"Garris it's me" ....
(he gasps)....
"Oh my god I thought you were a woman" ....
We laughed uncontrolled for a good minute.
I kept thinking of all those years as a kid when I would answer the phone at home and on the other end someone would ask "Alma is that you?"

Val L: A hike in ....Forest Park...., and my husband's tuna casserole :-)

Celeste: yesterday, while eating sushi with my 4 year-old son, he said that sushi was from Japan. I said, "yes, you're right - the Japanese invented sushi a very long time ago". He asked, "what does invented mean"? I thought for a moment, because I am now constantly being challenged by remembering proper definitions of words these days for him. "Well", I said, "it's when someone thinks of an idea 1st, and they create the item or food or concept 1st. So, the Japanese were the 1st people to make sushi".

Hudson said, "no, it came from a monster in Idaho and he gave them the recipe".

Who knew?

Ellen: Yesterday morning my friend Justin, transplanted from Australia, called to ask, "Hey do you guys want to meet us for brunch at IHOP?" Generally, Steve and I are more of the support the little guy types of people, but we weren't doing anything special...and who doesn't love pancakes? So, we said sure and then our friend goes on to explain, "Okay then great - so, we'll meet at IHOP - have you ever been? It's in this really neat red and blue ski lodge looking building - it's sort of an A Frame structure." Apparently, he didn't realize it was a chain... that they all look the same. As it turns out "chain" restaurants are a bit of a novelty to Aussies. They explained over brunch that they only just realized that Red Lobster is a chain as well. Every time I think of him innocently explaining what to look for, I crack up.

Jeanne: Sunday afternoon I finished a good book while sitting in a comfortable chair with the cat asleep and snoring loudly on my lap.

Amelia: The last 24 hours; Watching Fight Club (again) and laughing at all my favorite parts (again) and remembering many other times I have watched this movie, how some funny parts are the same, and others have evolved.

"Well, I gotta tell you: I'd be very, very careful who you talk to about that, because the person who wrote that... is dangerous.

And this button-down, Oxford-cloth psycho might just snap, and then stalk from office to office with an Armalite AR-10 carbine gas-powered semi-automatic weapon, pumping round after round into colleagues and co-workers. This might be someone you've known for years.
Someone very, very close to you.

[Snatches the piece of paper from boss' hands]

Or maybe you shouldn't bring me every little piece of trash you happen to pick up."

Freakin HILARious!!!

Winslow: I heard these words yesterday: "I'm so excited
about being with you that I don't even know where to start."

That made me happy.

Tom: Well...I'm a big fan of football. I didn't really care who won the Superbowl, I just wanted it to be a good game. It wasn't a good game...it was a GREAT GAME!! That made me quite happy.

Manuel: I was 1.5 hours late for a photoshoot today. Bad, bad traffic. I almost cried.

Partly because I haven't been happy with my pictures and nothing seems to inspire.

I arrived, met the model. No words. I proceeded to shoot. I shot and shot and shot and shot -- like there was no tomorrow.

By the time I was done, it was sunset. But I felt good. I felt good in a way I haven't been in a long time.

Hannah: ...celebrating my husband's birthday by cooking him a big feast and a fancy pants chocolate-peanut butter birthday cake (that I'm also eating right now. in bed.).

Lori: Helping my dad cook his 68th birthday dinner in my kitchen. Discussing the perfect cook-time for the prime rib (he does the meat), showing him how to cook braised leeks (I do the vegetables), and reassuring him that adding rutabagas to the roasted potato mix wasn’t going to ruin it.

The next morning I got to listen to him assembling a small, wooden float plane model with my 4-year old son, his grandson. The picture of patience. I love my dad.

Steve: the homemade lemon gelato at my dad and Lynda's
house. It was startlingly tart and lemony, and a beautiful end to a lovely meal.