Heavy rain but being inside in a warm bed.
Being complimented. I will downplay it but secretly I really appreciate it.
Expelling a strong yet graceful stream of urine after having to hold it in for some time.
The feeling of Friday or Saturday nights even if you're not going out, you can just chill at home, put on a movie, and relax.
Being the first to walk on fresh snow.
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Getting over a sinus headache.
flannel sheets.
Driving in the mountains, especially in the rain or snow , with a cup of hot joe and a dog. It just feels so good.
Hiking in the mountains on a crisp morning with a fully stocked backpack, a dog, and no other people in sight.
Landing alive and unbroken after hang gliding. It feels so satisfying that I would often cut my flights short even when conditions could keep me up for hours longer. The landing is the principal challenge, and sticking it is simultaneously rewarding, satisfying and a huge relief, and it makes the inevitable beer tastes so deserved.
Unfortunately, I can't fly with my dog, though some do.
Leaving work after the annual Christmas party. A year of hardwork, and success behind you, bonus paychecks in everyone's pocket, food, gifts, kind words and camaraderie shared with your coworkers, and looking into a long holiday weekend ahead.
It's been a long time since I've done any of these things. Too long.
Well! A positive, pleasant, post and thread. Thanks, Lem and bags you are one of the most positive people I know on the interwebs.
Being Italian, what I find extremely satisfying is a nice, quiet meal w/ people I love. I had that @ Thanksgiving w/ my children and new granddaughter, and will be repeating that on Christmas. We have the traditional Thanksgiving meal. However, I grew up 2nd generation and a family still transitioning. On Thanksgiving, my dad, brother and I would go to the 10am traditional rivalry Bristol, CT. high school game between the 2 public high schools, Bristol Eastern and Bristol Central[Aaron Hernandez alma mater]. We would come home and eat the traditional Thanksgiving meal. The day prior, my old man would make lasagna. He thought, and I agree, lasagna is better if assembled a day prior and allowed to sit for 24 hours prior to baking. We would have lasagna @ 6-7p when all you Americans were eating leftovers.
Marrying into a traditional Cheesehead family, they would have turkey both Christmas and Thanksgiving. I changed that to prime rib on Christmas, something no one objected to. My bride has popover pans and we would have those w/ potatoes and green beans or asparagus. My daughter is doing Christmas in Minneapolis. I taught her husband how to bbq and they love brisket. So, that's what we're having for Christmas. Real bbq people are not hampered by the weather. I have cooked out in -10 degree weather. I like the change in this years Christmas meal. I like change. I respect tradition but also like change. Living in, and worshiping the past, is no way to live.
Thanks for the kind words Spinelli.
We have our company Christmas Party this year on the 24th. We stop working around 11am. Have a short meeting with the whole company, give out checks, then raffle off a bunch of gifts, including cash, we cook up a ton of steak on a huge grill. We have all kinds of other food catered, and we make some other things like guacamole on site. Then we eat, and hang out, watch the girls and few guys dance around for a while, and everybody goes home at about 2pm for the long Christmas weekend with family.
Personally, at our house we are flying my blonde's two kids in from Vegas and Detroit to spend about a month with us, so we will have a full house including Mom and lots of visitors for Christmas eve and Christmas day with ham, kielbasa, turkey, and a wide variety of side dishes, desserts, and cocktails. I'm gonna get Yuuuuuuuge!
You are welcome ndspinelli.
A hot strong cup of coffee in the morning. And the great shit that inevitably follows.
Even if it is on an airplane.
I really like doing laundry. It seems like there is much in the world that is ambiguous in its outcome, but doing 3-4 loads of dirty clothes and then folding and putting them away makes me happy.
Jim, Although Irish, my mother was a temperate drinker. If she were alive, mom would say her simple pleasure was ironing clothes and drinking a cold beer as she did. That's the only time she would drink a beer.
I remember way back I decide to sort of buckle up and pay off two credit cards I had.
I don't remember if it was extremely satisfying. But it was sort of.
I was back in debt in no time after that.
bags, You are a good employer and man. I hope your employees appreciate your generosity. I surmise most of them do, w/ maybe a malcontent or two, angry @ the world, who has resentment for your success.
Kielbasa reminds me of Easter. Many of my old man's friends were Pollocks. His best man was Polish. The local butchers made a special Easter kielbasa. It tasted the same to me. Anyway, Easter is much bigger than Christmas for Polish people. They would all give up booze for lent. They would go to sunrise service and have YUUGE breakfasts w/ kielbasa, keishka, pirogi, etc. They would drink vodka and beer and be shitfaced by 10am. My old man did not like his kids being exposed to drunks. I remember once he took us to a 25th anniversary party of a friend of his. People were shitfaced which was obvious when we pulled up and saw a guy getting thrown from the porch. He had all 4 kids stay in the car. He and mom went in for a couple minutes, gave the couple a present, and we left. I remember distinctly dad apologizing to us, "Sorry you had to see that, kids." So, we would make the rounds quickly and early on Easter before everyone was too drunk.
Bringing kids up in Wisconsin, it was real tough not having them see drunk adults. I always was temperate in front of them, but parties, camping, etc. exposed them to drunk adults. I to this day feel guilty about that.
Lem, I assume you are a baby boomer. Credit cards are not as big a part of boomers as they are for kids. My wife and I have several cards but treat all of them like our American Express, always paying them off. We have never paid interest. Never. Our kids have gotten in over their heads w/ cards. Living in a college town I can see how. Kids never have cash, only credit and debit cards. It pisses me off because they slow up the process in coffee shops, pay as you order restaurants, etc. I talk w/ retailers and restaurant owners who have businesses near campus. They say anywhere from 80-95% of their sales are card. Kids do adjust for food carts, w/ almost none of them taking cards as payment. Cards are sorta like chips in a casino, making it easier to spend. I am a cash man. Always have at least a couple hundred in cash w/ me all the time. Always pay cash when eating out. My biggest use of cards is for gas @ the pump. I negotiate for cheaper prices for services w/ small business owners w/ cash. Look for the govt. to try and eliminate cash sometime soon. When us boomers are dead they will have little resistance. Then they will know everything about you and tax every penny.
I nice full belly on a cold evening.
The sound of wing tips walking on a granite or marble floor and it's the only sound. It is so rich and filled with warm timbre that whenever I hear it, I just close my eyes and let the sound wash over me.
Taking a nice, giant healthy continuous dump that leaves nothing behind when you wipe and become so happy that you just get up and dance.
Taking a nap in a reclining chair with our favorite blanket after downing a nice cup of hot cocoa.
Being in a tight group of people where everyone is sort of hunched towards each other and you don't say a word and are just enveloped in the moment.
The fatigue from a nice long workout and the awesome sleep you get from it.
So much more and yet so little time.
I'm going with the snug warm home when the weather outside is wet/cold/snowy/dreary.
Nothing better than being safely comfortable and warm during those times. Staying inside and looking at the snow piling up knowing you don't have to go anywhere at all, baking some coffee cake or cookies, pot of soup or chili on the stove, reading a book with a cat on feet, nice glass of wine to mellow out the afternoon....maybe a nap :-)
Seeing that my kids, now in their middle thirties, are secure and okay.Happy lives, good spouses, toddlers underfoot, stable. You never know what kind of parent you were until you see how your kids are raising their kids. I'm feeling very grateful, and very happy.
Seeing the surprised faces on the staff and volunteers at the homeless shelter I help when Mrs. Haz and I showed up with a van jammed full of toys, clothes, and other gifts for children and adults who will spend their holidays at the shelter. All I did was ask a few friends if they'd donate one item; some fifty people showed up at our doorstep each dropping off many items. We were stunned by the kindness and generosity of neighbors, friends, and people we never met before. People are good. There is deep and peaceful happiness in knowing that.
Watching a beloved relative in his 90s and nearing the end of his life quietly giving away what he has earned. A semester's tuition here, a car there, a year's rent for an apartment in a safer part of town, and so on. Many gifts, all surprises, and all that truly fill a need each person has. And given on the condition that they remain secret, though we all know about them, but nobody lets him know that. We are watching him quietly use his gift giving to tell people good bye, and that he loves them. So very sad, and yet so very happy at the same time.
daisy, YES. Shutting out the world for a bit, enjoying and appreciating the simple things with family and/or excellent foot-warming pet.
Awesome Haz! Keep up the great work in all realms. I'm sure your efforts fill a lot of hearts with gratitude.
Also, winning in court. Such a rush, and it stays with you for a while.
Haz, Kudos. You're a better man than me. I make spaghetti on Wednesday for Luke House in Madison. They serve free lunch and dinner for anyone who wants. The guy who runs it is a very good man. I think he was a Catholic seminarian. Different churches in the area provide the main course and dessert and serve. Big Paul requires the people serving to sit w/ the people, to make it not seem so much like charity, but a meal. So, servers take turns serving and dining. I love that. Here's my problem. I know there are a group of city bus dept. employees, who work just up the street, who routinely go in for a free meal. I investigated 2 I've seen there for work comp fraud. PERFECT! But, Big Paul is insistent all are welcome, no questions asked, and staff mingling w/ "guests." Big Paul is not a bleeding heart in that he does not abide horseshit arguing, drunks, drugged out behavior, etc. A certain decorum is required. I just can't stand seeing those moochers. So, I make the spaghetti[at home] and my bride and her church friends serve it.
Helping homeless people is something I do a lot of, but I am able to screen them using my skills. There is one guy in Madison I have come to truly love. He has the kindest heart I know. He's not homeless, his family pays for an apartment. But, he has serious psych issues and lives day to day. His family gives him money for food but not for smoking. I can see their point. But, w/ his alcoholism[he's now sober] coffee and cigs are really required vices. So, a few times a week I stop on my daily walk @ the coffee shop where Mike hangs. I bring a pack of cigs and buy him a coffee. He is truly grateful. ANYTHING Mike has he shares w/ the many homeless friends. He brings the food his family buys and shares it. Mike is such a gentleman, always introducing me to his homeless buddies. i have a hobo posse. Mike shares the cigs I buy him. Mike has a good heart. People w/ a good heart always have mine.
Mike comes from a good Chicago family. His father played b-ball for DePaul and was an administrator for them for decades. His uncle is a priest in Chicago. He has brothers who are attorneys, one in Madison and one in Boulder. Mike is a HUGE sports fan. That's mostly what we talk about. He's very knowledgeable. But, Mike gets stuck in loops, obsessing on topics. You have to just divert him from his crazy loops and he is then OK. He has serious OCD. He also has gambling issues that he talks about on occasion. And, Mike has a great sense of humor. I was going to invite Mike to Thanksgiving if he didn't have plans. But, a few days before Thanksgiving he was well coiffed. Mike's long beard and shoulder length hair was sheared professionally. Dad was coming to Madison and his brother told Mike it would please their elderly father[80's] if he cleaned up. I saw Mike the week after Thanksgiving. He said he walked into his brothers house and saw his nephew, who lives in Wyoming, that he hasn't seen for years. Mike said laughing, "His hair and beard was longer than mine ever has been."
it is just such a good feeling helping people. That makes it easy, for me anyway. I'm sorta a junkie in that regard.
Amartel, What kind of law do you practice?
A great shit on an airplane is an impossibility!
God damn you HAZ!!! Why are my eyes sweating like this!!!
Hey ND, civil litigation. Mainly defense but the occasional worthy PI that comes along, along with assorted miscellany. Small firm.
Thanks, Amartel. Insurance defense evolved into my specialty, although I have done just about all types of investigation over the almost 35 years of investigative work. I know the work attorneys put into trials. My clients appreciate my tolerance for their demands during trial prep and the trial. I give them top priority when they're working a trial.
Thank you! Trials are hard physical and mental labor, simultaneously. No joke. Much appreciation for your forbearance during our time of trial. Just know that our clients (the company and the insured) are taxing us at least as much if not more. Plus the witnesses, plus the judge, plus keeping an eye on the jury's mental health, and (of course) the opposition.
Add to the list: The start up and endurance of Lem's Levity, which continues to daily provide something worth reading and taking into consideration, along with moments of levity, and the opportunity to experience the type of commenter community and consistency I once enjoyed and valued at Althouse.
Amen
Second that.
Thirded
By the way, that photo for this thread is awesome. Anyone know where that's from or is?
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