Late Night Scuttlebutt

Things I love about being home: (That aren't obvious.)

1. I just plugged in my iPod, and for the first time in 1.5 years, actively realized I didn't need my adapter to do so. Huzzah!

2. The diversity. So freaking refreshing.

3. The incredible collection of shoes I've amassed since my feet stopped growing in high school. Perhaps one of the top ten greatest thing about being an "adult."

4. I love sitting in my room among all the objects and the memories and the feelings that have made me the person writing this. As a sentimental creature, prone to nostalgia and bouts of reminiscence, I have a hard time throwing away a lot. Some things I see right now: the tiny sugar jar I nicked from Michel's last year, with about six lumps of raw sugar I put in it; a bookmark from the Maurice Sendak exhibit at the Contemporary Jewish Museum of SF (which hadn't opened when I went there this summer mind you); an empty black and gold perfume bottle my mom gave me; a piece of paper my freshman year roommate gave me, which says "Anya: 'On the eve of your birth, word of your coming passed from animal to animal... & the marvelous news migrated world wide.' Debra Fraser from On the Day You Were Born"; a gluestick.

5. I love the surprising softness of my bed, and knowing that the only person who's ever slept in it, aside from stray family members and friends, is me. Every chip in the paint on my walls, I have crafted. Every forbidden stretch of Scotch tape, I have placed. I know that when I toss and turn at night, my bed will inevitably hit the drapes on my windows right next to it, and the curtain rod will make a squeaky sound.

6. I ADORE Target. Yes, the store. I went there yesterday and almost took pictures of it out of pure joy and stifled revulsion. I bought five boxes of instant chocolate Jell-o pudding and one box of Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix. Marvelous.

7. Small talk with strangers. I can bullshit in English like a pro. Beautiful.

8. Yesterday when my mom and I got to our coffee shop, the barista I sort of befriended smiled and said "back from France?" And the others all chimed in "hey!" Awww. If only he weren't 19...

9. Watching the sunrise, feeding the dog with barefeet, hearing the birds in the persimmon tree, and going back to bed for another hour.

10. Hulu works!

11. My book collection.

12. I saw the most hideous plush stuffed menorah yesterday at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Genius.

13. Oxo kitchen accoutrement.

14. The conversation my mom and I had this afternoon about how most words sound better in French than in English, and our quest to find exceptions. (Bleu being high on the list of heinous Français.) This conversation would never take place in France.

15. Hearing people laugh and seeing them smile and gesticulate wildly. People I don't know.