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What a beautiful face I have found in this place that is circling all round the sun. What a beautiful dream that could flash on the screen in a blink of an eye and be gone from me. Let me hold it close and keep it here with me. And one day we will die and our ashes will fly from the aeroplane over the sea. But for now we are young, let us lay in the sun and LIST every beautiful thing we see.

bookmarks:
listography GIVE MEMORIES
Ryan movies (In theaters, TV series, or docs)
books (reading, read, bookclub)
books (Never Ending Summer Reading List)
books (Some Queer Authors...)
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  • James’ obsession with romantic time travel novels
  • when friends send their demo songs before others get to hear them
  • when my plant rises to former glory after a watering
  • fall leaves
  • moss growing over tree branches
  • when people regularly leave flowers at the site where their loved ones died
  • seeing friends’ bands play
  • cleaning patio furniture
  • when a houseguest uses a space somewhere that no one in our family uses
  • when my gynecologist points out my poop on a ultrasound
  • homemade breakfast on the porch
  • dog walking during Halloween season
  • the street lights when the fog fills the air at night
  • that the planet came with so many varieties of nuts and flowers
  • when your teen randomly texts from school that she's making a playlist that reminds her of me and her dad
  • how we always want to move to wherever we visit and then remember how much we love our front and backyard, weather, and our neighbors
  • when strangers look at you, but then their face turns sour lol
  • the phrase “transgender sex operations on illegal aliens in prison.”
  • late night dinners outdoors with friends
  • favorite music on a sad day
  • paddington's hard stare for when people have forgotten their manners
  • when one of my cacti surprises me with a flower
  • gardening at night
  • birds drying out their wings in the sunlight
  • moonlight
  • close friends who have done the dance of reciprocity with support, cheerleading, and therapizing for decades
  • campaign finance reform
  • the bravery of whistleblowers
  • already knowing something I wanna see on tv (not having to search)
  • looking forward to future plans, like girl trips or vacations
  • seeing someone learn to rollerskate and being wobbly and sweetly off-balance
  • when there’s no clouds, but for some reason, the sun is soft
  • rejecting website cookies
  • when RUMI puts his chin on any part of my body and makes little licking noises with his mouth
  • movie endings where the main character dies and everyone from their past, including earlier versions of themselves, and dead family members all come.
  • life experiments that seem hard at the time but are fond chapters later
  • all the spring flowers in bloom
  • my dog's face after I remove a thorn from his paw
  • the power, bravery, and optimism of anti-war groups, that spring up every generation
  • flowers that grow through the sidewalk cracks
  • cloudy foggy mornings
  • the distant sound of the high school marching band practicing
  • james’ all expenses paid book engagements
  • wacky tube man inflatable dancing machines for businesses
  • when our teen is in a good mood
  • narrating what dogs are thinking
  • introverted dogs at the dog park
  • when I spot the first buds on my trees in springtime
  • when my dog sleeps with his darn teddy bear
  • bread
  • making a mess in hotel rooms in a way I’d never do at home
  • old vintage decorative tins
  • the magical experience of the city's wild flock of green parrots flying by my upstairs bedroom window
  • when a sweet memory just randomly returns --like feeding Rumi frozen cantaloupe in the kitchen when he was a puppy, and listening to his slow gnawing
  • old friends who magically turn up right when you need them
  • the smell of chimney smoke in the winter
  • watching my neighbor’s dog sleep in the sunlight from my bedroom window
  • boobs - why are boobs so great?
  • our neighborhood friends and community
  • cab drivers in foreign countries who listen to American country music
  • the bravery of people who speak up for others
  • the commeraderie amongst people at protests
  • the sisterly love when you stop a woman to whisper her dress is accidentally tucked into her underwear
  • when people dance their way to the dance floor
  • decorative lights on trees
  • my mother's cooking
  • stars in our night sky
  • ufo testimony
  • that we all pull over to help a suffering stranger in an ambulance get through faster
  • watching the roller skaters at Venice Beach
  • smoking, dancing, drinking at the same time (those were the days)
  • when you recommend something you love to a friend and they pull out their phone to jot it down
  • the strength and organizing of trade unions
  • seeing American Asians finally getting film roles
  • how we have to seek out a dozen vegan pastries to take with us on an hour hike
  • when traveling and finding your favorite little spot you eat at repeatedly
  • when I spend a day “hiking” through shops to look for cute hiking shoes instead of hiking
  • rumi searching for cats and enjoying the breeze on the porch while I sit nearby reading
  • when my father would surprise me with a story I didn’t know
  • the stoic faces of security guards next to the stage at concerts (or when you catch them getting into it)
  • watching joy on H’s face dancing with her friends and her not knowing
  • a surprise street fair
  • the sound of a duck quack
  • art cars —even if they’re lame
  • a secret smile on an older woman’s face
  • aging out of hyper-culture
  • those tyrannosaurus rex costumes
  • when rumi poops right next to a trash can
  • the magic of a fruit bearing tree
  • moonlight through the bathroom window when I’m peeing in the middle of the night
  • airport support dogs walking around to calm and bring joy (and pigs)
  • hugging my ex, now friend, the day before he's about to have his first baby
  • Robert Smith endlessly
  • how my partner's body fits perfectly outside of mine when we snuggle
  • seeing my friend Nyles play in a band with his son --full circle
  • stop and chats in the neighborhood with other dog walkers
  • when I hear my mom in my sneeze
  • listening to Magnetic Fields while cleaning the house and remembering the fun decade in the bay area indie-rock scene (friends' bands, late nights, cigarettes, warehouse parties, my club, and dancing) I love having those different times captured so strongly in music. I can go back whenever I want.
  • body temperature weather at sunset
  • walking around a flea market
  • when people hide likes on instagram but just on photos no one liked lol
  • deep sea diving videos of insanely magical creatures
  • watching what rumi chooses to eat first from his daily snack plate
  • the adaptability of three legged dogs
  • that extreme wealth and fame can bring their own unique form of demise
  • when a co-parenting talk immediately yields results
  • dogs hanging out a car window, esp when you pull up next to them
  • that when I buy treats with peanut butter in them, H & J won't eat them because they hate peanut butter so the treats are always there for me!
  • my warm water bidet
  • how this teen still opens the door to hug me if I say goodnight while she’s in the bathroom
  • giving rumi bad mom haircuts where I accidentally create a few bald spots
  • our neighborhood filled with the high school track team, jogging all around the streets after school
  • muscular kangaroos
  • the most favorite thing a young girl has ever said to me: “there’s no way poop could be fancy, even if there’s glitter on it.”
  • girl talks in bed with Hollis
  • storefronts or signs that have remnants from the 70s or 80s
  • dogs with jobs
  • the in-between days when I don't have to wash my hair
  • seeing a great new band in a small venue with no following (it feels like your secret)
  • the sound of teen kids laughing during H’s slumber party
  • new cleaning tools!
  • people who are outrageously nice at their jobs for no reason at all (desk check in, parking attendant, etc)
  • unpacking - so much easier
  • magic erase pads
  • restaurants with big cozy booths
  • how the spectrum of queer elevates humanity simply through their affirmation to exist
  • someone’s lost balloons floating through the sky
  • buying a dress that I wear out of the store - esp while traveling and finding a light dress in hot weather and trading out what I’m wearing
  • gender fluidity
  • abortion rights
  • an Indian veg thali or an ethiopian veggie combo
  • falling asleep to cool fresh air through an open window
  • stray dogs who accidentally run marathons
  • optical illusions
  • surprise emotional giveaways on shows
  • walking around new or foreign cities
  • music documentaries or biopics
  • discovery of a perfect smoothie
  • finding ways to tell H. how wonderful she is or how much I like her as a person outside of being a stepparent
  • symmetry in flowers
  • trying on glasses and hats
  • rabbit agility youtube videos (kaninhop)
  • black hole recordings from NASA
  • the skip in Rumi’s step when he finds a good stick
  • the phrase: “poor pussy management”
  • my beautiful tailor from Guatemala I’ve been going to for years
  • when I find something I’ve lost, esp when I go back and look for it and find it in the street
  • frozen blueberries
  • things I can't have: wine, garlic, and tomato sauce
  • the last bite of an ice cream cone
  • fortune cookie readings
  • warm hugs goodbye
  • surprise friends in town
  • latte anything
  • really hot showers
  • telling James to go stand next to people for height comparison
  • being in love
  • when I can repurpose something for something else
  • when hollis asks us to put her to bed cuz she’s too tired
  • the sound of our dog making dreaming noises at night and his little paws moving like he’s running through a field
  • youtube battle rap holes with james
  • evening dog walks on a warm night
  • hearing James and Hollis laughing when he tucks her in for bed every night
  • talking to god in my car
  • getting refunds for things because of good customer service
  • people who don’t bring family business into the street (maurice hines)
  • loyal dog stories that break my heart, like a recent hiker found dead after missing for two weeks with his emaciated dog alive by his side
  • watching old “public access” YouTube videos with James
  • that we're all just here trying to figure things out...with the varying materials we are given
  • that there are 5,000 confirmed planets beyond our solar system
  • falling asleep with each of us having one hand on each other
  • language that conveys sophistication, intelligence, and empathy when discussing complex issues
  • discovering a new favorite food
  • investigative documentaries
  • how he makes me feel beautiful about being five years older than him (he stopped dating a younger actress after our 1st date - on good terms w/her tho). It's hard feeling confident within a greater agenda that sells youth so I appreciate him being anti to all that.
  • watching dogs (and rumi) play
  • pbs news hour - for perspective and knowledge
  • watching rumi discover something he's never seen before, like a crow
  • standing at the kitchen counter mid-day and eating a treat (like a cookie, piece of chocolate, etc)
  • laying on the sofa and playing brain & word games with James, like old folks
  • how when I go to the gym, I look for the closest parking space!?
  • when James brings me flowers and Hollis hides and plays a sexy saxophone soundtrack in the background on her phone for it
  • little rituals, like dog walking sunday mornings for a bagel and matcha
  • the friendships we’ve made in our neighborhood while walking rumi
  • the smell of wet asphalt after it rains
  • gift certificates of any kind
  • when I have an overly emotional freak out response and he still sweetly apologizes and gives me time and space to work through it
  • the decades I grew up in
  • bird conferences on telephone wires
  • the instant returned connection with old friends
  • having my hair washed at the salon or when Hollis braids my hair when watching tv
  • the karmic law that people will be eaten away at and defined by their anger/hate
  • our neighborhood parrot singing italian opera
  • when people are driving with trees in the back of their pickup trucks
  • when actors give thoughtful speeches
  • a surprise cloudy or rainy day in LA
  • introducing Hollis to my favorite movies and music and seeing/hearing it again thru her eyes
  • when James randomly texts me if I need anything from Ross, cause he's at Ross, and always seems to stop at Ross, and it makes me laugh every time
  • when you hear a line from a movie or read it in a book and it just hits your soul perfectly. Recently: "It’s painful wanting something and not wanting it at the same time." - Scenes From a Marriage
  • when the printer just works
  • when you're at the post office and no one is there but then suddenly all these people are in line behind you
  • when I get to add to this list!
  • when I am on a dog walk and I come across a yard sale!!
  • when I make a banking miscalculation and discover I had more money than I thought
  • when a package comes earlier than expected
  • the sight of super heroes you pose with for dollars on their lunch breaks eating and smoking (yoga, capt america and superman).
  • the sound of crows communicating on the wires above our house
  • my dog looking into my eyes
  • soul train dancing youtube holes late at night
  • when fruits come into season and they're exactly perfect
  • when james is wrapped around me on one side and my dog is on the other and they're both doing little twitches while falling asleep on me
  • when a restaurant meal is big enough for lunch the next day
  • the beautiful geometry and symmetry of snowflakes
  • sex and cuddling
  • witnessing James and Hollis' mom co-parent together over the past years
  • reparations
  • when something falls out my mouth and I actually find where it fell
  • avocados - can't stop won't stop
  • when families become advocates for a particular cause after losing a loved one
  • those dancing tube men air monsters flailing about that are promoting a place and have wild flapping arms and take on crazy formations
  • little conversations I hear him and Hollis having through the years from another room (esp when she asks questions about his life)
  • when james spoons me every night and I can feel him breath in the smell of my neck
  • the way the sunlight hits my porch each day (precisely the right amount of light to make it feel like a benevolent being is there)
  • hollis's mature sense of humor and how she cracks me up all the time
  • starling murmurations
  • when people are trying to be discrete with filming or taking a picture but the flash light is on and they get all embarrassed
  • when people have very few followers on YouTube or elsewhere but share thoughtful beautiful things
  • giant singular ice cubes in fancy drinks
  • Yosemite Sam and his cussing bag
  • the night I’ve planted new plants and I'm thinking about them out in the yard
  • when you give a compliment about the food to a server and they seem really proud of it
  • the sound of james in flip-flops
  • when one dog gets to be off leash but the other dogs are on leash (he knows he's special)
  • when people are using a SUPER cracked glass phones
  • fun uber pool rides with strangers
  • hollis's hugs and love
  • when people are mad at art in modern art museums
  • when mission control is relieved and celebrates in NASA-related movies
  • when toothpaste lasts the entirety of a trip
  • when dogs lay their chin on me while resting
  • black folks dancing to 80s music but with hiphop styles
  • dogs
  • all the mariachi bands that play in my neighborhood every year around graduation
  • cacti of every kind
  • dioramas
  • great poops
  • when people can't get the beat right on a clap to music
  • the wild highland park parrots
  • when my dog seems to be smiling at me
  • when an item has like one star or a movie has like 10% tomatoes --so funny
  • when tour bus drivers are ready to go home and they drive super fast and the tourists are flying by and trying to take pictures
  • when a BIG line forms right after you've ordered!!!!!!
  • when you great have sex with a random person in your dream
  • the house right after its been cleaned and the chores are done
  • when you drive by someone on the freeway and they're smiling, like probably listening to their favorite radio show
  • honey
  • magic shows
  • the first sleep in my bed after returning from a great trip
  • seeing tourists at airport wearing all the stuff you see on the streets for sale
  • kids who have their own little suitcase when traveling
  • when you think you're annoying the cab driver while chatting with your friends but then when you get out he says something super nice and smiles
  • seeing big men walking tiny little dogs
  • secretly taking cash from Adam's wallet
  • when someone makes an incredible documentary about a current problem and it moves you enough to donate money or sign petitions to help (i.e. the cove, virunga, death on a factory farm)
  • birds birds birds
  • walking with Toki around the silver lake reservoir listening to my special playlist at sunset
  • when my dad talks about movies I specifically rent for him but he thinks netflix just sends it randomly (esp when he says he "got a really good one this week")
  • 75 degree days
  • pulling out my cozy winter jackets and feeling like I'm seeing old friends again
  • taking a cozy nap at an unexpected time
  • getting things in the mail (not bills, etc)
  • the brief pause before the movie starts
  • when I get a text from a friend at just the right moment when I needed it and I have a happy cry
  • recognizing the smell of a flower or tree when you're walking down the street
  • the feeling when you've decided to take a trip somewhere
  • when clouds allow you to see the rays of light from the sun
  • to go back in time on google maps and see my mom's flowers when she was still alive
  • feeling alignment and connection
  • the smell of fresh herbs before cooking, esp dill
  • when it feels like a specific prayer was answered
  • the sound of someone practicing piano
  • a good cry
  • a surprise summer storm
  • the distinct taste of a strawberry
  • finding a favorite dress
  • big butterflies
  • when someone passes me on the street and says hi
  • getting something right after a couple failed attempts
  • when animals make human expressions
  • when a beam of sunlight is visible in a forest through rain
  • thinking about my plants after I've planted them
  • a great hour of public radio (the moth hour or this american life)
  • when you hear those first few notes of your favorite song when seeing a band perform
  • putting fresh flowers into a vase
  • when a hummingbird looks like it's landed to watch me (and I like to think it is someone I know)
  • the first day you head out to explore a new city when traveling
  • the perfect flavor of tea or coffee (when it is so absolutely at its best)
  • watering a plant after I've first planted it
  • when a piece of fruit is at its most perfect ripeness (like you're eating it in its most beautiful prime)
  • birds singing when I'm waking in the morning
  • streets just after a soft rain
  • when girls who have "values" names like faith, hope, charity, patience, etc get into fights
  • when mechanical mannequins hold advertising signs on the street and they look like they hate their job
  • when all the jasmine blooms in the neighborhood
  • the sound of a hard rain and rain storms
  • when I say my prayer at night without falling asleep
  • hanging just the right thing on my wall
  • how my body feels after a hot bath
  • the first bite of dessert brought to a table
  • snow under a street light
  • sunsets that make you tear up
  • planning a trip
  • the first day you wear a new outfit
  • organizing a drawer
  • when Adam and I keep our feet touching as we fall asleep
  • seeing friends when they're sleeping over eating cereal at our counter when I wake up
  • when toki smells like grapes
  • making a home, all the little details
  • waveless beaches in the caribbean
  • seeing a rainbow
  • animal videos and pictures
  • randomly witnessing kindness
  • warm water
  • walking the silver lake reservoir with Toki at sunset
  • when i have enough coins to go to the coin-star machine
  • when people have secret smiles on their faces on the train or walking down the street
  • when i think i left and forgot something but then i realize i have it
  • making my dad laugh
  • the sound of ocean waves
  • when a spaghetti jar can be turned into an awesome glass
  • when cats make biscuits with their paws
  • penguins wearing backpacks to buy fish (ok it's just a YouTube video)
  • parades and marches
  • when an animal uses a tool, like a stick to pull out ants, etc
  • snow on the first day
  • the feel of clean sheets
  • when people cry from happiness or laughter
  • when dogs are seen carrying their own toys or their own leash while out on a walk
  • when babies make adult expressions
  • seeing homeless folks reading the newspaper or a book
  • when people laugh at their own jokes
  • duck butts
  • folding warm laundry on my lap
  • seeing young kids order their meals by themselves
  • when birds or dogs tilt their heads at you when trying to understand
  • when people save the lives of a small thing, ie, bugs etc
  • the 1 minute piece devoted to a nature scene on cbs sunday morning
  • when dogs kick and make noises during doggy dreams
  • the car right after a car wash
  • an intimate dinner with a friend
  • the first sip of a warm drink
  • paws of any kind
  • laughing simultaneously with an audience
  • the quietness of a suburban dog walk
  • the meditative feeling of doing something with your hands
  • a long good conversation in person or on the phone
  • goths
  • movies and popcorn
  • diversity in everything: sexuality, brains, culture, etc...
  • lists
  • art of every kind
nov 18 2009 ∞
dec 12 2024 +