List of Things That Are Beautiful

Here is a page from my journal. I can't exactly remember why I decided to come up with this list. But I began it in November and would add to it periodically. I think the last few things were written in January.

The text:

• skin after just waking up
• dark nail polish
• post-workout burn
• early morning silence
• winter fog (especially over the city)
• his kisses. really.
• bravery
• textig one of your best friends and reading until you fall asleep
• laying in bed in blatant overuse of the space heater laughing with Danny (phone) about what cocky assholes we are, "j and d find an emotion"
• total reciprocation
• a classy woman
• dreaming about places to be traveled and adventures to be had
• standing in the middle of the street squinting at a crumpled map and not giving a damn
• self-deprecation (the light-hearted, know when to stop kind)
• my sweet/always laughs at the ridiculous things I say/says ridiculous things herself/really hoping she doesn't get married too young best friend, my babygirl/soulmate in the way that I can predict her favorite anything by asking myself if I like it best friend, my curmudgeon/we laugh so hard in restaurants, walking down the street, in coffeeshops, in his car best friend; my wine drinking in parks on summer nights/insightful like crazy best friend
• people who are crazy obsessive hard-working FOR A REASON OR DREAM
• the skein of yarn that is hanging over my chair waiting to be wound
• the catchlights in everybody's eyes
• Chicago skyline, every night- especially in September and October
• airports, always
• the paradox between travel and home
• the dream right after you hit the snooze button or beg someone to give you 15 more minutes (always the best)
• the things we live without
• the thins we will never, ever have to live without

Do you agree with any of these things? What would make your list? I might need to start a new page of beautiful things.

wild.

about leaving home and coming back.

butterfly's day out

So gorgeous. Yoyo Ma and Joshua Bell

our inability proves nothing but the weakness of our reason, and not the uncertainty of our knowledge

I'm reading Nocturnes, "five stories of music and nightfall", by Kazuo Ishiguro, who wrote Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day, both books I can distinctly remember reading. I remember where I was in my life, the season (summer and winter, respectively), and even where specifically I was while reading (Metra train and Kaohsiung airport). I think that means something.

"Beyond the wall that marked the end of the terrace, I could see for miles around the windows and back yards of the neighboring properties. A lot of the windows were lit, and the ones in the distance, if you narrowed your eyes, looked almost like an extension of the stars. This roof terrace wasn't large, but there was definitely something romantic about it. You could imagine a couple, in the midst of busy city lives, coming out here on a warm evening and strolling around the potted shrubs, in each other's arms, swapping stories about their day."

I particularly like the last line. And for some reason, I'm rather stricken by this picture. It's a famous corner in a well-loved neighborhood in Chicago, Wicker Park. It reminds me of when I first began exploring different neighborhoods in the city because when you're a kid, you're not aware of too much else beyond downtown. So much of it has become familiar to me now, but I've recently begun to expand even further outward. Plus, I don't know the downtown area so well anymore.

Always more to learn and see. And every window pulled up on my browser now is dedicated to flight research. Planning the next several months full of trips.

that's how it goes sometimes

Overheard on the Titanic by Austin Kleon.