10 Cool Things

When I was in college, several of my cousins and I would exchange letters, several pages long, keeping us updated on each others' lives and throwing whatever weak jokes we could think of at the wall to see what would stick. A staple of these letters was our current ten favorite songs and the reasons they made the list. Sort of following that theme, I'm going to just list 10 cool things about life these days, period. I have to think there are at least ten.

In no particular order:

(1) Positive rejection letters with personal notes. I love that I'm getting these. I'd love it more if an agent actually wanted to read the manuscript, but while I'm waiting for that to happen, these are nice little bits of encouragement. The latest:

Thank you for your submission to (agency). However, I regret to inform you that (agent) will not pursue representation. While your work certainly has merit, it simply isn't right for her list.

Please don't be discouraged. This decision does not comment on the salability of your work, but rather on her present needs and time restraints. I urge you to seek another opinion if you have not already done so. Good luck finding the right home for your work.

(2) iTunes posting new releases just after midnight on Tuesday morning. I had downloaded and listened to "Heaven is Whenever" by the Hold Steady this morning before most people were even out of bed.

(3) "Community." Far and away my favorite show on TV right now.

(4) PLCs. These are "Professional Learning Communities," which are extra teacher meetings, and usually (by definition) they suck hard. Boring, pointless, black holes of time. Perhaps I exaggerate, but seriously I'm not a fan. But I had one today that was pretty cool, because I had two of my girls present a project they had worked on to a group of colleagues, and they did a great job. I was incredibly proud of them.

(5) Vitamin Water Zero lemonade. That's what I'm talkin' about.

(6) "The Celebrity Apprentice." Last summer I wrote a posting about how much I enjoyed watching a bunch of D-list nobody's vivisect each other on television during "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" Just as cool to watch a bunch of B- list celebrities make fools of themselves and get insulted by Donald Trump at the same time.

(7) Dug from the movie "Up." No dog ever deserved the Cone of Shame less. Other than mine.

(8) That feeling of sprint reading when you're within 50 pages of finishing a book that you've been reading for a long time.

(9) Knowing that the weight amounts I started lifting at the Y two months ago aren't getting the job done anymore, and having to increase them to get that same day-after burning soreness.

(10) Taking the dog for a walk in the evening through a quiet neighborhood and having a few minutes to just be alone with your thoughts. Even while carrying a newspaper bag with a small clod of poop in the bottom of it.