38 Things to Celebrate 38 Years

A little list of thing I love

It's almost my birthday! On Thursday, I will turn 38 years old, which is an entirely unremarkable number except in that it has caused multiple people in my life to start rounding me up to 40. I prefer to not think of myself as "pushing 40" or "almost 40" but simply turning 38. Not that there's anything wrong with being 40, but the pandemic messed up my perception of time and my age enough so let's not muddy the waters any more than that and take it one year at a time, please and thank you.

For my birthday post this year, I have decided to share 38 incredibly random things that I enjoy. They're not big, obvious things like hugs from people I love, anything purple, sci-fi television, or cheese. Some of these things will likely be things many people enjoy, but some are hyper-specific. Hopefully you enjoy them either way. (If you don’t, you can’t tell me, because it’s almost my birthday.)

I won't lie, it was hard to come up with a full 38! I might be getting too old to do lists on my birthday.

And so, in no particular order, here are 38 things I enjoy.

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• An empty seat next to me on planes and trains

• When I'm really enjoying a book and something happens that makes me worry it's getting toward the end, but then I realize I'm only halfway through

• Finding a new show to binge that has 50 or more episodes

• Beating a video game level or villain on the first try OR finally beating it after a LOT of tries

• When I get distracted by something in the middle of eating a snack and then realize there's more snack left

• Hearing a song I really like for the first time

• The sound eggshells make when I crunch them in a paper towel before throwing them away

• Taking a shower without a time limit to worry about - whether it be plans to go out or enough time before sleep for my hair to air dry

• Waking up and forgetting I spent the whole previous day cleaning until I see my abnormally clean apartment

• When I tie my shoes and they feel the same amount of tightness on the first try

• Crossing something off a to-do list I've been putting off and has been hanging over my head for ages

• Someone complimenting my Buffy tattoo (and then continuing to walk by after I say 'thank you')

• Making someone laugh one of those big surprised-even-them laughs

• When the plane lands and the flight attendant ends their speech with, “And if you’re on a return trip, let us be the first to say, ‘Welcome home.’”

• Having a hairdresser wash and brush my hair

• That feeling when I realize a twist in a movie or TV show just a few seconds before the reveal

• Doing a very simple task for my Nana (e.g. making her tea, pushing a chair in, putting her frozen dinners away in the freezer) and her saying, "Good job," like she is genuinely proud of me/more grateful than is warranted for a task of its size (this ONLY applies to my Nana, anyone else I would assume they were being sarcastic or condescending)

• Going to the library

• That perfect bite right in the middle of a sandwich

• Thinking "there HAS to be an easier way to do this" (usually re: a repetitive task with multiple steps) then finding and implementing that easier way

• When an actress I like pops up unexpectedly in something I'm watching

• Borrowing my dad's car and scream-singing on the highway in a way I can never do in New York, what with all these neighbors

• A friend and I making the same reference or sarcastic response in unison

• People quoting their favorite bits of my writing at me while they read it (this is the most egotistical thing about me)

• A really satisfyingly crunchy potato chip

• When a song perfectly aligns with my environment (e.g. the time the song 42nd Street came on my Broadway playlist I had on shuffle when I walked up to literal 42nd street in Manhattan; hitting the climactic end to a song just as I get to my location, the key change in How Far I'll Go hitting just as I break free of traffic, etc)

• The way my soft blanket feels when I absentmindedly rub it while I'm sitting on my couch

• Waking up before/without an alarm

• When I can't decide what I want for dinner or a snack and I am mindlessly opening the fridge and cabinets and find something I forgot I had that I'm newly excited about

• A really good stretch

• When someone tells me their pet/child doesn't like people but then they like me

• Realizing someone I just met is also queer, despite not meeting in a queer space/context

• When I fix/build/install something in my apartment all by myself

• Being able to have my own mini-ASMR moments when my nails are long enough to tip-tap on things (which is, admittedly, not often, mostly only after I get manicures for special occasions)

• Finding the exact puzzle piece I was looking for after being stuck for a while

• When I hear a song I used to love but had completely forgotten about and somehow remember all the words

• Rolling a natural 20 or max damage while playing D&D

• When I start to panic that I'm getting older and running out of time to achieve my goals and dreams, but then I remember how deeply and thoroughly my life has changed in the past twenty years, and how it's not unreasonable to think I might have another twenty if I'm lucky, so that there's actually still time. It's time no one is promised, so it's time I should spend well, but there's still time.