things that make me happy

or we'll call it favorite things.

Today I got to thinking what things, places, people, events make me smile. The older I get, the more I've accepted that certain bouts of melancholy are inevitable. Sometimes there are big, rooted reasons why these happen; but more often than not it's all about hormones, or as they say it's all in your head. Let me list the things that I do to cheer myself up when I suddenly find myself in the 1930s.

Watching slasher/horror movies (This is just a recent discovery.) I have found great pleasure in watching disturbing images. Ha ha ha That didn't sound right. I just find the horror genre far more cathartic than feel-good movies. When you watch someone being chased by a killer, you become consumed. You temporarily forget things that bug you because you are more concerned about the character's fate. That my friend is ultimate diversion. So please feel free to recommend your favorite thrillers, they might just come in handy for me in the future.

A clean apartment. This never fails to cheer me up. The problem is doing it. Nothing beats the serenity of neat surroundings. It's practically rejuvenating. I'm excited to move to a new place and hopefully enjoy this luxury more often compared to the cramped wachamacallit that I'm in right now. That's probably why I'm so cluttered these days. I dream of the day when I can finally light a scented candle or two. Wine and Norah Jones in the background. Damn that would be nice!

Magazines. Magazines are my cheap thrills, or not. Ha ha I can actually start my own magazine stand if I wanted to. I've already disposed some very old copies, and my collection is still growing. I just love flipping through the glossy pages of clothes, editorials, and more clothes. The perfect pair would be cold coffee and magazines, alongside the clean apartment and scented candles. Aaahhh (basically gusto ko lang pala yung feeling na mayaman!)

Watching Friends (The TV Show). This is brand new information. Even if I have watched Friends a million times before, I still find myself laughing out loud to the point that I feel like an idiot. I feel sorry for people who haven't watched the show. (yabang much?) Seriously, if you can't find a happy pill, go watch Friends. 

Singing songs via YouTube. I like all sorts of music. But my taste is far from being current. If I like the rhythm and the lyrics, pasok na sa banga yan! I also have this habit of listening to the same video over and over and over (have I said over yet? Okay, just checking) again until I can't stand it anymore. I pity my roommate because it gets annoying pretty soon. I like to sing songs that allow me to exercise my vocal chords i.e. Meatloaf's I Would Do Anything for Love, Abba's songs, Tori Amos' Beekeeper album, Bohemian Rhapsody, alternative shit, Andrea Bocelli, and Gotye. Ha ha ha. I've even compiled playlists for my daily chores: work, study, and house-cleaning playlists.

Other equally happy moments:

Tumblr photoblogging (my tumblr)

Conversations with my girlfriends. Laughing hard with them. THEY are the best people!

Reading quotes

Writing my name on newly-bought books (and never reading them haha)

Looking forward to weekend events

Taking long, hot baths

Drinking Starbucks coffee (aaminin ko to, eh sa na-eenjoy ko talaga yung kape ng Starbucks bakit ba)

Onemiglight nights with friends

Dinner with close friends

Taking pictures of food

Dancing in the shower or in front of the mirror in my undies (TMI?)

That clean and cold feeling after a night shower and then sleeping on new bedsheets

Going through my favorite blogs

That's all I can think of for now. If you think about it, simple pleasures can be summed up with: friends, conversations, laughter, music, and movies. I'll leave this post with a quote from iamyourlung's blog:

"Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it." - Groucho Marx

photo by: Anne S. Lucas