10 Sounds I Like

10 Sounds I Like

Sounds. They can bring us immense pleasure or they can annoy the snot out of us. Interestingly enough, the same sound can bring one person pleasure, and another pain. Let's focus on the pleasurable sounds in this post (well, pleasurable to me); hopefully they're enjoyable to you as well.

10 sounds I like:

1. Air conditioning. It's so calming to me. Wherever I'm at--even if it's not at home--the sound just makes me want to take a nap.
2. Rain. Hard rain. See comment on number one for action!
3. Music. Music I like, of course. This is extremely diverse for me. If you're interested in seeing what kind of music that is, visit my MySpace profile.
4. Wind blowing in the trees. It's extremely calming.
5. Laughter. Hearty laughter. I'm talking from-the-stomach-can't-control-myself laughter. This is probably my favorite. Laugh on, my friends, laugh on. (This was also on my list of "10 Things I'm Fond Of".)
6. Crackling fire. I don't get to hear it too often because I live in florida, but I still love it.
7. The ocean. So peaceful. I always enjoy it from a distance though; I don't go in the ocean.
8. Acorns cracking. I like to step on them. Stomp on them. Crush them with the heel of my foot. I just love hearing the sound of acorns cracking.
9. Purring cats. Now that's the sound of satisfaction.
10. Cheering crowds. Particularly when it's at a concert and the fans are screaming for an artist they love. I've never witnessed this more than at a Madonna concert.

10 Things I Loathe

Last week I started a series titled "10 Things," and I kicked it off with "10 Things I Love." When thinking about the topic for this week's, I thought it only appropriate to counter the "love" post by things, well...I don't love. But I don't believe in the word hate, to I present to you "10 Things I Loathe."

10 Things I Loathe:

1. Lying. This is really at the top of the list. I have very little tolerance for lying of any kind. This also falls into the same group with stealing, cheating and hatred; they seem to all have their root in the same soil.
2. Hypocrisy. Very, very close to lying, in terms of its place on the list. I can't stand hypocrites. If you are one, don't come near me.
3. Humidity. Rather ironic since I live in Central Florida, and humidity plagues us during the summer.
4. When people use their signal in a turn-only lane. I have no idea why this bugs me but it always has. I mean, if it's a turn-only lane and you're in it, it's pretty much a given that you're turning. You don't really need to signal!
5. Really bad reality television. Of course this is subjective, but for me it's programming like pretty much anything you can find on VH-1 ("Rock of Love with Bret Michaels", "I Love New York") or MTV ("A Shot at Love", "The Real World: Hollywood")
6. Spiders. Shivers. The creeps. Get them away from me.
7. Angelina Jolie. Sure, she's a good actress, but every time I see her on TV she seems more "I'm a humanitarian and so much better than you," and I don't need this Hollywood lifestyle attitude. I don't know, I just do buy it.
8. Mustard/mayonnaise. Have never, never, never liked either one of these. One of my aunt's always use to try to sneak mayo on my ham sandwiches when I was a child. Not a wise decision to do to someone who loathes mayonnaise.
9. Alarms/alarm clocks. Mornings are not my friend. In fact, I've often said nothing should begin before noon. I love to sleep, and anything that interrupts that is bound to end-up on my "loathe" list.
10. Close-mindedness. I don't really have any thoughts on this one. That's how much I loathe it.

Do any of these 10 points line-up with things you loathe? If so, I'd certainly be interested in hearing about it.

10 Things...

My friend over at RidetoRemedy.com recently started a series where she blogs the entire alphabet. Think "A is for..." and "B is for..." and so on. At first I'd told her that I was going to borrow her concept, which she was fine with. But then I decided to start my own series.

True, there are probably countless other bloggers who have the same series--which I suppose could be a rip-off of David Letterman's "Top 10"--but I don't personally know anyone so that's makes me feel fine about it. Plus mine's not really a "top 10" list so much as 10 random things.

So I'm going to begin a weekly series called "10 Things." I'm not sure if I'm going to post on the same day every week, or just post randomly. Guess you'll have to check back to find out. To kick off "10 Things," here are 10 things I'm fond of:

"10 Things I'm Fond Of"

1. Coffee in the morning. Loads of it, with lots of cream and sugar. "Make it blonde," I say.
2. Clouds. Big, fluffy clouds on a sunny day. Sometimes I want to catapult myself into the sky, and bounce from one cloud to the next. But then I remember that's not physically possible.
3. Candy. And I mean candy. Not chocolate. Candy! Hard candy. Soft candy. Sweet candy. I love it all!
4. Sleeping. Particularly when it's not interrupted by the harsh reality of an alarm clock.
5. Vacations. Haven't had one in over two years, but I love 'em.
6. Music. I almost feel safe in saying this is the thing I love the most. Music makes me happy, and I enjoy all kinds.
7. Love. Love of any kind. Friends. Family. Lovers. Sharing a bond with another person is a great feeling. I'm glad to know that this feels like.
8. Laughter. Contageous laughter. From-the-gut-tears-coming-out-of-my-eyes laughter. There's nothing better.
9. The Internet. This is probably obvious given the company I work for, as well as the fact that I maintain two-and-a-half blogs (this one and Pulse of Central Florida, which I co-author with a good friend of mine). I just love how fast it changes, and am stimulated by the creativity of individuals who are coming up with new ideas.
10. Life. Sometimes it's bad. Most of the time it's great. But not matter the situation I am always happy to be alive, and consider myself blessed to have such an enjoyable existence.

I'm sure you have things you are very fond of. What are they? Do we share any?