8: Cats (not just my own)

I love cats. Many of you are rolling your eyes since that is probably a major understatement. Not only do I love my own 6 cats, but I love other people's cats too. In less than 24 hours, I completely fell in love with my friend Bonnie's cat, Dr. Seuss. I almost put him in my suitcase and brought him home with me. Every Thursday when I clean Jeani's house, her cat, Stretch, and I play this little game where he comes to whatever room I am cleaning and begs to be let inside or outside depending on what side of the door he is on. I open the door for him and let him in/out and by the time I am in the next room he is there waiting to be let in the door or out the door. It is very adorable.
Some people aren't fond of cats. They hate the litterbox, they don't like that cats are aloof, that they shed, they eat stinky food, the list goes on. Not one single thing on that list bothers me in the slightest because of the happiness that cats bring to my life (and the lives of my other cat loving friends). They make me laugh. They bring my comfort. Studies show they lower my blood pressure and reduce stress.

#7: My friends

I give mad props to my friends. I am an asshole. I will make fun of you for making out with someone questionable. I will ask if I can have your tv when you die if you text me you might have cancer. If you tell me something embarassing, I will tell about 20-30 other people. But I love you like crazy. I will do anything for you if you need it. I will be your shoulder to cry on. I will still be friends with you after you puke all over the inside of my car and on my dog. I will help you dump a dead body. I got yo' back, amigas.

#6: Music (my music in particular)

I was thinking about this yesterday when I was watching MTV True Life: I'm Going to Rehab. They take away their MP3/CD players for the first month and they can't listen to music. The first thought that came to my head was a) never go to rehab and b) I cannot live without music. I listen to music all day long everyday. Granted some people would be like "what-the-NSYNC" when they look at my personal music choices but that is what is awesome about music. It is all around in all different forms and you can like ANY kind of music you want. It is something that ends up being so personal and you can learn a lot about someone based on their music choices. I know I always look at someone's favorite music section on My-wasted time-space.

#5: YELP.com

I am an opinionated person, there is no doubt about it. I also love to write. I also like to know if someplace is good before I go there otherwise it is a waste of my time. Enter: YELP.com. People can write reviews of businesses, restaurants, stores, parks, basically anything. I enjoy giving props to business I like and I equally enjoy writing a scathing review of places I hate. I like that you can see the overall rating of all the reviews so that you are not relying on one crabby person who writes bad reviews about everything.

Another reason I enjoy Yelp is because although I am opinionated, I have a difficult time actually complaining about bad service, food or rude sales people. It makes me uncomfortable to do it in person and I often find nothing comes of complaint letters or emails. However, within the confines of Yelp.com, I feel comfortable enough to complain on Yelp. If I had a bad experience, I am going to write about it so no one else has to have that same bad experience. At least not if they check Yelp.com first.

#4: Houseplants

I love my houseplants. They bring color into your home. Most houseplants are low maintenance. Got allergies? Most houseplants clean the air and improve air quality. Some houseplants are a bit more work but I find the ones that require more work are also really rewarding to have in your enviornment because of their beauty.

Note: Houseplants are not fun if your ferret gets loose and digs them up.

#3: Reba McEntire

I love Reba McEntire. Her music, her show, her red hair......I love Reba. I think of all the 80's and 90's country stars I used to listen to Reba would have to be my favorite with K.T. Oslin in a close close race but since Reba went on to star in one of the funniest television shows ever.....REBA! Now REBA (all caps indicates show not person) is not neccessarily funny because of Reba. It is funny because of Barbara Jean and Reba. I started watching Reba like a year or so ago and fell in love with it. I fell in love with it because it was funny and I only had like 6 channels to chose from. Now I watch it because I WANT to not cause I HAVE to.

Reba McEntire is just an awesome woman too. From the tragedy of losing her band in a bus crash to her history singing in the rodeo, her life story is a country song. Plus I am a sucker for a funny redhead.

#2: Express Buses/Trains

This love of getting someplace faster via public transportation dates back to when I was in college and going to school downtown in Chicago. I took the Metra train to and from school and it was always a necessity to get on the express trains. Stopping at all the stops made it an hour ride from point to point but with the express trains, I could be downtown without stopping at all in less than 40 minutes. It was an even bigger bonus on the way home. Getting home faster was always key....especially since I worked a lot of afternoons at the vet.

In Seattle, riding the bus is this whole different animal. Perhaps it is because I was never really a "bus rider" in any of my other forms of life thus far but I am well acquainted to it now. Metro Transit provides a multitude of transportation services in the Seattle area but mostly it is home to the multitude of the homeless population. On days like today you can't even get on a bus in the Ride Free Area without regretting you were born to suffer in such heat and stank. That is where the EXPRESS bus comes in. All commuters most of whom have showered fill the express buses so not only is your sense of smell spared but so is your sanity as you get home faster. And I cannot tell you how beneficial this is being that I live in Ballard, or as I like to call it, "Club Med for the Homeless and Stanky". They may live Downtown but they pick up a free transfer somewhere you bet your sweet ass they are gonna hop on a 15 or 18 and head out to Ballard. Because of all the fishing boats and what not, it is like we are hitting Black Gold Texas Tea out here in Ballard for the stankies. The EXPRESS bus is SO nice. You don't have to pick up anyone along Elliott and that is always a bonus because 8 out of 10 people who get on the bus along Elliot have a Negative Olfactory Rating. This is just when it is hot. Let's not even talk about how these people smell when they are wet with rain. Body odor + rain = No gracias.

Cons to the EXPRESS bus: The drunken idiots who don't realize it is an EXPRESS bus and yell at the driver along Elliot because they aren't stopping. It still makes all the stops in the ride free zone so you are not completely free from stankery.

This entry was brought to you by Metro Transit and the word "stanky".