Happy Thursday

What makes a perfect day?
For me, it would have to have some of the following:
Physical contact: I'm a pretty sensory-oriented person. After a few days of no human contact, my brain starts to go a bit buggy. Cuddles and kisses from people I care about are pretty much my number one goal in life. I think a lot about people who don't have much physical human contact and I worry. I want everyone to have this, but it is so embedded in relationships and it can't be decoupled in my mind. It is actually repulsive to me if decoupled. So thinking about people who don't have relationships in which they can receive cuddles freaks me out and severely depresses me, to the How Can There Be a God point. I can't deal with the world. But I can try to cuddle the people in my life more. So people that I am at cuddle stage with get cuddles, and I get the brain chemicals I need, and this is part of a good day for me.
Food: As I mentioned, sensory. So, things that go in my mouth are a big part of a good day. I go through phases, where I want one particular flavor over and over. This summer seems to be the summer of lobster. So lucky for me, today was Le Dog's Lobster Bisque day. I got a pint and sipped it in Liberty Square while I read my book. I also ate two cupcakes, because today they were on my brain and we have a cupcake shop in town. So, awesome.
Ideas: I like learning things. Today I learned about problem-oriented policing. I'm reading David M. Kennedy's book Don't shoot: one man, a street fellowship, and the end of violence in inner-city America. I also learned what a RICO prosecution is, how to fool a drug test using fake urine and how to tell if urine is fake, what the word 'secunded' means in terms of organizations, what a koan is, that the movie Purple Rain was released in 1984 and that the acronym LGBT is sometimes rearranged for political/ideological reasons.
Experiences: I like doing new things or things I don't get to do often, preferably if I don't have to "do" them in the sense that I might have to shoot a round of pool by manipulating something with my hands and the spatial reasoning center of my brain, but rather "do" it by showing up and observing or enfolding myself in it, like going to Sonic Lunch, reading my book in the square after the concert, sitting in the front window of the bar talking with the waitress about the chances that her boss will let her open the windows, flopping down in the grassy Quad to be in the sunshine, going to Bill's Beer Garden for the first time, and ratcheting the war against the ants that have invaded the shower up from vinegar to straight ammonia (nothing says GTFO like ammonia, I'm hoping).
Friends: Having connections with people is important to me. The more history I have with them, the better. I like meeting new people and making new friends, but I love being around people I've known for years, that know me well and still like me. Turn the "Figure the World Out" senses down several notches, and just laugh and be silly. And when one of these people says something like Kealy said tonight about how fun it is to drink with me, well, that kinda makes my day.
Drinks: I like to drink things! I had three beers I've never had before today. If you get it just right, the right combo and ratio of drink to water to food to activity to preexisting mood, the drinks just add a bit of warmth and tranquility and playfulness.
Stories: I like to tell them, I like to hear them, I like to read them, I like to write them. I got all of that today.
Walking: I like walking around. I like the sense of being in control, I like not having a car to park, I like not counting my drinks, I like moving/dancing/jaunting along listening to music. Car tunes are nice but you can't dance so much. And you see funny things walking around, like glasses of water half-full and abandoned on the curb or cheery dudes hawking Laith Al-Saadi CDs at discounted prices. It makes me feel connected to my neighborhood.
Colors: I like seeing them, wearing them, eating them. If I can look down and see pretty colors on my nails or my skirt twirling or tulips or look up and see the sunset, I am happy.
Music: I'm not a music person. I'm not super excited about new music. I don't think I hear the stuff other people hear. I'm busy listening for a story, or an emotion, a connection to my own history, and when I don't hear or catch any of those, I'm bored. So I like show tunes, and ballads, and dance music, and things that remind me of one of my own stories. I wandered around today smiling like a loon listening to Cole Porter and Oleta Adams and En Vogue.
Family: I was feeling guilty for not calling my mother today, but it makes me super happy that she was reading my Facebook posts and telling me to come to dinner and posting photos of her and my stepfather and nephews making duck faces. I will come soon, I promise! Say whatever you want about Facebook. I'll be in the back corner while you rant, giggling over this picture of my little brother climbing all over the ovens in his bakery in Colorado.
Female: I like being one. I'm probably in a better mood if I'm in a skirt or have dangling earrings or lipstick or all of the above. I like moving in heels, I like smelling like fruit desserts, I like seeing everything first as an emotion and second as a fact. And if that sounds dumb to you then I'd like to invite you to be my opponent for Trivial Pursuit.
Weather: Sunshine. Clouds. Breezes. There is a reason I ran the eff away from Southern California. Actually, there are two dozen. But summer in Michigan is one.
That's pretty much it. A perfect day will have some combination of these things. Today had a little bit of all of them. Laughter wasn't its own list item but it was inside of each item on the list, except maybe food and drink 'cause that would mean choking. But you get the idea.
Happy Thursday, folks. Thanks to everyone who was a part of my day.