The Simple Pleasures Vol. 1

I try to practice gratitude to the best of my abilities. I live a life where I am able to inconsistently write blogs on my website and have been told I'm special enough to the point where I believe people will read them. With this relative rationale in mind, I decided a few months ago to start listing things that bring goodness into my life. It's not necessarily a ranking of the best things, nor is it characteristic of my favorite things. These are just the little things in life that make the mundane better. The things that make you feel like a winner for no good reason. Now the list has ballooned to a significant number of items so while I plan on sharing it, we're just going to knock it out piece by piece. Additionally, it gives me significantly more blogs to write so maybe, just maybe, my adoring reader(s) will be able to get some additional content. So, here's the initial set of daily delights and why they make life especially enjoyable.

-The Beatles

Kinda a layup for me. The Beatles have been the soundtrack for my life since before I can remember. So many songs that I just really enjoy listening to. So many styles of music. There isn't much I can say that hasn't been said by people who use words much better than I do. All I know is if you can refer to yourself as "the eggman" and "the walrus" in succession, and still be cool as hell, you gotta be a pretty transcendental group.

-Maximus from Gladiator

You know the scene in the new Barbie movie when the Kens are explaining movies. That's not entirely how I feel about this movie, but I get pretty damn close. And while the movie itself is beautiful and wonderful and an amazing way to spend 155 minutes, it's the character arc of Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal secants to the true Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. If you don't get chills when he drops that to Joaquin Phoenix's whiny bitch face (he plays a perfect foil) then you should check your pulse. That speech is better than any preworkout and I'll stand by that. To all the people who idolize Andrew Tate and can't see the irony in The Wolf of Wall Street, this is the guy whose tape you really should be studying.

-The Muppets

And with this we take a sharp left turn. I really do like to think my life philosophy lies somewhere between Maximus and Kermit the Frog. As someone who once presented The Gospel According to Jim Henson, I feel very strongly about how these silly puppets shaped the morality and education of so many. The original Muppet Movie is one of my go-to comfort movies. Very funny with really great cameos. The music cannot be undervalued as well. I love the Muppets but will admit there's one person who has me beat. That's Brett Goldstein, the actor who recently gained notoriety for playing Roy Kent in Apple TVs Ted Lasso. I'll leave it to him to describe what makes the Muppets great because I can't put in any better.

I'm not crying, you're crying

-Dogs

If you need me to convince you that dogs deserve to be on this list, stop reading this blog right now. Fuck the mission statement, you're not welcome here.

-Mowing the lawn

I am a man who as of right now plans to graduate with three majors and go directly to at least 4 more years of school. The biggest challenge of all that is knowing I may wake up with the realization that it was all for nothing because I enjoy mowing the lawn more than any job I could possibly imagine. I have had the same lawn mowing playlist since I made it on my Kindle Fire (IYKYK) in fifth grade. It's the zamboni of the land. It's a place I enjoy being hot, sweaty, and a little itchy. I love the lines; I love the smell. This is the closest most suburban dads will get to meditating.

-Cute lemonade stands

If you are a small child selling lemonade, you have identified the biggest sucker out there. I will hand you a $20 bill and tell you to keep the change for a dixie cup of powdered lemonade. I'll tell you it's the best glass of lemonade I've ever had. I'll send everyone I know over. It just feels so simple, so beautiful, and to a child $20 is a whole night of unlimited fun at the local church festival. Bonus move is paying extra and then saying, "give the next guy a glass for free".

-Music that makes you strut

This is a staple of my life. My struttin' playlist is my best playlist. Any situation that needs some manufactured confidence it's on when I walk in, and on twice as loud when I walk out knowing I killed that shit. Getting ready for a first date and not sure you look good? Pop on that struttin' playlist and move how the music compels you to. At this point it's over. This also is the definition of you don't choose the song that makes you strut; the song chooses you.

-The feeling of accomplishment after reading a book

Yeah, I've read multiple books this year (4) for leisure, no big deal. I hate to put on my old person hat here (I'm picturing like a rounded top hat accompanied by a frankly preposterous handlebar moustache), but reading a book is just so much more satisfying than scrolling for an hour. It's an inefficient way to consume media, but reading is not on the list here. It's the sense of superiority that comes oozing out when you turn page 498 and realize you made it to the acknowledgements.

-Mr. Bing Bong

Very niche shout and wild to see that this was the ninth thing I felt grateful for. For the unaware, Mr. Bing Bong is a character/alter ego of actor Jerry O'Connell (the fat kid from Stand By Me, is supervised manager of a fantasy team by Schefty) that is featured on Pardon My Take. He's symbolic of so many things, he's so unhinged, and when he speaks it's pure poetry.

-Setting a PR while letting out a yell

Maybe it's the real estate Rocky IV always holds in my brain, but the feeling of moving your athletic bar as you let out a guttural sound is tough to beat. Female tennis players have had this figured out for years. This isn't performative. This is pain being weakness leaving your body. This is all the other cheesy high school weightlifting signs. This is the moment of Euphoria that you have before you realized your new max is what the guy next to you just did for ten reps.

So that's the first ten. Hoping to get a new list out at least every week. Feel free to leave any suggestions of your simple pleasures. And remember there's a lot of good stuff out there, celebrate the little wins. Does plenty more good than dwelling on the losses.

Live la vida mas fina,

The Founder