I Have A Thing For...

There are a lot of things in life that I really love. One might say I have a "thing" for them. For example, I have a thing for shoes. I really can't get enough of them. I like the way they look on my feet, the way they look lined up neatly on my shoecase (like a bookcase, but for shoes), and I like the perfectly folded tissue paper that envelopes a brand new pair in their perfectly sized box.

I also have a thing books. I like a wide variety of genres - mystery, fantasy/sci-fi, biographies, chick lit, essays, poetry. I am protective of my books - I never dog ear, I don't fold back the front part of the book when I'm reading, and I'm always very careful about applying equal pressure along the spine so as not to wear out one part more then another. The bookcases in my house are not only full but overflowing, and although I wish they looked a little neater, I can't help but love the fact that I have too many books.

I have a thing for makeup. The first time I applied makeup on myself I was 6 or 7 and I thought my mom had gone on errands. I grabbed my little sister and we ran into her bathroom and put on as much as we could and admired ourselves. When I heard my mom coming up the stairs and I realized my error, I was terrified of how mad she would be (we really used a lot). Instead she laughed hysterically and took pictures of us. I have been enthralled since that day. I used to sneak lip stick into my backpack in elementary school and put it on when I got there because I knew my mom would make me wipe it off if she saw it. Today I have one bathroom drawer full of makeup and one drawer full of skin care products, plus a bag in my office drawer and stragglers in each purse and/or bag (of which I also have a thing for). If I stopped buying any makeup or skin care products completely today, my stash would easily last me longer then a year. I take samples wherever I can get them, and I have a special compartment in each drawer that holds them. Some of my things I have splurged on, others I bought in bulk from elf.com - each item has a special place in my heart.

I have a thing for my daughter's voice. It is somehow tiny and huge all at once. She talks constantly, some in her own language, some in English (or close to it). Her voice inflections are extremely dramatic and hilarious (anyone who has heard the various ways she says "Oh no!" knows what I am talking about), and she loves to copy sounds she hears - and she does an amazingly good job at it, too.

I have a thing for people who consistently make me laugh. I just finished David Sedaris' most recent book last night and was lying in bed laughing hysterically all by myself. I know this happens to most people who read his books - that is pure talent. Will Ferrel is another one. Tom had never seen the cow bell skit from SNL, so I YouTubed it the other night and watched it with him. It always amazed me how he never broke down and laughed or even cracked a smile while delivering his lines while he was on SNL. The rest of the set could be buckled over in hysterics and he is the only one still giving his lines (and making everyone else on the set laugh even harder...see, for example, any one of the Jeffrey's skits). More examples are Jon Stewart (and anyone on his show, past or present, including Stephen Colbert and Steve Carrel), the gang from Scrubs, the gang from Arrested Development, Richard Jury & Melrose Plant, all the members of my family, and Rick Astley. Ok, so that last one isn't intentionally funny, but if you've ever been rickrolled, you've seen the guy dance and come on - that is classic.

The other day on the train I heard a woman in the seat across from me tell the woman next to her what she has a "thing" for. I was reading my book and trying hard to block out the conversations around me, but this woman's was really hard to block. She was complaining about her job, and the woman next to her, who worked for the King County police department, told her she should look into any openings that they might have. The Complainer got extremely excited and told her friend she would "just die" to work for the police department. Another woman in their foursome (who had been quietly listening until now) said, "Really? Why's that?" And The Complainer said, quite loudly, "I have a thing for serial killers."

Come again?

It was like a reflex when my head snapped around to look at her - and I noticed that I certainly wasn't the only one. I would have loved to hear a further explanation, but the three women around her all looked down into their laps and stopped talking. Understandably. The Complainer had been knitting, so she simply picked up her yarn again and continued on. I stared at her for a good five minutes wondering what could possibly be going through her mind, then even tried to follow her off the train to see how she walked, where she was going, or if there were any other indications of psychosis. There wasn't, which made me even more intrigued. I guess you could say I have a thing for people who have things for serial killers.