Ten things that make me happy by existing.
Yesterday's glee over my new My Little Pony purse caused me to stop and contemplate physical belongings -- what I have, what I've acquired on purpose, what's been given to me -- and realize that sometimes, what gives me joy is entirely out of proportion with how much effort went into obtaining it. These are ten things that make me happy by existing in my possession. Because I can.
Ten things that make me happy by existing.
10. My orange ceramic octopus. It was a gift from Lisa when I sold the first three Toby books. It sits on my desk, to the left-hand side of my computer, radiating orangeness and balefulness and tentacleocity. I frequently rub its shiny little head for luck. It is the orange octopus of balefulness and joy, and no, this is not an oxymoron.
9. My big gray robe. I have three robes. Two are gray, one is bright orange...and I wear one of the gray ones most often, because it was a gift from Spider at OVFF 2005, and it's basically a big wooly hug. I put it on and I warm and comfortable and also, yes, being hugged. It's fascinating the way we can form emotional bonds with random crap.
8. Little Flitter. Little Flitter is a yellow Summerwing Pony with pink hair and butterfly wings. The Little Flitter I have now was obtained off of eBay; my first Little Flitter, however, was a gift from my grandmother, and this one lives on top of my computer because I loved her and I miss her, and now I have something that makes me think of her with me when I write.
7. My camo corset. I did not go to Wondercon 2007 expecting to obtain a new corset; I'm sure Amy didn't go to Wondercon 2007 expecting to assist me in obtaining a new corset. But apparently, camo corsets go with Seanans like zombies go with the shopping mall, and once the nice man had me all tied up, it was essentially over. Not that I'm complaining. Corsetry rules.
6. The copy of Leaves from the Babylon Wood that I selfishly kept when the rest of the chapbook sold out, so neener. It's hand-stitched, with a cover by Beckett, filled with my poetry, and I seriously sometimes want to cry because it's so beautiful. The amount of effort and assistance I had with that convention still takes my breath away. Beckett was a huge part of that.
5. My Veronica Mars messenger bag that Bob sent to me all out of the blue and entirely full of awesome. It's a fantastic bag, just in terms of concept, but it's also exceedingly sturdy, as witness the fact that it's survived being my primary means of transporting my stuff for the past several months. It makes me feel loved by existing.
4. The proof printouts for Stars Fall Home. I have a full set of color printouts showing me how the final lyric booklet for Stars was going to look. These were the first absolute proof that yes, this was going to work; yes, this was going to be every bit as amazing as I could have dreamed it was going to be. So very made of win.
3. My 'witch of ripe apple' pendant. It's orange and it's green, and it was made entirely for me, and when I'm feeling sad or slow, I just wear it with a shirt of the appropriate color and all my sadness and slowness goes by the wayside, because I must be pretty cool for someone to have made something that awesome just for me.
2. The leaves-and-beads hair tie that Vixy made for me. It's beautiful and it's elegant, and Lilly very rarely tries to eat it anymore. Which is reassuring. I love it for being beautiful, and for being something that Vixy made for me. Which is a nice combination, at the end of the day.
1. Amberlee. Unlike most of the things on this list, I sought Amberlee out and paid for her. I didn't realize, at the time, that I had finally found my new teddy bear and it was a flesh-eating dinosaur named after a deadly disease. We all have our quirks.
What do you have that you love beyond sense or reason? Prized possessions time!
Ten things that make me happy by existing.
10. My orange ceramic octopus. It was a gift from Lisa when I sold the first three Toby books. It sits on my desk, to the left-hand side of my computer, radiating orangeness and balefulness and tentacleocity. I frequently rub its shiny little head for luck. It is the orange octopus of balefulness and joy, and no, this is not an oxymoron.
9. My big gray robe. I have three robes. Two are gray, one is bright orange...and I wear one of the gray ones most often, because it was a gift from Spider at OVFF 2005, and it's basically a big wooly hug. I put it on and I warm and comfortable and also, yes, being hugged. It's fascinating the way we can form emotional bonds with random crap.
8. Little Flitter. Little Flitter is a yellow Summerwing Pony with pink hair and butterfly wings. The Little Flitter I have now was obtained off of eBay; my first Little Flitter, however, was a gift from my grandmother, and this one lives on top of my computer because I loved her and I miss her, and now I have something that makes me think of her with me when I write.
7. My camo corset. I did not go to Wondercon 2007 expecting to obtain a new corset; I'm sure Amy didn't go to Wondercon 2007 expecting to assist me in obtaining a new corset. But apparently, camo corsets go with Seanans like zombies go with the shopping mall, and once the nice man had me all tied up, it was essentially over. Not that I'm complaining. Corsetry rules.
6. The copy of Leaves from the Babylon Wood that I selfishly kept when the rest of the chapbook sold out, so neener. It's hand-stitched, with a cover by Beckett, filled with my poetry, and I seriously sometimes want to cry because it's so beautiful. The amount of effort and assistance I had with that convention still takes my breath away. Beckett was a huge part of that.
5. My Veronica Mars messenger bag that Bob sent to me all out of the blue and entirely full of awesome. It's a fantastic bag, just in terms of concept, but it's also exceedingly sturdy, as witness the fact that it's survived being my primary means of transporting my stuff for the past several months. It makes me feel loved by existing.
4. The proof printouts for Stars Fall Home. I have a full set of color printouts showing me how the final lyric booklet for Stars was going to look. These were the first absolute proof that yes, this was going to work; yes, this was going to be every bit as amazing as I could have dreamed it was going to be. So very made of win.
3. My 'witch of ripe apple' pendant. It's orange and it's green, and it was made entirely for me, and when I'm feeling sad or slow, I just wear it with a shirt of the appropriate color and all my sadness and slowness goes by the wayside, because I must be pretty cool for someone to have made something that awesome just for me.
2. The leaves-and-beads hair tie that Vixy made for me. It's beautiful and it's elegant, and Lilly very rarely tries to eat it anymore. Which is reassuring. I love it for being beautiful, and for being something that Vixy made for me. Which is a nice combination, at the end of the day.
1. Amberlee. Unlike most of the things on this list, I sought Amberlee out and paid for her. I didn't realize, at the time, that I had finally found my new teddy bear and it was a flesh-eating dinosaur named after a deadly disease. We all have our quirks.
What do you have that you love beyond sense or reason? Prized possessions time!