10 Day You Challenge: nine loves

(If you missed the first one, ten secrets, hop on over here to read it.)

For all the whining and complaining I do, this list was really hard to put together.  I could easily tell you nine things I don't love, but coming up with only nine things that I really love (that weren't people) was challenging.

On the other hand, if you've ever read my bio on Twitter, then you probably already know everything that's going to be on this list - it just might be in a different order.

1.  Linguistics.  When I applied to university, I was fully intent on being an English major - an English teacher, in fact.  However, Jefferson Harris and all his 2-page papers about every single thing we read (no matter how short) quickly sucked all the fun out of being an English major for me.  I stumbled upon a linguistics course my sophomore year - I went to a couple classes and dropped it, but gave it another chance, with another instructor, the next semester, and I was totally hooked.  Linguistics is -- huge nerd alert -- one of my real true passions in life.  It's something I genuinely love and find incredibly interesting.  (Seriously - ask me about aspirated stops in English vs. Spanish and I'll talk your ear off for about an hour.)  A secret I left off my list of secrets?  I'd love to go back to school and get my doctorate in linguistics.

2.  Colts (football in general).  Fall is my favorite season - not just because of the cool, crisp weather and pretty foliage (at least where I used to live) - but because it's also football season.  I love spending Sundays in sweatpants, hanging around on the couch, and watching football games all day long.  Equally fun is traveling to watch the games live!  (Not as fun: blowing your entire travel "budget" (what budget??) on Colts game tickets before the season starts only to find out that your favorite player is out for the season.)


3.  Books.  My dream in life is to have a house with a Beauty and the Beast-style library.  But I'll settle for a study/library in my house with built-in shelves to keep all my books...and I have a lot.  I know the Kindle and e-readers and iPads are the wave of the future (or of now?), and yes, they are very convenient, but give me a real book any day.  One of the hardest parts about moving to New York was deciding which books would have to stay behind.  But of course I'm still growing my collection even if the bookpile is getting precariously tall.

4.  History, especially European.  I love European history.  My very particular area of interest is in the British monarchy and in fact, my work study in college was working on a project with a professor on the regicides of King Charles I (another nerd alert!).  My Christmas list last year was pretty much all European history books.  Other topics I find interesting: World War I, the Age of Polar Exploration,

5.  Transformers.  This one is a big huge DUH (or should be, anyway).  I don't even know how many times I've seen the first one (probably over 40 or 50 times at this point), I'm probably one of the only people who doesn't hate the second one, and I saw the third one in the theater six times.

6.  Root beer.  I bring root beer to parties.  And if I'm in the mood for soda and there's root beer on the menu?  I pretty much always order it.  The only brand of root beer that I don't really like is A&W, and I don't think I like Stewart's that much (but I don't remember the last time I had it, so it's entirely possible that I do).  My favorite root beer is probably Virgil's, but I can always go for a Barq's, IBC, and pretty much any micro/craft brew.

7.  Travelling.  My dream job would be one where I get to travel all the time...to fun places.  (I travel for my job now, but the places I go aren't exactly super fun.)  I love taking road trips, and I've been lucky enough to have the luxury to drive from Massachusetts to Indianapolis a few times and to Florida once.  As fast as flying is, I actually prefer road trips because I think it's a great way to see things and travel on your own terms.

Confession: Marek gave me the last three.  I asked him that if he had to name the Top 5 non-people things I love, what would he list.  Out of his list, two matched what I already had, and here's the other three.  (Since I can't pick myself anyway.)

8.  Ditch Plains.  Quite possibly my favorite restaurant (of the moment, because it's always changing).  Poor Marek does not like this restaurant nearly as much as I do ("There's nothing on the menu", wah wah), but whenever it's my choice to pick where we should go to eat, I pretty much always want to go to Ditch Plains (or Landmarc, but I like Ditch Plains better).  And I always get pretty much the same thing: Cheddar & Jalapeno Tater Tots, the Mixed Greens salad (dressing is so yummy), and a Mint Ditch 'Wich.  Sometimes I get the Skirt Steak which is also really good.

9.  Law & Order: SVU.  It took me a long time to start watching primetime television again (thanks a LOT, CSI), but I really like Law & Order: SVU.  I've liked Law & Order since I was in high school (thanks, Mr. Mullen!), and thanks to many months working from home and tuning into the SVU 12-hour Tuesday marathon on USA, it's definitely one of my favorite shows.  Of course, Stabler's gone now (boo hoo), and it seems like Benson's departure is imminent, but the new detectives aren't so bad and they're doing a good job getting them more involved in the show.

10.  Snuggling with the pup.  Pretty much my favorite thing ever.  Snuggling with my doggie makes everything better.  EVERYTHING.  (Except when he farts in my face.)

Edit: Tanya pointed out that I was only supposed to do nine of these, not ten.  But I don't know which one to take off!  I suppose Law & Order: SVU will have to go.