What's Making Me Happy

// In order to achieve a maintenance dose of allergy shot in as little time I'm receiving four doses a week; a [set of shots, wait thirty minutes, second set, wait thirty minutes] two days apart each week. This means when my schedule is accommodating I spend about two hours a week in the allergy clinic. Protected reading time! (What am I allergic to? Grasses, trees, mites, the phrase 'birth experience', screamy cable news)

// This sunscreen is the best! Just the right texture. Perfect for everyday wear and great under makeup.

//  Visiting with friends this week. Hi Tom! I miss my people so much.

// Sprite and orange sherbet, the only known cures for FOOD POISONING, which I developed Sunday night. Six hours til onset, six hours duration, two days of feeling zonked, you know the story. Luckily I was the only one sickened. All of my weekday holiday plans were dashed but on the upside we started watching Twin Peaks (never seen it, no spoilers please!) Another upside: I will probably never eat smoked sausage again (though that wasn't the culprit - fairly certain it was the coleslaw or salad dressing).

// // I've been following this blog for a while and the author was on All Things Considered yesterday. Read this wonderful letter below or even better, hear the blog author read it aloud here.

Dear Sir,

I like words. I like fat, buttery words, such as ooze, turpitude, gluttonous, toady. I like solemn, angular, creaky words, such as straitlaced, cantankerous, precuneus, valedictory. I like spurious, black-as-white words, such as mortician, liquidate, tonsorial, demimonde. I like suave V words, such as Svengali, svelte, bravura, verve. I like crunchy, brittle, crackly words, such as splinter, grapple, jostle, crusty. I like sullen, crabbed, scowling words, such as skulk, glower, scabby, churl. I like Oh-Heavens, my-gracious, land's-sake words, such as tricksy, tucker, genteel, horrid. I like elegant, flowery words, such as estivate, peregrinate, elysium, halcyon. I like wormy, squirmy, mealy words, such as crawl, blubber, squeal, drip. I like sniggly, chuckling words, such as cowlick, gurgle, bubble and burp. I like the word screenwriter better than copywriter, so I decided to quit my job in a New York advertising agency and try my luck in Hollywood, but before taking the plunge I went to Europe for a year of study, contemplation and horsing around. I have just returned and I still like words. May I have a few with you?

Robert Pirosh.