Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Little Joys

The other day I was watching Amelie for the nth time. One of the things I like about this film is the way the director introduces the characters, by what they like and dislike. The ways each of them find little joys in life, e.g.: by plunging their fingers on a bag of lentils, waxing the floor with a pair of slippers, taking old wallpaper of the wall, the sound water makes in a glass bowl. On the other hand, there are the ones that make you go mad: wrinkles on your finger after a bath, people who crack their fingers, etc. The uniqueness of these peculiarities makes you identify yourself with the movie. Well, at least I did.

Some of these little details that you enjoy or dislike tend to change with time. When I was growing up, the things I disliked were:

  • People with cracked lips. I used to carry an extra lip gloss with me, in case anyone I saw had cracked lips. At first people that did not know me would be suspicious, especially boys, but as they realised it was part of my tics they will consent on putting it on.
  • The sleeves of trouser (pants in American English) sticking in sneakers.
  • Squeaky sounds (it does not include my voice).
  • The smell of ketchup or tuna.
  • People hugging me when they are sweaty.

Things I still enjoy:

  • Smelling other people's clothes.
  • Mushy textures on my hand, especially mud.
  • Sitting on a coffee shop and watching passers by, when I was younger, it was on top of a tree.
  • Finding different shadings of light.
  • Skipping the cracks or separation on the floor.
  • Walking on the ledge of the boardwalk.
  • Putting my head on my dads belly and hearing all the sounds his stomach makes.
  • Laying beside my mom when she is reading a book.
  • Finding new hiding places.
  • The face of people when I tell them my age, it cracks me up.

As I am writing this, I am wearing a scarf with my mom's smell, under the reflected shading of my nightlight covered by a palm hat, drinking a comforting cup of tea. Could this get any better?

3 comments:

Victor said...

"The smell of ketchup or tuna"
You still don't like it, the other day that there was tuna near you you almost puked. Unless of course it's La tuna, then you can't get your hands offa her...dirty hehe

"Smelling other people's clothes" should read "Smelling other people", for an example look under 'E' for Eddie

I think you should add dislocatable thumbs to your list of dislikes.

ngo said...

When I finished writing this post, i started remembering of a lot of little things that annoy me and cheer me up, but it would be a long list, and somethings are better kept to oneself.

Victor said...

Look who's talking! You haven't posted for longer than me. I'm bored!

Do you have chiken pox now?