indulgence

I’m starting my own meme, even though I’m well aware that the word “meme” cannot describe a single occurrence of a post. So go, re-post, tell your friends what you consider a luxury. Don’t make me a liar.

Top Ten Indulgences,
or these are a few of my favorite things

1. Buying and consuming antipasto as a meal, including some combination of the following: olives (stuffed or otherwise), French bread, expensive cured meats (prosciutto, hot coppa, Italian salami), expensive cheeses (teleggio, [fresh] goat cheese, brie, camembert, gruyere). And, of course, red wine.

2. Reading in a hot bath. (This is why Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has now been dropped in the water twice, but it’s a paperback so it’s still intact and readable.)

3. Splitting an entire bottle of Spanish champagne (sparking wine, for sticklers) with my girlfriend (I’m a big fan of Freixenet, which isn’t incredibly expensive but still very good.)

4. Sleeping in on a lazy Sunday morning. (Even better if April’s also sleeping in, which is a rarity since she’s much more of an early bird than I.)

5. Drinking a cup of Fortnum and Mason tea (preferably Assam Superb, English Breakfast, or Darjeeling) with sugar and a little cream. I love this anytime, but it’s especially comforting on a grey, rainy/snowy day. The effect of the tea is significantly augmented by cucumber sandwiches, but I don’t have the energy (nor do I ever have the ingredients on hand) to make these.

6. Spending an afternoon/evening/day rampantly watching an entire season (or as much as I can handle) of a television show, usually while simultaneously rearranging my furniture or my closet, while wrapping presents (around Christmas), while packing, while sick, or simply when I’m feeling incredibly lazy and indulgent. This was much easier to accomplish with Sex and the City, Newsradio and Neverwhere than when I tried to re-watch the entire second season of The L Word (with some fast-forwarding, I’ll admit) in one night or than I suspect it will be with Bad Girls or Firefly (longer episodes).

7. Writing silly postcards to friends wherein I quote long passages from plays, books or films without any explanation and then sign my name and stick them in the mail.

8. Making travel plans to visit friends without other academically (or fiscally) viable reasons for traveling (museums, theatre, conferences, etc.)—like visiting Chris in MN (where we spent five days watching CSI and going to the movies) or going to LA to spend time with Hilary and her Couch.

9. Cooking elaborate meals, often with several courses (at least salad, entrée and dessert) and a bonus if it takes me more than two hours to cook.

10. Making absurd lists with no inherent use-value of their own when I should be working (this includes memes, surveys, polls and to-do lists that I will never refer to again). Part and parcel of Number 10 is spending long hours on LJ (or otherwheres on the Interweb) reading/writing fan fiction and reading/writing blog entries.