Little pleasures

-Walking up the street to my office, I pass the vent for a hotel's laundry room. Its a burst of warm-clean-detergent smelling air that I appreciate everyday.

-music and my iPod which can totally change my mood

-the public buses and the fact that from my daily bus route I can see the Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysées, Place de la Concorde, L'Assemblée Nationale, Madeleine, Saint Augustin, Tour Monparnasse, the Seine, Notre Dame, etc.

-christmas lights beginning to be put up around the city

-Starbucks Creme Brulée lattes

-hearing the bells of Saint Suplice on sunday mornings from my apartment

-the ceiling in my apartment and beautiful moulding

-feeling at peace about wherever I am in the world and taking it in stride

-my newly acquired skills from the restaurant: unexpectedly hard biceps, better balance, ability to carry 11 wine glasses at a time or 15 water glasses in my bare hands, correct method of opening and pouring wine with a corkscrew (without dripping)

-my fingernails are healthy and long thanks to the out-of-proportion amount of dairy products consummed on a daily basis.

-no matter what time I get home at night, there are still people out and about having a good time, enjoying the city and my neighborhood

-my incredibly fluffy comforter

-the realisation that I can't control everything, so shouldn't stress about things that are out of my hands - just let it go!

-being almost a quarter century old

-the challenge and success of getting by on my own means - even if it means searching my apartment for loose change enough to buy soup and a baguette

-keeping things in perpective

-the french language

-the american way of celebrating holidays

-my office and colleagues

-The Office and the internet which allows me to watch it in France

-being content with having no microwave, oven, washing machine or TV

-being with people

-being alone