Fond of: Yellow umbrellas, irrelevant dancing, figs and blueberries, plush animals, people-watching, shoes, owls, long books, large families, unusual names, unusual eyes, Great Books (the same program that Teal attends, actually), privacy, downtown shopping districts, little birds, brown sugar, knee-length dresses, driving on the freeway in the rain at night, watching spontaneous people (from a safe distance),  turquoise (as a stone, as a word, and as a color), costumes, chocolate/potato chip cookies, cabbage roses, faded freckles, ranunculus, poppies, four-part harmony, Robert Fagles’ translations of Homer, Simon and Garfunkel, marzipan, respectful debates, cats, grey skies, bridges, the little jolt that comes as an elevator lands, long eyelashes, quirkiness, the smell of fresh marshmallows, various incarnations of sunshine, short stories, red licorice, anthologies, golden lion tamarins, the German language, Arabic script, cemetaries, humans, birdcages, quarks, Catholic authors, subtitles, glass walls, BBC adaptations of period novels, roller coasters, street fairs, skyscrapers, photography exhibits, stars, rainbow sprinkles, feather dusters, old buildings, murals, art museums, California, buttons, pockets, olives, free verse, bright new pennies, long grey hair, botanical gardens, glorified hills, castle clouds, and writing.

Adverse to: Talk shows,  exclamation points, shock value, empty laughter, gushing, sensationalism, being forcibly lifted from my box, jingoism,  Pharisaical anti-Pharisees, most television, cruelty, unresolved strife, seafood, simplification, thinking of titles, hot weather, cold weather, my own failings, trends, the smell of alcohol, paper cuts, being patted on the head, soap opera in any form, humidity, very broad generalizations, coarseness, soft-boiled eggs, cold feet, sour cream, apathy, palm trees planted near hills, affectations, public displays of private feeling, and writer’s block.