Waking Ear

I was parking my car in a tight parallel spot last night in Deep Ellum, and a guy who I presumed to be homeless ran over to help me negotiate the space. He asked me to help him out when I got out of the car, saying he would like to purchase a bottle of Thunderbird. I'm not one of those people who thinks it's cool when homeless people are honest and say they want money to buy a drink, because when you're homeless and the only thing you want to spend money on is alcohol you're probably an alcoholic, and that's not fun. But I gave him enough for his Thunderbird anyway. I hope he stayed warm last night.

Earlier in the day, on my way to the gym, another guy who I presumed to be homeless asked me to help him out. I didn't have any change and told him so. "Man, that's what you told me yesterday," he pouted. "Damn!" I found this kind of impressive.

Remember these guys this weekend when you're burping turkey.

You know that feeling you get when you laugh so much that the adrenalin starts kicking in? Laughing with a kind of abandon, a loss of control. I seem to experience that more with Girlfriend than with any other person I've ever met. And it's the No. 1 thing I'm thankful for. The rest of the list:

2) My family's nice habit of practicing unconditional love.
3) My roommate's undying quest to cook the perfect dessert.
4) Seeing one of my best friends gaze at the love of his life when she's not looking.
5) Those nights when Chelle needs a drink and knows I'm available.
6) Coffee.
7) The fucking Internet.
8) My iPod.
9) Amare Stoudemire.
10) The feeling of superiority that comes with kicking Will Shortz's ass.