thehowe_v7.1

• Apple cider on a crisp Fall day
• Finishing a particularly hard problem and/or project
• Spending an afternoon reading good comic books
• Looking at the stars on a cool, clear night away from city lights
• A simple meal of good crusty bread and good sharp cheese after a hard hike
• Canoing in real wilderness with fun people when we're the only ones on the entire lake
• Looking out over the ocean on a gray spring day
• Seeing the mountains appear out of the fog in the distance on a warm summer morning
• Doing things with good friends
• Stories with a happy ending - where the guy gets the girl
• Stories where two bad-ass bad guys are pitted against each other, to the good guy's benefit
• That part in a good story where you know the bad guys are about to get what's coming to them in a big way
• Seeing my parents & brother (after not seeing them for awhile)
• Stories with good humor executed well
• Traveling to fun places & sharing the experience with fun people
• Non-accidental physical contact with a girl whom I am attracted to (even better, with one whom I love)
• Looking at a girl whom I am attracted to (even better, one whom I love)
• Seeing children smile and/or laugh
• Funfetti cake with Funfetti frosting
• My mom's poppyseed bread
• Petting friendly dogs
• Sitting half-awake around the campfire on a brisk morning before sunrise, drinking something hot
• Walking outdoors in brisk and/or bracing weather
• Standing outside in a blizzard with lots of snow already on the ground
• Walking in the woods when it's "frosted" with ice & snow during the winter
• My mom's frosted sugar cookies
• Falling asleep when I'm so exhausted that I can't stay awake another minute
• Memories of Christmas morning, before I stopped believing in Santa Claus
• Sleeping in
• Having absolutely no responsibilities

Note: Anywhere I use the term "story", the point applies equally well to any story-telling method: movie, book, comic book, video game (esp. RPGs), computer game