identify 100 things that make my partner happy

15. His new forums. He recently set up forums on his website and he is really enjoying them. He invited his buddies from the Moby forums and it’s a nice place for him to hang out online. :)

14. The Moby Forums. His home away from home. He plays there… sometimes being a complete ass (but isn’t that half of what the internet is for?). He has made some really good friends through those forums… and hopefully cool people that we can crash with when we go to the Neatherlands. YAY DUTCHIES!!

13. Taking a quick break from #12 to have sex. And then back to gaming. Seriously, what teenage boy doesn’t dream of shit like that. I am SO the queen of geek wives.

12. Playing Video Games with me. He likes this even more. This is one of our ways of spending time together. We find long playing RPGs and do them together. I look up stuff online and help with the story related clues and puzzles, he is the master of “twitchy” game dynamics (reacting fast enough and hitting all the right damn buttons to kill the monsters JUST right). We are a great team – and really enjoy the stories like Final Fantasy and the Zelda games. Currently we are playing Tales of Symphononia, an 80hr or so complicated (and convaluded!!) RPG. It’s our special time together. :)

11. Playing Video Games. I mean lots of people like this, but he really enjoys almost all things Nintendo. You should hear him go on about how he beat Ocarina of Time with only three hearts.

10. Smoking. He loves to smoke. It’s the feeling and the movement and the smoke itself.. it’s the satisfaction and the ritual… all of it. Over the years smoking hasn’t been as satisfying, and when he turns 30, he is quitting. So he has about 3 years left.

9. Orange Juice. He really likes OJ, and we get it so infrequently that it’s a real treat. He prefers it not too pulpy though.

8. His Job. Oddly enough, Dusty really enjoys his job. Or more to the point, he appreciates how great his job is compared to jobs in general. He works graveyards, gets paid really well and spends a good portion of the time hanging out, waiting for someone to call with a problem. (He is internal tech support for a international company).

7. Online Role Playing. He loves to play online (mostly CbN) and create characters and so on. Its not a love that I share, but I do my best to understand the draw.

6. Sprinkles. This is a new thing, but it seems to be working. There are these special Chocolate Sprinkles that they have in Holland. They are made by a company called De Ruijter and they are called Hagelslag. One of Dusty’s online friends sent him a box. You sprinkle them on toast and the chocolate melts just a bit, so they still have structure but it all melts in your mouth. I can’t keep him out of the box! (You can buy them here: http://www.dutchmarket.com/scbrsp.html – just go down the page to item #23-956)

This is a big deal to me… so here I go.

5. Boondocks. The series is revolutionary and addresses many of the racists issues that anger my husband. They present their ideas with humor and irreverence which is just up his alley. They are about as socially inappropriate as they can be, and Dusty just loves it. Thank you Boondocks for making my husband happy.

4. Sitting out on the back stoop with a cigarette and a really good book. He can be out there for hours.

3. Listening to They Might Be Giants, and singing along… loudly… in the car… preferably alone. (My preference, not his). lol.

2. A really exciting game of DnD with his buddies. Dusty plays with his older brother and a gathering of their friends about twice a month. They get pretty involved with miniatures and characters. They drink and smoke and eat and have fun adventures. It’s pretty fun, even just to watch. They are a good mature group of guys with very little drama. Dusty runs one of the games and his brother runs the other.

1. Being married to me. It sounds egotistical, but I know this makes him very happy – the same way it does for me. And it’s why we work so hard to address our problems and maintain our relationship.