Last year the Snowpocalypse took me by surprise.  I watched the world change before my eyes as the snow fell and fell and fell.  And fell.  Then the power went out.

I survived, but I was a tad depressed.  Last week was depressing as well–gray, drizzly mornings that just…blech!  I really am a fan of the four distinct seasons of DC, but couldn’t it just be sunny all the time?  Is that so much to ask?  It is?  OK, fine.  It’s gotta be gross sometimes, but I won’t like it.  Hurumph.

So now, as we move into fall (it’s happening people!) and we have a lot of rain on the way, it’s going to be good for me to have some go-to cheerer-uppers.  You know, those things that make you feel better no matter how crappy the weather is or how wet and cold your feet are.  That’s right, my favorite things (sorry Julie Andrews, Mary Martin is a better Maria)!  If you want to stay inside while it’s gross, you may enjoy them as well.

• The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou:  This movie gets better with every viewing.  There is always something extra to pick up, from the streaks in Anjelica Houston’s hair to the tone of Bill Murray’s voice when he’s being petulant.  It’s fun to explore a movie in which the director has invested such detail, and in this movie it is just fun.  I’d have been happy if Wes Anderson just went out on a high note with this one, but it’s too late for that.
• Toblerones: Just one bite makes me feel like I’m that much more European.  Besides being delicious and bringing together some pretty unexpected ingredients into perfect harmony (honey and almond nougat.  Huh?), the triangle shape is distinctive and fun.  Not that stupid Hershey’s rectangle with only 7% cocoa.  Blech.  Yes, Toberlones are where it’s at.
• Neil Young’s Heart of Gold:  Always gets stuck in my head.  Always makes me lose track of whatever is bothering me.
• Google Earth: Whoooo Google!  I don’t care if you’re secretly trying to take over the world, I don’t know what I did before you came along.  Think of all the paper cuts I’ve saved myself by not looking things up in books anymore.
• The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds: Crazy people have to go through a lot to make it in this society, but at least there’s some amazing music and art to show for it.  And if we’re all a little crazy, music like this can make us feel at home.  It’s cheerful and sad at the same time, which also makes me forget the gray sky above and gray slush below.
• Taking time to read McSweeney’s: I don’t ever regret reading McSweeney’s (an online literary compilation put together by Dave Eggers and other smart, funny people) but it’s a commitment.  But it’s a commitment that pays off with posts like this one.  Eggers has also started a series of nonprofit writing workshops around the country.  The DC 826 Center opens soon in the plaza in Columbia Heights.  I’m already looking forward to the open house on October 23.

So really, there’s no need to be a weather curmudgeon.  I have some pretty great favorite things.  But if the power goes out, it’ll all hang on the mighty Toblerone.

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