These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

I've come to learn that the good things in this world are ephemeral. Good results in the lab? Don't count on 'em. That snap in your legs that gets you out of corners fast? Gone by mid-season. Tolerance for your own facial hair? The awesomeness of a beard, like the awesomeness of anything you really enjoy, is gone in the blink of an eye.

But oh, fear not. There are some things that, if you are truly fortunate, can be constants in your life. I am so humbled, so grateful, so enamored of the good things in my life that have persisted week to week. Life continues to be worth living...

• The "Grease Trucks". Every sandwich you make is named by a convention that would befit IEEE... Fat Knight, Fat Bitch, Fat Cat, and so on. You are open as long as the buses are running, and you never change. Whenever I am hungry, whenever my arteries feel particularly unclogged, I can turn to you for a sandwich made of Cheese-steak, Mozzarella Sticks, Chicken Fingers, French Fries, and lettuce and tomatoes. My heart aches at the very thought of you.
• Drunk undergrad girls. I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole. It's 20 degrees out, but you're wearing exactly enough clothing to veil the undergarments you're so eager to abandon. Your arms and legs are completely bare, but you're far too intoxicated to feel cold. As long as I can filter out the mind-numbing, vapid nonsense you call conversation, I can pretend you're a gorgeous, scantily-clad astrophysicist. Please don't ever talk to me.
• My guys. You know who you are. It doesn't matter what bar we go to. It doesn't matter what the occasion is, or how loud the music is, or who else is in the bar. We have a great time. Life can be a pimp-slap upside the head, but a beer and a teammate just turn things around faster than you can say "Let's play the 'Do You Know Don?' game". When all is said and done, you're good people.