My BFF’s wife Meli tagged me in a post on her new blog Melificent.com, and so I figured it’d give me a good reason to update my blog as well.

For some reason, I thought I’d get away from memes forever since leaving LiveJournal years ago, but they’ve oddly come back with a vengaence on Facebook and Twitter. I don’t think I’ll make this a regular thing on my blog, but if the meme is sound enough to make a post about it, then I’ll go ahead with the thing.

So here we go, six things that make me happy, in no particular order whatsoever…

AgencyNet

The AgencyNet office has become a home away from home for me, and my co-workers have become my family… albeit an extended family. Sure, there are some cousins in there I might not always get along with, and like family, we’re entitled to fight from time to time… when you spend enough time with them, they’re bound to get on your nerves. But, for the most part, I genuinely enjoy my job, and being able to work with my sister and my best friend, Augi.

Augi

It’d seem odd that I’d single out my best friend Augi when I only have six items to choose from, but truth be told, I love that I get the chance to work with and see him 5 out of 7 days of the week, at the minimum. We’ve known eachother since September of 2001 when we met at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale for photography class, and through my group of friends, we’ve gotten closer through the years. When he got married to Meli, we all grew into a bigger family, and I couldn’t be happier with the family I have now!

My Family

My family makes me happy, and while I only really see my sister (rather, also my coworker and current roommate) for the most part, my parents are always there when I need them. They’re always 5 miles from home, work around the corner from my office, and remind me they’re there even though they know they don’t have to. My grandpa, aunt and uncle and cousins are also pretty close, and while I don’t get the chance to see my dad’s family out in California, the time we spend together is always cherished. My grandma is even a frequent reader of this blog!

My Friends

I’ve been blessed to have such a tight, small group of great friends instead of a larger group of “see them every once and a while” friends others have, and we spend as much time together at parties, BBQs, game nights, after-work hangouts and other events as possible. They’ve even become instrumental in supporting my new diet/workout plan, even if it means I can’t make it to a spontaneous evening outing, and are a great help when I may be tempted by the now-unwelcome food choices I encounter. 

Ripley

I got my puppy Ripley when she was 13 weeks and before my first anniversary in my condo. She’s grown from a terribly high-maintenance training chore to a loyal friend. She has a few quirks that we still have to work through, but she’s never happy being in a separate room from me when I’m around. When I get up, she gets up, unconditionally. True story: Ripley was named after Sigourney Weaver’s character in the Alien series after seeing the stitches on her belly from being spayed.

Science Fiction

Whether it’s Star Trek, Star Wars, Smallville, Supernatural, Lost, The X-Files or the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica – which is arguably considered the best science fiction series by many critics and myself – I can always count on a quick distraction into a world that could-be. It doesn’t take a nerd to look to the future (even if the future isn’t as polished and utopian as we’d like), all it takes is one with an imagination and time to get away. It’s certainly something I can share with some of my closest friends and family… for those who like sci-fi. In fact, I’m in the process of writing my own science fiction trilogy… I just need to find the time to focus on it. Since that’s one of my 2009 New Year’s Resolutions, I’m already on my way.

But that’s where the tagging ends. Chances are everyone I would tag, should I actually want to tag, has already been tagged about 20 times already just for this meme, so I’ll spare everyone the tagging.