A list which could almost fit under the heading of "perceivable joys"

[chanaleh]

Things of which chanalehs require an inexhaustible supply:

Novelty socks
Umbrellas
Mary Chung's egg drop soup
Cobalt blue glassware
Dichroic glass (jewelry and otherwise)
Peanuts memorabilia (in general)
Snoopy Band-Aids (in particular)
Lip balm
Mineral bath salts (anything from Epsom to Dead Sea)
Lavender or rosemary-mint salt scrub (also known as "instant manicure")
Brightly colored tights
Plain Gap stretch t-shirts, especially in black
Tortoiseshell sunglasses
Equal Exchange French roast coffee (also known at Trader Joe's as "Cafe Pajaro")
Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice not-tea
Body Shop Kistna shower gel
Silk scarves
Kosher wine by the bottle (in general)
Bartenura Moscato (in particular)
Purple rollerball pens
Colored legal pads
Theater tickets
Show tunes (including G&S)
Chocolate! (in general)
Junior Mints (in particular)
Massage (hey, chaiya, do you offer gift certificates? :-)
Cuddles
Sunshine
Lenience for tardiness :-}

... and with that, it's off to the grocery store with me.

Comments

[trowa-barton.livejournal.com]

The lavender bath salts from Urban Oasis isn't bad.

Can't resist

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

The notion of someone requiring an inexhaustible supply of any tangible item makes me twitch. :-) Things like cuddles and sunshine, though, are great.

Re: Can't resist

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

Well, technically, inexhaustible doesn't have to be "infinite", it just has to be "enough that I don't run out". :)

Re: Can't resist

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

Oh, I wasn't even thinking "infinite." It's just that I've seen hoarding up close and personal, and it's not pretty. (Not that I think chanaleh is a hoarder!)

Re: Can't resist

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Nah -- as an organizer, you're right enough about that. But firstfrost put her finger on the intent. The majority of things on this list are essentially consumable. Okay, not Peanuts collectibles or silk scarves :-) but I did include things like umbrellas and sunglasses because I am prone to lose (or break) them so often that I am regularly stocking up on replacements!

Re: Can't resist

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

As long as your many replacements don't create clutter, that's a fine plan!

worked for me...

[marmota.livejournal.com]

*Nod* It seemed a bit materialistic at first glance to me... I suggest parsing 'inexhaustible' as 'never lacking in', and imagine some sort of just-in-time inventory management if you need to. ;)

Re: worked for me...

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

Yep. In my work, I also try to get my clients to think about expanding the idea of a "supply" to include not just stuff in one's home, but stuff that just takes a -little- more effort to get. For instance, there's no need to hoard plastic shopping bags, because it's easy to get more whenever you go shopping. Libraries have an inexhaustible supply of books, so you don't have to try to fit all those books into your house. And so forth!

Re: Can't resist

[c1.livejournal.com]

Snoopy band-aids (#7 on the list) are more of a consumable. Depending on the kinesthetic sensibility of the person in question, an inexhaustable supply can be a box a year, or a box a week. But they're not the kind of thing where stocking up should be a problem for 99% of the population.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Not tea?

[marmota.livejournal.com]

Interesting idea... do you see it as a goal to increase, or to decrease the number of items on the list?

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Really, I hadn't in the slightest considered it as a goal-directed exercise. :-)

On the one hand, there are many other (more boring) things I could include on such a list; this is sort of an arbitrary and whimsical subset. On the other, particular things certainly advance and recede over time in my consciousness... and I know that some things must fall off the list when they cease to be available at all. (For instance, I was tempted to include Macallan Amber, but as they've already officially discontinued it, and I have already bought up every bottle in stock in the Boston area in the past 6 months when I found it, it makes little sense to assert that my supply needs to be inexhaustible!)

There's also the insight that thinking of individual objects as one link in a chain of 'supply' makes it easier to let them ebb and flow. I love funky umbrellas, and there have been times in my life when I have invested in the One True Umbrella, but invariably I do lose it or it breaks -- but that frees me up to get *another* cool new one, so it's become easier to think of them as relatively disposable, and not be heartbroken about it. I love blue glass, but when I was moving the last few loads of things out of the old apartment, and there were a half-dozen soda bottles and whatnot among my collection of blue glass, I was able to consign them to the recycling and only keep the actual nice pieces that I cared more about.

Anyway, I think the closest I can come to answering your question is that I prefer to live in such a way as to add to my roster of regular sources of joy (tangible or otherwise), rather than make an effort to decrease my attachment to same.

[marmota.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I like how you put it.

[davidfcooper.livejournal.com]

At first glance the list looked materialistic, but I chose to interpret it as a list of comfort items in the spirit of the song Favorite Things from The Sound of Music

[goljerp]

Ah, good, I wasn't the only one who thought of Favorite Things. (My attempt to filk that in my comment below was apparently so horrible that nobody responded to it).

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

I prefer to live in such a way as to add to my roster of regular sources of joy (tangible or otherwise), rather than make an effort to decrease my attachment to same.

And I imagine also to let go of things if and when they stop becoming a source of joy. Good plan!

French Roast?

[c1.livejournal.com]

I have Kona and ultra dark Sumatran (from TJ's). 50/50, they make a rather nice blend. Will that be sufficient?

Re: French Roast?

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

It would, certainly... but from you, I was counting on tea! :-)

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Too bad I didn't see this before your birthday... :-)

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Naw! The things you picked out for me were also fabulous. :-)

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm very glad. I was hoping. :-)

[bluepapercup]

do you like going on coffee adventures? Do you have your own grinder? I buy our coffee at the most magnificent local roaster and could send you a bag if you wish...

[goljerp]

Cobalt blue glassware and Plain Gap stretch t-shirts,
Bartenura Moscato and Brightly colored tights
Dichrotic glass in things or jewelry
Of these I need an inexhaustible supply

(OK, the scansion is lacking and the rhymes horrible, but I couldn't help myself.)

[mercurysparkle.livejournal.com]

I really should buy more colored tights. It will cause my office to lose sleep. They can not handle anything other than navy, tan or black for their entire existence. I get weird looks when I wear red shirts as it is. :)

I totally concur with the purple pens. They are distinctive :)

[deguspice.livejournal.com]

If I were to start buying colored tights, people would start looking at me funny.