DecaAwesome List for the week of 2/9

1. Doughnuts. I'm not a huge fan of doughnuts. In fact, when there's a box with free doughnuts sitting in the office at work, I'd say 90% of the time, I just walk right on by. But I've been watching a lot of Dexter, and they are always eating doughnuts on that show. So I had a craving. I fulfilled the craving with a strawberry-frosted sprinkle-licious doughnut from 7-11. It was great. I suspect that I'd get doughnut cravings more often were there Dunkin' Doughnuts in my local area. There aren't, so I weigh less. Which I suppose is a good thing. Because the DD Coffee Roll? Yeah, hard to say no to.

2. Morgan Freeman. Earlier this week, I saw a little indie film with him called 10 Items or Less. He played a character that was basically himself, and he was brilliant and funny and self-deprecating. His co-star, Paz Vega, was also great. It turned out to be a very touching film. That guy can do anything. From being Easy Reader to giving voice to the Penguins to acting the hell out of any part he's given, he's a national treasure.

3. A clean room. I was so thrilled to have finished, like, 90% of my room cleaning before the first day of school. There's nothing like starting over with a clean slate. I'm really happy with the way things worked out with moving stuff around and throwing stuff away.

4. iTunes. I love having my music collection on iTunes. I make playlists all the time. I can burn 'em to disc and listen to them in the car. I can share them with people. This week, I used iTunes to burn recital songs for my accompanist. Now he knows all the tempos I want.

5. Reading in the bathtub. New favorite thing. I never got it when people did this on Tv and in the movies, but now I see how relaxing it can be. And if the book gets wet, so what. The crinkley paper will just remind me of feeling really relaxed and enjoying my favorite pastime of reading.

6. Nick Hornby's Slam. I didn't get this novel when it first came out because I was waiting for the paperback, but Dan lent it to me over winter break and I just finished it. First of all, I love NH. I think he's amazing. The kind of writer I would like to be. Second, Slam was his stab at a young adult novel, and I think he did brilliantly with it. I enjoyed it a lot.

7. Home hair coloring. My hair is black now and it cost me $9.00. I did it all by myself, although my roommate helped me get all the spots I missed. My hair looks awesome, if I do say so myself.

8. Waking up and not feeling tired even though you really should be. My friend Tina stayed over Wednesday night, and she didn't get in until late, but I had to wake up at the crack of dawn to do something at school. I didn't get much rest, but when the alarm went off in the morning, I was ok. Nothing is worse than dragging yourself out of bed when you can barely move, so I was pleased that I just got up, no problem.

9. Pencils that use .7 lead. I know this is geeky as hell, but I have a bunch of pencils that use .5 lead and they just require more effort. The .7 lead is thicker and makes broader strokes, but you still have the accuracy of a mechanical pencil.

10. The Wrestler. Mickey Rourke was amazing in this heart-breaking film. He was so completely the character, it's like it was a documentary rather than a narrative film. I'm just like...guh...it was good. Good on you, Mickey.

Bonus: Entenmann's Valentine's Day Cupcakes. I just got a box from my folks for V-Day (and a beautiful card came with it), and those cupcakes are so fresh and sweet and delicious. I'm going to eat one right now. Thanks, Mom and Dad!