I’ve been in a Thought Catalog-style funk the past few weeks. This doesn’t usually happen this time of year–I love autumn, and I still have a month to go before the pumpkins are out and the candy flows like trans fatty water. But so far this week I’ve just been burying my head into my possibly flee-infested pillows and not checking my email.

Academic burnout: it’s possible that I can, as the internet would say, haz. And all for reasons that are a) pretty objectively sucky and b) completely out of my control. These are my favorite! Like a root canal without Novocaine! Or a honey badger to the face!

So as to distract myself from the encroaching sense of “bleurgh,”/”I am going to cry in my car now because I Have A Lot of Feelings” I’m compiling a list of my favorite things from my favorite season. Feel free to add your own, bloglings.

Indian corn: Something about me just goes all a-tingle when there’s Indian corn to be placed festively in baskets. (Native American corn? Technicolor dream maize? I assume that “Indian corn” is probably considered impolite at this point in our collective history.)

Pumpkin beer: New on the list, for legal reasons. But I do so love booze and the taste of seasonal gourds together. Now if only Terrapin would quit selling their pumpkin brew in four packs instead of six…

Apple cider: It’s like apple juice, but… fancier, somehow? Don’t tell anyone, but I so much more like non-alcoholic cider than hard cider. I just love sugar.

Pumpkin patches: Small children in silly sweaters! Bales of hay! Goats to pet! The gourds are really secondary to my enjoyment of the whole atmosphere, particularly when there’s hot chocolate for sale.

Cold rooms when I wake up: So, because I am gross, I sweat kind of a lot in my sleep. Liking to be under covers + Georgia heat does not lend itself to a peaceful slumber. Once it finally cools down, the poor insulation inherent in student rental apartments means that I wake up warm enough to not want to leave bed without being covered in my own sweat. It’s a pleasant laziness.

Not having a yard: Do I have to rake leaves? Nope! Suck it, homeowners.

Dropoff in trivia attendees: Too cold to sit on the patio means that there are fewer folks sticking around for trivia on Tuesdays. As a result (plus our awesome skills) my trivia team has placed the last two weeks.
Victory is sweet like the cake that I bought with my portion of the gift card.

Glitter skulls: Some days I feel bad. Then I realize that within walking distance of my apartment is a store where I can buy a three-foot-tall articulated purple glitter skeleton and its larger skull companion. The fact that I could, if I wanted to, put on Disco Hamlet has been a comfort over these last few scary and pleasant weeks. “Alas, poor Yorick/Your head is bleeding glitter into the carpets and we will lose our security deposit.”

So these are my things. What are yours? (If one of you says “Starbucks pumpkin lattes,” I will ban you from commenting, I swear.)