10 Legal Highs

10 Legal Highs

No, we're not talking about drugs and yes, I'm aware that legal high may refer to legal intoxicants but that's not what I'm going to blog about today. What I'm going to talk about today are my legal highs, the instant pick me ups found in the basic, little moments of my everyday life. I decided to blog about this after getting inspired by Estee Lalonde's Bloom book and this article.

01. Taking a shower

I love shower. I love how cold shower washes away all my stress and thoughts and calms me down even if it's just a temporary thing (because doh, you're not going to be standing under the shower for endless hours! Plus, it's going to cause a bulk in your bills!) I swear every time I feel congested or blergh thanks to stress or fatigue, I'm so keen on hitting the shower and staying there for hours. I appreciate every moment I spend in the shower: from washing my face and feeling it squeaky clean up to the TMI-part where I shave — yes, I have hair. Get over it, pfft. Oh and the best kind of shower is one that I take after a long day out or when I have to wash my hair. Is it weird that I love how my bathroom smells every time I wash my hair? I kid you not, sometimes I leave my bathroom and enter back in just to smell the after-shower scent.

02. Ice cream

The perfect instant pick-me up is sugar and one of the best is definitely ice cream. Who doesn't even like ice cream? I'd say you're a monster if you dislike ice cream — just kidding but seriously though, who doesn't like it!? My favorite flavor is definitely mint and Baskin Robbins has the best mint chocolate chip, ever. The only downside is how stupid expensive it is: $4.50 / single scoop cup, are you kidding me? You might as well sell us $7.49 for the cone only, pfft. I don't buy Baskin Robbins anymore and prefer buying Coldstone Creamery instead. I find that Coldstone Creamery is a lot more worth the price, especially their Cheesecake Fantasy creation. I also love Haagen Daz for their belgian chocolate, butter pecan, dulce de leche and macadamia nut flavors but again, it's stupid expensive and I don't find them worth the size.

I also love the ol' classic vanilla ice cream from Mcdonalds and their oreo mcflurry. Fun fact, I'm also addicted to the soft serve ice cream from IKEA.

03. Baby talk my puppy

I have a jack terrier mixed breed mutt given to me by a classmate of mine back in high school. I don't know how old my dog is because we don't know who her father is. I'm guessing she's a jack terrier mix because she harbors 90% of the physical traits and mentality of a jack terrier. Physical wise, my dog is similar to this but she's probably a tad bit taller and bigger. Behavior wise, she's a witty little rascal who will always find a way to hide from you once you start calling her name to confront her mistakes. Nevertheless, no matter how much a rascal she is, I love her just the same and I will always talk to my pupper with a high-pitched baby voice because that's what pets are: they're our fluffy, furry babies.

04. Fresh haircut

I hate the strong smell of beauty parlors. They tend to have this really intense perfume-y smell that sting my nose and gives me headache or nausea or even both. BUT it's undeniable that I enjoy that unimportant moment of leaving the parlor with a fresh cut. I don't trim my hair very often but when I do, there's that ridiculous tingle that makes me happy unless of course, something went wrong during the haircut session.

05. Stupid animals doing stupid things

Here's one thing about the internet: it's an ugly place filled with childish idiots and nasty people who think they are allowed to be a bunch of filthy mudbloods behind their screen. That's the ugly side of it. Now, the GOOD side of internet is when you come across videos of adorable, ridiculously stupid animals doing stupid things. The reason why I can spend hours on Facebook or Instagram is not because I want to know what my mutuals are up to but rather for the sake of funny cat (and dog and other animals) videos.

06. Pizza! ....or other comfort food, to be honest

Don't get me wrong, I don't always order pizza whenever I feel blergh but when I do, it's such an instant legal high! I'm fully aware that pizza is such a bad intake but eh, junk food is such a guilty pleasure, isn't it? When I'm not having my all-time favorite American Favorite pizza from Pizza Hut, I will give myself a treat of anything that I've been craving lately or in that exact moment.

07. Perfect cup of freshly brewed peppermint tea

You'd think I wouldn't include a cup of tea in this list, did you? Of course not. I will always love a cup (or mug because let's be real, I use a mug or tumbler instead of cups) of freshly brewed tea but lately, I've been binge-drinking peppermint tea, mostly before bed or whenever I feel congested. I can also prove that peppermint tea has helped my insomnia so far.

08. Watch Harry Potter

I'm not even joking. I tend to resort to watching movies when I'm feeling like crap but Harry Potter? Oh, it's a golden series. I can watch all seven movies back to back without feeling bored. I know I mentioned this before but my favorite Harry Potter movie is either The Order Of Phoenix or The Goblet Of Fire. I also like browsing around the internet reading about Harry Potter-related articles. Oh, speaking of Harry Potter, I just created a new account on Pottermore out of boredom and guess what, I got sorted into Ravenclaw (my wand, patronus and Ilvermony house stay the same...not that I'm complaining)! Aha, I'm definitely a #SlytherClaw, you guys.

09. Read a book or browse my phone under the blanket

I love my desktop computer, I really do. But it's tiring to always be sitting down and I resolve this by staying under my blanket, surrounded by my stuffed animals. I then spend my time on bed reading a book or browse the internet from my phone. Since my room is always cold to the point where it'd feel like winter, staying under the blanket is such a basic little joy that may sound really ridiculous to some people.

10. A.

No, it's not a typo. A is the initial of my boyfriend's first name. I was never one of those lovestruck people who's all over her partner but I really find tranquility in his presence. If there's a metaphor I can use to describe what his presence means, it would be how much of an alkali he is to my acidity. We talk and chat every single day, tell each other things even if it's stupid or trivial and for that reason alone, I feel like it could have been something easily forgotten. Therefore, by including him in this list, I want to appreciate the truth about how much of an important figure he is to me.

Estee Lalonde wrote in her Bloom book that "you don't need grand gestures to make you feel better in life" and this is what I've been trying to live by. Of course, grand gestures are always very nice; who doesn't like grand achievement? Come on, don't lie. Still, I'm learning to be wiser by appreciating more and I think you should too.

What are life's little moments that serve as your instant pick-me ups?