Happy Birthday Earl!

Cartoon Earl

In honor of my nerdlove’s 30th birthday today, here are
30 Things I Love about Earl!

1. If I was going to sum up Earl’s personality in four adjectives, they would “integrity, kindness, intelligence and quiet strength.” What’s amazing is that so many people who meet him always mention the “integrity” and “quiet strength” descriptors as well. They truly do shine through.
2. He reads advanced calculus on the beach, for fun.
3. Occasionally, he sings, and when he does it always surprises and delights me.
4. Devout loyalty to his friends and loved ones.
5. Extremely disciplined about working out.
6. That slightly crazy, oh so frumply hair.
7. Lover of animals
8. He’s great with my family- everyone from my nieces to aunts and uncles adores him.
9. Intelligence, intelligence, intelligence.  Did you know Earl has a patent?  It’s for something he developed at his company last year called “The Algorithm.”
10. He tries all the wacky food when I drag him on culinary adventures, although his absolute favorite foods remain apples and vanilla ice cream!
11. Loves sitting in coffeeshops reading- this is one our of favorite ways to spend a lazy afternoon.
12. He’s the biggest supporter of all my dreams.  He comes and reads and snoozes in the car while I trail run, came out to visit me twice when I was at EMT school, and encouraged me to pursue my  career change.
13. He believes in me. For example, it was his idea that I pursue med school.
14. Extremely hardworking- he works 13 hour days without complaint and also lately has been working weekends.
15. I don’t know what the trait would be called, but he’s very persistent and always stands up for things that are wrong. Earl is one of the only people I know who will take time out of his day to actually write his senators and congresspeople.  He also is that person who fights for the $2.48 rebate.
16. He always volunteers to brush Linus’ teeth and cut Linus’ nails!
17. That scent on the back of his neck.  I love to stick my nose in there, give him kisses and take a big inhale.
18. The size of his hands. Earl has enormous hands and they are great to hold.
19. His embrace.  He’s so tall that he completely envelopes me.
20. Little things he does to surprise me.  For example, when I was away at EMT school and my phone charger died, he ordered and sent me a new one without ever telling me.
21. The way he gets roped into helping EVERYONE move.  It’s SO funny.  I think it’s because he’s so big and tall, and also nice.  He says yes to everyone who asks!  Normally I then get roped into helping, too.
22. His best friends.   They say if you can tell a man by the company he keeps; Earl’s friends are smart, interesting, loyal and fun.
23. Nerd hot.  He’s got it.
24. How when i first met him, I took my laptop (with his pictures on it) into my neighbor’s apartment and showed them the photos “Check out this guy! Look how hot he is.   He’s 6′3 and gorgeous.   Do you really think a MATHEMATICIAN could really be this good looking?  I can’t believe it!”  My former neighbors tease me about this to this day.
25. The sheer quantity of food he eats never ceases to amaze me.   I’ve never seen a human being consume that much food.
26. He makes my body sing, and I still feel my heart race when we kiss.
27. Earl supported me through an enormous change in my life and unfailingly stayed at my side during many dark hours of self doubt.
28. No matter how pointless and mundane, he always manages to feign interest every morning (or sometimes halfway through the night) when I ramble on filling him in on the senseless dreams I’m having.
29. He’s fun to cook with, and he makes the perfect taste tester.
30. I love taking Linus for walks together- the crook of his arm is perfect to hold as we amble along arm in arm.

Happy, Happy Birthday Earl

Superhero Earl