“Tyler,” they tell me, “you’ve got to find those little things that keep you positive and happy.” “Know what they are so when you need a pick up you know where to go.” They are absolutely right! Here's my list of things that are keeping me positive, optimistic, and "that annoying guy who is smiling" to all the kids who attended the Clem Snide concert with me at Spaceland in Silver Lake the other night...

1. Running into my neighbor Nicholas anywhere in my building. He just seems to know it all and glows with wonder and optimism. He's the kind of guy that just saying hi to will perk up the next few hours. Sometimes I'll see him in the hall or outside my balcony and run into my apartment and scream to my roommate, "Nicholas is outside/ in the hall! Hurry!" It's a bragging right... "Hey, just saw Nicholas in the garage. He gave me hug and said my name." Ah, Nick, you're only 2 years old, but how you can brighten up a lobby!

2. Going to my favorite restaurant and telling them to bring me whatever they want. Right now my favorite place is "Max" on Ventura in Sherman Oaks. I like doing this also at "Gramercy Tavern" in NYC, and "The Park Cafe" in Nashville. This can't be done all the time, though. Eating out is not very recession savvy, so says my wallet.

3. Listening to Muddy Waters with a bottle of wine under $10. This also works with Bob Dylan, Kanye West, and Bright Eyes.

4. And finally....."Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory" on MTV! This show has me smiling before the credits are even done. The guy is just so happy! He is the king of simple pleasures. He's also the king of very expensive and ornate pleasures, I guess. Sure, he's got a ton of dough to do with whatever he likes, but I'm convinced that the dude would be stoked whether he was living in someone's closet or in his Fantasy Factory. He high fives unabashedly! He dances and/or sings sometimes just to pick himself up! He attacks people he's meeting for the first time with handshakes! And! And! And! He drops nuggets of wisdom like this when things aren’t going quite the way they should.... "Those are just red flags coming at me, and you know what I do with red flags? I brush 'em off! They're slapping my face as they go by and I just brush 'em off. Just brush 'em off..." Yes! Rob, you get the award for Best Mood Changer for Tyler Hilton in the Month of April!

I had lofty ideas of what I'd BLOG about 'cause a lot has been happening that I wanted to fill you in on, but can I save it for another blog? This just kind of came out and I like it the way it is. Nothing special, but there's also nothing like making official on paper and in blog form for the world to see what the little things are that make me happy.

Tyler