22 in 30 - Addictions

I don't see myself as someone who has an addictive personality, therefore, I sometimes have a hard time understanding how someone can get addicted to drugs, or alcohol or gambling, or whatever. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand that addiction is a serious and REAL disease that affects millions. I just have a hard time wrapping my brain around the actual "addiction" part of it. How can you not just STOP something that you know is destroying your life? Even if physically you need to get help, because some things you can't just quit without help...how can you NOT get that help?

While I don't totally get addiction, I really do feel for those with addictive personalities. It has to be insanely difficult to go through life with some drug controlling you. Whether recovering or still indulging, to have that constant tug...that has to be a horrible feeling.

But I wouldn't understand, because I don't have any of those addictions. I've never tried cigarettes (I think they're the nastiest things ever created), I don't do drugs, never felt the need to "get high", I was always lucky to have friends who could get high on life alone. I don't gamble. This stems mostly from the fact that I don't EVER win anything, but I work too damn hard for my money to just throw it away on some game where the odds are stacked against me. I mean people, I went to Vegas for 5 days and spent MAYBE $5.00 gambling, and that was only because we had to sit at the nickel slots to get our free drinks. And speaking of drinking, I enjoy a good drink on occasion. A night out with friends for martinis, or a glass of wine at home while I read a book can be a thoroughly delightful experience. But I don't feel the NEED to drink. I can go WEEKS without touching alcohol and not even notice it. I can also go out and have ONE drink, and drink water the rest of the night. Doesn't faze me. For the most part, I actually drink for the FLAVOR of the beverage, not the buzz you get from it. I'll admit it would probably suck if someone told me I could NEVER have a martini again, but I'd get over it. I could survive without alcohol being something I think about.

And yet, as much as I realize I'm lucky to not have an addictive personality...I wonder. Maybe I just don't have your typical addictions, but maybe I have other more subtle and less damaging ones. Maybe we all do.

For example...can you go a full week without checking the Internet? Because I can barely go one day...except for maybe on weekends. But, is this because I just MUST, or is it just that I sit at a computer all day, so it's there? After all, on weekends, I barely touch my computer if I can help it.

What about food? Because I have some serious food issues. I eat too much, too often. I'm always thinking about food. What to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner. What restaurant my friends and I will next meet at. But, is this an addiction, or do I just love food? I fancy myself a bit of a food connoisseur, love to try new things, and experience new flavors. Is that an addiction or just a love of mine?

Then there's the shopping. This is where anyone who knows may think I actually have a bit of a problem. After all, not a week goes by when I don't "go shopping". I SERIOUSLY feel withdrawal symptoms, begin to feel depressed and like I NEED to get to a store if I haven't gone in a few days. I NEED to walk around and see things, touch them, savor the whole experience of being out among merchandise. But I don't always buy. In fact, quite often I "shop" but don't buy. Come home empty handed after a full day at the mall. And when I do buy, I never buy above my means, I don't buy what I can't afford. If it's not on sale, it's usually NOT for me, and even a sale has to be 50% off or more. But I do buy what I don't need. I mean, does anyone really need 50+ pairs of shoes? Don't answer that, I need them all...shut up! But it makes me happy, and it's not hurting me in any way (except maybe for the lack of closet space). Is it an addiction or do I just like pretty things?

There are probably other things I do that can certainly border on addictive behavior. So I do wonder...would I get addicted to drugs if I tried them? Could alcohol become something I NEED one day? I can't imagine it, but I sure hope not.

But the shoes? Well...okay, maybe. But I won't worry until I actually plunk down a mortgage payment to buy a pair of Manolos.

21 in 30 - April...showers?

Snow showers? Happy Spring and all that junk to everyone out there...this is the scene outside my office right now.

Yep, gotta love New England!

Note the green of the trees, below the white of the snow. How telling of the confusion that is mother nature around these parts.

20 in 30 - Celebrity Eye Candy

There is truly no reason for this post, besides the fact that I just found this picture on-line and I think both Leo and the Cub and the setting, are just a beautiful combination...SIGH...

I guess this will be the cover for the Vanity Fair "green issue"...VERY NICE!

19 in 30 - Sacrilege

I'm about to go Zero to Rant...right about...NOW!

They're remaking Adventures in Babysitting? They're remaking Adventures in Babysitting! AND...God, it pains me to even write the following words...they're casting...they've cast...Raven Symone as Chris Parker (the lead)? SERIOUSLY???

WHAT!!!!! This is not acceptable, it is not okay, and I can't believe they're about to ruin the legacy of one of the greatest 80's movies ever made. (well...whatever, it was one of my favorite guilty pleasures)

In the words of Chris Parker herself..."Don't Fuck with the Babysitter"!

Are we trully such an unoriginal society, so seriously lacking in creativity that we have to remake EVERY FREAKING MOVIE EVER MADE??

I mean, first it was making movies out of old television shows, with the Dukes of Hazzard, and the Miami Vice, and I Dream of Genie, and whatever the hell else Hollywood ripped off. And now with the remakes...I mean, I get it, some movies have stories that can be told again and again, and if there's a way to cash in, then whey wouldn't they do it...but some movies just shouldn't be messed with. Either because the original should stand on it's own, re-relase it if you want people to see it again, or because the original was bad enough, we don't need a take-two.

Planet of the Apes, Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, King Kong, Shaft, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, these are just SOME of the ones I can name off the top of my head, and most of them didn't do so well, did they? And then there's the hip-hop re-makes, turning an 80's movie into the hip hop version, or whatever...Can't Buy Me Love became "Love Don't Cost a Thing", which I refused to watch, so I can't tell you whether or not it was any good. And now with Adventures in Babysitting...and Raven Symone??? SERIOUSLY???

What's next? Scarface will be remade with Kanye West as the lead? Gone with the Wind will be remade with Angelina and Brad? (oh God, I just gave someone an idea, didn't I?) And what really bugs me about all this is that these kids who will see these movies will never even know about the original...how wrong is that?

OH, I must make my little sister sit and watch the original ASAP, before Raven steps all over it.

Raven Symone?

I must go lie down now.

18 in 30 - April Fool's

Wow, it's April! How did it get here so soon? It's amazing how, as we get older, time just goes by quicker and quicker. I remember as a kid, we'd count down the days to events, to spring vacation, to summer vacation, to Christmas...but now...you blink, and whoomp, there it is. (groan, I really just did that, didn't I?)

Ah, but it's Spring. Last night I went into Boston with some friends. Walking around the city, crowds of people milling around in short sleeves, enjoying the nice weather...I love when Spring shows up.

Today I didn't do much, ran some errands, did some shopping, enjoyed the nice weather again. They're saying it'll rain all next week, so we had to take advantage, didn't we?

And what of April Fool's day? Another sign of getting older, I think. There used to be a time when not a single April 1st could go by without a few really nasty jokes being played. I was always afraid to talk to my brother, because he'd always get me. This year...well, I think we all even forgot all about it. I did manage to play a joke on my dad toward the end of the day (and it was actually a pretty good one), but...it's just not the same anymore. Bummer!

Oh well...another month begun...let's make the most of it!