Whoops! Apparently I was supposed to start off this week's discussion. I realized this last night and opted for bed instead of wracking my brain for something intelligent and witty to stick here. However, after having slept on it, I do actually have a topic for all of you readers and co-bloggers to muse on: addictions.
In general, I do not think that I have an addictive personality. I smoked cigarettes regularly for several years because I enjoyed blowing smoke out of my mouth. In 2000 I came back to the US after having spent seven months in Russia - land of super cheap smokes - to Tennessee, which had just instituted a new cigarette tax. I decided that I was simply too poor to continue that habit, so I stopped. No patches, no Nicorette gum, and (aside from occasionally when drinking) no cravings. I've smoked pot a handful of times, although I never really saw what the big deal was. I always thought I'd rather be drinking booze. And speaking of booze, I certainly drank a lot during my college years (I went to Sewanee after all!), but I can pretty much count on one hand the number of times I've been drunk in the past year. Okay, maybe two hands, but you get the point. I simply can't imagine desperately craving smokes (legal or otherwise) or booze, although obviously there are many people in this world who do.
But just because nicotine, THC and alcohol aren't the driving forces in my life, that doesn't mean that I don't have addictions. My most obvious addiction is to the Internet. The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is turn on the computer. Seriously, I turn it on before stumbling into the bathroom to pee. I check my email, MySpace, and my blog trackers several times a day while at work. The first thing I do when I get home is turn on the computer, and the last thing I do before I go to bed is turn it off. Unless of course I'm downloading something large while I sleep. I'm currently planning a roughly three-week long trip to Russia when my time in Korea is finished. Because I'll be in some rather remote places in Siberia, I'm assuming that Internet access for those three weeks will be nil. And Oh. My. God. Three weeks with no Internet? Not sure I can make it!
Then there's Jack White. I am thoroughly addicted to that man and everything he touches. I know Laurie will back me up when I say that the latest album from the White Stripes, Icky Thump, is the most addictive thing since crack. I simply cannot stop listening to it... nor do I want to. It might actually be *better* than Get Behind Me Satan - and I didn't think such a thing was possible. Also, I would totally bear Jack White's children, starting right now, without a second thought.
My most recent TV addiction is Battlestar Galactica (frequently abbreviated as BSG, kinda like BlogSuperGroup, so it has to be awesome, right?). Anyhow, too many people whose opinions I trust told me that I absolutely *must* watch Battlestar Galactica, so I finally gave in and started watching (on the Internet - surprise! - from the beginning). I'm currently almost finished with Season Two. (Don't any of you dare tell me what's coming - I want it to be a surprise!) In fact, I think I have to stop typing so I can watch some more BSG right frackin' now.
