Addicted

I have tons of addictions. I'm a smoker, so there's addiction no.1. The worst of the lot. It's expensive, it stinks, and it wreaks havoc on your health. I'm well aware of this, and wish I had the willpower to quit. I guess I'm just a wuss like that. Take away my nicotine and you will see mega bitch. Believe me, you don't want to meet her. She's a horrible person.

That's only one of many. Carbonation. Oh yes. Not so much soda. It's not the caffeine or the sugar that I'm hooked on. It's that fuzzy, fizzy, bubbly burn of a carbonated drink. I have my favorites, of course. Dr. Pepper and Sprite are my upper echelon. There's nothing quite like the tear watering burn of an ice cold carbonated beverage gliding down your throat after being deprived of that magical sensation for a few days. I actually like seltzer water. Non flavored, carbonated heaven. THAT is why I say it isn't the taste or the caffeine that I'm hooked on. If you've ever gotten a fountain drink and discovered too late that the syrup has run out, you know exactly what I mean by tasteless. It's...acquired.

I could LIVE off of these! 

Suckers! I love suckers! Not just any suckers. ICE TRAY SUCKERS!  Cinnamon NOMS!  When the Hub brings home a handful of those fiery little treats I get oddly excited. Like a 4 year old with a new toy. I'm actually kind of annoying about it. But, I can't help it. I LOVE MY SUCKERS! Those little buggers just rock my world. I spend an hour at a time slurping on one, sounding like I've just had my tongue pierced when I talk, but, in no way willing to take it out of my mouth for something as trivial as speech. How dare you even suggest such travesty! Of course, a wife with a sucker addiction is constant torture for any Hub. Hour long tease-athon!

The all time best TV show EVER.

Now, for the second most dangerous of my addictions. Firefly/Serenity. You just DON'T f*#k with my Firefly! I consider this to be, bar none, the best television show ever created. I mean, how many T.V. shows have you heard of, that were good enough to be turned into a full length feature movie after being canceled after only TWO seasons! NONE. Firefly is the only one. This show latched on to me and never let go. Not just me. It latched on to millions of viewers world wide. It now has the most amazing cult following, with the most rabid fans! I dare you to insult that show in front of a loyal fan. You're putting yourself in mortal peril if you do. Why do we love it? Think about that for a minute. Take science fiction and mix it with western. You have space and spaceships, plus horses and six shooters, romance and legal prostitution, a woman GENIUS mechanic, a Sheppard with a sense of humor (C,mon! It's Venus Flytrap!) a girl who can "kill you with" her brain, the most amazing, funny out of this world pilot, a she warrior, a brainless mass of brute muscle, an uptight doctor and a captain with war baggage. You do the math. And Wash, oh my dear Wash. He's so my favorite. Every Firefly fan has a favorite. But, if you ask them if it was an easy choice, no. It was not. Joss Whedon is a genius when it comes to writing a story that will worm it's way into your heart and mind and never set you free. I don't mind. I'm happy to be his slave. He's the king of the nerds. I do maintain that that's a much better title than, say, a football star. Think about that. Football/sports fans are temperamental. Screw up just once and they dog you for life. Lose just one game and you're branded a loser and called names by your bully fans. But, nerds are forever loyal. If/When a Joss Whedon show gets canceled the fans picket the stations, write letters and petitions, build web sites in support and send letters of encouragement to their hero. Which would you rather be?

Matchbox Twenty. My all time, biggest addiction. 

My most dangerous addiction? Rob Thomas! I'm in love with Matchbox Twenty! In 1996 or '97 I was standing in my mothers living room doing God knows what. My Mother is watching some talk show, I can't remember which one, and Matchbox (20 then. They changed it from Matchbox 20 to Matchbox Twenty in 2000) was on the show promoting their first album, Yourself or Someone Like You. They were playing Real World. I remember hearing the song for the first time and thinking "Not bad. Not bad at all."  Then it happened. Mother of all that is holy, I saw HIM. Rob Thomas. This is not a bad looking man. Not by any means. He's easily labeled HOT! That, however, is not what drew me in. It was his passion. He makes the strangest faces when singing. I mean, down and dirty straining faces, where you can see the tendons on his neck standing out. That is what got me. Why would someone making wonky faces when they sing make me want to know more about them? Because they FEEL the music. It means something to them. I love that. I love that someone is so passionate about their music that it shows in their faces when they sing. It shows in their music too. I've been addicted since that day, 16 years ago, I've been a loyal, avid fan. I have the entire discography, including EPs, rarities and B sides, minus the new album, North. I hope to have it soon though. I used Rob Thomas's song Little Wonders as a basis for my little brothers eulogy. My daughter even sang the intro at his funeral, and they played the song in the background as I read what I had written for him. I've made a music video from their song Problem Girl from videos of my daughters and dedicated it to them. My wedding song was All That I Am.  See? Addicted. When I need music to inspire me, they are who I turn to. It's not just what they do onstage that gets me, either. Behind the scenes they are one of the most generous bands there ever was. Rob Thomas has done things like founding The Sidewalk Angels to donating to countless charities. Honestly, if you EVER get the chance to see them in concert, take it! The Christmas before my Dad passed away, he found out that I had been chasing Matchbox Twenty tickets for 10 years. I was constantly on the phone, trying to win tickets to an upcoming concert in Houston. My Dad gave us tickets to see Matchbox, Mutemath and Allanis Morsette for Christmas that year. Best Gift Ever!

Such beautiful creatures.

I have addictions. Don't we all? I'm addicted to animals, Dragonflies, love, kissing, cheesecake. I'll back up to dragonflies. The night after my Dads funeral we were all sitting around the coffee table at his house in North Carolina. My brother was joking about his short attention span. I said that I could see his mom telling him he had no attention span and he replying with "What's an atten..Oh, look! A dragonfly!" That was all it took. We now have a running joke amongst us, and the dragonfly is a symbol that represents my siblings. I started collecting, of course. I have 2 dragonfly tattoos, tons of wind-chimes, nicknacks, jewelry and wall hangings. Even clothing. As you can see, my blog background reflects my love of them, as does my MySpace background. I have several other dragonfly tattoos planned.

So there's a ramble, longer than it needed to be, about the things I love to be hooked on. What are you addicted to?