Friday, June 22

Posted by Laurel Garver on Friday, June 22, 2012 10 comments
I know everyone has their guilty pleasures. Here are a few of mine, things I sometimes suspect might not be the best things to love.

Horses

I live in Philadelphia. In an historic row house. With a back yard that's approximately 18' x 30'. And yet I still have dreams of owning a  palomino quarter horse mare, a dark bay Morgan gelding, a sweet sorrel Welsh pony (for my daughter of course).  In the city, boarding horses costs as much as a mortgage and riding lessons as much as renting a studio apartment. Not exactly in the budget.

Dr. Who

The longest-running science fiction television series is painfully slow to become available in the US. And because the earliest episodes were so cheesy  (versus the awesome recent incarnation), people over thirty think you have terrible taste for liking it. And Daleks do look like salt and pepper shakers, so they don't seem that scary to most Americans, either. Rarely are problems solved with violence, another apparent sign of "lame factor." The science is bogus, too, but dang is it FUN. And wonderfully Anglo-centric.

Spider Solitaire

Two-suit Spider Solitaire is the most addicting game ever. The fact you can undo moves means you can replay the same game dozens of times and waste hour upon hour. And yet, nothing relaxes me quite as much as finagling those cards into perfect order.

Rotating the stock

I always put the new stuff in the back or on the bottom--sheets, silverware, dishes, you name it. I picked up this weird habit from working retail from age 15 to 21. It was a way to ensure the older products moved; the principle at home is that it ensures even wear of your belongings. Every fork is used, not just the same six. But this system makes it take longer to put anything away. And yet I can't stop. I mean, the system works. After nearly fourteen years of marriage, I've only had one set of wedding-gift sheets wear out. 


Your turn. What are some things you wish you didn't love?

10 comments:

  1. Hi Laurel!

    Oh man I used to hate when my dad watched those old Dr Who shows. But I hear the newer version isn't as cheesy. I've been meaning to check it out cuz I do love sci-fi. :)

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    1. The special effects and writing have improved dramatically. But the real charm is that the new version clearly doesn't take itself seriously. It's fun and full of adventure.

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  2. You can come out to Wyoming and ride my palomino mare... but even out here, sometimes the expense makes me wonder if it's really worth it :-)

    I have got to try Dr Who. I hear praise about it at least once a week from someone!

    My weaknesses are books and chocolate. They get me everytime. Sigh... just came from the library after intending to pick up only one, maybe two books. Instead, I came home with five. It's hard to carve out time to write my own stuff when I get sucked into a really good book. Not mention, make healthy dinners, keep the house up, not snap at the kids...

    Sorry, long comment!

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    1. I sure wish Wyoming were closer! I'd be sorely tempted to drive on over. ;-)

      The newest incarnation of Dr.Who is really fun, much better writing, acting, production values than the earlier series that ran from the mid-60s to the late 80s. Like I said above, it's not particularly scientific SciFi but it values intelligence over violence to solve problems, which is a beautiful thing.

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  3. My husband would LOVE me to be that organized! :)

    I wish I didn't love Pfish Pfood Ben & Jerry's ice cream. I wish I didn't love cookie dough (especially since I've developed an allergy to something in it and can't eat it raw anymore).

    In non-foods, I sort of wish I didn't like to travel, because then I'd be so much more content staying home. ha ha!

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    1. I decided to not cover my guilty foods, knowing it would likely make me hungry! :-)

      The travel bug is an expensive guilty pleasure, isn't it?

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  4. Tennant is definitely my favorite Who. It's just the same for me now...but the really old ones can be really good for a giggle. The rubber heads on the costumes...priceless.

    I would challenge any sci-fi fan to watch The Girl in the Fireplace episode and not get hooked on Doctor Who :~D

    xoxo
    bru

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    1. Ah yes, Girl in the Fireplace. One of Steven Moffat's best written episodes.

      I liked Chris Eccleston pretty well and was sort of sad to see him go. He took time to grow on me. The episodes in 40's London--Empty Child and its sequel--those are two of my all time faves. Like you, I still prefer Tennant to Smith, but maybe it's mostly because of their ages in relation to mine. :-)

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  5. I rotate the stock, too! It's just me and my husband and we don't have a dishwasher, so if I didn't rotate everything then we'd be using the same two dishes, glasses, silverware, etc. all the time. It does get tedious sometimes rotating, but it's not hard and it takes only a minute so I keep doing it!

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    1. My family thinks I'm crazy, so I'm glad to hear someone else does this too! We're a family of three and seem to have many multiples of just about everything from towels to plates, so seems silly to not rotate the stock. Like you say, it only adds a few seconds when putting things away.

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