Down With The Ship!

No, it's not a reference to pirates. "Down with the ship" is what I say when I have a particular interest that is deemed lame by those around me. Or by society in general. Some may call them "guilty pleasures," but the difference is that the five items listed here, I take great pride in loving. This list comes on the heels of Cousin Pete's recent blog entry, in which he listed his own Top Five Lame Obsessions. Pete was proud enough to list his, so now it's my turn.

Finding Other Uses For Certain Used Items
The more things that I re-use, the more I am deemed a "pack rat" by my loved ones. And, being an artist, I can always find a use for something. Just today, I used an old wine bottle to fight off a group of unrulies at Fairfax. Lisa is still none too happy about the old hollowed-out television set that we used for Audrey's bassinet when she was an infant.

Counting Crows
In 1994, I bought the Counting Crows debut, August & Everything After. To this day, I still consider it a "perfect album." The boys never quite achieved cult status or that legendary hoopla, but I still like to play it about once a year just to remind me of my place in the universe. They've never recorded anything nearly as good, but I always make it a point to keep listening. Their new record drops before year's end and I'll be picking it up.

Wendy's And, Once Upon A Time, Eating Salt Off A Table
Nothing says "comfort" like a Wendy's Double Cheeseburger, large fries and a Frosty. I remember being four years old and going to this fine restaurant with my family. There was something about pouring salt on the table and then licking it off while waiting for my parents to return with our order. This was a precursor to the magnificent sandwich that would come afterward. A large Frosty soon followed. As I grew older, I couldn't wait to reach adulthood so that I could eat at Wendy's every single night. And during that window of time between moving out of my folks' house and hooking up with Lisa, that dream became a reality. Someday very soon, we'll be taking Audrey up to the Wendy's here in Mission. But we'll have to keep an eye on that salt shaker.

To Catch A Predator
Chris Hanson's ongoing news series does not appear to be running out of steam anytime soon. And why should it? As long as there are creepy old men with the world wide web at their feet, Mr. Hanson will have a job. I don't know what it is about this show. I guess it's my fascination at seeing such stupid and sick people doing such stupid and sick things. Like Road House or Tango & Cash, it's just another example of my dropping whatever I'm doing to watch the same piece of crap, again and again, each time I see that it's on television. There's gotta be about twenty installments, but I'm willing to bet I've seen the same guys get busted at least a hundred times.

Sitting On The Toilet, Reading A Pitch
An oldie-but-goodie. My time in the john is valuable to me. Not only do I get a moment to reflect on my day, but it gives me a chance to do some reading. My favorite is The Pitch. There have been times where I've seen one of their newstands from my moving vehicle and stopped to snatch one up. I do this with the anticipation of going home and having a sit down session with it. And it's not the greatest newspaper in the world. I can honestly say that if our house did not have a bathroom, I would never pick up a Pitch.

Now who's next? Jeff? Matt? Brandon? Terry? Curt? Mom?