Addictions

It's happening again. I think I have found my addiction. For some people it's drugs, for others it's alcohol, I even know some people addicted to tanning. But for me, it's television shows on DVD.

It all started about 2 1/2 years ago. It was Christmas break during my senior year of high school. My good friend Tawny (who gets back from Hawaii in one month, YEA!!!) had recommended the show Alias to me. She told me it was a great show, that it was totally addicting, and that there was an amazingly attractive guy in it. This was the same guy that I fell in love with while watching Never Been Kissed so of course I wanted to watch it. I had also heard other people say some great things about the show. Tawny owned the first couple of seasons so since we didn't have school, I borrowed the first one and got started.

She wasn't lying when she said it was addicting. I found myself staying up til the wee hours of the morning watching this show. I had a hard time turning it off. I couldn't stand the sexual tension between Sydney and Vaughn and I had to get to Episode 13 in season 2 when they FINALLY kissed. Staying up til 3 wasn't a huge deal because I didn't have school or work the next morning. It was that summer that it really became a problem. I had a full time job from 8-5 everyday and it was hard to stay awake. Falling asleep at your desk is quite embarrassing.

I took a break from the DVD watching when I started college in the fall. But then I borrowed the seasons of Dawson's Creek from my good friend Megan and it started all over again. It wasn't rare to find me cuddled up on the Love Sac at 3 a.m. getting frustrated with Joey, hating Dawson, and wishing Pacey was my boyfriend. I knew it was bad when one night the time came for me to finally go to bed and my roommate was waking up for the day. She had a weird habit of waking up at 4 a.m. though so it's really not as bad as it seems. Speaking of Dawson's, I should really borrow the rest of the seasons so I can finish the show.

Last summer is where it really got bad. My friends found out that you could rent the first two seasons of Felicity from the library. I got so excited. You see, Felicity used to be my favorite TV show back when I was in like 8th grade. I loved that I was able to re-watch Felicity choose Ben at the end of her freshman year and that I was able to fall in love with Ben and Noel all over again. The catch was that I had to do it all in one week. That was all the time the library gave you to watch them. This wouldn't have been a problem except for once again, I had work every morning at 8. Needless to say the only way I survived was by forming another addiction, this one to Diet Coke. It's the only thing that got me through those 8 hour days. After finishing the first 3 seasons of Felicity I decided I really liked this whole TV show on DVD thing. I decided to get a movie rental pass from Blockbuster. I truly believe this is what did me in.

There were so many shows that I had always wanted to watch while they were on TV, I just didn't have time to sit down and watch them every week. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to finally watch them. I made a list of the shows I wanted to rent and watch before the end of summer. What was so great about this pass was that I could keep each DVD as long as I wanted so I wasn't forced to watch these shows in a limited amount of time. I started with The O.C. and after I finished that I decided to watch 24.

All my friends LOVED 24. They were totally addicted. I should've known that the same thing would happen to me. If any show was ever addicting, it's 24. I literally could not turn it off. Every episode just leaves you hanging and I always felt like I had to watch just one more. It was a vicious cycle with every episode and that's what was so bad. I would stay up til 4 every night and not even realize it. But boy did I feel it the next day at work! That summer I ended up watching the first 2 seasons before I had to go back to school. Come Christmas break and I was doing it again. I had to finish the first 4 seasons before season 5 started in January. I don't regret a thing. Why would I? 24 is practically the greatest show ever.

The reason for me writing this lengthy blog is that it's happening again. I'm relapsing. School is out and I still have that pass to Blockbuster. Last night I rented Grey's Anatomy and stayed up and watched 4 episodes. Once again, I had a difficult time turning it off. It's a great show. I love that I can go back and watch the great shows I didn't have time to watch the first time around. It's like the best and the worst thing that ever happened to me, all in one. This makes me sound like I'm a loser with no friends, but the truth is, I'm just a loser. My friends call me to hang out and sometimes, I'd rather just stay home and watch these shows. I usually just watch them when I get home from hanging out. That's what makes it so bad, because I don't start watching until like midnight. As bad as it is, I do plan on watching other television series this summer. I guess I just better get used to drinking Diet Coke every day at work. I'm pretty sure it's the only way I'm going to survive.