15 February 2008

Back to thoughts of addiction...

I have known for a very long time that I have an addictive personality. I started smoking quite late- at 19- and was addicted for 15 years (I gave it up for the German). I haven't had a cigarette since I quit because I'm afraid that if I did I would start smoking again.

Sometimes I can displace one addiction with another: I am realizing that my new interest in blogging is interfering with my reading addiction. Usually, I read: Newsweek, Businessweek, The Economist, Forbes, Money, Publisher's Weekly, Fortune, Jewishweek, US News & World REport, Babytalk, and a few other magazines, as well as a goodly number of romances, science fiction/fantasy, children's lit, gardening books, travel books, and cookbooks (some of those genres overlap and not saying that I do more than fantasize, in particular in re cooking).

First, the children got in the way. Losing my daily train commute to work took out a 90 minute per day period when I could read without interruption. Here the 3 hours+ per day German course and daily shopping (with trolley) get in the way. Now my BW and NW are piling up in the corner- I'm about two weeks behind. Also, instead of reading some of the more serious books on my to-be-read shelf/pile, I am busy seeking out widgets and trying to figure out link-backs. Ex-pat blogs have, to a great extent, displaced my travel reading (although I am in the midst of, and enjoying the travel/memoir/cookbook Trail of Crumbs by Kim Sunee). But the mark of the true addict is that I would rather give up sleeping than not get my reading in for the day. The amount seems to vary, but there is a certain amount that I need to do or I just won't go to sleep. And I still need to shoe horn going to the gym back into my life or I will start fearing my physical (I already fear swimsuit season).

Anyone else have the addiction?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes. We had friends for dinner tonight, and I'm afraid I was a bore talking about blogs!! They hadn't caught the addiction yet, imagine that. Anyway, I think you reading material has just changed, blogs vs paper. Maybe this is based on need?

It's 2am here. I use to just toss around in bed when I can't sleep, now I get up and read feeds!

Rositta said...

Yes, yes, yes, I too am badly addicted. It is interfering with knitting, reading and sleeping. It's worse for me, I keep two blogs running, yikes I'm going to have to get a life...ciao