Tax Refunds

Last year was the first time in over a decade I owed the fed. Nobody wants to be in that position. Over the course of 2008, I changed the deductions through my employeers, thereby more taxes deducted per pay check.

The internet makes filing so easy and you get your refund back so quickly! After 45 minutes of going through the steps, I can now look forward to that money hitting my bank in a couple of weeks.

I have obligations. I need to be responsible. The mechanic told me I would need new brakes before the end of the year. A chunk paid on the plastic would get rid of so many finance charges. My coworkers would appreciate seeing me in something other than the same slacks and loafers I wear 9 out of 10 days.

Get real. It's a tax refund. Time I got the 32" LCD HDTV I've had my eye on. That little twinge of guilt will irritate me when the new season of "Survivor" starts up.

The Phone Screen

Years ago I worked as a travel agent. No job before or after has equalled the non-stop stress produced by that career.

In my busy agency, we learned to arrive at least 45 minutes before the open of business just to get a head-start on the voice mails left overnight. Upon unlocking the doors, most of the day you had a client in front of you, two waiting in the lobby, and a phone ringing off the hook next to you. Even while dealing with a client, you had to call vendors to check prices. An incredible 80% of the day was spent with the phone to your ear.

My mother raised me to be polite and courteous. Until I was a travel agent, I would have never considered NOT answering a ringing phone, even if I knew Hitler was on the other end. But many nights after agency work, I had no desire to talk to anyone via telephone and would often let all calls go straight to the answering machine.

This brought a realization - I came to understand that just because someone wants to talk to me, that doesn't mean that I have to talk to them. And ignoring their call doesn't mean I am being rude.

Please don't misunderstand me, I still answer 99% of the calls coming in. But now, when I see the data flashing across the screen as the call rings, I can make that conscious decision to answer or not.

Remember those good old days when screening was impossible?
Somehow I don't feel quite as guilty about this pleasure as I may once have .

Surfing

Kids today have no idea how good they have it. When I was young, we never dreamed of this amazing thing called the internet.

The I.T. guy installed the "stumble" program on my browser and I can click away all day if I'm not careful. Who ever dreamed of a site as amazing as this?

So I am guiltily (is that a word?) spending 5 minutes of valuable time exploring places I never new existed. Mea Culpa.

Infatuations

Oh, come on, everyone experiences this from time to time. It is difficult, though, to nuture warm-fuzzy feelings about people I encounter on a daily basis. I am the type that wouldn't be able to mask the excitement when personal contact occurred. Therefore, I restrict my fantasy life to the unobtainable.

If only George Clooney knew how I felt. Like a fine wine, he ages so well. Luck for me, I am not in a committed relationship so I can enjoy this guilt.

Plastic

This is the guilty pleasure that will drive you to your grave.
Master Card, Visa, AMEX, Discover, Carte Blanche.
Marketing for these companies has become so successful that many of us cannot function without them. One must have one to rent a car, make a hotel reservation, establish good credit for a mortgage, etc.
When I was young, the only credit card around was Bank America (later VISA). No adult I knew had credit cards. Now everyone has a minimum of at least 4 or 5. Even my daughter got a credit card at 18 years old.

I have whittled my way down to two and that is 2 too many. If I can ever avoid temptation enough to get them paid in full, I swear they are hitting the shredder.

In the mean time, oh my gawd, Dillard's is having a sale on the Gianni Bini shoes I like! Cha-ching! Guilty again.

Eating Out

For almost 10 years my life has been so constrained that I eat out almost constantly and don't have time to prepare food at home. Ergo, I never considered dining out to be a guilty pleasure; it was simply a fact of life.

Four days ago Weight Watchers became an integral part of my day-to-day agenda. Preparing foods at home is now necessary. Even though I could dine out, I would have to starve for two meals to compensate for that one restaurant meal.

It is also somewhat strange: up until this week, I opened my wallet several times a day, swiping the debit or pulling out some bills, all for the purchase of food. Since going to the grocery Tuesday, I haven't bought an ounce of food since, and here it is Friday afternoon.

Now I recognize that restaurants, diners and fast food joints are wasteful due to the cash and calories consumed. But there is something of merit in having someone else take your order and deliver your food, plus wash the dishes later on. Therefore, effective today, eating out moves from a necessities column to a Today's Guilty Pleasure column. Bon Appetit!

My Convertible

About 5 years ago, I bought a 2002 Chrysler Sebring convertible. I had already passed the 40 year mark, and I always wanted a convertible car.

I did my research. Both Mustangs and the Toyota Solaras had convertibles in my price range, but the back seats were itty-bitty. Why have a convertible if you can't have a party in it?

Overall its been a decent car. 22mpg, few mechanical problems. I could have gotten something more affordable and practical, but I've always been forced to be practical. Practical is not fun and life is too short not to have fun.

So when the weather is a sunny 65 degrees, you will see me driving around, the hair blowing everywhere and not feeling the least bit guilty that I'm soaking up some Vitamin D.

Playing Hooky

guilty.

Going to the movies

It always amazes me the number of people who are willing to go bootleg on this. Not that I wouldn't have an opinion on criminal activity (would I do that?), my main questions is "how could you possibly enjoy the experience?".

Most movies were designed for the BIG SCREEN. The scenery, the dolby sound, the experience does not transcend to the computer screen or television. To this day, I still remember the surprise that enveloped the crowd in the opening scene of Star Wars. When that Imperial starship emerged and crossed the screen, everyone sucked in their breath - never before had an effect of that magnitude been presented in a movie and it was awesome.


See what I mean? For any of you who haven't ever seen this a a movie theatre, this youtube does it no justice.

The plot might be interesting, but without the cinematography and sound effects, ya got nothin.

Do I like paying $10 a pop for an hour and a half of entertainment? No, but that's why the movie theatre is a guilty pleasure, isn't it?

Hero Worship

Yesterday 154 people met their personal savior, Chesley Sullenberger.

That plane could have crashed in the city, claiming many more lives than the passengers onboard.

Don't feel guilty about adoring this man.

It's a small world, after all.

Escapism. Sure, that can be a guilty pleasure.

Forget the stress of adulthood and ignore your responsibilities for at least a week. Isn't that what a good vacation is for?

Well, for me, the ultimate escapism involves much more. Regression to childhood is necessary.

So even though I love to go places and see new things, my ultimate guilty pleasure (travel wise) involves Walt Disney World. I've not been a bazillion times, but I have lost count.

I don't care if everyone else on Peter Pan's Flight is 10 years old or less, I love the rides as much now as I did when I was a kid.

Guilty as charged!

Judgement of Others

This is the guilty pleasure that will come back and bite me in the ass one day.

I live in a (relatively) small city - Savannah. When you have lived in one place most of your life, and your family has roots at this place going back several generations, chances are you either personally know or know by association a large percentage of the residents in the area.

Every day our county posts the arrests from the prior 24 hours, listing names, offenses, bails, birthdates, and mugshots. Oh, don't get all irritated about this. If you break the law and are arrested, it is a matter of public record. My inquisitiveness is justified.

Problem is, once every month or so, I will see someone who I either personally know, or I know they are the child/parent/cousin/co-worker/boy-girlfriend/anyrelation of someone else I know. Lord, the gossip potential!

I also like looking at the mugshots of people I don't even know, especially prostitutes, and think "who would pay for THAT?!?".

But you know what will happen, one day the table will be turned. Karma is a female dog.

In case you are as nosy as me, I want to share my guilty pleasure with you. Just go to this site:
http://www.chathamcounty.org/jims/jail/

Java

I dragged this morning. 20 minutes late getting to work. A heavy drizzle, 40 degree temps and gray skies don't help.

Coming down my dark, almost empty corridor, a proverbial ray of light offered the promise of a better day. Someone else had already made the coffee.

Gimme my guilty pleasure!
Ahhh, that's better.

Celebrity Worship

Guys are going to think "nope, chick thing" but this applies to you, too. Just substitue the name "Kate Winslet" with "Tim Tebow" and there is no difference.

Anyhoo, I can't pass up my favorite websites:
perezhilton.com
eonline.com
tmz.com
wwtdd.com
Nor can I ignore People, US weekly, Entertainment Weekly, et al.

Every few days seeing a new picture and hearing a disgusting tale regarding the living corpse that is Amy Winehouse fuels me more than the random reinforcements offered to rats in mazes. I have been cheering for Jennifer Aniston the past few weeks - only because I feel emotionally invested in the personal drama and lives of people I have never met.

Last night was the first night in my favorite season of the year: Awards! The fashions at the Golden Globes, Emmys and Oscars are amazing. The one thing I miss terribly (and you might not agree, but I luvs them) - Joan and Melissa Rivers' Red Carpet coverage. Oh well, we can't have everything.

So here we go with today's guilty pleasure. I invite you to stand in awe at the vision of Drew Barrymore. (que music - Fergie singing G-L-A-M....O-R-OUS)

Hot Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

Let's say you live in New England where you can find 14 Dunkin' Donuts within a 1/2 mile radius. You think those stupid people in the South have no idea what they are missing out on, because they say "well, Krispy Kreme this" and "Krispy Kreme that".

Don't knock it until you've tried it. I've tried both, and while Dunkin' Donuts is fine and yummy, it is no comparison to the plain, glazed Krispy Kreme that has just rolled off the conveyor belt.

If you buy Krispy Kreme at the grocery store, take it home and zap it in the microwave 10 seconds, you are just kidding yourself. Nothing, nothing compares to the warm, freshly baked goodness that literally melts in your mouth when the flashing "HOT NOW" sign is activated.

For those who haven't left home today, drive 3 miles off of your normal route and enjoy Today's Guilty Pleasure:

Pottymouth

My siblings and I enjoyed the finest private education my parents could buy during grade and high school. One benefit derived from such a studious youth was an expanded vocabulary.
At the time, I did not value the tedius memorization of thousands of lists. Now I appreciate the communicative diversity which flows from my lips. This talent, though, pales in comparison to the longshoreman's diatribe which can quickly spew from my sweet mouth (if the moment demands it).

Surprisingly, the same schools which prided themselves on college preperatory academics fostered a sub-culture of students who pleasured in rebellion. Where better to practice profanity than an all-girl's school? Those plaid kilts, white socks, pony-tails and pearl necklaces prove that looks can be decieving. Upon entering college, I was courted to be a little sister for one of the frats based on my "party-appeal"; this freshman girl could make senior boys blush in conversation.

I am not trying to keep this blog "family-friendly", but I'm also not here to brag by producing a canon of words you already know. Therefore, simply imagine a reaction to this: lying on a tropical beach, drifting in and out of a nap, enjoying a steel-drum band, then suddenly experiencing an ice-bath when the drunk idiot from 2 rooms down trips while passing you carrying 3 bahama-mamas.

Today's Guilty Pleasure - well, George Carlin said it best.

Laziness

Yesterday I mentioned to a co-worker that I was starting this blog. Her response was that almost all of her guilty pleasures revolved around one thing: never getting out of bed, relaxing on the sofa all day, etc.

Well, duh. That's the point of this blog. I think we can all relate.

Who in their right mind would leave the comfort of a cushy bed on a cool morning? There is nothing as nice as sinking into a worn-out mattress, snuggling under multiple blankets and comforters, burrowning into at least five fluffy pillows.

So, with apologies to the anonymous photo poster (I found the image on the net) here is your guilty pleasure for today.

Barenaked Ladies

I have decided to create a mature blog. Well, I've never been very mature. But at least I want to move away from the years I spent on livejournal, myspace and facebook.

The theme of this blog will be simple.....each day, one of my guilty pleasures will be listed. And I have lots of them.

If you decide to follow this blog, you possibly may share the same tastes, and if you do, enjoy this peek into my life.


I have decided to start with the Barenaked Ladies.

Who doesn't love them? They have so many redeeming qualities: harmony, happy-go-lucky lyrics, sing-along appeal, nerdy but successful, and exotically Canadian.

So, enjoy this guilty pleasure: