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.