Thirteen Things I Have Obsessed About
1. Alanis Morissette. It was July 1995, the end of junior year of high school, I had just broken up with a lying boyfriend, and I first saw You Oughta Know. I was totally taken with A's bohemian appearance and the rawness of her voice. I zipped on out to Strawberry's to buy the tape (yes, a tape) of Jagged Little Pill. I listened to that thing until it was almost falling apart. I remember filling out college applications listening to it. And I went to her concert at UMass, where I went to school 7 months later, with that same ex... who was then my boyfriend again... (but not for long.) I would wash my hair (which was about as long, just a little lighter and straighter than Alanis') in the morning, not brush it, and go to school "as is". I wanted to become a singer. Everyone in my class knew that I adored Alanis, and when I was given a JLP CD as a gift from National Honor Society, my fellow classmates were shocked I didn't already have it. "No," I explained sheepishly, "I only have a crappy tape." The obsessesion ended when I went to college, and I was just too busy to care, really. Plus, her sophomore (American) album wasn't nearly as good. The latest one is great, but again, just too busy to follow it.
2. Archer, the cat. A year ago, the news on the tv talked about a stray kitten in Tarpon Springs, Florida that had been shot with an archery arrow. I searched frantically on the internet for news of the kitty. Had he lived? Was he okay? I cried and cried for the kitty and donated to the humane society that had paid for his medical expenses. I searched for more on animal cruelty and wanted to volunteer at an animal shelter. (Didn't follow through, though.) For 2 weeks I followed the news on the Pinella's Humane Society website, and then they stopped reporting on it. I submitted a search to google to report to me when there was more news. I forgot about it. 3 weeks ago, I found out the guy had gotten his judgment.
3. In 2001, I developed this nagging OCD. I was convinced that someone was going to break into the apartment I had with my then-boyfriend-now-husband and rape me. I would wake up several times a night, KNOWING that I had heard someone in the living room, and I would creep quietly through the place checking the doors and windows. I eventually had to go on medication to overcome this fear, as it was dominating my life.
4. Weightloss. On Halloween 2001, I looked in the mirror and became disgusted with myself. I became obsessed with weightloss and lost 20 pounds in 3 months. Pro-anorexia sites became my haunts, but more for the weightloss tips than anything. I have never been anorexic, and have only ever truly fasted 2 days in my life. I have fluctuated in weight since then, but never gained back more than 10 pounds.
5. My husband. We were on and off since 1997 when we first started dating. You could probably say I was codependent. I couldn't get enough of him, so I was very smothering, and he would push me away. We would break up, I'd get over it, and then he would want me back because I was my normal self again. This happened several times. I'd like to think that in the last 5 years we've become "interdependent" which is a far healthier and happier state of being.
6. Lonelygirl15. Yes, I admit it. I went through the gamut of emotions. Fascination, wanting to be her friend, adoration, anger at being duped, admiration for pulling it off, fascination once again at the dark path the story is now hinting at. I did all the internet searches to find info on the actress, and found her myspace page. Yesterday I felt better. I realized... I'm not a friend, I'm a fan.
7. Youtube. Once I relaxed on the LG15 thing, I started surfing around the rest of Youtube... and I'm hooked. I want to start making my own videos.
8. Rock Climbing. For a period in 2003, I was addicted. I tried very hard to become a better climber, and I went almost every weekend. I burned out when I realized my husband was treating my like an overzealous parents treats a child prodigy.
9. Getting off medication. I was on medication for being bipolar until about a year ago, when I became disgusted with the pharma industry. I started reading books and articles about mental health and how to take ownership of your problems. My doctor was not supportive about going off medication, so I did some research and took myself off the meds the way I felt was appropriate. I've been med-free since December. And to be honest, I feel about as good, if not better, as when I was on meds.
10. Going vegetarian. Can you be anything but obsessed when you change your diet? I started in June 2005... and was vegetarian until about 2 weeks ago. I'm just tired and worn out from fighting with the husband and getting him to eat the vegetarian meals I make. I still want to be vegetarian.
11. Movies. When I was 11 or 12, I fell in love with watching movies, especially Star Wars and Indiana Jones. I started a collection of movie adverts from the Sunday newspaper and glued them into one of those black composition books. I learned about the movies' plots and the actors who starred in them. (I couldn't convince my parents to let me see them all. They are very frugal people.) I wanted to become an actress, and this dream didn't really die until I was 21 or so.
12. Captain Comic. Maybe I shouldn't talk about this one, but I was mildly obsessed. It's a stupid little computer game, and when I was 13 or so, I HAD to beat this stupid game. I did. I found out from somewhere - who the hell knows? - what the highest score ever had been, so I resolved to beat this score. Can you believe my parents actually supported me and stood over my shoulder patiently and encouragingly waiting for me to get the score? So I did it. No bells. No whistles. What was I going to do, call someone to tell them? Once I hit that number, my fascination in all computer games died.
13. Livejournal. There was a time, maybe a year ago, when I could wander around the site for hours at a time and not get bored.
Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. Tish
2. Raggedy
3. N.Mallory
4. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here! I wasn't good about adding two weeks ago, I'll try to be better this time!)
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