Internet Addiction

This morning on NPR (possibly last night) I heard a brief story on internet addiction. It was about people who compulsively spend time on the internet. They were including not just your standard Porn, gambling and compulsive shopping in the definition, but also mentioned email checking, chat rooms, and even blogs. They cited how spending too much time online is being considered for official decease classification. And talked about how it can stem from OCD or depression, etc.

The main thing that I got out of the program was to realize that I am definitely not addicted to the internet... Yes, I use it a lot, esp at work, but not compulsively. It also reminded me how long it has been since I posted to a blog (sorry).

Anyhow, while I may not be addicted to the internet, I did realize that I may be becoming dependent on NPR... :)

Food

Ed has become an excellent cook over the past few months. We like to watch America’s Test Kitchen, where they take a common recipe and then make it over and over until they figure out how to make it taste the best with the fewest steps and cheapest ingredients. They usually find that to make really good food, it usually takes some time and some decent ingredients. Most of their recipes we’ve tried (and when I say we, I mean Ed) have turned out really well. We especially like their Chicken and Dumplings, Mexican Rice & Pasta with tomato, bacon and onion (you can get all of these recipes on their website).

The best thing about having an Ed-cook is being able to sit on the couch, mention that I’m craving a Grilled Cheese Sandwich, and Poof! it appears on the table in front of me, just like in Star Trek. Unfortunately, he doesn’t respond as readily to “clean the toilet” or “do the laundry.” Not yet, anyway.

Telephones

Ed and I always try to make the other one answer the phone because the only people who call on our home phone are telemarketers and people from church, who generally want one of the following:

1. To ask us to give an old lady a ride to church
2. To ask us to speak or give a lesson in church or a church-related meeting
3. To ask us to perform an act of Christian service that will be good for our souls, but which is generally inconvenient and hard somehow.

Today we were sitting at our desks when the phone rang. The phone sits between us, so we both pretended not to hear the first three rings. Then Ed grabbed the receiver, dropped it in my lap, said "You answer it!" and ran out of the room.

“Hello?”

“…….Hello?”

“Hello. Can I help you?”

“Hello? This is Mark Johnson. Is Victoria Stevens there?”

“No, I think you have the wrong number.”

“Aren't you Victoria?”

“No. You have the wrong number.”

“Okay…….Victoria.”

He sounded really creepy - like some pyscho in a horror movie. I hung up on him and then sat there waiting to see if the phone would ring again, but it didn't - he was probably just some guy stalking his ex-girlfriend who dialed the wrong number.