Obsessions! (Or temporary insanities)

Sandlynn · Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 1601 Location: Washington, D.C.

I don't mean the serious ones, like husbands, lovers, children, and chocolate....

I'm talking about your little, fun obsessions, whether long lasting or a "temporary" fever. For instance, during the time "Lois and Clark," "The West Wing," and "Gilmore Girls" was on TV -- respectively -- I was obsessed. Watching the show, talking about it on "the boards" and making friends that have lasted long passed the show. (Lovely friends.) Or, sudoku! Yes, for a time there, when I had a free moment at work, I would click on the daily "mega sudoku" puzzle on the Washington Post site and get obsessive about finishing it. Printing it out and taking it home on the bus to work on.

(Hope the following link works. And remember, if you are new to this, you might want to start with the "Daily Sudoku" or the "Mini Sudoku". But, I love the Mega one, especially the four star ones which are doable, but hard. The five star ones are very difficult.)

http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/wpdom/

Spider solitaire? Enough said.

And then there was taping. There was a long period -- when VCRs were king -- that I obsessively taped all the movies I loved -- especially classics -- as well as miniseries and episodes of shows, until I had hundreds of videotapes of everything I ever loved since infancy. Ugh!

Wine ... For a time there, I wanted to learn about wines. I bought books and wine and got tipsy. But that petered out when I was getting sleepy and gaining weight. '-)

Yoga! Not a compulsion but more like a low grade fever. I've taken one class a week for years, but hardly practiced. So, it's not an obsession ... really.

Used bookstores. Browsing in used bookstores and tracking down used book sales at schools, libraries, and churches are an absolute necessity. I learn of a sale and I swear to myself I won't go because of all the books I already have. BUT, I can't help myself and I go anyway. Worse yet, I buy more books! Eeee!

Aoife · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 132

Oh, yeah. I've got some of those. I prefer to think of them as interesting character quirks rather than obsessions, though.

A few years ago, when I first started weaving, I was obsessed with collecting catalogues and fiber samples from all the major fiber suppliers. One of the companies would periodically buy lots of discontinued yarns, and then send out packets of samples to subscribers. I'd get one of those envelopes in the mail, and no matter how marginal the collection was, I had to order something--and we are not talking about a single skein or cone of yarn, these babies had to be ordered in terms of pounds. Fortunately, the compulsion eventually passed, but not before I had filled an entire linen closet with cones and tubs of yarn. The good news is that if I never buy another bit of yarn I should be able to supply our entire family with table linens and throws well into the next generation.

Aside from the yarn compulsion (and fabric, back when I was quilting) most of my compulsions seem to run along the lines of collecting information, and that is a quirk my husband shares. We have never bought an appliance or car that has not been exhaustively researched, so he is very tolerant of my occasional forays into costuming, or cooking, or whatever.

My most recent "thing" has been the computer game Civilization IV, which is one of the most amazing time-wasters ever invented. My family made the mistake of giving it to me for Christmas, knowing that I had played Civ III for years, and Civ IV is seriously, seriously addictive.
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Aoife

xina · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 6628 Location: minneapolis

[quote="Aoife"]Oh, yeah. I've got some of those. I prefer to think of them as interesting character quirks rather than obsessions, though.

Exactly! Delightfully quirky is how I would refer to myself. Laughing

Sadly, not everyone sees things that way!
Several years ago I used to sew a lot and was quite good at it. I have a few machines and used them all the time. I used to be obsessed with buying beautiful fabic. I have some really lovely alpaca wool and was going to make a coat out of but around that time I lost interest. Life intruded I suppose. I still have all the fabric...lovely silks too. Some beautiful stuff that sits in protective boxes. I suppose now... my obsession is books. I buy too many, take too many from the library. Books that I will never have time to read in my life time. I've been organizing more lately and weeding out a lot to sell or give away. I am trying to control it all because those books take up much needed closet space. I don't know if it's an obsession, but I love my dogs and take good care of them. Also, love to run at least 3 times a week and get antsy if I don't. I don't go far, am not fast, but it makes me feel good. One more...love to buy shoes. I have way too many and give them to my daughter many times. She wears the same size and thinks my closet is like a shoe store. I hope she thinks I'm delightfully quirky too...I don't know. Very Happy

That's about it for me. xina

bamagirl · Joined: 27 Apr 2007 Posts: 125 Location: Georgia

Lynn · Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 82

My hobby is needlework, and I've collected materials enough to last several lifetimes. I can justify that, though, because I might live to be 200 and I'll always have things to stitch. Recently, though, I've been obsessed with books about needlework and buying quite regularly. I don't even want to think about what I've spent for these books and for the most part I just enjoy seeing them on the bookshelves. I recently branched out into books on clothing of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. I'm putting a stop to that right now, though (or at least very soon!) Wink

Lynn

georgie Lee · Joined: 17 Sep 2007 Posts: 110

georgie Lee · Joined: 17 Sep 2007 Posts: 110

bamagirl · Joined: 27 Apr 2007 Posts: 125 Location: Georgia

kris · Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:18 pm Post subject:

Sudoku and my ipod are my current obsessions. I'm planning on getting a bigger and better ipod(haven't decided which one). Oh yeah, does lusting after Sean Bean and Richard Armitage count as an obsession? Laughing

LizE · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 246

How about Guitar Hero? Now THAT'S embarrassing ... and my current obsession.

georgie Lee · Joined: 17 Sep 2007 Posts: 110

cheri · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 1350 Location: michigan

Books
Herbal medicine (I think this is left over from a past live)
books
my new Palm tx
books Very Happy

walking my dog and my pedometer (it used to be Yoga nad I've been rethinking this one because it made me feel great and I think the gym up the road has new classes, so this may go back on obsession list)
Keith Urban Very Happy

cheri

LizE · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 246

Lynn · Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 82

Georgie, your sister's work is amazing, thanks for sharing the link. I particularly love the shadow pieces.....just fascinating!

Lynn

Lynn[/quote]

My sister is really into needlework and crochet. She is an artist and makes very unique art pieces from needlework and crochet. Check out her website www.blalockart.com[/quote]

Nicole · Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:01 am Post subject:

Knitting. I knit a lot. I have like six unfinished projects and I'm always looking for cheap yarn.

Thrift stores. I furnished my whole apartment for $300 and it doesn't look bad either.

Books. Yeah I spend most of my leisure time, reading or looking for my next one.

I LOVE guitar hero. I can do scissor kicks with out missing a note.

I used to be pretty crazy about the old school super Nintendo games. I still play with them every now and then. Tetris. I can do it for hours.
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She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain. -Louisa May Alcott