I’m not addicted… I can quit any time Iwant

Addictions are a funny thing. I know for a fact that Ihave been suject to my own over that last few years.

-I’m a smoker who is trying to quit.
-I played World of Warcraft for about nine (9) years.
-I eat compulsively based on my surroundings.
-I don’t drink anymore, but when I did, Icould have been considered a temporary alcoholic.

The problem is I have an addictive personality. Well, at least that is what people tell me. I don’t quite think that statement holds much water, but it is still what people say. It sounds like a bunch of “do what you want and have something to blame it on” kind of excuse to me.
I think the big thing that people don’t do enough is take enough personal responsibility for their actions… myself included.

So, looking at each of my addictions, Ican see that each one can be conquered by taking personal responsibility for my actions in each case. As always, I have examples.

World of Warcraft: It’s funny, I have already broken this one. I quit playing about a year ago. Before that, I had quit playing for 6 months, picked it up again for three months due to attending a remote school, and then quit again. But like I said, I have been clean for around a year. I still find myself reading on the internet, or looking at screenshots, or looking for something to do and wishing that I could be back in Azeroth. I had a good time for those 9 years that I played. There was social content, a real mental challenge, and there was always something to do. Even if you were bored, you were having fun doing it. The game itself was addictive to the point that I would play for 8 hours a day. That’s a lot of time to ignore family, children, friends, and work.
It finally came to a close when it nearly impacted my marriage with a divorce. Needless to say, I don’t play anymore. Since quitting, I spend time with my children and my wife, and I have picked up other interests such as quilting and wood working that don’t require that kind of time investment that Ihad put in.
Personal responsibility allowed me to quit.

Smoking: This is a tough one. I have been a smoker for about 7 years now. I actually regret picking it up. It’s a horrible habit. I remember telling my wife that I could quit at any time. I picked it up and hadn’t stopped until about 3 days ago. I haven’t had a real cigarette in 72 hours. It’s a small amount of time, but it’s a start. It requires me to realize that I am personally responsibile for my actions. I chose to stop… so I stopped. Crazy right?!

Drinking: I don’t like hangovers so I don’t drink. Easy enough. Not gonna beat that dead horse.

Eating: Oh boy, this is why I actually started writing this post. Backstory time.
I found myself cleaning off my wifes desk yesterday and I had picked up a potpie that my daughter had barely touched. I remembered that I was watching my caloric intake so Icouldn’t have any of this deliciously salty meat and potato pie thing. As I walked to the kitchen, I said out loud “One bite won’t hurt”.
So I took a bite.
OMG it was good.
I took a second bite.
I actually verbally said “Garen, you can’t be eating this”. And then I started to argue internally that I couldn’t stop. I needed to eat this pie. I had to eat this food or something in the cosmos would never align properly.
I found that no matter how hard I tried, I could not put that food down.
I finished the 560 calorie pot pie that tasted like shame and guilt.
Salty shame, and tangy creamy guilt.
I sit on the couch each night with my wife and we watch TV. I find that we snack the entire time. I find that we almost always have a soda in our hands.
Personal responsibility hasn’t kicked all the way in yet.
I actually feel like Iam addicted to food. Good food, bad food, crappy food… just food.
I have a problem. I know that I do. I’m fully aware of it. I just need to find a way around it.

While I have been writing this post, I have come to an interesting series of thoughts. For someone that wants to be so outspoken against the evils of fatlogic, I sure seem to be showing some. So… how do I get around it?
Good question.
I’m thinking that personal responsibility my actually come in to play.
I go back to work tomorrow after a long holiday period off. I’m not sure how it will go for me regarding food. Looks like we’ll just have to see what happens.

Wish me luck? Or something?

-RH

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Daily Prompt: Truth or Dare

Daily Prompt: Truth or Dare.

Seriously? Is it possible to be too honest?

Let’s chew on some deliciously salty food for thought, shall we?

 

-Yes honey, that dress DOES make your butt look big.

-Actually potential mate who happens to be a single mother, I find kids to be irritating and gross.

-No, I actually find organic food to be a supreme waste of money.

-No darling child, I love you and your siblings all the same.

 

Honesty is NOT always the best policy.

I’m sorry, but in my personal world view, I find that occasionally there is a time where shading the truth, omitting facts, or flat out ignoring something is going to be the best option available. No questions asked, hands down.

If we lived in a world where everyone was 100% honest 100% of the time in regards to 100% of all the things, then I believe we would find a way to cope with it. In fact, I believe it would make SOME things better.

Examples? Of course I have examples.

-ANYTHING politically charged! I’d like to see what the president had to say if he couldn’t lie for a few days.

-Courting rituals! Is this a one night stand or is he/she actually looking for love?

-Poker? Actually, this would ruin poker, but I’m sure we could come up with a new game if we tried.

-Fast food advertising! I’d like to see a poster that actually showed what a taco bell burrito looked like when they used truth to sell it.

***SIDE NOTE!***

Taco Bell burritos actually look like they are advertised. It’s everything else that doesn’t look accurate. I mean seriously, how hard is it to screw up the sale of a tortilla.

Regardless, back to the rant.

 

Truth is subjective to the situation where it is used in our current society. My religious roots tell me that the ability to choose… to choose right from wrong, good from evil, or truth from fiction is essential to our trial and purpose to being on this earth. Taking away ones free agency is something that would defeat the entire purpose of being here.

So… truth or dare… it’s a valid question. I choose truth simply because it is USUALLY the easiest method.

But are there times where it’s not the best option? Absolutely. It’s just up to the individual to determine when those situations arise.

 

*** Secondary side note!***

Darling wife: No, that dress does NOT make your butt look big.

Former Potential Mate: I do ACTUALLY like kids.

Organic Food Hippie: Sorry, Organic food IS still a scam. Sorry. And get a haircut you dirty hippie!

Loving children: I do love you equally! Sometimes I like one of you more than the other, but I LOVE you equally! (Don’t hate! I believe there is a difference between liking someone and loving someone. Deal with it!)

30 Day Blog Challenge – Day 1

Allrighty, The official day 1 of the 30 day blog challenge. Today goes like this:

Day 1: Introduce, recent picture of yourself, 15 interesting facts.

So, with that in mind, here we go.

 

Introduce yourself:

Well, my name is Garen C. Anderson. I am 31 years old. I currently reside in Cheboygan Michigan. I am an active duty member of the US Coast Guard, the 5th armed service of the United States. I married my amazing wife Andrea Joleanne Anderson back in 2002. I have two awesome children, Hayden (8) and Lillie (4). Like my wife, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That’s right, a Mormon.

I enjoy video games, reading about history, watching most anything put out by national geographic, papercrafting, sewing, and a handful of other odd hobbies.

 

A Recent Picture of Yourself:

Hmm, a recent picture of myself. Lemme see what I got. I’ll be right back.

Okay, I’ll give you a BUNCH of them. Remember, you can click on them to see a bigger version.

Alrighty, here you go. This is MOST recent photo of me. Amazing detail, right? 

It shows the best of the best when it comes to my personality.

Let’s see if I have one with better detail of who I am.

 

Okay, this should be a bit better.No?

Hmm, let’s see if I have anything else.

 

Okay, we’re getting closer. You can at least see part of my face this time.

I’ll give it one more shot to see if I can find something decent.

Uhmmm… here we go.

yeah, this should work. I also happen to have a mustache in this picture.

I don’t like the mustache, but I point out whenever I have one in a photo.

 

Okay, lets move on to the rest of this post.

 

15 Interesting facts about me:

 

1:  Whenever I post a picture of myself on facebook, I always point out if I have a mustache or not. Dunno why I do it, but I do.

 

2: I have Attention Deficiet Disorder. It’s one of my many super powers. I don’t like calling it a disability because it actually helps me do all sorts of cool stuff that regular people can’t do.

 

3: If given the choice between a trip to the movies, and a stack of free tacos from Taco Bell, I would take the tacos. I make a lot of jokes about liking tacos, but the sad part is that I REALLY like tacos. I don’t know what it is about them. I have been known to drive two hours just to get a cheap sack of taco bell.

 

4: I replay every single one of my failures in my head on a near constant basis. From answering a question wrong in public, to making a poor choice that impacts my family, I replay them near constantly. I am very hard on myself, but no one ever sees it.

 

5: I will forgive anyone for near anything. Of everything that has happened in my life, there hasn’t been anything that I haven’t forgiven. Some really MAJOR stuff has been done to me, but I forgave it nearly moments after it was done.

 

6: I don’t have the ability to tell when people are actually being mean to me, or if they are trying to be funny. It’s just a skill I never picked up.

 

7: I have never touched an illegal drug. I couldn’t tell you what pot smells like or even looks like. Cocaine? I know it’s a powder. That’s about it. My system is clean of drugs like that.

 

8: I honestly believe that Pepsi is a superior product to Coke.

 

9: I do not like cell phones. I like having a PDA, a smart device, and access to data at ALL times… but the ability to make phone calls I can do without. I’d probably do better with a very small tablet pc.

 

10: I do not like the culture that Apple has created. The whole ‘think different’ thing pisses me off. And hipsters just drive me nuts. I’m not a biased person on a lot of things, but this one… I cannot stand. Screw apple, the Mac, iTunes, the iPhone, and the iPod. Guess I’m just stubborn about this one. Before you start asking me what I do about my massive music collection, try looking at Google Music. It’s AMAZING!

 

11: I believe that jewelry should be as essential to a girl as underwear. Sometimes more important. The little shiny baubles are nice to look at and show the girls personality as clearly as what she says.

I just bought this set for my wife. Rubies and White Saphires. See? Personality!

12: I like science fiction. From fantasy with orcs and elves, to futuristic with ships, lasers, and shields, to alternate future with power armor, and big explosions. I like the escapism of it all.

13: I have only beaten a few of the video games I have ever picked up. I think you can blame the ADD for this. The closest I ever came to beating a Zelda game was Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. I was on the last boss fight when I paused it and walked away to take a phone call. I never finished it.

14: Serving people in an honest capacity makes me happy. Cleaning, providing help, offering my assistance as needed. That kind of thing. I like to help people.

15: I have a VERY difficult time with stupid people. Ignorant I deal with because that can be cured. But Stupid? You can’t fix stupid.

And with that I have handed you the three required items. An introduction, a photo, and 15 facts. Enjoy