Gapers Block has ceased publication.
Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
✶ Thank you for your readership and contributions. ✶
TODAY
Monday, October 14
Fuel
Justin / June 19, 2006 7:30 AM
1) The web -- in nine years I've gone at most a week offline. When visiting a new place, after locating food and restrooms, I look for public internet access.
2) Even at my parents' in the suburbs, even when I have no plans in the city, I'm anxious to return to Chicago. I can't leave this place without missing it.
CVAL / June 19, 2006 8:19 AM
Salty, artery destroying, fatening, liver sclerosing patato chips!!!!!!!!!!!
printdude / June 19, 2006 8:23 AM
I have ordinary addictions. - Gavin Friday
mike / June 19, 2006 8:26 AM
Being awesome.
printdude / June 19, 2006 9:14 AM
I am addicted to Fuel.
I am addicted to caffine.
I am addicted to nicotine, even I quit smoking six years ago, I am still tempted by the little ciggys. and my will fails and I inhale.
I am addicted to the Cubs.
And yet, there are more!
Robin / June 19, 2006 9:25 AM
Regina Spektor's new record, Begin to Hope, particularly the song On the Radio. I can't stop listening!
A / June 19, 2006 9:47 AM
email
good spicy food
looking for the next big thing
Paul / June 19, 2006 9:51 AM
I'm gonna have to face it - I'm addicted to love.
Sorry.
Mostly, caffeine. Coffee.
Blagg the Axman / June 19, 2006 9:55 AM
I am addicted to the pursuit of justice--justice for the exiled King Mandrake and his subjects, who suffer under the rule of the Dark Lord Kayne. And justice for the Lady Arriana, my one true love, who fell to his hordes in battle.
You might also say that I am addicted to vengeance.
Y A J / June 19, 2006 10:02 AM
I'm addicted to caffine and Gapers Block.
stackedbrass / June 19, 2006 10:24 AM
my bed and, within it, the most comfortable pillow in the world
sugar free red bull, combos and raisin bran. this is pretty much all i ingest if left to my own devices.
sky / June 19, 2006 10:29 AM
Nicotine-and I am currently picking out which product will help me quit.
Cheese-Seriously, I just can't get enough.
Plucking my eyebrows. Who knows.
ahn / June 19, 2006 10:32 AM
cigarettes, checking my email. coffee.
livejournal. the internet. rock music.
agrees with printdude and uncle gavin -- ordinary things
unmake / June 19, 2006 10:44 AM
I think I'm addicted to slack.
not to be crude, but... / June 19, 2006 10:49 AM
... i'll go ahead and say it:
SEX. Silly, sloppy, ridiculously contorted, dirty, drunk and fun sex.
With my boyfriend, who (thankfully) suffers from the same addiction.
paul / June 19, 2006 11:31 AM
Nothing, except denial.
New Median / June 19, 2006 11:33 AM
Wikipedia. I check it religiously.
spence / June 19, 2006 11:40 AM
Tina Norstrom (New Scandinavian Cooking.)
I'm in a trance everytime I watch her. My girlfriend gets mad because I block her out completely whenever I watch the show.
Kristin / June 19, 2006 11:57 AM
Trader Joe's Fresh Salsa (Hot)
Red Bull & Monster
itunes
Dig! (documentary)
Chicago
fluffy / June 19, 2006 12:04 PM
I'm addicted to caffeine, art, music.
sarshappy / June 19, 2006 12:11 PM
Pot...Physically, I don't think you can be addicted to it, but when I have it, i wanna smoke it and when i don't have it, i think about smoking it. I love it-an addiction I'm sure is just a phase for these fews years of my young life.
I am addicted to myspace, gapersblock and checking email too-it disgusts me!
And art, I love myself some good art.
Tina / June 19, 2006 12:12 PM
In no particular order of greatest love:
Coke (CocaCola)
Craigslist (R&R)
Reggaeton
Frenchfries
Hot Latinos
My Motorola A630 Cell(dying cuz it's in the shop!!!!!)
Hal / June 19, 2006 12:17 PM
Physically addicted:
caffiene
Functionally addicted:
web/email usage
Merely a bad habit:
TV
lara / June 19, 2006 12:21 PM
coffee
steven / June 19, 2006 12:24 PM
The touch of my wife (sex, holding hands, hugs...all of it)
emyduck / June 19, 2006 12:25 PM
sleep, csi, shopping, cooking, eating, making excuses.
lara / June 19, 2006 12:27 PM
hit enter too soon, sorry
(to echo previous posts)
coffee
gaper's block
all things chicago
(to branch out on my own)
social justice conversations
tenderness
wisdom
any combination of fat and potatoes
dairy
the search for the perfect cheap yet austere french wine
www.bighappyfunhouse.com
that post-yoga feeling
Brandy / June 19, 2006 12:28 PM
I used to beat myself up about drinking caffiene, but finally I realized as my only vice it's pretty darn minimal, so I stop worrying and kept drinking the java.
My ego is addicted to Flickr comments.
amy / June 19, 2006 12:33 PM
diet coke
camel lights
coffee
books
walking
If I am without any of the above for more than24 hours there's going to be some trouble.
I know I have a problem.
Josh / June 19, 2006 12:34 PM
*Cigarettes
*Hot Sauce
*My wife and latin women in general
*Nostalgia
Trance / June 19, 2006 12:34 PM
Diet Coke.
Cigarettes.
The internet, particularly that evil, stupid MySpace.
Loadzone / June 19, 2006 1:38 PM
! Salt & Vinegar Lays potato chips
! Staying in on Friday nights
! Running no more than 3.75 miles at a time every two to three days
! Sarcasm
! Milwaukee brewers baseball
! Cherry flavored colas
! Pointless Facts
Baldeesh / June 19, 2006 1:38 PM
Solitude
jkl / June 19, 2006 2:03 PM
blagg the axman. seriously.
van moxie / June 19, 2006 2:11 PM
Coffee. Cigarettes (I've quit so many times in the last three years - so frustrating). The same dozen episodes of "My So-Called Life" on the DVR, over and over again. Fear, Self-loathing, hermitting.
amanda / June 19, 2006 2:44 PM
certainly *not* my job.
ross / June 19, 2006 3:34 PM
checking my web stats. seriously - this is getting sick.
cringe / June 19, 2006 3:40 PM
I'm addicted to a woman who isn't right for me at all.
anon / June 19, 2006 3:41 PM
coffee and women. i can't stop checking out the later. somehow, i've become a pervert.
ahn / June 19, 2006 3:56 PM
i'm addicted to following random blog links.
Emily / June 19, 2006 4:34 PM
Cigarettes. Ice cream. Family Feud. My kittens.
karen / June 19, 2006 4:52 PM
strawberry-kiwi lip smackers, the shimmery one.
michelle favia / June 19, 2006 4:59 PM
ice cream, george harrison, freaks and geeks, looking up useless information on wikipedia when i'm bored, kiehl's lip balm.
michelle / June 19, 2006 5:00 PM
ice cream, george harrison, freaks and geeks, looking up useless information on wikipedia when i'm bored, kiehl's lip balm.
matty / June 19, 2006 5:00 PM
herron
fluffy / June 19, 2006 5:27 PM
I'm addicted to my cat. He is the coolest ever- my buddy!
It seems like I'm addicted to self-defeating behavior. And that goes in hand with being addicted to emotionally unavailable guys.
I'm also addicted to Jimmy John's Veg Sandwhich #13
aeb / June 19, 2006 5:30 PM
red wine and chocolate every night after dinner.
Thumper / June 19, 2006 6:34 PM
minesweeper.
I'm a geek, I can't help it. I've finally kicked it and I refuse to open the game again.
Steve / June 19, 2006 6:43 PM
Italian ice -- cherry or lemon. Oh marone, it's good stuff!
Jason / June 19, 2006 8:02 PM
Buying books. Not necessarily reading them, but buying, definitely.
Cheap beer and expensive whisky.
Pat and Ron calling Cubs games.
Congressional hearings.
Hats and neckties.
josh / June 19, 2006 8:20 PM
Cigs
Internet
Gin
Depression
Detroit Tigers
Films
My PowerBook
Mikey / June 19, 2006 8:51 PM
* cigarettes (although currently transferring my addiction to Commit lozenges instead)
* the internet (specifically Gapers Block, Chicagoist, CNN, Tree Hugger, Wikipedia and Yahoo! chess)
* marijuana (I have yet to find anything better for relaxing and relieving stress)
* dogs (I have animal charisma--most animals seem to sense I'm a big softie)
* milk (I drink as much milk, if not more, as I do water. Seriously, when I'm parched, there's nothing better than a tall glass of cold milk. But since I've recently switched to the considerably more expensive organic brand, I've had to temper my indulgences somewhat)
* fantasy football (yeah, I pretty much turn into a junkie come football season. That also tends to compound my interntet addiction) [SEE PREVIOUS]
What I'm striving to become addicted to: yoga
Hobbsie / June 19, 2006 9:44 PM
YouTube. Everything from vintage Van Halen live clips to Israeli chicks lip syncing to the Pixies to the 1969 moonshot and everything in between. And for no good reason.
Steve / June 19, 2006 10:18 PM
Also, cherries.
JasonB / June 20, 2006 3:16 AM
Good & Plenty licorice candy.
leah / June 20, 2006 9:07 AM
*cuteoverload.com (maximum squee capacity)
*stupid dumbface myspace. glagh.
*manicures
*american spirits while couching in front of the tv.
coffee!!! / June 20, 2006 9:13 AM
coffee. I am ok with that. coffee is good for you. did you see the recent study? 4 or more cups a day lowers your chances of cirrhosis of the liver by 80%! and it helps prevent parkinson's!
hooray for coffee!!!! i'm always amazed when friends say they are trying to stop drinking it. for the love of god, why?!?!
Chico / June 20, 2006 9:49 AM
Belgian beer, Irish whiskey, Tennessee bourbon, pot, menthol cigarettes, Jake's Pub, tacos anywhere in Chicago, GNU/Linux, OSS, Google, Wikipedia, blogs, going out, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, White Sox, iPods, music, music, MUSIC!
Boy am I in trouble...
winediva / June 20, 2006 9:54 AM
coffee, gelato from The Penguin, Apart Pizza, TiVo, Rose Champagne, The Food Network, Epicurious.com, The Family Guy
annie / June 20, 2006 9:59 AM
love
TaJ / June 20, 2006 10:22 AM
chocolate
daydreaming of becoming full time artist
email/internet
avocados
self-defeating
gelatto cafe gelatto
memories
books
seeking
dan / June 20, 2006 10:24 AM
annie, if robert palmer were alive he'd be proud of you and relieved that its unnecessary for him to point out that "you might as well face it..."
as for me, mostly just pcp and roman showers.
Beth / June 20, 2006 11:38 AM
V8 Juice (low sodium). I can't for the life of me explain why...as a child I hated the stuff.
Emerson Dameron / June 20, 2006 12:07 PM
Coffee. WFMU. Rage.
I did manage to drop from 20-30 cigs a day to 0, which, kicking-wise, is like making it in New York, New York. (Nicotine is more addictive than herion - junkies just whine more.) So I think I'll be fine.
christy / June 20, 2006 12:11 PM
I'm addicted to being obsessed with something -- and that something changes.
carbs
diet coke
international travel
stimulation -- through art, conversation, wandering
kiki / June 20, 2006 2:38 PM
email. i check it obsessively.
and youtube - i find myself wasting many hours watching old madonna music videos.
anon / June 20, 2006 3:21 PM
doesn't anyone have bad addictions? I couldn't fall asleep without Ambien for 2 years, and finally kicked it when all those studies came out about driving and eating- I could see how it happens
Michelle / June 20, 2006 6:46 PM
Right now, I am addicted to:
Tea with milk in it, the british way.
Furikake - Seaweed and other tasty stuff you sprinkle on rice. I'm going through buckets of it.
Checking the "FREE" section on Craigslist.
New man in my life - I won't be giving this one up.
amy / June 20, 2006 7:47 PM
The buffalo tenders from House of Blues
the sun and getting tan
Frozen french fries
Pedicures
Tivo
Red wine and Parliaments
Emerson Dameron / June 20, 2006 8:50 PM
anon-
By "bad," I guess you mean "physical." Nicotine and booze are no joke in that regard. And I imagine caffeine will eventually get its big-leauge demonization. Heroin used to be OTC. This shit goes in cycles.
Or maybe by "bad," you mean "not cute," in which case you might be in the wrong neighborhood. If you get sick of Blagg the Axeman and want to hear someone's story of sucking dick for codeine, I'm sure you could find it somewhere. Nice thing about YouTube addiction, though: at least no one romanticizes it.
I'm glad you don't need ambien to go to sleep anymore. Since college, I've found the idea of washing down klonopin with Jack Daniels a lot less appealing, too. I was pretty relieved when I read the question and couldn't think of anything "bad." If I had, I doubt I would've posted it.
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Andrew / June 19, 2006 12:48 AM
I have a tough time kicking the caffeine habit -- I quit for about a year, but a tough Christmas brought me back and I've been on the juice ever since.