10 Guilty Pleasures
1. I enjoy biting or picking my finger nails or toe nails. Ive had this habit since I was a kid and it's been the hardest one to break. I remember my cousin was a nail biter and she said the way she got over it was to paint on polish. Well I'm not a big nail polish person so that was never going to work. I even had a past boyfriend buy me "No Bite." It's a clear polish that taste like acid when you try and bite your nails.Did it work you might ask? Ive always been very strong willed.
2. Twilight Series. I cant explain these things. I'm not even a big reader and I know how cheesy the movies are but for some reason I love this so called Twilight frenzy. Believe me when I say I love it. I love it enough to sit through "New Moon" with a bunch of 8-12 year old girls screaming every moment one of the leads took off his shirt or whispered sweet nothings into Bella's ear. And I swear I was NOT one of those girls. :)
3. Dodger dogs. I'm not a Dodger fan by any means but any opportunity I have to go and watch a Dodger game I make my team known (Giants) and also agree to go because I like to shit talk but mostly enjoy dodger dogs. I love the dirty little condiments station and the long skinny buns. It's pretty much the best reason for the Dodgers to be in L.A. Ill never forget when my work offered me two tickets to our suite at Dodger stadium. I took Joey and I swear we both walked in and went directly to the food! Not even a hello to my VPs or clients. I'm pretty certain there were more than a couple dogs on our plate as we took our seats.
4. Laundry. I really enjoy doing laundry for some reason. I even get excited just buying the detergent and fabric softener. Maybe it's because I'm so in tuned with smells. I love the way clothes smell after they have been hanging to dry outside. I especially love when I'm in a relationship and get to do a man's dirty wash. I don't understand it. I get more excited to buy laundry soap than I do to buy cute shoes or dresses. I think the only other purchasing that I enjoy more is night gowns and PJs. It's a weird cycle this whole domestic facade that happens from time to time.
5. Cheap concert t-shirts. I went through a stage where every weekend I would try and go to some sort of show in Hollywood. It didn't even need to be a band that I was crazy about. I just enjoyed the people and hearing new or familiar music. And just about every time I rocked a show I would come back with pretty much a press pack. Yes it had to be a band I actually enjoyed. I cant ever get rid of them either. I always have this image in my head of my kids going through the (what is sure to be a messy) garage and finding a box filled with Mom's old clothes and finding a bunch of great vintage band shirts. Bob Dylan, ACDC, The White Stripes, Cheech & Chong, The Mars Volta, Petra. One of my favorite shirts is actually one that I bought in Venice and it says "Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll." Back in the day when I thought it was SO amazing to be straight edge Id rock that shirt everywhere. That or my Sid Vicious t-shirt that I would proudly voice my opinion on his situation with Nancy whenever possible.
6. Nudity. However I feel that this might be a bad "guilty pleasure" only because how should you feel guilt about something that is so natural. For some reason we have been made to think that it can be taboo to be free of rags. But I'm a big fan of nudity and those who embrace it.
7. Shots. This is where I get in trouble when I'm out at a bar. It doesn't matter what it is or what I'm drinking. If someone offers a shot or asks who wants to take a shot I can guarantee that my arm will be up before the inquirer has finished their sentence. Sure wine and tequila don't go well together but how can you turn it down. To be honest it's more of a superstitious feeling that if I reject that shot something awful will surely happen to me. It's like when I decide to pass on picking up a penny...I swear this runs through my head for the next 30 minutes "Why didn't I pick that penny up? I need some luck right now. It's just a penny sure but I really should have picked it up. I wonder if it would still be there. What if someone else picked it up and now they are having the best day of their life. Shit. Why didn't I pick up that stupid fucking penny." Yeah .... it's an issue.
8. Crossword puzzles. My ideal nights consist of Merlot, Puppy & my array of crossword puzzles. I love doing them any time of day. But my favorite is at night because they help me unwind after work. They relax me so much and I'm not 100% sure why. I love games with words & letters. And if you were to look through one of my crossword books you would see that I even give the puzzles scores and have about 5-10 puzzles going on at one time. I almost always start with puzzle #12 and wrap it up with #1. It's a strange but very delicate process.
9. Animals. I only call them a guilty pleasure because I'm likely to come home with one once Ive been around it for about 5 mins. When I was a little girl Id go around and play with the neighborhood cats and dress them up in my baby doll's clothing and put them in a stroller. I also had a pet mouse named Oreo that I would put in my pocket and roller blade around the neighborhood with. He was cool until I had the bright idea of "Hey! Oreo needs a friend." His friend ended up eating him. Not a pretty sight. I was heart broken. The most recent occurrence of my lack of thought was last summer when I went to a friends BBQ and woke up the next morning with a solid black kitten in bed with me. Waking up itchy and curious I ran into the hall way asking Joey "Why and how did I make it home with a kitten?" However it's very fitting since Ive always love solid black cats. Again probably out of fear that one will cross my path while I'm driving. At least if I had one as a pet I would surely get a pass or so you'd think. So if you have any puppies or cute furry things that you are trying to get rid of please contact me immediately.
10. Gambling & Cards. Especially when you are gambling over cards. Ive always been a big fan of poker. Screw the clubs and lounges. Give me a table, a few decks of fresh cards, some "gents" and some sort of gamble and my ideal night will now be in play. I only say gents because it's a sweeter victory when you beat a bunch of guys who think you know nothing of the game. Probably my most memorable win was this one time I played with a bunch of old high school friends. They were all guys and one of which I wasn't too familiar with at the time decided to tease me through the entire game. Repeating "Why don't you just give me your money now. Just go home. You don't even know how to play cards. Just have one of your brothers play for you because you don't know what you're doing." I remember at one point even turning to someone and saying "I'm all for the shit talk but someone really needs to send this kid home because I'm about to kill him." The night continues and I find myself and the (lets just call him) shit talker the only two left in the game. And we were playing head to head at about 3AM. I had a extremely heavy chip lead and was just waiting for it to play out, take my winnings and head home. Suddenly a not so confident voice says "Hey Annie. Do you just want to split it and call it a night?" He was smart to ask me since there was NO way he would ever make it back in a reasonable amount of time. There was 100 plus dollars and some other options of payment that friends used. Of course everyone watching us at the table started to laugh at the notion of me even accepting this offer. I thought about it for a moment and envisioned what scene was about to play out and I gladly responded with "Sure." He quickly went to split the pot and I proudly said "But you have to get down on your knees. Hold my hands. Look into my eyes and say Annie Munoz you are the best poker player I have ever had the privilege to play with. You are far superior than I." I'm pretty sure I even threw in a hand kiss or two. Again everyone at the table broke down into laughter and I hear my opponent say "Well I'm tired anyway and I need the money so whatever." I cant explain the satisfaction that I felt in those following moments. I have since become friends with this person and it's a story that I love teasing him about. A good night indeed with a true victory. But yes cards and gambling is always a great time and pleasure filled nights are guaranteed to follow.
I can only imagine that with age I will only get more set in my ways and continue to have a close bond with all of these pleasures.
Embrace it
Annie
