I went out with a colleague last evening, it is the first week of classes and he is a second year prof. coming to us from the Mid-West. We went to a local watering hole and when I ordered my Beer - Blue Moon Beligan White - he ordered an iced tea. Honestly I thought nothing of it until we got on the philosophical talk about the efficacy of having a vice. He does not drink because he simply never felt he “needed” to. No big deal, I have lot’s of friends who do not drink. However, it wasn’t the fact that he didn’t drink the intrigued me, it was the “needed” to part that got me thinking. I certainly did not need to have a beer, but I wanted one, and when I reduced my thought process down a bit, why did I want one? Because it was cold, and fresh, crisp and clean? Maybe…then again, maybe I thought I needed to take the royal edge off…
I usually have at least one drink a day, be it a glass or two of wine, or a beer but something nontheless…usually.
I guess it is my vice…
How about all of you? Whether it is a tuna and pickles sandwich, or a cigarette…or a joint even…what is your vice? And why do you feel you need/want it?
Mountain Dew is my biggest vice. Not necessarily just caffeine, or sugar, or artificial colors and flavors, but that particular combination. Well, all the flavored combinations. Mountain Dew rocks.
I was a smoker, too, but I quit almost 3 months ago. I still miss it, and if I ever slip up, I’ll have a helluva time getting back “on the wagon,” as they say. Some days I find myself almost buying ciggies at the Wawa in the morning, out of habit.
Other than that, I’m pretty clean-cut. Boring, actually.
I used to smoke and I loved it, but it’s just so bad for you.
I enjoy the occasionally doobie.
I have alcohol every day. I “need” coffee. I don’t “need” alcohol. I just really really love the taste and feel of it. And occasionally, I like getting a little drunk, but not like I used to.
I also like to gamble.
I don’t enjoy the company of people without vices, typically, and seek to avoid contact with them.
Well, I don’t think I need anything other than the wife…and the Dope, of course!
As for want vices…I am a hypocritical beer snob (meaning I brew my own, sneer at macrobrews, but occasionally pound a Coors, just cuz it’s hot), I like good bourbon, and I have a controllable addiction to home-made peach ice cream.
I am really dependent on caffeine, and I must get it during the appropriate window of time. If I don’t drink anything caffeinated, I get a head ache around 4 PM, and by then it’s too late, because it’ll keep me up that night.
Tea is my favorite caffeine delivery system. Good tea is just so amazing. I have a wide variety to choose from in both my offices, including, at the very minimum, a Darjeeling, a black (Keemun or Yunnan, usually) an oolong, a green and a white.
There’s a certain feeling that comes over me when I pick up that hot cup, smell the rising vapors, and take the first sip. It’s my bod saying, “Yeeeeee haw! Caffeine’s a-comin’!” I only have one or two cups a day, but I needs my tea. Cola or coffee will do in a pinch, but nothing compares to the experience of a good cup of tea.
Also, I’m finding it nearly impossible to cut down on my dairy intake. I’m trying to avoid anything that’s not at least low fat, if not non-fat, but it’s just not working.
Those “Behold, the Power of Cheese” bastards are not joking around.
Caffeine in the morning…sometimes a beer or two at night, but not every night…occasional hit off the water pipe…gambling.
Of the four the only one I really need is caffeine, although I have no illusions about my ability to control the gambling and limit playing to once or twice a year.
Caffeine. I have a big travel mug (about 2 cups’ worth) of coffee in the morning, and a cup of tea in the afternoon. I’ve gotten hooked on Chai recently, and just love a big ol’ cup of steaming Chai in the afternoon.
Not so much on the alcohol. I don’t drink wine because it’s a migraine trigger, and don’t care for most mixed drinks that much, but I do like beer. I’ll have a beer or two sometimes when we go out to eat, but at the same time, I can go for months without one. I’ve been dieting, so I haven’t had much beer lately.
I have no desire to ever give up my vices - coffee, chocolate and wine.
Does that mean I need them if I don’t want to give them up? I try to enjoy them in moderation, but that doesn’t always work.
I used to smoke (cigarettes) but managed to quit cold-turkey 5 years ago. Sometimes I think I miss smoking, especially while sitting in a pub with friends over beers, but honestly, I hope I never pick up that vice again.
Drinking, smoking, men, mexican food and staying out late. My five favorite things. Someday ill quit smoking (sooner than later) but all those other vices are here to stay. I like my life with them.
I rarely drink, so we can cross that one out. Strangely enough I started drinking with my semi-delinquent friends in tenth grade when we got the homeless guys to buy us a case of beer. I am now 31 and I would be surprised if I haven’t had steadily less to drink every year.
I smoke, and I am gearing up to try to quit again. I love it, but I can just feel my health draining away. I have cut back a bit on my consumption of Diet Coke, at one point I was up to 130 odd ounces per day.
I love playing poker, but I am indifferent to gambling. I won’t bet on random events that I cannot control, but I will bet on games of skill.
I do have a vise which I guess would come in handy if I ever wanted to straighten an arrow.
Aside from that, it depends on who you ask. Compared to your average devout Mormon or Amish, say, my life is one constant whirlwind of depravity. I believe I’ve gone through a total of three six packs of beer this summer. Maybe even four. And I watched hours of beach volleyball during the Olympics. On the other hand, if I ever lost my mind and ran for President, the people assigned to dig up mud on me and mine would be weeping in frustration.
