My Three Favorites: Indulgences

Tonight I thought I'd write another post in My Three Favorites series, this time seeing if I can make Martin Luther turn over in his grave. Ol' Marty, time to put on your hair shirt because my topic (one quite dear to my heart) is indulgences. Being the person I am, it was difficult to bring the list down to a mere three, but I think I still managed to pick the top of the list. Here goes.

1. Ice Cream

Yes, my dears, Rebeccah likes it cold. Some of my fondest memories from childhood involve ice cream. My favorite flavor at Baskin Robbins (back when it was still called 31 Flavors...) was Daiquiri Ice, probably for its ridiculous neon blue color more than anything. I also liked to stir the ice cream for long time until it turned to "pudding" (i.e. melted.) I started this indulgence with a photograph of Rocky Road because that is one thing I sorely miss living in Germany. No Rocky Road ice cream and also no Peanut Butter and Chocolate (actually, Europeans can't seem to believe peanut butter and chocolate taste good together, but that is a different story...)
Unlike its American counterpart, where the rule is the chunkier the better, German ice cream tends to follow the smooth, gelato-style thinking. Although it took some getting used to, I now love the stuff just as much. This summer I got a scoop with the babies at the organic ice cream stand on Bergmannstrasse nearly everyday. These days I'm working on loosing some weight, something that does not come easily to me since I love to eat and would never consider seriously dieting (who needs the torture?!?) Basically, I have to have a reason to loose weight and my reason these days is that I love posing in the clothes for my vintage shop. If I lost another 20 pounds I could even pose in some of the mediums which would be most convenient. I got the babies a scoop today and was able to resist one for myself even though they had Pflaume Zimt (cinnamon plum) in stock. Quite a feat, I must say. ;)

2. Wine

People, seriously, I am a total wino. There is a fantastic Spanish wine shop on our street and, together with my brother-in-law, my husband and I keep the place in business. I have struggled some with this drinking thing. Severe alcoholism runs on my father's side of the family and, when you have that in your genes, you just can't help but wonder. Still, I really only drink wine. I can't remember the last time I was actually drunk (though I suppose tipsy is another story....) I don't drink to forget or suppress emotions. I drink because it relaxes me, because I like it, the taste and stuff. You know.
Then again, isn't that exactly the kind of thinking an alcoholic would have? "I may drink, but it's not like I'm as bad as that guy," they say, pointing to some bum who has just barfed all over his thread-bare trousers. Alcoholic comparisons. Alcoholic justifications. No, of course not. I don't have a problem. Or so I thought, until a week or so ago. I put the babies to bed and, as usual, went to the kitchen for a glass of wine. But then I saw we didn't have any. Although I could handle it, I was really (even physically) disappointed. "Crap," I thought. "I'm addicted." We had a conversation about this recently with some German-French friends of ours. Once, when their eldest son was in the sand box, he made a motion like he was pulling something up, then made a sound like a cork coming out of bottle. "Crap," they thought. "How embarrassing." Still, how bad is it really? I mean, a wino isn't as bad as an actual alcoholic (she says as she finishes her third (but final) glass of Vina Tobia Rose for the evening.....)

3. The Internet

Up until a few years ago I wasn't really an internet person. I did the chat room thing for a month or so back in the early 90s (what was the server called? Ex something...) and ended up with this ridiculously large bill. After that it was strictly e-mail for the most part. For the first five years I lived in Berlin I didn't even have internet access at home. I would check my e-mail at the library or at university for the brief time I studied here. Before I met Jasper I did all my internet business at one of the Lebanese Internet cafes on Sonnenallee. I was always the only woman in there. I'm pretty sure all of the Arab teenagers in the place were secretly looking at porn.
I had a conversation a while back with a friend about what we would do if there were no longer any Internet. Even the mere thought filled me with a small wave of panic. Not only do I run an online shop and write two blogs, I also am always looking up things on Wikipedia and occasionally pushing that StumbleUpon button when I need to veg (Internet has completely replaced television since we don't have one.) Right now I'm listening to my "To Write To" playlist on YouTube. What would I do without YouTube to show the babies vintage cartoons and Sesame Street for a guaranteed 20 minute break (three cheers for YouTube babysitter!!)? I've done all the social networking stuff from MySpace to Twitter to Facebook, but after a while I got tired of all of it. Still, I need my Internet time. I really don't know what I would do without it. Internet, you are 2 good 2 be=4-gotten. ;)