Short Term vs. Long Term Benefits

I just got off the phone with KT. Her cat scratched her wrist so that it looks like she tried to slit it. (Speaking of which, I unexpectedly loved the movie Wrist Cutters.) KT said "I knew it was going to happen, but she looked so beautiful I had to pet her anyway."

...Which reminded me of my activities last night. I got home around 11, with various friends unreachable by phone (in loud bars, etc.) but nearby for the looking. Instead I decided to have a kir and watch some TV. I've been hankering to stay up too late watching TV and drinking alone for a while. I've been streaming 30 Rock. As I poured myself another glass, I became aware of the deliciousness of the experience and, at the same time, that I would be sorry tomorrow for the sleep and hydration I'd missed.

At this point in the conversation, KT and I began to ponder the delicious men we know won't last with us, the chocolate cake we really shouldn't eat.... When I decide what to eat, I always select something that is either: 1) completely delicious and/or 2) healthy. I guess we go for that dating too -- it's a goal. And there are lots of things that are both delicious and healthy, like green beans, fine art films, and certain men. But choosing just kills me. And sometimes something becomes less delicious when we find out that it's healthy. (I had this experience with salads growing up.)

Categories include:
1) food
2) television/entertainment
3) booze
4) men
5) pets
Aren't these also the things we like best? I mean, I get that little tingly feeling when I read about bicycling, but I always turn to the entertainment section of the paper before I read about gas prices. These are also easy things -- things that don't necessarily challenge us. We love our pets in part because they love us unconditionally. They never ask us to improve ourselves. These delicious things that we love make us feel good right now, without actually asking us to become better people. Healthy food and men we stay with improve us. And sometimes we just want to give into our most base impulses without questioning them.