My Guiltiest Guilty Pleasure (From the Archives)

guilt·y pleas·ure

noun

1. something, such as a movie, television program, or piece of music, that one enjoys despite feeling that it is not generally held in high regard.

   "everybody has a guilty pleasure—for me, it has to be mid 70s disco"

   
   

   
   

   
   

One day about two years, in a rare moment of workday down time, J, my officemate at the time and I were talking.  We were new officemates and like so many strangers who share a space, we were still feeling each out and getting to know one another.  Being from different generations, J is a millennial and I am a Gen Xer, and sharing a few acquaintances, she and I had very little in common outside of work.  Up until that day, most of our conversations had fallen into the work category.  Neither of us were willing to let our guards down and venture into more personal areas of conversation.

Anyway, on this particular day, and I honestly don't remember how our conversation started. I do remember, however, in vivid detail I might add, the exact moment when J said something about "Jax."  Separated by a cubicle wall, I straightened by back and squared my shoulders, as if that would enable me to hear her better.  Then, with the slightest bit of trepidation and with crossed fingers I asked, "J, do you by chance watch Sons of Anarchy?"  And, much to my relief, she did. That was the moment J and I first bonded, over our mutual admiration and appreciation of Jax Teller and over our mutual secrecy of watching SOA.

I was a latecomer to Sons of Anarchy, having discovered it through the Facebook postings of some friends from back home as the series began its seventh and final season in September 2014 (about a month and a half before my "SOA fan coming out" conversation with J).  Through the technological wizardry of Netflix, I watched the pilot and that was, as they say, all she wrote.  I was hooked.  That is when I learned first hand what it meant to be a binge watcher.  I gobbled up seasons 1 through 5 over the next three weeks and told no one.  No one.  Not a single living soul.  (Granted, my husband and stepkids knew because they saw it on the TV screen, but that was it.)  Despite how much I obviously enjoyed the show, I mean honestly - for a while I was a bonafide binge-watching SOA addict, I was extremely hesitant about anyone knowing. You can imagine my relief and joy when I found someone in the same boat as I!

Sons of Anarchy is now off the air; its series finale aired in December 2014. Despite my being late to the game, I watched every single episode - I've even rewatched seasons 1 and 2.  But still, a year and a half after the finale, I'm still hesitant to admit to some people I know, that I watched and <gasp> enjoyed this testosterone driven, bloodbath of a soap opera!  I'm forty-something years old for Pete's sake!  Why do I even care?

In all honesty, I have no idea.  It's something I have yet to figure out.  But, I'm stepping outside of my comfort zone and publicizing it here for all the world to see.  That MUST count for progress!

So, enough about me and my guiltiest of guilty pleasures. What's yours?

As always, thanks for stopping by!

P.S. Happy Monumental Birthday to the girl on the right (even though she doesn't read my blog)!  Yep, H turns the big 4-0 today and K (in the middle) and I are out in Vegas with her helping her celebrate.  It's a tough job, but hey - that's what friends are for, right?  After I return, I might have a NEW guiltiest guilty pleasure!  What's that old saying about what happens in Vegas?  LOL!

*Periodically, I unearth old blog entries from my first year of blogging that didn't receive many views in order to give them new life.  Any blog entry that is being given a second shot will feature "From the Archives" after the title. This entry was originally published on July 9, 2015.  It has been edited for grammatical errors and updated in terms of dates, accuracy, and relevancy.