1. My wife. Before I get things thrown at me, claiming I'm a sentimental sap, it's true. She just happens to be really cute, a fun companion, and smart, too! Though it's not always easy to admit it, every minute of every day, we're both darn lucky we're not single. Anybody who will put up with my other 9 addictions, in no particular order, and still manages to be unique herself, is worth keeping.2. The Internet. Try and get me to take a vacation that doesn't involve easy access to high-speed Internet... it's not going to happen. I'm on the laptop first and last things each day.
3. My job. At each stop in my career, I've been all-consumed to exceeding expectations. If that sounds like a sorry first line to a resume, so be it. But hardly a minute goes by when I'm not either thinking about a project, or strategizing on where to take the next one. The goal is to make the company bigger and better because I've been part of it, and for them to know I helped.
4. Humor. It sounds generic, but if I'm not actively seeking out witty sarcasm through The Daily Show, The Simpsons, Arli$$, or This Modern World (to name a few), it's me making up the nonsense. I've usually got a crooked grin hiding the fact that something has internally struck me funny, and there's just not a good outlet for it yet. Other times, I let the words go, and so long as it's funny to me, that works well.
5. Competition. Again, generic. But I yearn for it. I hate losing, and I love fighting to come out on top, whether that's in a game of cribbage against my 78-year-old father in law, Trivial Pursuit against my wife, a pickup game of H-O-R-S-E with my colleagues, or in business. Competition stokes the inner fires and pushes me to get better at whatever I want to.
6. Oakland A's baseball. If the game's on, I know the score. Doesn't matter if I'm at the game, in the car, on the road, or at the office. Even if I'm not actively participating in the gameday thread at Athletics Nation, part of my mind is on the game.
7. Techno music. I almost always have some kind of techno beat in my head. Techno and electronic music is why Mozart came and died. This is the end result of all those composers who made names for themselves in history. Techno gives me energy and enjoyment for pretty much any situation.
8. Diet Coke. Now that's traditional, isn't it? In my teens, I simply didn't have enough money required to sponsor my addiction, but by the time I got to college, and into the workforce, I was only too happy to oblige. Good thing I switched away from the full-octane stuff my junior year at UC Berkeley. Otherwise, I'd be even more heavy.
9. E-mail. While you could argue that it's a subset of the Internet, it really has earned its own spot, especially with the advent and adoption of the Blackberry, which brings e-mail with me, no matter where I go. If you ever want to see a businessman fidget, take his Blackberry away. They literally will reach for it, only to see the face fall when their body realizes it's gone.
10. TiVo! Though the summer months don't help me renew my vows with TiVo as often as the rest of the year, this black, rectangular box does my bidding every day, whenever I ask, and it really does wait for me to be ready to spend time with it. It entertains me for hours, and never asks to be taken for a walk (sorry to Molly, our 16-year-old beagle) or reminds me when the mortgage is due.