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To Jenny D., and every other craigslist addict out there, you are not alone.  I too, am addicted to the list of craig. I scan each page until my neck aches and my left pinky starts to go numb.  I tell my friends, and sometimes strangers, how great I think it is.  “It is like, the Most Phenomenal Tool known to man!  Ever!  I mean, you can do anything on there!”  They usually smile and nod politely.  Once in a while someone will remind me of the “craigslist murders,” which I curtly dismiss.  I tell myself that no one got killed picking up vintage linens in broad daylight from an old woman in Glendale.

You see, after moving a month ago, I am no longer addicted to the rental listings.  I’ve moved on… to the free section.  Old dishes, a half eaten box of cereal, good dirt… it’s all right there.  I responded to an ad from somewhere in the valley for old theater seats.  The guy was just giving away old, red velvet covered theater seats.  He wrote me back almost immediately to say that they needed to be bolted to the floor, there were about a hundred, and I’d have to take all of them.  But, they could be mine, completely free, if I wanted.  After reading the e-mail, I studied my living room intently, calculating just how much space I would need for a hundred seats. (I should mention, my living room is not a whole lot bigger than the handicapped fitting room at the Gap.) “Okay so that’s ten rows of ten… they’re probably about 24 inches wide?”  As I pondered, my roommate walked in.  She looked at my computer screen, then my furrowed brow, “What are you doing?”  Still staring, I said, “There’s a guy giving away a hundred old theater seats on craigslist, but we’d have to take all of them.  How many do you think we could fit on the patio?”  She looked at me, blinked twice, and said, “Umm…” 

It was at that moment that I realized my obsession had gone too far. 

We already have nineteen chairs in our two-bedroom apartment, including desk and dining chairs… thanks to my little CL freebie habit.  I keep telling my roommates that I will refinish or reupholster each one and eventually sell them all.  I think they still believe me at this point, but it won’t be long before they start planning an intervention. I’m no longer afraid to admit that I may have a problem.  You may have a problem too. But, look at it this way: as a craigslist addict, at least there’s a chance you’ll find a free desk that isn’t from IKEA, or that guy who winked at you on the metro… but the girl in the cubicle next to you who spends even more time on facebook, examining pictures of her ex or her high school friends with babies has nothing to show for it except carpal tunnel and a jealousy complex. 

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