Hello, my name is Kiki and I have an addiction to reading news articles on the internet...

I acknowledge that I have problem. It all came to a head when I began graduate school in 2001. First I had to give up reading for fun. When I read a book, I will not set the book down until I am done. I simply can't function properly in graduate school if I spend three days at a time rolled up in a blanket on my couch, wearing PJs, failing to shower or eat any substantial food besides that which I can grab with a hand and stuff in my mouth (usually found in boxed or bagged packaging, bearing the label "junk food") all for the sake of finishing the book I was reading.

The next to go was TV. I easily become addicted to TV watching. If the television is on, I my eyes become glued to the set and I cannot pry them away, nor can I accomplish anything else (for all you multitaskers out there, I simply don't understand your ability to watch TV and do five other things at once). Not only am I unable to shift my focus to anything else occurring around me that is not in the direct line of vision (often people will stand in front of the TV to get my attention), but I cannot simply turn the TV off. Just like reading a book, somehow I can not be gratified unless I see something to completion. The problem with TV is that once a show is over, something else begins. There is no end to it and I have been known to watch TV until 4am. After days of TV watching, the TV takes over my brain and I begin to feel like I cannot find Satisfaction in Life unless I'm watching TV. I become empty, hollow, with no other purpose than to watch TV for hours. But then, I am never gratified because TV never comes to completion!

So you see, I was not too bothered to give up TV cold turkey. However, my addictive personality came up against a new nemesis, the internet. The internet combines my love of reading with the never ending stream of information, a la TV. I fall upon news sites and after reading one article, I discover an interesting link. Upon reading the other article, I follow a link to another article. I cannot bring my internet time to some satisfying conclusion! I will read like this for hours, never exhausting the potential reading materials. As the hours tick by like minutes, I slowly emerge from my haze to the realization that I have two or three hours of work to complete for the next day and it is already midnight. For the past week, I have not drifted into sleep until 3am. In fact, my body is starting to act like I'm not supposed to get serious about work until way past midnight. Truly, this cannot go on!

So I confront my nemesis...will I learn self-control? Can I possible reverse years of learned experiences that resulted a deeply ingrained desire to see EVERYTHING to fruition? By the sheer force of will, can I restrict myself from something I hold dear to my heart? I do not think I can live without the internet! It is not possible to cut the internet out of my life. It is necessary to my existence as a grad student, yet it is eating away at my effectual completion of my grad program (every wasted hour gets tacked on to the back end of my expected graduation date).

Must. Turn. Off. Computer.