Funding the Paparazzi

My name is Stacy and I'm a celeb-aholic. There is no denying it any longer, not that I was really. I have always had an unhealthy addiction to celebrity gossip. I think I get it from my Granny. She would purchase (and I believe she still does) The Enquirer, Star, People, Us, etc. every week at the grocery store and then save them all in a bag. Not for recycling but to give to my Mom and me during our next visit. It was like someone dropping a truckload of crack in your driveway. There was no putting it off. Each morsel of Hollywood debauchery had to be consumed. Immediately.

The internet has only made it easier to score. I can't start my day without visiting PerezHilton, TMZ, or People to see what Britney did while I was sleeping or how Michelle Williams is coping with Heath's death. It has been in my quest for this info that I have found X17, PageSix and Ok! Magazine's websites as well. I can spend hours on Wikipedia just looking up random celebs to see what their kids are named, before heading to imdb to see just how many movies George Clooney and Brad Pitt have been in together.

The sad part is that on many occasions all of this useless information hasn't been so useless after all. I am asked quite frequently to settle a bet between two friends about who an actor has been married to or "What's the name of the movie with that one guy...?" In my job I'm often asked to find out if the guy from that movie about the war is available for voiceover work or "Didn't he have an inappropriate relationship with his kids' babysitter?" So in that respect it isn't exactly useless.

I have yet to come across a 12 step program for my addiction. Of course it would be near impossible to conquer, there are temptations everywhere. On TV, the internet, NPR! I wouldn't even be able to grocery shop! How else do I pass the time in the check out lane if I can't peruse In Touch Weekly while I wait? Of course they say the first step in conquering your addiction is to admit you have a problem, which I have done. But I think the next step it to say you want help, which I don't believe I really want. I mean what harm is there really in wanting to see a slideshow of Ben Affleck buying his little Violet a kitten?