When love and hate come together....

I've been blogging with three fabulous women for two years and have been enjoying all the fun topics we come up with week after week. If you want to see what we've discussed in the past, check out our posts here.

This week, Froggie says: Choose either things you love to hate or things you hate to love.

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:
Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

I didn't really give much thought to this topic until Froggie brought it up. When I first considered stuff I hate to love, I thought of guilty pleasures, but then realized that I actually love to love my guilty pleasures. And in terms of loving to hate stuff, I never thought I had it in me, but there are some things out there that I enjoy hating.

In terms of things I hate to love, Walmart would be at the top of my list. There isn't a Walmart nearby, but if we are traveling and happen upon one, just watch out. The reason I hate to love it is because so many people are against it or have issues with it and I really do feel guilty for shopping there, even though the prices are so much better than Target in some ways. I've learned to love Target, but if a Walmart moved in nearby, it wouldn't stand a chance. Walmart not only brings up fun college memories (before I became an observant Jew, my Friday nights were spent shopping at the Super Walmart in Normal, Illinois), but it's also front and center in my favorite movie of all time, Where the Heart is. So you can see why it holds a special place in my heart.

Another thing I hate to love is Chinese food. I've always been a Chinese food fanatic, but it's hard when there's not a decent Chinese restaurant nearby. I mostly get it for the meat items, so it needs to be Kosher. I was so spoiled by Chopstix in Teaneck (even though it was take-out only) that it was strange to move to a town that has a Kosher Chinese sit-down restaurant and find that it's not all that good. The only times I really enjoy it are when they have the buffet because we don't have to wait a million years to eat and the food tastes a lot fresher. The last time we went for a regular sit down meal, the rice was hard and didn't stick together. That's just so wrong! And the service has always been awful. I wouldn't complain if David Chu's decided to move away from Baltimore and come out my way, but that's just wishful thinking. I was glad to go to a party over the winter holidays where they served David Chu's take-out. Heavenly! Still, the visits to David Chu's (come on, the initials are DC....it should be in DC!!!) are few and far between. So having a craving for Chinese food is frustrating in this day and age. Thankfully, my husband makes awesome sweet and sour chicken and egg drop soup.

As for stuff I love to hate, IHOP is at the top of my list. I refer to it as I-HELL and haven't set foot inside one since I quit my serving job there in August of 1996. That's almost 17 years IHOP free and I'm proud of my personal boycott. I worked there to make some extra money one summer while I was in college, but I'm not sure the benefits (tips???) were worth all the costs (such as my sanity). The guys there were disgusting and it was like a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen. They were so cheap that we had to pay for our own meals, so I didn't think suing them would really get me much other than some more headaches. The Sunday brunch crowd was pure torture. If you can afford to be a North Shore snob, you can afford to spend money at a fancier breakfast establishment and stay out of my life. The only thing that made it worthwhile at all were the weeknight customers. I had some nice ones from time to time and they made me feel good about myself. I even got to flirt with guys from time to time. (Just not the creepy ones.)

I also love to hate trendy cult book series...especially those involving a number and color in their title. I think it's mostly because some fan of another cult series decided to write some fan fiction and change a few names around, add in some eroticism, and make gobs of money from it. Yet, I have met some talented writers who are doing an honest day's work and putting their heart and soul into their books and they don't get close to the notoriety that this fan fiction writer did. It just fuels my fire even more.

There are other items that float on either side of the spectrum, but I think I've said my piece for now!