my tears are real, but they are not

I just wanted to add a caveat to my last post. I love weepy dramas on TV but I hate reality TV that goes for the tear ducts. I don't want to see real people in crisis or getting a miracle cure or anything. I deal with real people every day and I don't want to watch their dramas unfold on my TV. Only pretty pretty fake people can make me cry.

now, cry!

Back when I was in college, I used to babysit to make extra money. My regular gig was for these two little demon brothers. Their favorite game was:

1. I build a lincoln log house.

2. They knock it down.

3. I pretend to cry.

If I didn't go "boo hoo" at the end, they would shout "now, cry!"

This brings me to my current television watching schedule. I watch a ton of shows that make me cry. Some of them better than others but all of which get a tear or two (or a sobfest) out of me.

Cold Case: You know going in that somebody's dead. This is not going to end happily. At best, they are going to get to bittersweet.
Crying scale: 3 out of 5.

Grey's Anatomy: While there are good crying moments, the whiny bratting from Meredith cheapens the cry.
2 out of 5.

Everwood: Not a guarateed cry, but when they get you, it's the best cathartic cry you've ever had. Case in point: When Dr. Abbot prayed in the hospital bathroom for his wife's recovery from cancer. I get a little sniffly just thinking about it.
4 out of 5. (Bonus: Bright Abbot is dreamy. )

Ghost Whisperer: Again, somebody is dead. The aforesaid ghost has something to finish up before they go into the light. That something is to get me to bawl my eyes out. Did you see the one with the dead kid telling his daddy not to cry? I know this show is ridiculous and yet, I am helpless before its power.
5 out of 5.

I feel like I'm missing a few, but these are definitely the top tier of weeping.

83 in 856

What I did this holiday season, in 101 in 1001 form:

15. Buy a piece of furniture to put my purse & keys on when I walk in the back door. Completed 12/29/05 -- Thank you, IKEA.

40. Take my shoes in to be re-heeled. Completed 12/30/05. Jessica's cobbler is AWESOME.

41. Take my new jeans in to be hemmed and take my Chip & Pepper jeans in to have the belt loop sewn back on. Completed 12/30/05. Now I just have to wait until the alterations are done...

61. Buy a recharger for my iPod mini so I can charge it up without hooking it to my laptop. Completed 12/18/05 -- Thanks Jen (aka HSW).

73. Finally take my comforter to be professionally cleaned. It’s been in a giant garbage bag since I had to quarantine it during flea-gate 2004. Hmm, well I did a 180 on this one. I bought a new comforter (or rather my parents bought me one for Chanuka) and threw out the old slightly ratty, potentially still flea-infested one. Screw it, I'm counting it as complete. Completed 1/02/06.

80. Get the dings buffed out/filled in/whatever on my car. Ha! Instead of getting these minor cosmetic things fixed, I just bought a new car. What is WRONG with me? Can I count this as complete? Or do I wait until I have dings in the new car? Ummm, completed 12/29/05.

81. Clean out and vacuum the inside of my car. Well, I cleaned out the old car before I traded it in. Can I count this? Man, this is a slippery slope... Completed 12/29/05.

86. Buy a new set of sheets to replace the ones that the cat is systematically destroying, one clawed thread at a time. Completed 1/1/06.

98. Buy more dangly earrings. -- Completed 10/29/05. Well, it's one more pair and one more IS more. Update -- I've since bought 4 more pairs of dangly earrings, so COMPLETED X 4.

The entire list.