My name is Andrea and I'm a Monk-a-holic. It's the one show I'm addicted to. Even though I own the DVD boxsets, if there's a Monk Marathon, I can't miss it. When I was waiting for the new season to start, I talked about it for weeks. When it finally happened, all I could talk about for the next week was looking forward to the upcoming episode. When out with friends I sometimes start humming the theme song.

After my car accident, I was left in bad shape. I had lost vision in one eye, I had nerve damage in my face, and I needed two surgeries on my leg. I watched the recent epsiode "Monk on Wheels", with my mom, and she laughed so hard because, (so she says), Monk's reaction after he got shot was how I acted after my surgeries.

I guess that's why I like Monk so much, because even at his craziest, he's easy to relate to. When I go shopping, if I have to touch things like shopping carts, or if I shake hands with strangers, I need to use hand sanitizer. I never really thought twice until my friend, who I got hooked on the show, started to say I was having a "Monk" moment. I seem to have a lot of those according to family and friends.

Monk has been helping me through my recently broken ribs too (slipped on the ice). On the nights I can't sleep which has been every night lately, I pop in one of my Monk DVDs and laugh the pain away.

And finally, I have to be loyal to Monk. The star, Tony Shalhoub, is a Wisconsin native like myself. (Go Packers!) and Go Monk!!

<3 Andrea