Sure I consume.

I consume breakfast, lunch and dinner. I consume junkfood occasionally. I consume at least one giant coffee a day. I consume beer more often than I probably should. I used to consume bourbon, but that proved to be unwise, so I went to consuming gin. I consume sushi and steak and hamburgers and Thai and rack of lamb and croissants and, these days, too many Lean Cuisines because they are quick and convenient.

Then there are those other things I consume (the non-ingestive stuff) like shoes and expensive skin care products. I consume vintage clothing and new clothing. I consume books - I try to consume at least one every couple of weeks. I definitely consume blogs - I consume 150 of them through my aggregator.

There is much more, but I'm even boring myself.

But, to Doc and Tim's points, I am not what I consume.

I fear, however, that those wishing that I consume more of the stuff they are peddling don't really have the time to sit down and get to know the 'real me'. Hell, some of the people in my life don't take that time. To that point, somedays I don't even know...

And, really, to Dave's point, it is a bit patronizing to have a conversation with me just because you want to sell me something. Can I ask you to help me move? Call you when I'm dumped by my boyfriend? Tell you about my bad hair day? Ask your opinion on my new shoes? I don't think so.

In a strange way, I'm back to wanting to be treated like a ....gasp... consumer. This way I can ignore you again.

So, seeing that I'm a marketing professional as well as a (erm) consumer, what can I do with this information?

...it's formulating...there is more on this to come...in the meantime, feel free to leave a comment or two.