I heart Craigslist

I love Craigslist. I shouldn't, since it is one of the reasons why newspapers are dying. But I am a little bit addicted. No, not to the erotic section where you can find a prostitute. But I have used Craigslist to find roommates, activity partners and softball teams. In most cases, Craigslist has improved my life. When I first moved down to West Covina, I turned to Craigslist to find a roommate. When I needed to sell my bike, I found a good buyer off of Craigslist. When I was looking for freelance gigs, I found them on Craigslist.

But now that I think about it, I've put a little bit too much faith in the Web site.

Like last night, for example. I've been wanting to find a rock climbing partner, but everyone in my newsroom circle just looks at me cross eyed when I ask them to go climbing. So I turned to Craigslist. There was an add looking for a bouldering partner. I responded, called the guy and we agreed to meet at The Arc, a rock climbing gym in Arcadia. When I told my friends that I was meeting a guy who is a total stranger at the gym, they were convinced that I was going to be murdered. The guy ended up being totally normal -- not even a perv or a killer. The only downside is that, apparently, it was "date night" at the gym, and everyone kept on thinking that we were a couple. He was about 120 pounds and 5'5, whereas I am 5'7 and 150 pounds. Pretty unlikely couple.

And then there is the softball team I play on. I repsonded to an add looking for another female for the team. The team was in Covina, worked with my schedule and was cheap, so I figured, why not? After I agreed to play, the coach of the team said, "Well, let me tell you a little bit about the team. Most of us are former narcotics anonymous members..." Oh great. So I guess pizza and beer after the game is out of the question.

The team -- which hasn't won a game in four seasons -- has ended up being extremely entertaining. Whether it's the outfielder who plays while smoking a ciggarette, the parents whose child was just expelled for bringing a butcher knife to school or the couple of guys that have spent a combined 20 years in prison, there's plenty to talk about.

Oh yeah, and then there was the roommate search in the summer. The "best" roommate I found off Craigslist ended up robbing our house on my birthday, then staying in the house for about one month before I evicted her. I know, I know. I am a reporter, I should have known better. But I was desperate.

But even after the last six months of questionable finds on Craigslist, I know that when newspapers are finally dead, I have a Web site to include in my job hunt.