Wandering Out of the Vast Wasteland

Okay, so my television shorted out about a week ago after only eighteen years of trouble-free service.

Up to nowI have resisted the desire to get cable or to go with a big Entertainment System, but there are a few shows in particular that I like to watch, either for their entertainment value or because I learn something from them; but, truth be told, there are a lot of hours a week the thing is just running as wallpaper. The TV is on, and it keeps me company in the evening, while I'm on the couch with the laptop, either working, reading news & political sites, visiting sailing bulletin boards to chat with my friends, or just wasting time. I spend quite a few hours a week on line, just surfing around.

So I've decided to let the dead TV collect dust for a while, and observe what I do with the time. I've already noticed a few differences:

1. I'm sleeping more hours per night: I usually stay up 'til around midnight because there are shows on that I think I want to see. Thinking about it there really isn't anything important on David Letterman that I'd be missing. Now, I'm falling asleep about two to three hours earlier, so I'm feeling more completely rested when that alarm goes off at 5AM.


2. As a result, I get up right away instead of hitting the snooze and calculating how late I can stay between the sheets.


3. I've been getting out of the house earlier, and into my classroom 30–45 minitues earlier, sometimes right when the alarm system shuts down at 6AM, to get in a good solid hour of planning/preparing before kids start showing up on campus. One day last week, I use that hour to put together an entire lesson on Powerpoint that I gave the same day that enriched the novel study my juniors are engaged in.


4. I'm a bit more clear-headed during the day, esp. in the mornig (I'm not a morning person. I think this has actually helped).


5. I'm reading for pleasure a bit more. I used to sit on the couch with the TV remote in my hand, glance over at my bookcase and think that I'd like to spend a relaxed evening behind a book instead of in front of the idiot box; the other night, I actually did.

To be honest, I'm also viewing more movies in the evenings on my laptop, so my video addiction, if you can call it that, is still being fed to a degree. And a week really isn't a long time. But I haven't had any desire to take my tube to the repair shop yet, so for now, I'm going to let it remain blind and mute.

I'll be updating. I know you'll be waiting for my capitulation, just to justify your own television addiction. While you're waiting, why don't you pick up a book?