Friday, December 5, 2008

Cable TV and Me

I don't have cable. In fact I haven't had cable since sometime around 1979 when the boys were small and I was a stay at home mom. Cable didn't offer much then except all day reruns of Gilligan's Island, Andy Griffith and My Three Sons. There were cartoon channels and I could at least rely on them to keep the boys occupied for a few minutes so I could have a break. Sesame Street had top billing in our house though.

Since that time, I've pretty much dismissed cable as a drain on the finances and a means to turn the general public's minds to jello. Cable companies have spent a craptacular amount of money to try and entice me into subscribing over the years and I must admit that there have been times when I've been tempted to join the thousands of others and become a cable TV subscriber. In the end, finances have always won out over cable TV.

Lately though, I've been wishing I had it. Being unemployed has lead to moments of shear boredom and a desire to find some sort of diversion. Local TV programing leaves a lot to be desired in the way of intelligent, thoughtful or informative programs. Have you seen that new daytime show called The Doctors yet? It's supposed to be informative and sometimes it is but for crying out loud, all most everyday they have a segment on plastic surgery, liposuction or some other such thing. The last thing I need is to be spoon fed more crap about all the things I should be doing to keep my self looking like I'm 30. Honestly, do we really need to have some crap injected under the skin on our hands to make them younger too? What are we turning into? I don't understand why we continue with glamorizing or even normalizing these procedures right on the heels of talking about research studies that show young girls are struggling with negative body image and low self esteem because of this crap on TV.

Even the local news leaves me wanting. I want national and world news at my finger tips, right here, right now. So I've relied on my internet connection, which leaves a lot to desire in some ways. I can get the news and information I want but live streaming video really sucks between my cheap Gateway laptop and my DSL connection.

I've been thinking a lot about how people want what they can't have and being unemployed has created a lot of wants lately. I think this desire for cable is directly related to not having a job and the weather turning cold. Forcing me to stay inside more. If I were employed, I wouldn't have so much time on my hands needing to be filled with something else. If it were still warm, I could find plenty of things to do for free outside. I could go back to choosing not to have cable because I'm just to busy to enjoy it.

Last night, I actually looked at pricing for local cable offerings. Not really a smart thing to do when you know you aren't in any position to take advantage of a good deal even if you found one. I don't recommend it. So today, I'm going to focus on something else, what I do have. I have my health, my loving family, a whole host of new friends on line between Twitter and blogging. I have a roof over my head and pets that think I am a goddess. My brain still functions, I think.
I have a computer, an internet connection and the ability to continue to connect with others on line and the luxury of looking for a job on line, from my home any time of the day or night.

Please somebody, find my resume buried in that stack of 200 plus that you have and hire me! You would be performing a public service. If I don't find a job soon, I might just stoop to prank calling my mother for grins and giggles because I don't have cable to occupy me.

1 comment:

Kathy said...

Mary -- I'm kinda stumbling around old posts today. I have to tell you, since I started getting heavily into blogging I almost never watch TV anymore. I know I probably just traded one addiction for another, but I feel I have more control over what I'm doing on the web than when I used to channel surf. I feel more engaged online.

I also don't watch movies much anymore. I haven't watched any of the movies that were up for Oscars the last couple years.

So I know this post was from December. Have you been tempted again to get cable?