Addictions

So as a comm major we all know I should be very weary of the marketing world going on around me. Billboards, posters, people shouting on the street, newpaper ads, and commercials - all of it should be continuously absorbed into my already packed head. However, there's a small problem with one of these...I don't have cable and therefore I'm missing all the new ads everyone spouts off about. Not only that but I can't watch TV in general.

And right now, in the midst of all the craziness of exams and final papers...I REALLY F*CKING MISS TV!

Please forgive me for the internet shouting, but I'm a television junkie. I'm used to constantly being bombarded with images and noise and light. I'm facinated by "reality" tv shows. John and Kate Plus 8? Yeah I loved that show. Am I sad that I didn't have cable for the last season and the final episode ever? You bet I am! 18 Kids and Counting? Completely facinated. The Real World? Guilty pleasure, but yes it makes the list too. Americas Next Top Model? Who can't stop themselves from watching the all day marathons?! Ghost Hunters? I love every version of this show. Glee?? If you know me at all you know this one speaks for itself.

I could continue this list but well I don't really want to reveal the depth of my addiction. Because it's bad...really bad.

I've realized how bad it is over the last couple of weeks when my subconsious has been reminding me of exactly how much I miss watching ramdom shows and midlessly flipping through channels to distract myself when I'm stressing. I can easily remember at least 5 times recently (not to say there aren't more times that I just don't remember) where I've picked up the remote to my TV and turned it on like I was going to watch TV. Well without cable I can really just stare at static unless I happen to have a new movie to watch. Let me tell you, I've never been one who was entertained by static snow.

I've found some relief in Hulu.com. This lovely little website sets up a queue of shows for me to watch the day after they've aired on television. Currently I'm getting my fill of House, Scrubs, Glee, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Hunters Academy, SNL, and Extreme Make Over: Home Edition.

However, even with the promise of a new show at least 5 days out of the week, this doesn't come close to making up for my need to flip through television channels at will. With the stress of school and work and making plans for after graduation...I need something totally mindless. Many of you will tell me to read a book, and believe me I've been doing plenty of that. Don't get me wrong here either, I LOVE reading. Sometimes when I don't have time to read a "for fun" book I forget how much fun it is untill I can pick up a book again. But that does require some focus. A good series will certainly draw me in and keep me captivated but it's not totally mindless. I have to work my imagination, and frankly sometimes I'm to lazy to even want to do that.

This should get a little better after tuesday when I proudly hand in my final paper for my speech writing class and can say a big FU to this semester. I don't think I've ever been this ready for a semester to be over. And it's really only gonna get worse from here. Goody.

Come on January...I'm ready for cable!

The human race is faced with a cruel choice: work or daytime television. -Anon.

The television, that insidious beast, that Medusa which freezes a billion people to stone every night, staring fixedly, that Siren which called and sang and promised so much and gave, after all, so little. -Ray Bradbury

Educational television should be absolutely forbidden. It can only lead to unreasonable disappointment when your child discovers that the letters of the alphabet do not leap up out of books and dance around with royal-blue chickens. -Fran Lebowitz