T-minus 10 days...
A month ago I started toying with the idea of canceling my cable. I hemmed and hawed, even came up with a list:
1. This could be bad for my career.
PR folk are supposed to know lots of stuff about lots of stuff ("or a little bit about a lot," for all you Moore family members out there). But really, this isn't a valid reason with all the newspaper and online coverage I see. So really, #1 is just a b.s. excuse for "I should probably know the latest E! news gossip straight from Ryan Seacrest's lip-glossed lips." (You just know he uses gloss.)
2. But what about educational TV?
Right. Because I'm watching a lot of that at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning. (In case you're wondering, that's re-runs of 90210 on Soap Net.)
3. But I don't get sucked in to all the crap!
Despite the fact that I've just referenced E! News (and that I know to use the ! after the "E"), I spent 3 hours last Sunday watching America's Next Top Model. I felt really sh*tty about my body after that. Just like I've stopped reading high fashion magazines because I know how they make me feel, TV is full of really thin, really shallow people. What goes in feeds how we feel.
4 through....yeah. I got nothing. There's no time like the present, and whatnot.
So, I've decided that after The Sopranos finale, I'm gonna pull the cord. (A smoker picks a quit date, after all.)
As far as how long I'll hold out - I'm shooting for the duration of the summer. There are fields to roam through and friends to visit and neighborhoods to be explored. If there's an easy season to to do it, I figure this is it.
Just to be clear: this isn't some sort of soapboxy plea for all people to give up their TVs.
I've simply realized that this is a good deal for me right now. The TV has been too much of a companion. Hopefully this will lead me to grow more comfortable with silence, to rediscover old music when I can't take it anymore, and to get some fresh air when I'm claustrophobic.
Today's Album: Kicking Television - Wilco
posted by Ally @ 3:30 PM
6 Comments:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!
Ally, I haven't had cable since I moved to KC and I can't say I've missed much. The first month, you'll wonder what's on MTV or Natl. Geographic Channel, but then you quit caring. and b/c the stations I get from my rabbit ears (target for $10) suck besides PBS, I turn on my tv only to watch movies. seriously. How do I spend my nights you ask? internetting, music, playing outside, chilling with friends, reading magazines. trust me, the void will be quickly filled. esp. in the summertime. by fall, you won't know why you didn't do it sooner.
Yeah girl...do it!!!! And the great thing is, when you do want to watch something, it has to become a communal event and you have to hang out with folks with cable to watch! I was sans cable for 10 years and it was a very, very good thing. I plan to go back when I move to my next place. Mike talked last week about being stewards of our attention...this is a good example of that.
When you've dropped off your cable box, or when they've come to pick it up, I say you toss in Cream and blare "I feel free" really loudly, jump around on your couch belting out your best Clapton impersonation, hit repeat and do it again.
Spend the next two days learning the lyrics though, so that you can properly sing along.
Thanks for the support! From everyone I've talked with, it sounds like the devil box deserves some rest.
Thanks for the music recs, Mr. Anonymous! I'll learn it. :)
You can always come view my cable...I'm not ready to part ways....although I don't have most of the good channels anymore. But, that's due more to the evil-doers at Time Warner Cable. Proud of you for pulling the plug! KMC
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