There’s an article in today’s paper about all the blogs that people have left to gather dust on the web. Out of millions of blogs, apparently there are 50,000-100,000 that are read regularly.
Winter IS over. It’s Spring now. That being said, I’ve been remis in writing in my blog. Truth is, I haven’t decided what to do with The Blog except that I’m getting tired of looking at Pierre and a too recent post on Dog Poop.
JIM FLAHERTY
Last night, on the news, the weather woman and the newscaster were talking about the snow melt and all the things that were slowly, but surely, being revealed in their yards.
The newscaster’s wife had put a decorative sleigh in the front yard before the holidays and he said they can now see the tops of the rails. A listener sent in a photo of a garden gnome that was popping its red-hatted head up in front of a house. I, on the other hand, have learned that my dogs prefer very specific areas on the lawn on which they like to poop.
Over the months of winter, Toots and Gracie seemed to always go to the same general areas to do their business. I thought they were picking a different spot each time. Nope. Each new snowfall covered up the most recent business. So, now, as each layer of snow melts, more and more businesses are making their presence known.
Unfortunately, there’s still enough white snow left to show a rather glaring contrast. There are now increasingly darker and wider round circles in the snow of my front yard. Actually, I think it’s hilarious—all this time I’ve been waiting for the snow to melt and now that it is, all I can see are consistently growing areas of doggy poop.
If ALL the snow would just melt, they would be invisible and would become fertiliser. On the other hand, if it were to snow again, they would disappear. Hmmm… Which is better? Melting snow revealing yet more dog droppings or more snow to cover them up ’cause they look disgusting? Why, MELTING of course! At least Turdsicle season is over!
Most people would call this newly approaching period “Spring.” For me, however, it is the time of year for checking one’s shoes before entering the house because, as mentioned, said dark patches become invisible.
The warmth, I mean. Such beautiful water to be in. Isn’t that hammock the coolest?
And, it’s here…
… in southern Indonesia. The cottages are on stilts above the water. Ahhhh.. Can I please go??
(Photos from Misool Eco Resort via Desire To Inspire.)
Here is a bit of true silliness to take our minds off of the goings on of the world: Pop away!
And, here is another part of the site in which you can punch out politicians, celebrities and “wankers.” (The site is in the UK.) This is what I did to George Bush…
Ahhhh…. That feels better…
Back in January, I wrote a post in which I wondered who would come out the winner in the savings vs. spend solution to the financial crisis—the government or Oprah. Well, as for the US, Oprah and Suze have won. That was my wager. If Oprah can help get a man elected to the office of President, she (and Suze) can get Americans to stop spending. And, it looks like they have: ”We’re not going to have a consumer-led recovery out of the recession,” said Joseph Brusuelas, a director at Moody’s Economy.com. I do hope Canada is paying attention.
There is a very large black hole in my living room. Where there was light and action and (mostly) human sounds there is now a nothingness, a dark void in the entertainment centre. Silence. My TV blew up.
The actual final moments of my TV went unnoticed by me because I was in another room working on the computer. I did hear a loud “pop” and, from my chair in the office, I looked around a bit and then went back to work. It wasn’t until I walked out of my office that I noticed the TV was dark and blank.
This ignorance of my TV’s demise was part of a rather large problem. I live alone and the TV was always on. It was on continuously from the time I got home in the evenings, until I went to bed. It served as company for me. It took up the emptiness of a house with only one person in it. It was a sign of life. It was a warm glowing light in a chilly living room in winter. It was also elevator music—a constant blanket of noise absorbing everything around it.
Of course, it was also a diversion. It was always there. When I was bored or passing by the living room on my way to another part of the house, it was soooo easy to just plop down on the couch and insert myself into whatever was on.
The most diversionary aspect of the TV was that, through satellite, I could watch, in another time zone, any program I had missed. I could watch “Oprah” at 8:pm in Vancouver or “Lost” at 1:am in Alberta. I could catch “The National” news at 2:am. Entertainment and information was endless.
In the past, I might have been horrified that the TV was broken as I’m pretty much addicted to “Lost,” “Fringe,” “24,” and the CBC National News with Peter. (I could care less about “American Idol” or “Canadian Idol” or even “Dancing With The Stars.” I know… it’s unnatural…)
But, for quite some time I’d been thinking about turning the TV off. It was a scary thought but the constant noise was starting to get to me, to stress me out. The persistent fluctuation of sounds became din. I work at home and it was becoming a problem that I began to go to bed later and later because I just had to see my programs. Sometimes, I’d go to bed at 4 in the morning! Crazy. I did not have the discipline (or, courage??) to just unplug the television.
So, when the TV died I did not panic. I thought of it as an opportunity to see what life would be like without it. I was curious to see what affect having no television would have on my life. What would I do with my time? Would I be lonely? Would I get more work done? Would I be less stressed? I looked forward to a new experiment. How would I deal with this breach of connectivity with the world?
The next day I stewed about what I wanted to do—forget about TV altogether? Buy a new flatscreen? Get the old one fixed? I decided to check out my options. I called Sony and found out what the problem was. I called the TV repairman and got his input as to price and the future longevity of the TV if I had it repaired. He said it can be repaired but this would be a great opportunity to buy a new flatscreen!
So, over the course of the next several days, I read Consumers Reports and, as part of my errands, I checked out several stores with TVs for sale. The TVs were all flatscreen. All black. And, all shiny. They did not appeal to me one bit. I didn’t like the rectangular format. The black shininess looked like just so much plastic.
Covering all bases, I went to the Bell store to find out what would be involved in buying a new set—would I need a new DVD player to handle digital TV? Would I have to buy an HD box? What about the old satellite dish? After hearing the salesman’s pitch for this and for that, I told him I just may go without TV altogether. Well, this young guy reacted to that idea as if I’d be cutting of a body part. There was horror on his face.
I’m a bit ashamed to say that by the second or third day, I was beginning to feel really antsy about not having a television. I felt cut off from the world—sort of how I feel when my computer isn’t working. I felt an emptiness inside. At one point, as I sat in a TV-less living room one night, I felt what I thought it must feel like to detox from drugs! It was an eye-opener. The emptiness, the longing and jitteriness really caught me by surprise.
The next day I panicked. “Lost” would be on that night and I had no way to watch it! So, I dug out my old 13″ RCA set that had seen me through 8 years of TV in the past and put it on a little table in the bedroom. (It was way too small for the huge hole in the entertainment centre.) Then I took the broken TV out of its nest in the entertainment centre so I could get to all the wiring. I grabbed the satellite box, and proceeded to try to hook up the 13″ to the satellite box in the bedroom.
I went crazy! I couldn’t get the satellite cable to work. The satellite box requires a telephone line to hook it up. No telephone jack in the bedroom! I drove to the hardware store IN A SNOW STORM to buy a telephone extension cord. I called the Bell satellite people. I did everything I could think of and nothing worked! If a working TV was causing me stress, this little dead TV was 10 times worse! I know my blood pressure was sky high. I gave up. But not until after almost 4 hours of frenzied, frustrated activity!
Then I remembered the rabbit ears. Ah, rabbit ears… remnants of my childhood. I found them in the garage and attached them to the teeny, tiny set and voila! They provided a pretty fine picture of our 3 local TV stations. (How come there are always 3?) It was then that I regressed back to the 70’s, before cable and satellite.
I have been watching that little TV with the 3 stations ever since and my life has changed. I use the internet to see when my programs are on and when they are on, I sit down and I watch them. I watch only the shows I want to see. The TV isn’t constantly on because, unlike the big set in the living room, which was hooked up to my stereo system, this little thing has a tuna can for a speaker. When I leave it on when I’m not watching it, the noise drives me up the wall.
Since the TV is now in the bedroom, I don’t get waylaid every time I walk by the sofa in the living room. I keep moving towards whichever place in the house I had planned to go. If I miss a program I wanted to see, I’ve discovered I can watch just about everything on my computer. In the beginning, I stayed up too late watching TV shows in my office. Old habits die hard.
But, now, I watch TV with purpose. (That sentence sounds so funny!) I’m not doing several things at the same time. I’ve become accustomed to scheduling my TV time and if I miss a show, I miss it. I can watch it on the weekend, on the computer. Or not. I am keeping better hours—I watch Peter on The National and George Stroumboulopoulos after that and then I go to bed. I am getting to bed sooner and waking up earlier.
The biggest advantage of the TV blowing up is that I am now scheduling my time. There is now order where there was chaos. Or, I should say, there is more order and less chaos. With clear TV lines drawn, I have more focus on what I want to/should be doing.
I will have the big TV repaired but I told the repairman I am not in a hurry. I’ve decided to keep it in the living room so I can watch DVD movies AND because I don’t know with what else to fill up that gaping void in the entertainment centre. I will advise Bell that I want the satellite system put on “vacation leave.” That way I won’t be tempted.
My life is more peaceful. I am more focused and getting more done. The only downside to the little TV With Three Stations is that it has to be much closer to my eyes than it used to be! People say things happen for a reason. Well, at the moment, I would tend to agree. Change is good (as is free TV!). I am embracing my rabbit ears.
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