"Someday's gonna be a busy day..."

Wednesday 28 October 2009

Anti TVite

Don't hate me for what I'm about to reveal: we have a TV, and it's a dandy one, but....we don't have cable. Or satellite. Or even two fuzzy channels from bunny eared antennae. Nope, ever since we moved to Someday, our TV has been used as a dust collecting DVD viewer only.

When we moved in, we decided not to get TV for the summer; we didn't miss it, and so here we are, over a year later and still decidedly TV-less. I think that we're an anomaly in this day and age of media saturation; I only have one other set of friends who don't watch TV. And my husband and I aren't even super smug granolas. I facebook, we both email and my husband needs to be surgically removed from his blackberry. But when it comes to TV, it boils down to this: 1) we're kinda cheap (we can't get cable here and satellite is over $75 a month!), and 2) we try hard to find better things to do than melt into the couch for hours on end in front of the squawk box.

There are a million and one things that need doing when you live in an old house on a rural property. Lawn mowing alone takes over 3 hours a week in the summer, and don't get me started on snow shovelling in the winter. There are gardens to tend, dogs to walk, leaves to rake, garages to paint and mutant dust bunnies to chase. Add a baby to the mix and who the heck has time for TV anyway?

I will admit that I miss shows like Dancing with the Stars and House, and before Jady came along, I'd sneak down to my brother-in-law's to watch them. But I can catch shows like Glee online, and when D and I really do have a few hours to chill, we rent a DVD and enjoy every minute of it. I like that we have to make a conscious decision to make the time to watch something, instead of just having the TV on endlessly in the background.

All this being said, I think our TV-less state has finally started to wear on my husband's nerves. He missed one hockey season last year, and I think he's getting sick of my dad calling on Saturday nights to mock us for not being able to watch the game.

My dad, by the way, has a gargantuan big-screen TV and every sattelite channel imaginable. When he comes to visit us, he's lost, because he's forced to (gasp) talk and listen to music. He was here last week and he walked into the living room, stared at our black, dusty TV and shook his head forlornly. "Geez, you kids," was all he said.

I know that when I lived in the city, I used to have the TV on quite a bit, sometimes just as background noise, not because I was actually watching anything. I suppose TV kind of becomes a habit. For example, I recently went away for a weekend with a couple of friends; we had a lovely hotel room with a beautiful view and a fireplace, but the first thing my one friend did was walk over and switch on the TV. Having been TV-less for awhile, I found the noise jarring and unwelcome. But to her, it was the natural thing to do.

At this point, I've told D he can go ahead and get sattelite if that's what he really wants. I do feel bad that he's missing out on hockey, cause he loves it and I think watching a few games a week is pretty harmless. But I honestly think he just wants to get some channels so we seem more "normal." I think he's tired of explaining to friends and relatives who stare at our blank screen in puzzlement why we don't "have TV."

So we'll see...by this time next month, I could be a converted TV queen instead of an anti-TVite.

6 comments:

Lily Whalen said...

We have a TV, but we don't have cable and only get a few channels. Our TV watching is very limited - the occasional news broadcast is really all it amounts to. Otherwise, we use it as you do, to watch DVDs, or my kids use it to play (too much in my opinion) on their x-box. I enjoy e-mail and facebook as much as you do, but I agree that there are more beneficial things to do and enjoy than to be screen-bound.

tanzi said...

Oh Thank Gawdess. I don't have a tv here in the 'cow but do catch up on my fave shows via my computer. I will be so happy to be able to watch a few shows with you. :) Even if that does mean hockey. Eddie will be pleased to have cartoons, too.

rvr said...

(Please, Auntie Kimberlee, DON'T GET HOOKED ON THE DAILY SOAPS! I heard they give you cancer of the eyeballs. love ... rvr)

Phil Bean said...

If it wasn't for the food network I would banish the beast from my home as well. However, I am an adict and likely in need of help. And you're absolutely right, I can watch all these fantastic shows (I can loan you the House DVD collection if you need :) online and save myself the money if only....oh, hold on, Iron Chef is coming on.

Lois said...

Hey Kim!
Hubby John and I have just gone down to basic satellite. It was getting way too expensive for what we had to pay. So I said ENOUGH and Hubby John said OK and there you go. I think he is going into withdrawal because of it. As for myself, I would rather spend time on my crafts and computer. Watching TV puts me to sleep.....but then so does working on the computer. Hmmmm......I wonder if the sleep gremlins are doing double duty on me?
LOL!
Have a great week Kim and kiss that baby girl for me...please and thank you.
Lois

rvr said...

"Television is very educational. Every time someone turns it on, I go into another room and read a good book" -- 'Groucho' Marx