4 Months and Counting Since I Unplugged the TV....

My cousin Nina mentioned to me (by email) that I hadn't talked about living without TV in awhile.  Funny.  That was the focus of my blog when I started. 

I used to come home after work and turn on the TV.  First thing.  Now my TV only gets turned on when I watch my two Netflix movies per month, or when I watch a DVD.  I watched Get Shorty a couple weeks ago.  I love that movie.  I also watched a VHS tape (OMG!) of It's a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve.  My daughter gave me the DVD of Inglourious Basterds for Christmas, but I haven't taken the plastic off yet.  Watching my TV set has become an "event" instead of just background noise in my condo. 

That being said I have found that the Internet is just as addicting and time-consuming as TV.  I boot up my laptop every evening and

1. Check my facebook account.  OMG facebook.  I don't spend as much time on facebook as I did when I first signed up.  I don't play Farmville anymore.  BUT I do spend a lot of time commenting on my friends' posts and clicking on links - and then those links often lead to other links - and more links.
2. Check my Google mail.  I set this account up when some A-hole hijacked my Yahoo address book on Christmas Day and sent all my contacts emails with ads for Canadian Viagra.  I actually had one friend who asked why I had sent it to her.  sigh.  I think it hurt her feelings that I thought she needed Canadian Viagra.  I had to explain the hijacking thing and then I pointed out (kindly, I thought) that WOMEN  don't take Viagra anyway.  dur.  (BTW... is Canadian Viagra different than American Viagra?  I've never dated a Canadian guy....)
3. Check my Yahoo mail.  Because some people will NEVER update my email address to the new Google address no matter how many times I ask them.
4. Check my Hotmail mail.  Because there are still a couple people who have never updated to the Yahoo mail.  I must be the most patient friend in the world. 
5. Check my Blogger home page and read the Blogs I'm following.  Sometimes I comment on their blogs, or click on the blogs  they are following and so on and so on.
6. Check my bank account.  That doesn't take long.  sigh.
   
7. Read the local paper online because someone always wants to TALK to me during my break at work when I'm TRYING to read the local paper. Reading the paper online tends to lead to reading the Jacksonville news online which can lead to watching short video clips of interest.
8. And maybe write something on my own blog.

Seriously, I was doing all this online stuff AND watching TV before I unplugged the TV so I don't feel too bad about it.  It does cut into my WRITING.

As far as TV is concerned the Winter Olympics, the Oscars, and some TV series I miss will be on.  When I was a kid, if I missed an episode of something, that was it.  I had one chance to maybe catch the rerun in the summer.  Now, between listening to the radio and accessing the Internet, information is always available.  If I'm still interested next September when my project is complete, I can Netflix or Hulu to my heart's content and catch up on my favorite story lines and characters.  We'll see.

St. Augustine: an afternoon stroll

One of the joys of working in downtown St. Augustine is being able to play tourist.  I brought my camera to work today and promised myself an afternoon of taking pictures and just walking around.  I looked forward to it all day.

At the end of my workday I stuffed a few dollars into my pants pocket and unhooked my car key from my main key chain.  I pocketed my car key and put the rest of my keys in my purse.  I debated taking my cell phone, then put it in my other pocket.  I left my office about 3:15pm (I work 7am-3pm with just a short breakfast break at 10:00.) and placed my purse in the trunk of my car.  I slung my camera over my shoulder and strolled out of the parking lot.  Even though the sun was shining brightly it was still pretty cold, and I found myself hunching in my corduroy jacket.  I pulled the sleeves down around my cold fingers and picked up my pace.

As I walked past houses dating back to the late 1800's I watched for good photo opportunities.  I also watched where I was stepping because the sidewalks are uneven and St. George Street is paved with brick to give it that old cobblestone look.  I've stumbled more than once because I stepped into a hole while I was staring at some interesting piece of architecture! 

I turned east on Bridge Street and I could see the Matanzas River sparkling in the afternoon sunlight.  I walked a couple blocks east and snapped this photo.  The building on the left is the Kenwood Inn  - notice how it's built right on the street. 

I backtracked to Aviles Street (the oldest street in the oldest city) and walked past the Casa de Solana Bed & Breakfast whose main building was erected about 1803 or so.  Then past a series of shops that beckoned to me with antique maps and books, jewelry, pottery, and art.  Today I would not succumb to the temptation of shopping.  I was on a mission to relax, take photos, and enjoy my town.

If you're walking north on Aviles Street it ends at the Plaza de la Constitucion.  Most southern towns have a square in the middle of town.  Because our city was planned and built by the Spanish we have a plaza.  It is rectangular and contains several monuments, a gazebo, large, stately trees - cedars and live oaks mostly, a structure known as The Market, and several cannons.  I strolled around the plaza and snapped some pictures and just enjoyed being outside. I even sat for a few minutes on a bench, but it was still too cold to do that for long.

I turned my attention back to walking and headed over to St. George Street again.  North of the Plaza St. George Street becomes a pedestrian walkway bordered by shops and restaurants.  I hurried because I was not shopping today and quickly turned east on Hypolita Street.  Facing east I could see the waterfront again.  Tourists were out in abundance enjoying the sunshine and warmer temperatures.  I passed two cafes that had recently closed.  The economic downturn has wreaked havoc on our locally-owned restaurants and shops.  I slowed as I passed Claude's Chocolates, but I did not stop.  Claude is French and crafts the most exquisite Belgian chocolates...I must stop as my mouth is watering.  The light looked interesting on Charlotte Street so I headed north.  A large motel backs up to Charlotte Street on the east side of the street so no photo ops there.  I turned west on Cuna Street and noticed that a toy store had been replaced by a book shop.  I made a note to come back and spend some time browsing in there! 

By this time I had been walking for 45 minutes and I was getting cold and thinking a hot cup of coffee would be delicious.  I turned left on St. George Street and headed to Cafe de Hidalgo.  This little cafe serves delicious gelato, all kinds of delicious coffees, and sandwiches.  Just as I opened my mouth to order a coffee to go I saw the handwritten board that advertised Mexican Hot Chocolate.  Oh, my.  I ordered the Mexican Hot Chocolate.  Made with real chocolate (not a powdered mix), milk, cinnamon, and a dash of hazelnut, it sounded too wonderful to pass up.  The woman at the register said it would be about 5 minutes so I grabbed a small table and relaxed for a few minutes.

There was a couple sitting next to me - the man and woman looked to be in their early thirties.  A server brought out huge cups of coffee to them.  Then a server brought out a huge piece of apple pie a la mode and served it to the man.  I wasn't the only one who noticed; several of us were taking covert peeks at what looked like heaven-on-a-plate.  It was huge so the assumption was that the man and woman were sharing it, but no!  Another server brought out the biggest piece of cake I have ever seen!  Seriously, this looked to be almost a quarter of a very tall cake!  Someone at another table said, "I guess they're not sharing!" and giggled.  The woman who had ordered the cake looked mortified, but we all started giggling at the huge piece of cake and she seemed to relax.  She leaned over to me and offered to share.  I told her thanks, but no thanks.  I asked her where they were from, and she replied, "England".  I apologized for our extremely cold weather (We Floridians tend to take responsibility for the weather, you know.)  She said they were having a great time, and we agreed, "At least it's not raining!"  She added, "Or snowing!" and I had to tell her that we had had snow on Saturday just 30 miles south.  She was stunned and amazed.  I picked up my hot chocolate and bid them farewell.

I strolled back to my car - taking another 30 minutes or so to get there.  What a great afternoon!

Day 6 - Time Management, Cousins, and the Beach

I am so tired I was going to skip tonight, but that would not be fair. What a great day! But I feel every muscle right now and just want to put my head on my pillow and sleep. OR sit in my big fat chair and channel-surf! That's right, tonight was the first night I was really tempted to watch TV. Anything special I wanted to watch?
NO.
Anything special I was trying to avoid?
NO
Why then?
Because I was bone tired and sitting in a big fat chair channel-surfing or just watching whatever's on takes less energy than just about anything in the world. Good thing I disconnected the cable TV wires. That sounded like too much work to hook them back up.
So, Sunday morning I usually wake up, stretch, and click on FX to watch reruns of The Practice. Then it's time for Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood which I really do enjoy. Then reruns of The Sopranos on A&E and by then it's almost noon.
Today I woke up around 9:30am and continued to read La Vida Vampire by Nancy Haddock (a local author). I really enjoy her writing style and the story is very entertaining. The characters are fleshed out well and, well, I like it.
Harley hopped up next to me eventually and I got dressed and took him for a walk. When I returned I thought I'd make a pot of tea and make some blueberry pancakes, but FIRST I was going to check my email and facebook accounts. That led to checking my Blog to see if I had any new followers and any comments. That led to me reading the comments and checking out my cousin Melanie's Blog. TWO HOURS LATER I realize it's after noon and I'm hungry and half the day is gone! I had laughed until the tears came while reading about her exploits and just enjoyed it so much I had lost track of time. I called her and left a long message on her answering machine telling her that and also telling her she owed me my Sunday morning back.
Harley and I hopped in my car for a quick trip to Wendy's for a quick lunch and I remembered I hadn't left my phone number for Melanie. So I called her back and she answered. We talked and talked and when I arrived at Wendy's I pulled into the shade of some trees and turned off the car and continued the conversation. AN HOUR AND 15 MINUTES LATER I finally hung up. HEY MELLY, YOU OWE ME A SUNDAY AFTERNOON NOW! It was great comparing notes and hearing about her family - her parents just relocated from Massachusetts to Portland - and all the adjustments and upheavals.
Harley & I picked up a burger & baked potato and headed home. Harley was especially grateful because it had gotten a bit HOT in the car and he was panting. He lives in air-conditioning and is a bit spoiled, you know. I gave him a big bowl of fresh cool water when we arrived home and then ate lunch.
Later on I met Arlene and Betsy at Playa Chac-Mool on the corner of A1A and D Street. We caught up on all the news and enjoyed a great and authentic Mexican meal. Then we went for a really long walk on the beach. It was beautiful out there and lots of people walking, surfing, playing volleyball or touch football; it felt like a holiday weekend.
I can hardly believe I've made it almost a week with no TV. I'm loving my life.

Day 3 - What's going on ?

I really expected to miss my TV. I scheduled my life around Sunday Morning, Soprano reruns, even It's Me or the Dog. Except for some physical herky-jerkiness that I will explain later, I'm suffering no withdrawal pains. That scares me - maybe it takes a few days or a week then hits like heroin withdrawal!
No nap today. I had a hair appointment and so totally enjoyed it I ended up staying late and chatting until almost 7:00 pm. And my appointment was at 3:30! I seem to have all this enthusiasm and self-esteem (from following-through with a project?) and I'm either suffering a severe manic episode, or really coming out of my shell.
Robin and Gail, the owners of Fringe, where I get my hair cut & colored, had traveled to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in late June/early July. My all-time favorite vacation was two weeks spent with friends touring, you guessed it, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Robin shared her photos on her laptop while my hair sat in its chemical bath. New Age music played on the Satellite Radio system and I was once again traveling in Cape Breton, and rafting the river while the Bay of Fundy tide rolled in, and hiking the beaches with rocky shores and dangerous cliffs.
After the color, shampoo, cut, and style were complete Robin and I sat in her newly decorated lobby - complete with a beautiful painting she did herself of a lion -and talked about Canada, friends, health, writing, traveling, flooring, moving, etc.
I finally remembered I had a dog at home waiting to be let out to pee and left. Once I arrived home I let Harley out immediately and, after he took many minutes to relieve himself, then took him for a walk to apologize for being late.
I set about cooking dinner and booting up my laptop and felt the urge to turn on the TV - habit more than a desire to watch anything. I turned on the radio, cooked dinner,caught up on my email and facebook, read some more of Tim Dorsey's Florida Roadkill, and before I knew it, it was bedtime.
I cannot believe how short the evenings are. I cannot believe how long the evenings seemed to be when I was slouched in my chair channel-surfing. This is weird.
By the way I apologize for the misleading title to yesterday's post. I meant to explain it but then I forgot. Last night when I took Harley out for his night-night pee-pee (hey, that's how he talks, not me) there was this HUGE UGLY kind-of GRAY SPLOTCHY FROG on my patio and he was all sprawled out and didn't even move when Harley sniffed at him. I bent over and looked more closely and saw it wasn't ONE HUGE UGLY SPLOTCHY FROG it was a smaller ugly splotchy gray frog on top of the large ugly splotchy gray frog. I could only think of one reason for this position, but they weren't moving at all. Had we caught them in a post-coitus stupor? I don't know but just the thought of it grossed me out.

Day One - Not So Bad!

Last night I unplugged all the coax cables from my three TVs. Before that I watched my last TV show for a while: a rerun episode of The Closer. At least it was one of my favorite shows and not something lame like Intervention or Parking Wars (OMG those A&E shows are so weird).

One of my first thoughts this morning was "NO TV!" although I don't usually watch TV before I go to work. And I didn't think about it much during the day. I got a headache this afternoon while at work and looked forward to going home and closing my eyes. I plugged along until quitting time and then drove home wondering how I'd do without Judge Joe Brown, Judge Judy, Oprah, Ellen, and NCIS to keep me company. I curled up on the sofa and closed my eyes.

I heard the refrigerator running. Good grief. I've napped before and never noticed the refrigerator running. hmmmmmmmmmmm. I closed my eyes and tried to relax. Usually before I take a nap I watch a little TV until I get sleepy. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I started thinking about how much a new refrigerator might cost, and how much more energy efficient a new, smaller refrigerator might be, and when was the last time I cleaned the refrigerator. hhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Crap! My eyes popped open. I stretched and curled back up and closed my eyes. hhhhmmmmmm. smack. grindgrindgrind. smack. I had given my dog Harley a chewy snack bone (for his dental hygiene, don'tcha know) he was obviously enjoying it. I sighed and closed my eyes. slurp slurp slurp. Now Harley was topping off his snack with a drink from his water bowl. hhhhmmmmmm. burp. Harley's signature burp signified the end of his snack time. I put my hands over my ears to shut out the noise of my quiet home and drifted off to sleep.

I awoke up an hour later and my headache was gone. I warmed up some leftover pizza and took it over to my big comfy chair to enjoy it. My left hand reached for the remote automatically. I smiled at myself. I always watch TV when I eat. I got up and turned on the radio. I sat back down and had another bite of pizza. My left hand reached for the remote automatically. I decided to put the remote in its new home - a drawer in the entertainment center.

After my quick supper I sat at my laptop to catch up on my email, etc. Talked to a couple girlfriends on the phone. Folded a load of laundry.

It is so QUIET in here. Even with the radio on. The blank screen of the TV looks like a black hole. Another universe exists in there; one that I'm shutting out. Its gravitational pull isn't strong tonight. I don't even want to watch TV. I just don't like that big black screen staring at me. It's a bit creepy.

So day one of No TV is almost complete. And I survived. And actually did some laundry. I'll be in bed by 10:00 and see what tomorrow brings.