Up and Running with Addiction to TV

I've got internet, I've got cable, I'm up and running.

Break was great. Pictures of the following will be coming: Brad's wedding, visit with Guppy, Nashville with Kevin, and the Blue Ridge parkway.

Until then, I'll amuse you with stories of my TV addiction which I was not proud to discover. In Baltimore, I watched TV in the evenings before bed, usually about 30 minutes to an hour, and put the TV on timer to turn itself off while I slept. For 3 weeks, I've had no such convenience.

At the parents' house, no TV in the guest bedroom. I did manage to fall asleep in front of their very large TV (I come by my addiction honestly and genetically, apparently). Felt guilty when mom had to come out and remind me to go to bed at 2am. Both times.

At my friend's wedding there was no time for TV and it was not missed one iota. Too much fun to be had with friends that did not involve the boob tube.

At my brother's, we watched his shows including "Walk the Line" which I had not seen. Lovely movie that was closer to a musical than a movie. I'm still not sure if it's romantic he went to live his true love or if he's a creep for sleeping around. They did manage to put his first wife in a very negative and needy light. But control of the beeper was not to be mine during my stay at Kevin's. His house, his beeper, his TV. But I still didn't miss TV at this point, despite not having full control over programming for 2 weeks. No, this came later.

Monday I began the ride along the blue ridge parkway. It added about 4 hours to my drive to my older brother's house, but it was worth every hour. I drove, and stopped, and drove, and stopped. Eventually I stopped taking pictures because none of them were doing the environment any justice. The silence was velvet at every stop and I spent the day pretty much not communicating with anyone but the occasional deer which I advised not to "lay in front of the car". A very pretty spotted baby deer got spooked by the car and responded by laying down on the cement. Um, bambi, this isn't a meadow, that isn't grass, you aren't hidden, and you aren't going to make it to adulthood if your response to cars is to lay in front of them. Move.

Then I stopped at Sugar Tree Inn. Lovely inn run by a lovely couple whose son is actually a Clemson graduate living in my hometown in SC. Lovely couple decided to go pick up their lovely daughter and leave me in their lovely, isolated, mountainside inn by myself. All by myself. With just some angry humming birds to buzz me incessintly because I was sitting too close to their nectar. For 4 hours. So here I am, in this isolated inn, with only my maglight for protection. No other guests were there (all 5 of them arrived after 11 pm). What an opportunity! I sat on the porch enjoying the view, eating BBQ that I had picked up on the way in, rocking in the chairs, trying to ignore the buzz-bys of the humming birds. And about 2 hours later I was antsy. I paced. I explored the inn. I explored my small cabin. I walked in the garden. I tried to pretend I was writing Waldan. I tried to relax. I tried to enjoy the damn silence. I missed TV.

I was angry at myself for missing TV in this beautiful and unforgetable setting. I sat in the rocking chair and forced myself to enjoy the sunset. I like sunsets. Why did it take so darn long for the sun to set? Where did everyone go? Is there a murderer hiding in the woods? Never fear, I have my maglight to beat them to death.

I finally waved the white flag to lonliness and called a few people on my cell phone. And I felt like I was sinning by breaking the silence with a phone call. I mean, if you are going to call someone from an such a location, it should be on one of those old phones you have to crank or at least a rotary. But no, I sat on the porch rocking and chatting with friends.

Arriving in my present location, I was forced to sleep in a Holiday Inn for 2 nights and finally had TV. I moved into my apartment Friday and my TV is at my brother's house. The cable guy was supposed to come this morning to turn on internet and cable, but he didn't arrive until 4pm so I was forced to cancel my run to my brother's house for the TV/DVD and my flute. So I paced. And I explored. And I set up my house. And I cooked an elaborate breakfast and equally elaborate lunch. Then I went exploring for dinner, landed up at Best Buy, and bought a 15 inch flat screen monitor TV for $300 and so far I've watched the end of Harry Potter and the end of the Mask of Zorro. I'm pathetic. I'm addicted. Who goes and buys a TV due to withdrawel? I'm disappointed in myself.

And I enjoying the AMC show Hustle right now (have you seen this one? It's like Ocean 11, except it's a series!) At least I'm not missing TV in the face of breath taking beauty-- nothing beautiful about the urban sprawl I'm now living in. So if you'll excuse me, I've got to figure out how to set up the digital cable so I'll never miss another show again. Got to get my fix.