Sunday, March 31, 2013

Lent 2013: My Time Away from Television

As Homer would say, 'TV, let's never fight again.'

Hello readers! Another year of Lent come and gone. In the tradition of giving up something I hold "near and dear," for Lent (like facebook, chocolate, coffee, and alcohol), I gave up television, movies, and videos. Why did I give these up? Well, I spend way too much time in front of the "idiot box" and need to spend my time doing other things instead...

... What kind of other things? Well, clean, read, sleep, anything really. Little more on that later.

I discovered giving up TV was harder than I thought... And I knew it was going to be hard. It is EVERYWHERE... for example, I go running at the gym, and the TV is set up right in front of every treadmill. If I go out to eat, it seems a TV is always near by. Even at home, the majority of my home has the TV visible when Carolyn is enjoying some (quality) programming. I really didn't realize how it was everywhere until I couldn't watch it.

A few things I missed while not watching the tube:

Homer loves sports as much as I do...
  • The Oscars
  • The Denver Nuggets 15 game winning streak.
  • The majority of March Madness and Colorado State Men's Basketball's rise (and fall) to (and from) the top 25 in the nation.
  • New episodes of Community, The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, SNL, and Raising Hope.
  • The Bachelor Finale (we had money on the winner and guests over to watch, yet I kept myself occupied with other things)

  • Now, unlike past "sacrifices," I didn't do a great job with this one. Usually, I completely abstain from the temptation and go without a taste, peek, etc, but I can't claim that this time. The temptation was in all directions and I did watch a little and listened to a lot more. I feel like I was more engaged in the Oscars this year than I ever was before, even though I didn't "watch it" (though I did see Jennifer Lawrence fall while going to accept her best actress award in a wedding like dress). I saw a little of JT on SNL (which I look forward to seeing again/more of), and I even saw some of The Biggest Loser. But, for the most part, I was good. I never turned on the TV or played an internet video, so I like to think I did okay.

    There were positives with this experience though. I actually got some things done while I wasn't watching TV. Things I should do, like my taxes and working out, and things I don't usually do, like read (Carolyn got me some boks for Valentine's day I've been working on). I got motivated to do a little pre spring cleaning and organizing of my files, my closet, my cabinets, and my kitchen. One other aspect I really liked about giving up TV was I pulled out some old CDs I haven't listened to in a long time... Some I like more than I did before, others I liked all over again.

    So what's going to come of this? Well, I have missed TV and going to the movies, along with video games, and I look forward to watching and playing again, but I'm hoping I can slow down a bit late on week nights and some other times. I wanted to read Game of Thrones, but haven't started that yet, hopefully I will soon. And if I'm not watching as much TV due to new habits formed during Lent, well, I might actually get that done. Wish me luck. So there you go, another year of Lent in the books... what will I give up next year? Who knows, I have a few other things to focus on in the meantime ;) Hope you're all well and to see you soon!

    Hope this isn't me too often anymore...

    13 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    Your style is unique in comparison to other people I have read stuff from.
    Many thanks for posting when you've got the opportunity, Guess I will just bookmark this web site.

    Feel free to surf to my site; レイバンサングラス

    Anonymous said...

    This is a topic which is close to my heart... Thank you!
    Exactly where are your contact details though?

    Also visit my web page monster beats

    Anonymous said...

    Howdy I am so thrilled I found your webpage, I really found you
    by error, while I was looking on Google for something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like
    to say thanks for a tremendous post and a all round interesting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to
    look over it all at the moment but I have bookmarked it and also included your
    RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read more, Please do
    keep up the superb work.

    Review my blog post - レイバン

    Anonymous said...

    After looking over a number of the blog posts on your site, I seriously like your way
    of writing a blog. I saved as a favorite it to my bookmark website list and will
    be checking back in the near future. Please visit my website too and let me know how you feel.


    Here is my blog; アバクロンビー

    Anonymous said...

    I will immediately seize your rss feed as I can't in finding your email subscription link or newsletter service. Do you have any? Kindly permit me realize in order that I could subscribe. Thanks.

    Also visit my web page; monster beats

    Anonymous said...

    What's up, I check your new stuff on a regular basis. Your story-telling style is awesome, keep doing what you're doing!


    Feel free to visit my page - アバクロデニム

    Anonymous said...

    Hi are using Wordpress for your site platform? I'm new to the blog world but I'm trying to get started and create my own.
    Do you need any coding expertise to make your own blog?
    Any help would be greatly appreciated!

    Feel free to surf to my web blog - http://chloebagshoping.ucoz.com

    Anonymous said...

    I really love your website.. Great colors & theme. Did you build this site
    yourself? Please reply back as I'm planning to create my own personal website and want to find out where you got this from or what the theme is called. Kudos!

    My web-site: オークリーメガネ

    Anonymous said...

    Howdy just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the pictures aren't loading correctly. I'm not sure
    why but I think its a linking issue. I've tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same results.

    Here is my web blog :: ジョーダン

    Anonymous said...

    Can you tell us more about this? I'd want to find out more details.

    My blog :: クロエ

    Anonymous said...

    Wow, awesome blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?
    you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your site is magnificent, let
    alone the content!

    Here is my web-site ... /blog/4576484622/¥¯¥-¥Хå°Ӣ¹ꬰ/5698097

    Anonymous said...

    Attractive component of content. I simply stumbled upon
    your website and in accession capital to claim
    that I acquire in fact loved account your weblog posts. Any way I will be subscribing in your feeds or
    even I success you get admission to persistently quickly.


    Also visit my weblog ... www.abercrombiefitchclothesoutletsale.com

    Anonymous said...

    Outstanding post but I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this subject?
    I'd be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit more.
    Many thanks!

    Feel free to visit my web page; where can i buy cambogia garcinia