Pulling the Plug

I can hardly believe that it's come down to this. In all honesty, I never thought I'd have to be making this decision. But after long and careful consideration, I've come to realize it's for the best. I'm pulling the plug.

On my cable TV that is.

Before you laugh, let me just explain how monumental a decision this was for me. You see, I went for several years without ANY tv. When I was doing my MA in Scotland my flat had no television and there wasn't really anywhere else I could go to watch tv. Granted, the Brits only have a few channels, but at least it was something! I didn't even have access to those lousy 4 channels. I didn't have internet in my apartment there either. So I was pretty much forced to make my entertainment consist of non-academic reading. Many a night I'd come home, make dinner, and after a day of research...I'd open up another book.

In retrospect, I'm kind of glad it happened that way. I'm one of the few people I know in grad school who actually does leisure/pleasure reading anymore. Don't get me wrong, I read my research books as well. But when I have some free time I frequently like to curl up with a fun mystery, a trashy romance or erotica, or an exciting sci-fi/fantasy novel. Or a good graphic novel. (Yes, I am a comics nerd) :) But I know a fair number of English grad compatriots who don't read outside of their research. They claim the fun has been taken out of reading when forced to do so much of it for school. And quite frankly, while I can understand on some levels, it still scares me. I'm one of those people who lives very much inside their head and to go without any stimulus for my imagination...well, that's just horrifying.

But back to my narrative. So, that was one whole year without a television. Then I promptly decided to up and move to Japan to teach ESL for a year. My apartment did have a TV with the equivalent of "basic" cable (10 channels or so). But it was ALL in Japanese of course. Now, that didn't mean that I never watched TV. In fact, I became something of a devotee to this Japanese soap opera about a group of young people living and working at an onsen (host spring) resort in the mountains. I don't speak Japanese, but soap operas are relatively easy to follow along with regardless of what language they are in (Telemundo anyone?). My roommates thought I was totally bizarre (a common occurrence for me) for watching the show, but I enjoyed it. And dammnit, it was something. After a year of no TV I'd take a show in a foreign language any day!

After this two year stint I returned to the USA and swore to myself that no matter what I was going to get cable for my TV. And I've had it for four years. But over those four years, the cost has gone up considerably while the quality of programming has gone down. I don't really have any regular shows that I watch (except Nip/Tuck). I like to watch Comedy Central occassionally, but the main channel I tune in to is TCM. Call me weird, but I LOVE old movies and TCM plays great stuff...and it's commercial free!

Unfortunatley, my current economic crisis requires that I cut back on spending to make it through the summer. Cable is nearly $50 a month now and that's money I could put to better use. I finally reached a compromise with myself. I would keep my Netflix account (which is cheaper) and just order TV shows and movies to watch. That way it wouldn't be like going without a TV entirely. I'm hoping it will work out, but I know I'll probably go into a period of withdrawal without my TCM. Nevertheless, I feel rather proud of myself for being able to get rid of the cable. I think it should also help increase my dissertation productivity by curtailing frivolous distractions. But that still leaves the internet...and there ain't no way in hell I'd pull the plug on that!