Today, for the first time in a looooooooong time (and first time since I have been home for almost 5 or so weeks) I turned on the TV. I was eating a late lunch (it was 3pm) and I remembered the Ellen DeGeneres show used to be on at that hour. So I took a gamble and thought I would watch while I ate lunch.
And it was odd.
Sure I watched TV during our trip, but really hardly ever. When in foreign lands the only things that are on TV are 1. News programs in that country’s language (or languages.) 2. Random German programs or 3. The Discovery Channel. Needless to say, I watched a lot of Discovery, although most programs in Asia are about saving the Orangutan or Chimp. Of those, I can only watch so many before I wanted to reach through the screen and strangle the people who kept these animals as pets, chained to a tree. But I digress.
Just before I came home, my parents significantly downgraded their Cable TV plan. When I heard about this, I thought it was tragic and awful timing. No more Colbert Report, Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods and so on and so forth. (Not that I really watched much TV, it was just the idea of having those options if need be.)
Turns out, it’s not crisis after all. Aside from today, I haven’t thought once about turning the TV on. And not just because my parents only get local news channels which are good for nothing! It’s not as if I do more things outside because the programs I used to watch are on at night, after dinner—or least they used to be. But instead of TV programs turned on, my parents and I read together or lately, have been burning through our free trail month of Netflix, watching Wild China, The Ice People and other fascinating documentaries….(and foreign films if we can ever get that far down the list.)
Or sometimes I just enjoy the peace and solitude which is always LIVE.
