I had a painful realization last week.
After my cable went out two weeks ago each night after sunset like clockwork (apparently my cable box spontaneously became solar-powered) and TV was no longer an option, I felt a little handicapped. No Colbert Report, no It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, not even ESPN8. ("The Ocho.") Then after a few days, the internet (from the same provider...stupid Time Warner Cable) mysteriously stopped functioning, and Hulu (a very capable substitute for TV), The Onion, and my stupid blog were no longer options.
That night, at like 9:15, I was out of things to do. So I picked up a book and read it a while. Then strummed on my guitar aimlessly. By now it's 9:23.
Which got me thinking that I'm way too dependent on technology for entertainment. And I bet I'm not alone. I wonder what would happen if today's conventional entertainment sources (TV, internet, Wii, whatever) were suddenly unavailable to us during times of leisure. I bet that, after a few days of painful withdrawal, there'd be some kind of Great Awakening. Kind of like that episode of The Simpsons when "The Itchy & Scratchy Show", a comically and sometimes disturbingly violent cartoon to which many children in the show were hopelessly addicted, got canceled -- all the kids stepped outside, kinda rubbed their eyes for a minute, and then invaded the local softball field and did other comparatively productive activities.
But I guess then we'd be short of pop culture references. I've got three already in this entry, two to the same show, in fact. Since such references probably comprise 60% of my everyday dialogue, maybe it isn't such a great thing.
I like to think I'm not as bad about making an ass-groove in my couch in front of the TV as most people (three Simpsons references and counting). I rarely watched TV or mindlessly surfed the net in college, but apparently I am approaching an unhealthy addiction. Probably an hour or so is OK, but I'm thinking it's time to find another nighttime activity. Not really a coffee fan, so Starbucks is out. Getting colder and darker at night, so outdoor stuff is limited. I recently set my kitchen on fire, and I rather enjoy having eyebrows, so that's probably out, too. Don't really know anyone who hits up bars on weeknights, either. (Probably for the better.)
Ah well, guess it's time to start getting creative. Maybe kung fu. Or freelance writing or web development or something. Or maybe working part time pursuing my dream job: bowling alley employee. (Four references...a record.)
Oh crap, I'm missing Sportscenter! Gotta go. That's way too much self-examination for a blog entry anyway. But at least I didn't write about politics this time.
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