An Unplugged Moment

The cable company struck again on Friday. From noon until noon the next day there was no cable, no internet. It's not like this doesn't happen around this time every year, it's just usually shorter outages, maybe four hours or so.

I took it in stride. After all, I was already prepared because my schedule had been varied. I was all set for a potential disaster. So, all of the work for one of my freelance jobs was in my email, totally accessible from my phone. No problem there. I put a record on the turntable and relaxed. But one who is used to digital streaming quickly realizes that records are not easily paused. So I moved on. I had a number of previously downloaded podcasts on my Kindle that I could access (and had to get rid of anyway--memory shortage).

After a few entertaining podcasts, I moved on to reading. Without online access I had at least 100 different books at my fingertips. I read for awhile, skipping from book to book. I then looked at the clock. Surely hours had past? Nope. Just two.

By the evening, I was itching for some news. No, seriously. I get a little edgy when I'm out of the loop for more than a few hours. I decided to use my phone and stream my local news station's broadcast through their app. No problem for the first hour, but my cell service provider must have realized I had it too good and slowed my speeds so the streaming stopped working. Just as well, because the streaming used a quarter of my monthly data in just an hour. Hmph.

The rest of the night? Switching between season two of Get Smart and season four of Emergency! Thank heavens for my unruly DVD collection.

The next morning wasn't too bad because I try to limit my online access on Saturdays anyway. I went and got a coffee. I read some more. Played a little Mario on the Wii. But what angered me the most out of this whole matter? I didn't write. The absolute perfect time to write, and I didn't do it. Okay, maybe I snuck in a few sentences, but once I realized I needed to Google a question, I gave up. This experience made me realize how, even sitting watching TV, I'm addicted to Googling things I don't know. How did I survive before that search engine existed? Did I just walk around like a dummy, not knowing the answers to weird, random facts?

All is right with the world again, so it's time to get to work on August's projects. They are big ones, so get ready. It's going to be a wild ride and I'm taking you with me.

My Beef with TVLand

I love TVLand. Anyone who knows me knows that I love old shows. But lately, TVLand has been straying from its roots. It used to show all old shows, no excuses. I even showed my favorite, Emergency!, at one time. And I have been forgiving them for showing less than popular reality shows, but now Scrubs is going to be on the channel?? Uh-uh. No. Don't get me wrong--Scrubs is an awesome show that is perfect at 11:30 network slots and Comedy Central, but NOT TVLand. It's not a classic (although it could be one day) and I think that TVLand is making a gigantic mistake, just like Nick at Nite did. Nick at Nite now doesn't show programs that are more than 20 years old... that's not what the purpose of it was supposed to be at all! I'm just glad I can get everything on DVD these days....

I'm done ranting now. I promise. I have to get back to work before As the World Turns comes on.

I always have known Julie London as Dixie McCall on Emergency! Through reading and my E! support group (fan group, whatever you want to call it) I also knew that she was a singer, but have never heard any of the music. That is, until now. I am so impressed by the song "Daddy" that I had to download it. It is amazing!! It's really a song about a sugar daddy, but it's really hot! I love it. It's so sappy sweet that the vocals just drip away from the instrumentation. Of course it's a total nightclub/lounge type song from the fifties, but I can't get enough of it. It's my official new favorite song, at least until the next one comes along. (And I totally just wrote a song verse with that last sentence... genius!). Too bad I can't really afford to get anymore... I have to take four days off of work this weekend and into next week. I probably shouldn't have spent the dollar for this song, but you know. Sometimes you just have to indulge a little.

I am article free! Well, I at least for the moment. A new mail alert just popped up, so I might have spoken too soon. At least I can now spend the rest of the day getting all of those other annoying little household chores done. I could even work on my fiction if I wanted to. I haven't actually done anything with those stories (except revising) since... oh my, I don't know when. Maybe I'll plow through a few chapters of one of my three novels... that might help me relax and unwind. While I'm writing I won't have to worry about income and moving and starting... oh my god... a real life. I can get sucked into someone else's for a while. Yay... after lunch and an Emergency! break, I think that's what I'll do.

Could this day get any longer?? I guess I'll just have to make an early dinner and have an Emergency! mini-marathon. Besides, work can wait until later. I stay up until 2 most nights anyway.

I did it to myself, but now I'm behind on my article work. I think, "Oh well, I can get to that tomorrow" but I never do. I just put a line through it on my To Do list and move it under tomorrow's date. Bad habit! Plus, once this stuff is done, I have to keep applying for new jobs... jeez... and people think all I do is sit around the house all day. Little do they know. But I am getting eye strain from spending so much time at the computer. I think that's why I keep trying to make excuses to get away from my work. I watched three hours of Emergency! season four today. That was completely unnecessary. I should have gotten the article done first and used that as a reward. I'm a big postive reinforcement kind of person. Not that the money isn't good... but it's just not enough of a postive to make me want it. And the fact that I have to articles I'm writing for free... that just makes me nervous. I don't want to get into the habit of taking too many of those jobs.

I try not to make it a habit to post twice in one day, but I just have to. I found out that there's going to be a very informative book on my favorite 70's show, Emergency! published soon. I'm excited to read it, but sad. That was a project that I wanted to get around to (eventually). But someone beat me to it. Kudos to them. It was probably a longer process that I was willing to give it anyway... you know, with research and all. But it's good for the fans, no matter WHO the author is. Look at me, being all grown up...