hopefully something rhetorical

For my birthday, my best good friend got me a TV tuner for my computer.  It is a really cool concept, particularly if it had worked as advertised.  It basically allows you to hook up your cable to your TV.  Since I have a really cool computer, I thought that this was an easy way to make use of the screen for my new craft room (the hubby is going to have his own man room, so I get the room all to myself now).

So, I got the little device home and loaded it onto my computer, and nothing happened.  I couldn’t get it to work.  So, I immediately did what I do in these types of situations.  I plant my heels firmly, and I attack!  Battle!  And, I eventually did get it working.  On the wrong computer mind you, but I did get it working.  And, when I did get it working, I realized that it wasn’t all that cool.  It didn’t do what I wanted it to do, and I realized that I didn’t really need it, so I took it back.

Throughout the process of this whole thing, I really had to think about why I wanted to have a TV in my craft room.  In fact, I have always told myself that the reason I am not really working on anything now is that I don’t have a TV in the room.  What this all led me to is that I don’t ever really craft without something else to do.  Even when I was young, I used to talk on the phone and make necklaces.  But, I don’t ever really remember spending time working on my projects without doing something else at the same time, and it is usually watching TV.  I have talked about this before, but this goes back to my own feelings of guilt, maybe that’s the right term, about doing things that don’t seem to have a purpose, beyond making me happy that is.  So, I have always doubled-up on my creativity activities with something else that seems to be somewhat a waste of time.

**On another note, I think that this also goes back to the fact that I do better when I am around other people.  I love the conversations and the company, but just hanging out is also something I feel guilty about at times, so I do think it is possible that I am doubling up here as well.

So, bottom line was that I returned the tuner, and now I have a big chunk of Best Buy money burning a hole in my pocket, which is where it will stay for a while.

But, the other day, I was reading Christine Kane’s post about how to enhance your inner bling and one of the twenty-two on her list is to break up with your television.  This is something she has written about before, although I did forget about that post.  I am conflicted about this whole television as an energy sucking thing.  I agree that it isn’t the most effective use of energy to spend all evening in front of the television.  It is actually a little boring, which is probably why I am always doing something else as I watch, but the thought of canceling cable panics me a little, and that makes me feel really stupid.  Maybe the tv watching has gotten a little out of control.

So, I think I am going to spend a little time considering what watching tv is for me.  I am going to keep the “tv” out of the craft room, although I am not sure that I won’t watch movies in there.  But, I am going to try to weed out the amount of tv I watch.  There are lots of other things that I would like to do to fulfill myself rather than be a passive participant in the information I receive.  So, look for a new post sometime soon considering the role television plays in my life and what it is doing for me.