So I did a little more thinking on my feelings about TV (and thanks everyone for chiming in!), and I think I probably do have to own up to a bit of bias/judgment about it. But I come by it honestly. 🙂
I was raised without TV, by back-to-the-land hippie parents who had all kinds of scorn for the “boob tube,” the “idiot box,” and I absorbed that attitude very early on. Accompanying that was books: my only real entertainment.
We left that life when I was about twelve, but by then, the damage was done. I went back and forth on TV: gorged myself on it when we first got one (The Love Boat! Fantasy Island! Three’s Company! Dallas!), and then, by the time I got into my teens, I redeveloped the scorn, rather self-consciously: it was cool to not like TV. All the while, I never gave up my love of reading.
I didn’t have a TV in college, and didn’t miss it. Later, in my marriage, my husband and I watched a lot of baseball together, and a few shows. I started watching less and less when I began writing more seriously: it was a simple time-tradeoff; writing didn’t happen in front of the TV.
I don’t actually FEEL judgmental about other people’s TV-watching–I meant what I said earlier, that I think it’s great when people find what they like and enjoy it–but I thought I should own up to the baggage that’s certainly underneath my general disinterest in the medium.
And I think there’s another, related piece: because of my deep connection to books and reading, that’s what I think of when I think of leisure, of entertainment, of story. Reading is what I instinctively reach for. I’m so written-word focused, I don’t even think of audio/visual. I like movies, but it doesn’t occur to me to go to one, unless someone prompts me. I spend a lot of time on the internet–but I’m reading blogs, not watching videos (with rare exceptions, and again usually prompted by someone).
Anyway. That’s me and TV.
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I finished the draft of the collaborative story today and sent it to Mark. He’s already halfway through revising it, the speed demon. 🙂 We’re both pretty happy with it, though of course it needs more tinkering and rearranging…he’ll get it back to me in the next day or two, and I’ll have at it again. With any luck, we’ll get it in well before the holidays. I hope!
And tomorrow I go to work again. I spent a lot of time today with my training materials and beginning to build my database. Look out, local friends, you might be getting a note from me soon… Also I’m looking into starting a real estate blog on ActiveRain. I’m reading blogs there, to get a feel for what folks do; I’ll let you know when I start writing there!