Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Homework, Part 2

As I was saying in this post before I so rudely interrupted myself with an account of how Miss Pink sometimes gets worried about the end of the world, I am used to having homework. More generally, I am used to being motivated by external obligations. I clean the house for my family, but I am much more motivated when I know people are coming over. If I tell you I'll do something, I'll do it, because I hate to disappoint anyone. I make to-do lists and put routine items on them just because I like crossing them off. ("Wake up--check!") I'm not quite that bad, though.) But you get the idea.

For some reason I have carried this character trait over into my use of technology. I hate to keep emails in my inbox and delete them as soon as I don't need the information anymore. I use Google Reader to read blogs and I feel a strange sense of accomplishment when I read all the posts. (I may be wasting time, but at least I waste it effectively--huh?) And since we have a DVR to record all the shows we like to watch after the kids go to bed, I have another list to get through. When we haven't watched in a while, or when I have several shows piled up that Justin doesn't want to watch, I get antsy. I can't just sit there and watch four hours of TV or whatever. On the other hand, I'm behind! I need to catch up on my TV homework!

This means that I can't subscribe to too many shows. I only have time for a few. So I may hear about a great new show and know I would probably like it (Mad Men, for example) yet I just don't have time for it, and at this point I'd be hopelessly behind, anyway--maybe when I'm 62 I can watch the old episodes. If a show really does sound interesting, I'll record one episode to see if it can hook me. That's what happened with Leverage, which I recently added to my series list. Fortunately Tim Gunn's show is on hiatus so I have time for the new one.

Justin is the opposite of me on this, by the way. He keeps all kinds of programs. I don't mind about the really funny comedians which we go back and watch every so often, but every time a movie comes on that he might want to see someday--I mean, when he hasn't watched it in six months, it really ought to go.

When we switched to a different cable provider, we had to ditch all the old stuff he had recorded. I watched what I hadn't yet and felt peaceful knowing that I didn't have any TV homework left to finish.

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6 comments:

  1. Oh gosh, I'm the same way! I make lists all the time, just so I feel as though I've accomplished something. (I tell myself it's "so I don't forget", which is partly true, but also so that I can have something to erase or cross off.)

    We don't have a DVR anymore, but when we did, I got the biggest sense of satisfaction out of being able to delete shows. I think hubby got annoyed because I sometimes got delete happy in his absence. And I feel the same way about my Google Reader. Funny human behavior...

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  2. *hi-five*
    we are the same species!
    I love to see my Google Reader cleared, nothing in Bold.
    I love to clear all mails in my inbox too... don't like clutters...
    and listing stuff, oh girl! that's my favourite! and striking off one by one gives my soul so much satisfaction!
    *smile*

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  3. Why does Lizzy stay up until 2 am every night?

    To watch the shows that were taped that day so as to not have tv homework hanging over her head.

    Pathetic isn't it?

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  4. Wow, I'm definitely in the minority here. Although I love lists and keeping up with my blog reader, there's something comforing about having unwatched shows on my DVR. It means my husband and I can chill together & do so efficiently & commercial free. No shows on the DVR means I may have to watch something with commercials or that Jonny will watch something I hate which means we end up in separate rooms of the house. Now who's pathetic? :-)

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  5. I knew we were sisters separated at birth!

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  6. OK, only one of us is healthy.

    If I get down to 69 in my Google Reader I call it a night. (And really, it was just happenstance that that became my "finished" number.) That's as thorough as I get.

    I'm not sure which one of us is ok but I'm pretty sure it's not me.

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