(or, David Versus the Television)
On the last day of June, when I pledged to write 750 words every day in July and “give up television for a month” if I didn’t, I was confident of success. Time would quickly prove I was too confident.
I had stayed on the 750words.com Horse of Awesomeness for four months and hadn’t seen a reason why I wouldn’t remain in the saddle for months to come.
What the Horse of Awesomeness looks like.
That’s why the tumble I took on July 5th came as such a shock.
What shock looks like on Twitter.
On the morning of July 6th, I sat in silent disbelief. When I finally came to terms with what had happened, I wrote that day’s 750 words and decided my Month Without Television would begin immediately. It had been a punishment I had devised and accepted. There seemed no sense in postponing it.
The first few days were a breeze. With my eyes unglued from the television screen, I became aware of the abundance of time I had in the evening to do Other Things, like read books, write, daydream (or eveningdream), clean the house, and pull weeds.
By the weekend, though, the novelty of so much free time had worn off. I would spend hours doing Other Things and have hours to spare. I started looking for a loophole in my punishment.
What exactly did I mean by “give up television for a month”?
The phrases “give up” and “for a month” seemed ironclad. The weakest word in the sentence was “television”. My mind pulled the spoon it had palmed from the cafeteria and hidden in its cell mattress and began digging at the word.
What mental digging looks like on Twitter.
Did “television” mean the physical object? Did it mean the programming? Or did it mean both?
If it meant the physical object, watching television shows on the web would be allowable. If it meant the programming, using the TV set to play the Wii and watch DVDs would be permissible. If it meant both, there would be no wiggle room.
After serious deliberation, and taking into account this was a first-time offense, I gave myself wiggle room and adopted the programming definition of the word. I did so with the understanding that if I lapsed again, the wiggling would end.
So far, I’ve tried to use my newly defined “freedom” sparingly. I’ve limited my Wii intake to an hour-a-day of LEGO Indiana Jones or LEGO Harry Potter and my DVD intake to documentaries, like the one about Theodore Roosevelt my 8:36pm project caught me watching the other day.
This photo of a disappointed TR prompted me to write this post and explain my actions.
I must admit my time hasn’t been completely TV-free. Since M is still allowed to watch television, I still catch glimpses of the “news” on KRON 4 and random shows on HGTV. I may have also snuck in a few episodes of Wong Fu Productions’ “Funemployed”, but it’s a web-series, which I’m rationalizing is not TV programming. If a television show were a cigarette, a web-series would be a nicotine patch.
I’m roughly halfway through my Month Without Television. Despite the “struggle” I’ve had, I intend to accept the August Challenge and risk another month without it as “punishment”. This time, though, I know exactly what I’m risking.
On a slightly related note, I’m two weeks into a Theodore Roosevelt binge, consuming everything I can about the man — books, documentaries, and websites. The more I learn (or re-learn) about TR, the more I admire him.
Links:
- 750words.com: A great site for daily, private, unfiltered writing.
- My 8:36pm Project on Flickr: I take a photo every day at 8:36pm.
- "Funemployed": A web-series about unemployment and friendship.
- "American Experience. TR. The Story of Theodore Roosevelt": A good documentary. Disappointed it didn’t dig deeper into his conservation efforts.
