04.30.04
The one where I watch too much TV
For reasons I will not currently delve too deep into (health-related, but probably not serious in the long term), I have been unemployed and penniless for the past two months, with no prospect of employment between me and the visible horizon (at least another two or three months). Because of this, I have been spending most of my time (read:all of my time) bouncing between couch, toilet, fridge, and porch, with occasional yet infrequent trips to bed and doctor’s office.
I am most productive on the couch and on the porch (and occasionally on the toilet, in more ways than one), where I perform my computer-related activities. These mostly include catching up with the News and the Weblog World, but occasionally involve work on the new website design, once I work out the kinks and the too-obvious security flaws. Currently, I’m working on the integration of Geeklog, MovableType, Gallery, and phpAbook. [rant style=”defensive”]This happens to be incredibly similar to the setup over at Cementhorizon, which I do visit daily, but I swear that it is purely a happy accident. I came upon each piece of software by googling for scripts which provided the functionality I desired, and only once, with Geeklog, did I find it on the web and say “Hey, Gene uses this” before installing it on my own server.[/rant]
The rest of my time on the couch, sadly, has involved TV. Now, I had been anti-TV for several years, so my first impulse (while I still had money in the bank) was Netflix. The problem is that the movies just don’t come fast enough, and with my attention span dwindling, as well as my mental state not always allowing for the intensive concentration that the computer requires (Thank you Percocet), I find myself tuning in to regular programming. We’ve never, in all my life, subscribed to cable or satellite TV, so I have very limited options.
My typical day (start and end times vary, as do programming choices, occasionally):
Today in Florida; Family Feud (twice); The Price Is Right; News at Noon (lots of station flippage here); Who Wants to Be a Millionaire; Frasier; King of the Hill; Break for half an hour; Archie’s Weird Mysteries (or Sabrina the cartoon); Astro Boy; Static Shock; Millionaire (again); Pyramid (I hate this show); The Simpsons (twice); Seinfeld (twice); Friends; Everybody Loves Raymond (but hates his voice); Prime Time Television (tonight it was Friends [twice, or maybe three times] followed by Will & Grace); News for a bit (more flippage); Will & Grace; Friends; Raymond; Will & Grace; Spin City; The Drew Carey Show; Dharma and Greg; The Tonight Show (second airing, usually I’m on the computer by now, moving towards the idea of sleep)
As you can see, I have a full schedule. I also find it a fully repulsive schedule, but hey, it passes the time, and when you’re in a drug-induced daze (for more than six weeks) or you’re coping with opiate withdrawal (as I have been for the last week now, Thanks again Percocet), that’s all you really care to do. Some of the Primetime programs I watch (all WB, the Relive Your Teenage Angst Channel) include Smallville, Everwood, One Tree Hill, and Angel. Keep in mind I am proud of NONE of this (and I bold things sparingly, remember).