Turned Off: A Week without TV

For the past week, I have not plugged in my TV. 

It was great. I had time to think. I had time to read a book. I reconnected with old ways of entertaining myself. I contemplated my life, enjoyed the birds chirping outside, felt the sun warm my skin. Without the distraction of TV, my eyes opened to the wonders of the world around me. It was a wonderful week.

What I expected the week to look like.

But I have a secret to tell you.

Come closer.



A little closer.





Almost there.








I LIED!

Ok not totally, I really did turn off my TV for a whole week. But it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. (This guy gets it; he stole my thunder two days ago.) 

Ok, I mean, at first it was great. 

I cleaned up my apartment. 

I put clothes away that had been lying out for more than a week. 

I finally made some alterations on work clothes that I'd been avoiding. 

I did my dishes.

And by "did" I mean "did some of them."

That took about an hour. 

The weather perked up so I went on several fun bike rides. 

I cheered on my friends at their marathon. (More about that here.) 

But then?

BORED!

Wait, why is R2D2 in this picture?

Oh, the boredom. I thought I was bored when I was watching TV. Without it, I was worse. No background noise meant I sat in silence. A Lot. Silence is great a lot of the times, like in moments of prayer or when evading Achmed the Dead Terrorist, but at home alone in your apartment, it's pretty lame.

Although, even though I was silent, my neighbors weren't. They had a great time watching TV all week. Are they always that loud?

But it wasn't all bad. I did make a delicious cake, without butter, eggs, or milk. 

This kept me going
for days.

Even better than that, I made frosting to go with it. Although I did end up eating just the frosting. (Come to think of it, sitting on the couch watching TV wouldn't have added all the calories that the frosting did. Oh well. Too late to worry about that now.)

Let's all say a small thanks that
the beard is back.

I also got a private concert from the bf since I wasn't caught up watching a show.






I should admit that I cheated once.

I watched Glee on Thursday when my friend came over for dinner. But this dinner is a weekly ritual, and no one wants to start messing with that. I turned it off as soon as he left. 

All in all, this week wasn't any better or worse than the week before it. I had time to think, but my thoughts were full of "gaaaaah so bored." I kept my apartment cleaner, but seeing as I'm the only one around to be bothered if it's dirty, I don't see much of a problem there. I'm sure I saved a lot on my weekly electric bill, but I'm not convinced to cancel my cable yet. I still spent plenty of time online and watched too many puppy videos on Youtube. 

Did you watch that video? If not, go back and watch it.





No really, stop and watch the video.






Did you?






RIGHT????


So there you have it. A week without TV = a week of riding my bike, eating frosting, and cleaning my apartment. I still enjoyed a variety of social outings. And I still spent plenty of time feeding my introverted self. My world wasn't turned upside down, but it was a fun challenge to accomplish. 

Did you join me in a week without TV? What did you do? What do you prefer over watching TV on a regular basis?