media blackout...

I watch too much TV.

I won't settle for just anything, I have my stories and I absolutely hate channel surfing, but even with my discerning taste, I still manage to fry myself for hours each week. A new show is like a drug for me. I live and breathe it until every last episode has been devoured (case in point: I just finished watching three seasons of True Blood in just shy of three weeks, and don't even ask how long it took me to watch all seven seasons of Buffy.... hmm, it seems I also have a thing for vampires).

What's worse, thanks to the laptop I love so much, I have also developed media ADHD. Gone are the days when I could just lie on the couch watching whatever as a motionless blob. TV "watching" now involves restless web surfing, blog reading, facebooking, etc. Too much media, too little attention. Meaningless oversaturation.

None of this would be a problem really, except that it is. My media consumption isn't necessarily interfering with my life, but I can't help but think that there are better ways to spend at least some of these hours. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe this is a productive use of a few hours in an otherwise extremely busy schedule, but I haven't really given myself much of a chance to decide either way. If you smell another challenge coming, you're right! :)

The challenge: one media-free week.... jeeeeeeepers!

The rules: no TV and no Internet from September 13th @ midnight to September 20th @ midnight. That includes the iPhone!

The exception: the web is allowed whilst I'm at work. I have to spend 8 hours in front of a computer everyday - that's just a little too much time to fend off temptation - and I don't want to be THAT detached from reality.

The aid: it will really, really help that I'll be off the grid, at a cottage all weekend. Tee hee.

So folks, have yourselves a lovely, lovely week. I'll be "out of the office" for a little while!

mxo