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Getting off the fence (cable edition)

Some encouraging news about me getting off the fence and actually making a decision. I decided after much debate that I should go ahead and sign up for cable television. Yes, this is proof I can make decisions beyond the ones I make every single day.

Basically, since the digital switch, I have had very little success receiving any channels on my rabbit ears. With each channel scan I received less channels than the previous one. So, with the Dallas Cowboys season starting up and a desire to check out some of the upcoming new TV shows, (and with a housemate willing to split the cost) I decided to get digital cable from the same provider I get my Internet service from.

Why this seems so big is that I went without cable for almost my entire eight years. For a while at my previous place, I was able to pick up MTV and AMC on my rabbit ears. To show how long ago this was, I remember how Joel and Benji from Good Charlotte hosted a show on MTV and AMC played movies like Halloween 4 on Friday nights. Now there are a lot more things to look at with the hundreds of channels at our disposal.

Why I held out for so long with cable had a lot to do with money spent versus quality of life in return. I didn't want to become hooked on "reality" shows that were so addictive even though they are venomous to your well-being. Plus, I didn't want to spend all of my free time away from reading books, writing books, surfing the Internet, running, watching DVDs, and playing video games. It's not like I thought that would really happen, but I used to watch such an insane amount of TV when I was younger. I didn't want that stuff to go away because I felt compelled to get my money's worth with watching.

To go further (and stretch things some more), I didn't want cable to become the cure for boredom. Without fail, whenever I go over to the houses of relatives or even my parents' house, cable is the way to pass the time when I'm not doing anything else. I didn't want that in my house.

Now that I have cable, I will not lie and tell you how nice it was to watch the Cowboys opener in widescreen without snow on the reception. And I look forward to watching the final season of LOST in the comfort of my home, where I can hoot and holler and scream at every little big moment. I just have zero interest in cable being my life when I choose to not do anything else.

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