Editing and the Return of TV

Well, the summer of no TV ended midway through October, with the first light dusting of snow. The snow only lasted a day, but I spent that day nestled on the couch with my husband, blasting our way through the first two seasons of Episodes. (Great show by the way.) It felt amazing, the perfect way to relax on a Sunday.

However, now that November has arrived I've decided to throw myself into editing and that means figuring out how to balance work and relaxation (aka TV). With the weather getting colder and the desire to stay in and snuggle getting stronger it's getting harder and harder to focus on work. After all, I'm really enjoying the editing process but it's so hard to resist the chance to wrap up in a blanket with my husband and catch up on the shows I've missed.

So, to combat my natural inclination to be lazy, I've created a schedule. I make sure I always use the time when my husband's at the gym or out with friends to edit, when temptation is at its weakest. I also find it easier to edit and write in the evenings on weekdays, when my brain is already geared towards work, and allow myself the indulgence of sleeping in and lazing on the weekends, only working as much as I'm in the mood for. I find I need to give myself permission to just go with the flow on weekends, that way I have something to look forward to and it makes it easier to work on weeknights.

How are you combating the winter gloom? Do you find it more or less easy to be productive in the winter months? Share your thoughts in the comments section!

The End of the Summer of No TV

Well, fall is officially here (according to the calendar. I don't know when the first official day of fall is, but to me it's with the start of September), so I could potentially say that now is the end of the summer of no TV. But, I think I'm going to wait. The weather is still hot and beautiful, so there's no point in turning back on the boob tube while it's still pleasant to be outside. I think I'll wait until it's cold and the thought of warm pajamas and an enthralling crime show are too enticing to resist. But I am starting to reflect on the summer, and I've decided it's been a success.

With the TV off, my husband and I spent the summer going out, exploring our city, talking long walks with the dog and training for a 5K. We went to Paris, which was the vacation of a lifetime, and spent a lot more quality time together at home. I read a lot of books, took a lot of naps and just tried to soak in the heat of summer when it was around. Sadly, the lack of TV did not inspire me to put anymore time into yard work, aside from picking and eating all my raspberries and strawberries with big dollops of whipped cream, but we did put in a driveway, so there's that.

The point is, we really enjoyed our time off, and with winter approaching we're looking forward to having the perfect excuse to snuggle up and watch TV again. I think this could be an annual thing, so we have no excuse not to get the most we can out of summer. What about you? What did you get out of summer this year?

The Summer of No TV - Week 1

The summer of no TV officially started last week sometime and so far I'm kind of surprised I'm not getting more done. I guess I figured without TV to distract me I'd be getting a lot more done. Somehow, my house is still a horrific mess, my writing is still stumbling along at a clumsy, procrastinating pace and my yard (although better than last year) is still decidedly unpretty. The laundry still sits in large piles on the laundry room floor and I'm just not sure what I've been doing with all those wasted TV hours.

True, I've been reading A LOT and I will not apologize for that. It's important. I think every human being should read every day, even if it's just a few pages. I'll also admit to napping a lot, but I'm pretty sure it's not more than usual. Of course, with the weather finally turning towards summer my husband and I have been taking the dog for increasingly long walks. But I still feel like I've gone through some kind of worm hole. Where's all the progress?

I'm hoping this is just the adjustment period and soon I'll be getting a little more proactive with all the work I should be doing. No matter what happens though, I still think it's a good idea to take some time off from the TV. It certainly can't be a bad decision... right?

A Barrage of Updates

I will admit that I'm phoning it in a bit this morning. Last night, my sister and I were at my mother's house making perogies. We made A LOT of perogies, had a lot of laughs and now my freezer is full and I'm exhausted. It's all worth it though. If you've never enjoyed the difference of real perogies versus those awful store bought ones, you really should. It's ridiculous.

I've actually been pretty busy on the home front these days. Aside from epic perogy making, I've been doing a lot of editing on the manuscript, trying to whip into reasonable shape before the current Writer in Residence, David A. Poulsen, finishes his residency. There's nothing like a deadline hanging over your head to get you to work hard. Although, honestly, I think a bigger reason for my current work ethic is turning off the TV. No, I haven't done the official turn off for the summer (I feel like there should be some kind of ribbon cutting ceremony or something), but I have been cutting way back, getting myself used to the abundance of free time it provides. I think the official turn off will come in May when the snow will finally be gone (I'm hoping!) and it's not so depressing to look out my window.

I know some of you have been wondering if I've been keeping up with my French lessons in preparation for my upcoming trip to Paris, and the answer is: yes! I try to make sure I do at least one lesson every day (although preferably more). Could I carry on a conversation in French? Not on your life. But, when I see French signs, or see French phrases in the books I've been reading on Paris, I actually understand a lot of them, which is very exciting. I can speak a few phrases, and there's a slight possibility I might be able to manage ordering in a restaurant, so I'm pretty excited. I still have two and a half months to go, so I'm kicking it into high gear. And I have to admit, I'm loving it. I've never been very good at learning different languages (and that hasn't changed), but my progress is encouraging and I'm having a lot of fun.

Thus concludes this random post of updates. Hopefully everything is going well on your end, as we slowly (oh ever so slowly!) creep into spring. What new happenings has the change of seasons brought into your life?

A Summer Without Television

Can I tell you something crazy that I'm considering? You've probably already guessed it from the title (at least I'd hope so), but I'm thinking about going the entire summer without television. I know, it's crazy. Especially when you're as poor as I am. Why would I throw away such an affordable source of entertainment, and for an entire summer no less? A week, sure. But the entire summer? Now, that's crazy. But hear me out.

TV has always had the absurdly cliche zombifying effect on me. As soon as my eyes lock on to the screen, I'm dead to the world, focused wholly on whatever program is playing. Forgetting eating brains, mine drops out of my head the second that flickering box turns on. Even when I try to avoid it I can't seem to break away. My husband watches several programs I'm not interested in, so I will purposely leave the room and attempt to entertain myself elsewhere. And yet, some problem will require me to enter the living room, pass by that flickering screen and BOOM! I'm stuck like a fly to molasses. Even though it's a show I don't even want to watch.

It's not just that TV turns me into a mindless zombie, it's also a huge time suck. I'll sit down to watch one show, just one I promise myself, then I'll look up and realize it's getting dark out. An entire day will have passed me by and I'll have nothing to show for it. Books lie unread on my night table, edits remain untouched on my desk. And all just to watch shows I've already seen.

So, that brings me to the logical conclusion. Just turn it off and don't turn it back on again until fall, when winter is bearing down on us and I'll need the escape of TV. Think of how much I could accomplish if I just shut the damn thing off. Not to mention, all those summer shows I love. I could watch them in the fall when there would be no horrible, week to week waiting. It would be my reward for a well used summer.

What do you think? Do you have a zombifying time suck making off with the better part of your days and evenings? How do you make the best use of your time?

No TV Makes Melanie Something Something

Lately I've been trying to cut down on my TV watching, in an effort to garner more time for reading and writing. Since I was small, I've been a complete TV zombie. I love it. Especially anything animated and funny. Even now, my husband has to literally shake me from my comatose state whenever the TV's on just to get my attention.

So, I guess it should come as no surprise that since my TV reduction, I've had a non-stop playlist of Simpsons quotes and opening TV show themes running through my head.

"And how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home wine making course, and I forgot how to drive?"

"Me fail English? That's unpossible."

Homer: "So what do you think Marge? All it needs is a title. I was thinking along the lines of 'No TV and No Beer Make Homer something, something."
Marge: "Go crazy?"
Homer: "Don't mind if I do!"

These are just a few of the many that have been playing on repeat for the last few days. I guess I'm going through TV withdrawal. And yet, whenever I start to feel weak and long to turn the TV back on again, it's a Simpsons quote that keeps me from doing it! The quote comes from when Bart is trying to use his imagination to entertain himself and comes up with nothing. Frustrated, he exclaims that TV has ruined his imagination. What better motivation does a writer need? So, I'm keeping the TV off, and my imagination in tact.

What vices get in the way of your writing time?

A Call to Arms for My Brain

It's quiet here at work. Most people have gone home for the weekend and I have just a half hour left to go. With all my work done for the day I can think of no better way to spend my remaining time than by writing.

But what fresh stories are waiting to be put down on paper? I must admit, the blank page frightens as much as it excites me. I feel the pressures of untold stories bearing down on me with relentless energy. They remain at the ends of my imagination, hovering on the edges, veiled in fog. I long for them to come into view and present themselves clearly, but it's a useless wish. I must fish for them, dragging my net through the foggy waters, fighting and pulling stories into the light. Some are thin and small, not worth the effort, but they're good practice for those big, meaty, gleaming ones I know lie just beneath the surface, wating to be found.

I get frustrated a lot, tired of fighting and pulling at my own imagination. Why must it be so willful? So tired and preoccupied? Doesn't it know that within its folds lies my liberation? But I am so easily distracted, so quick to shut down and give in to outside temptations. Why is it so hard to realize that the depths of my imagination hold far greater treasures than TV or the internet could possibly provide? The delicacies of the imagination are far superior to the junkfood diet of one-sided entertainment. The glowing box on the wall will not fulfill me the way writing can.

Is it no wonder then, that my imagination is fat and lazy and refusing to cooperate? Silly, lazy brain. You're supposed to hum with electricity and ideas, and instead you soak in a stew of bland, shallow thoughts. I will put you on a diet! Strip you of your fatty, unnourishing, unstimulating enterprises and exercise you! My imagination shall be as fit as a marathon runner, as flexible and artistic as an acrobat. I shall put down the remote and take up the pen!