Back to Basics in the Bedroom

It's finally happened. I'm officially a mental slug. It all started with that damn post about the new fall television progamming. I just had to "find something to watch" -- purely for research purposes, of course. " Well, naturally I found several "things" including New Girl, Hart of Dixie, A Gifted Man, Pan Am, Up All Night, and Once Upon a Time. When added to my old standbys--American Idol, Project Runway, Glee, and White Collar--my DVR load is getting a bit heavy. Each evening I rush downstairs to the television like an addict in need of a fix. A guilty pleasure is one thing, but this is ridiculous.

I've had to make sacrifices to keep up with my viewing, namely those overrated activities known as reading and writing. Poor Edgar Sawtelle sits on my nightstand, longing for me to return to his 600-page world. And my blog? Oh, I have ideas for posts on a regular basis, but to sit down and write more often would take time away from the ole "boob tube."

Once upon a time, my bedroom was a safe haven away from the vast wasteland of television, but thanks to freakin' technology, I can now take my viewing with me. While the DVR isn't accessible in our room, a little thing called a laptop, and a littler thing called an iPad, enable me to take my mindless programming to bed with me. It used to be the only mindless thing I took to bed with me was my husband. (Sorry, honey, it was just too good a line to pass up.)
I'm blaming our friends the Andersons for my current problems in the bedroom. Because New Girl, Hart of Dixie, A Gifted Man, Pan Am, Up All Night, Once Upon a Time, American Idol, Project Runway, Glee, and White Collar weren't really enough for my television addled brain, Karen and Dave recommended I check out the newly popular PBS program, Downton Abbey. Karen, like a drug dealer, even provided me with her Netflix password so I could start with season one. It's basically a soap opera for snobs and now I have yet another addiction.

There's only one way to solve this problem, and that's to go cold turkey on TV. But since I'm not ready for that, I'm going to take a more gradual approach, something like the nicorette of television viewing. Here's the plan: I'm going to go to bed without technology. Nothing with a plug or battery is allowed in bed with me (go ahead, giggle). I believe taking this small step will enable me to get back to the things I truly love--my books, my writing, and my husband--though not necessarily in that order.

Wish me luck.