Day 187: Throw Away Your Television

Please tell me you caught the reference in the title? Red Hot Chilli Peppers? Best bass line in the world? I hope so. If you didn't, we're no longer friends. Sorry.

So on Day 187, Mark and I turned off our cable box.

Okay, so this story may sound fantastical and out-there, but, a couple days back, I got a text from Mark asking if I'd ever consider getting rid of our cable. I've kind of always been in favor of this because I watch most all of the TV shows I'm interested in on the internet anyway, but to hear it from a boy (ESPN is on cable, dude) was really unexpected.

We talked later and Mark's point was that it seems archaic to spend $1200 on cable in a year, when we can watch almost every TV show online either for free or for a couple dollars on either iTunes or the Amazon store. And, if you get Netflix, you can get as many movies and TV series as your little heart can handle for only $20 a month. Why hasn't everyone opted for this route??

It seems like a logical case, until you think about your typical Saturday morning behavior. You've just rolled out of bed, you may have a small hangover, you've got nothing to do until lunch, what would you rather fill your time with: reading a book? Get a life. Opening Netflix to watch a movie? Maybe, if you're really motivated. Turn on basic cable? What, to watch local news and PBS cartoons?? Or watch trashy Bravo reality shows (or sports highlights, if you're a boy)? Yesss...sweet mindless relaxation.

Such first-world problems we suffer.

Anyhoo, we decided that we'd turn the cable box off for a little and see what happened. See if we really missed watching Jersey Shore when everyone else does, knowing that we're one step behind the rest of the J. Shore population. Or finding out the winner to Top Chef All Stars before we saw the last show.

Last night we opted for the Daria DVD, which was easy and not too much of a sacrifice. I've gone plenty of days without cable, but it is harder when you know you can't have it. It gets forbidden fruit syndrome.

By the end of the week, I hope we don't miss it at all, because I want my $1200 to spend on other things, like vacationing on a Caribbean beach. Now that's my kind of mindless relaxation anyway.