Television is the Devil

Since moving to the South Side, I have hardly missed having cable television at home. I work so much that it seems hardly worth it to pay $50 a month to be able to watch maybe 3 hours of television a day, and a good chunk of that while eating/going to sleep/getting ready for work. Plus, the idiots at Comcast couldn't tell me whether or not they provided service to my building without receiving blood and urine samples from me, my landlord and at least two neighbors.

Having been at my mother's house for 3 days now, I have watched more television than I've probably seen in the past 3 months. Part of that is due to my increased access. I'm spending lots of time at the house since I'm not working. The allure of watching three straight hours of television in the morning -- Buffy at 7, Designing Women at 8, and Golden Girls at 9 -- is great. I haven't been here to enjoy it, but if I waited 'til 11:00 I could also see an hour of Will & Grace. This combination of increased sloth and caloric intake may conspire to prevent me from fitting into my clothes by the time I return to Chicago!

I have come to the same realization about TV as I have about fattening foods -- if they're around, I will consume them. It's horrible to face up to the fact that you're an addict, but frankly I am. And I don't say that because I want pity or to abdicate responsibility for my actions. It's just something I've come to realize in the past year. The TV addiction is easy to kick -- Chicago only has about 10 channels available over broadcast, and about half of those operate entirely or mostly in Spanish. And the food thing was easy before the holidays. I purposely kept less food in my apartment than I ever have, including staples like pasta and sugar, and this helped me to control my cravings.

When I return to Chicago, my first mission will be to get rid of everything I have that's unhealthy, or at least freeze it. (Most things are less savory when frozen.) Then I need to see just how much weight I've put on since Thanksgiving, have a good cry, and get back on the horse. I'm not feeling much strain in the old waistband or belt (yet) so I doubt I've put on too terribly much weight. Thankfully I'm just incapable of consuming as much food as I used to, so that's been a saving grace.

I have to run now, though. Golden Girls just started, and I have to go heat up breakfast. Now, where did I put that pound of bacon . . .