I have been thinking for quite awhile about giving up television. I don’t even consider myself to be a hardcore TV watcher; I never watch in the morning and there are only a few shows that I really follow. Wow, that sounds really convincing, huh?

Unfortunately I do flip on the TV more than I’d like too, especially when I’m tired or just bored.

I’ve lived without TV before. I’ve read more. I’ve listened to music and the radio more. I may have even exercised more. It’s the reading that I really like and want. I have stacks and stacks of books, many of which looked interesting when I bought them but remain unread.

I already use a good deal of my free time going out, spending time with people I know, meeting new people, walking around The City, volunteering with some progressive organizations and looking for new activities of interest. What could I do without that luminescent screen facing prominently into my living room, drawing me in just because it’s there?

I know I would read more and listen to music more. I’d probably spend more time online reading about news and politics and history. Would I go out more? Meet more people? Tend to my job more (I can work just as well from home as I can from my office)? Meditate more? Exercise more? Go on walking tours or take classes or volunteer more? Draw, paint, think, create? It’s intriguing and I think it’s worth exploring.

Tonight my faithful boxy old CRT will move down to the basement storage room and my living room will be rearranged to better accomodate the computer, music gear and more books. I’m going easy on myself, knowing that it’s still there, ready to be hauled back upstairs to give me a fix if necessary. I’ll just take it one day at a time.

I need to start taking pcitures again and posting them here to pep this place up some.