The following hi-larious post is from my bloggy friend and sisterchick, Mary at Giving Up on Perfect…
“Hey, Mary, will you buy us a six pack? I think you’d pass for 21.”
I was such a goody two shoes that I was more shocked that my classmate bothered to ask than the fact that she was looking for a buyer. After all, you kind of expect some peer pressure when you’re young, don’t you?
Tight-rolling your pants.
Wearing clear mascara and Exclamation to the school dance.
Sneaking in after curfew.
Being mean to the new kid.
Letting a cute boy smoke in your parents’ car.
Letting your friends copy your homework.
Learning all the words to every single Salt ‘n’ Pepa song.
These issues weren’t easy to navigate, though some were easier to resist than others – but it’s all part of the growing up package.
Little did I know that peer pressure isn’t just for kids.
Recently I’ve flashed back to those tumultuous years as I’ve been pummeled with pressure from those who are supposed to love and accept me. I opened my heart and shared intimate details with those closest to me, and they responded with scoffing laughter, pointing fingers and stinging judgment.
I don’t have DVR. (I still use a VCR.) And my friends are raking me over the coals for this!
Seriously. I am getting harassed in every medium: e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, blog comments, even Skype! No place [online] is safe. I’m starting to fear leaving the house turning on my computer.
Sure, it’s a well-documented fact that I watch a LOT of television. I’m not saying it’s a spiritual gift or anything, but it’s what I’ve got. And, okay, so I have this rule about not turning on the TV until my daughter is in bed, despite my Central Standard Time situation. And FINE, I’ve had to resort to a spreadsheet to coordinate my methods of TV viewing.
But is there really anything wrong with using the tools available to me without further investment? I feel pretty committed with my VCR and my Hulu.com. Do I really need to take the next step, take this relationship I have with my TV to the next level?
Well, I certainly do if you ask my [so-called] friends. Friends who say things like, “How can you even LIVE without DVR?” or “Oh my gosh, I’d just DIE without a DVR.” or “Huh. I thought you were a real TV fan. Guess not.” or “You are a walking, talking TIVO commercial, proving why every person needs DVR.”
Pshaw, I say. Or, perhaps, hmph. Possibly even, grrrr.
What you will not hear me say – EVER – is, “You were right. I’m getting DVR tomorrow.”
Chalk it up to my stubborn nature. Just like Birkenstocks will never (NEVER) grace my feet and just like you will never (EVER!) see me use the ridiculous phrase, “LOL,” I will never give in to this fad! This silly trend! This . . .
Okay. Hmm. FINE.
I can’t wait for the day a thin black box arrives at my house, promising to record every episode of Chuck and Modern Family it can find, vowing to leave no rerun of Will & Grace behind, swearing allegiance to every single geeky show I adore and pledging to show no judgment for those guilty pleasures.
Until then, though, my VCR and I are doing just fine, thankyouverymuch.
Do you have DVR? What shows do you consider must-see (or must-record)? Will you still be my friend if I refuse to break up with my circa-1989 VCR?
Mary can’t decide what she’s looking forward to the most this fall: season premieres of her favorite shows or quitting her day job to freelance. If only “freelance” meant “get paid to watch TV;” then she wouldn’t have to choose. Mary blogs about her imperfect life at Giving Up on Perfect, writing about family, faith, books, food, celebrity look-alikes and chick flicks. You know, the important stuff.
Kat @ Inspired To Action says
Ha! Welll, we don’t have a dvr either, but we don’t watch much besides sports. I’m not really a tv person. Actually, last night Jimmy and I watched the Amazing Race together. I honestly think it was the first “show” we’ve watched in….years. Well, besides kids shows with our children.
I have wanted a dvr, though, just so that our kids can watch their shows whenever and don’t have to come running inside just because it’s show time.
We do have a vcr to record shows, but I can’t figure out how to make it work with our fancy shmancy tv.
Sigh. If only Dinosaur Train was on hulu.com. 🙂
Teri says
I used to have a TIVO, but sold it due to tough economic times. I loved that machine and miss it dearly. Although, losing the TIVO for our family just means missing shows.
Go you for sticking to your guns!! I admire a good spreadsheet, but not sure I am as committed to do that. We watch Grey’s faithfully, so we just commit to being home or buying it from iTunes later if we miss it. Only downside is that if there are 2 shows on the same time slot that you like, you end up missing one (due I didn’t like CSI that much anyway).
Mary @ Giving Up on Perfect says
Ha! If you have a fancy schmancy TV, your VCR may not actually work with it at all! And boy, do I agree about the kids’ shows! My daughter tried real hard to have a meltdown on Saturday because she wanted to watch Mickey – ON THE TV CHANNEL, MOM! NOT THE MOVIE!
Sheesh.
As for “I’m not really a TV person,” well, I’m going to pretend like I didn’t see that. 😉
Mary @ Giving Up on Perfect says
@Teri, you’re so right about the two shows at a time. I have that problem on Mondays and Thursdays – and just thank God (because He cares about TV, I’m SURE) for Hulu. 😉
Amanda D says
I am very devoted to my VCR as well.
Someone teased me the other day for still using a VCR.
I figure…why buy something new when the old still works?
Of course, we have On Demand for those nights when there are two shows on at the same time (Tuesdays. Biggest Loser and NCIS. Both at 8:00.)
Great post!
Deanne says
I totally understand what you’re saying. However, I didn’t realize how wonderfully awesome the DVR was until we had one (not that we purposefully went out to get one, it came with our cable subscription). Not that I judge thee for not wanting one or not rushing out to get one and therefore caving to the pressure of thy peers! Oh no, no, no! But I will say that the DVR has changed my life. I can have all my fav shows set up to record and I no longer have to worry about sitting in front of the couch as just the right time AND best of all (aside from skipping the annoying commercials) is that I can pause the tv while my dearest has something oh so important to say. It’s a marriage saver, to say the least. 🙂 But, I suppose all that can be done with your VCR and/or when you watch shows via Hulu. So, to you I say, good job for not caving to your peers! 🙂
Mary @ Giving Up on Perfect says
@Amanda D, that’s what I say. If it works, why not keep using it?!
@Deanne, thanks for the non-judgment AND the DVR testimonial. Nice combo, there! 🙂
Gwen T says
We don’t have a DVR, and though we do watch the occasional video or movie on NetFlix, we got rid of our satellite 2 years ago. Let me tell you – these have been peace-filled times! 🙂 One of the best decisions we ever made.
We used to watch a lot of TV, but it comes down to this — Am I going to lie on my deathbed someday and say “Man, I really wish I’d watched more TV!!”???
My family’s much more important and it’s given me more time with them.
Jackie says
We like our DVR a little too much, maybe. But we NEVER miss an episode of Phineas & Ferb (which my son also likes). WE have a mighty long list of shows we record but mostly my hubby and I watch after the kiddos go to bed.
Our shows: House, Chuck, Bones, Burn Notice, Glee, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Lie to Me, The Closer, In Plain Sight…the list goes on. Basically, if it’s crime drama, we like it…and the spy shows, too.
I’m not trying to convince you to get a DVR or TiVo, but I REALLY like ours.
Mary @ Giving Up on Perfect says
@Jackie, it sounds like we have the same taste and TV habits! 🙂
Amy @ Finer Things says
Mary, honey — We have a circa 1997 tv, VCR, antenna, converter box, and ONE network channel. CBS. That’s it. Oh, we get the local weather channel, too, and *sometimes* the Spanish channel comes in — HA!
DVR — pshaw. 😉
Tiffany says
No dvr, tivo etc. We still have rabbit ears. They only pull in a few stations. But, we do have netflix that now streams through the wii, so that’s pretty techy for tv. And we only have 1 tv. Don’t ask how many computers we have though 😉
Angie @ Many Little Blessings says
Don’t feel bad — I don’t have DVR either. We had it offered to us when we got digital cable (which we only upgraded to that because it ended up being cheaper), but I didn’t want the extra expense each month. I would like to have it, but it’s not the end of the world to not have it. I like not having to spend the money on it.
Tiffany says
We used to have one. Got one thinking, “We’ll be so much more efficient with our tv viewing!” WRONG! We just watched MORE AND MORE AND MORE tv, because it was there!
We quit cold turkey. No more tivo. No more cable. We watch tv online now.
But I’ll tell you truthfully, if I were to ever get cable again (which I highly doubt I will), I wouldn’t do it without a tivo.
oh amanda says
I can see that. You tend to tivo things you’d never watch normally, I guess. It just made me watch things I actually like instead of surfing. And there are no commercials, so it saved us! 🙂
Hillary @ The Other Mama says
First of all, you had me at “Exclamation”.
Secondly, I’m sending you one for Christmas. It will truly change your life. And you will be always be my friend because I also loath “LOL”. Who knew?
y8 says
Hands down, Apple’s app store wins by a mile. It’s a huge selection of all sorts of apps vs a rather sad selection of a handful for Zune. Microsoft has plans, especially in the realm of games, but I’m not sure I’d want to bet on the future if this aspect is important to you. The iPod is a much better choice in that case.
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Apple now has Rhapsody as an app, which is a great start, but it is currently hampered by the inability to store locally on your iPod, and has a dismal 64kbps bit rate. If this changes, then it will somewhat negate this advantage for the Zune, but the 10 songs per month will still be a big plus in Zune Pass’ favor.
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