7 Quick Takes

I've been a little MIA for a few days since nothing post-worthy has been happening, but what better way to make a comeback than by joining Jen and company for some quick takes??

1. I've been watching a lot of Gilmore Girls lately. I forgot how much I love the early seasons. Plus Rory is pretty much the epitome of modesty in the all the episodes I've watched so far. Gilmore Girls for the win! *

2. On Wednesday, we had our first religious education mass for all the students. It went about as well as you would expect a mass with a church full of 100+ kids younger than 13 would go. And it ended with me being spit on by one of my 1st graders...

3. After the aforementioned mass, we asked the kids what they remembered the priest talking about. Most of them raised their hands and said "God!"or "Jesus!" (Good answers, kids, but let's try and be a little more specific here.) But then one of the little boys who usually doesn't talk (except of course when we're in the middle of explaining the next activity) says "it's good to be on God's team so that we're never alone." And that's exactly what the homily was about :)

4. Did anyone else watch Grey's Anatomy last night? I do love me some good drama. On TV of course. I can't say I'm a big fan of it in real life. (Half of my post is about TV so far. Clearly I've had a very busy week).

5. I just finished week 2 of cat sitting. The cats still refuse to be within a 10 foot radius of me. I'm going to start taking it personally soon. I even showered before I went yesterday! Maybe they don't like my soap.

6. It's beginning to look a lot like hot cocoa season! Especially when the heat is set at 63 in the house. Eek!

7. I renewed my library card yesterday. And yes, that's the only other exciting thing I can think to add...don't judge me! (Do provide some book recommendations though :) ) How did I use newly renewed card you may ask? By reserving 20 new CDs! including Mumford and Sons "Babel" because I think I may be the only person in the universe who hasn't listened to it yet. Probably.

7.5 (Because no post is complete without a picture).

Will he catch them or not??

Have a wonderful Friday!

*As I was writing this post, I was watching Scrubs (another great show) and Ted referenced Gilmore Girls! What are the odds?

We don't have the time or we won't make the time?

How many times have we heard the phrase "I don't have time for that"? Or better yet, how many times have we said it ourselves? Heck, I've probably uttered it three times today, and if anyone has time to do things, it's this girl. I couldn't have more time if I tried. So why is it that the only things I've accomplished today are watching more hours of ER than I care to admit, doing a few sit-ups, and attending a Bible study? Well, I can think of a few reasons excuses.

1. I don't have anything that I need to do. I'm "between jobs" (aka my internship doesn't start for a few more months and I can't fathom working at a department store during the pre-holiday craziness). Does this scene frighten anyone else?? Though I would like to know what they were fighting over...

2. I'm having a hard time making friends. This has never been that hard for me to do in the past, mostly because I've always been surrounded by 20+ (or in some cases 40,000+) people my own age. I definitely took school for granted in that sense. But how do college graduates make friends, more specifically college graduates who aren't working?? Where do you go? Where do all the cool kids hang out?

3. I haven't taken the time to come up with any alternatives. Obviously, there are other things I could be doing. But what? And why don't I just sit down to write a list? Oh right, because that would require thinking aaaaand it would take away from TV time. So many problems, so little time.

My friends, I think I've made it painfully clear that I need help. I need accountability, since I've already proven what I'll do if left to my own devices. Now, this wouldn't be a problem if it was a one-time thing. But it's not. I've only got two planned events all week and the rest of the time is spent...wasting time. And that needs to change. As one of the go-getters in a movie I went to by myself (story for another time...) said, "What are you going to do with your one and only life?" Well I sure don't want "Faithful TV Viewer" to be the only label anywhere on my tombstone.

My love affair with TV...

As I’m sitting here on my big comfy chair bawling my eyes out over the death of two TV characters (and let’s make this clear, just the characters, not the actors who actually play the characters), I’m struck by how invested I get in TV shows. It doesn’t matter if it’s the series premiere of a show I’ve never seen, the season finale of a show I’ve watched religiously for years, or an episode of a random show that I’ve seen 12 times already, I simply love TV. Some might even say I’m addicted, which is why I’ll refrain from listing the number of shows I watch… let’s just say, I know my way around the TV guide. I love spending years learning about the characters and watching them grow as the series goes on. I love watching the story unfold and screaming with joy when a good twist happens. I love talking about what has happened and what will happen with my friends. I love how I can learn about myself and how to improve myself by watching TV.

I’ve never really sat down and considered why I enjoy it so much, though. The most obvious answer is that I love a good story, especially when someone is telling it to me in picture form (though I have a love/hate relationship with the suspense of waiting all week to see how so-and-so will get out of whatever problem he’s found himself in). I don’t care how unrealistic the storyline is (obviously people can’t grow a tree out of there heart, but that doesn’t stop me from viewing!) If a show has a captivating storyline, you can be fairly certain I’ve seen at least one episode. But even more than that, I crave the lessons I learn from my various shows.  Sometimes it takes Susan Lewis reminiscing about love lost to remind me that I need to tell the important people in my life that I love them and appreciate everything they do for me. Other times I need to see Leslie Knope falling into the pit to remind me that it’s important to laugh at myself. And sometimes I just need to see Morgan and Prentiss putting the bad guy behind bars to remember that good can beat evil. Television gives me the chance to encounter situations I’d never get into in real life, which broadens my horizons and gets to me use that lump that’s three feet above my @$$ (thank you, Jimmy Dugan). How could you not love TV??

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not always looking for the hidden (or blatantly obvious) message in my 23 minute sitcom or 44 minute drama. There are times I’m “watching” TV while also playing a game on my phone or updating my Facebook status or I’m just watching for pure entertainment. I never really thought much about it before. Or if it did cross my mind, I let it slip away before I had to spend too much time analyzing it. But lately I’ve been spending more time trying to think about things, and since I watch so much TV, I figured it would be a good subject to tackle. I mean, if I’m going to cry when my characters die or rejoice with them when something good happens to them, I might as well take something away from it. (The proper response may be to watch less TV, but let’s be serious, I don’t see that happening anytime soon…so on to the next best thing!) And that’s why tonight, I’m sending some love to my friends. Thank you for the reminder, primetime TV :)