beats per minute

* So, surprise of all surprises, one of the new karaoke CDs at Jalisco's had Cheap Trick's "The Flame" on it. Theresa couldn't remember the song, so I volunteered to sing on it. And I did. And it was Monster Ballad Glamour. I also did "I Want You To Want Me," "Eternal Flame," and "Another Night" with Steve.

* Prefunking at Fritz' birthday shindig at Contour. Two drink tickets per person, and as Steve's girlfriend doesn't drink, I got a shade legless. "Wow, I like you better when you drink," said verybadlady. This is my problem, I suppose.

* I had two cigarettes last night, which is the most I've had in a night since, um, I last saw Interpol, in February. I don't actually smoke, in the sense that the pack I'm smoking is probably um six months old or so, and they're cloves. But, I bought my first pack actually almost exactly two years ago. At that point I had to hide them from the boyfriend, too.

* The dorky conversational topics partaken in at the party.: Weird Al songs, LiveJournal/blogs, broccoli, Transmetropolitan, vegetarianism, drinking/drugs, and sex.

exposition

Television

The minute I graduated college, I got a library card. I intended to get a TV at some point, but I had the 'net and books for the first month or so. It started to get weird, though. I mean, getting home from a stressful day at work, you don't exactly want to engage in a book. Unless it's a really good one, or a really easy read. So yeah I started to freak out, and so I bought a TV. Nice one too, flat screen Sony. Yeah. I had a coupon so it was like $300 or so. Ridiculous really.

I used to get home and immediately turn on the TV. I didn't exactly watch it, I cooked dinner with it on in the background. Simpsons then Simpsons then Seinfeld during year one, then Friends started syndication, and then 3rd Rock. I very much didn't watch that, but it was on in the background. It was on TV, so I watched it, right. After dinner I'd either put on a rental, or read a book, or get online. Or all. Sometimes I'd watch something on primetime - I was addicted to the Niles/Daphne drama before they actually got together - but not often.

See, I didn't have cable. I'd never had it growing up, and we only had it on commons TVs in college (which didn't exist once I started living in apartments) so yeah. I lived alone without cable, and I lived with Nick without cable. It wasn't till I hooked up with the Cult of the Red Door that I really got to experience it. Premium digital cable, the works, baby. And um, it was great. But it was still just a time killer, not something one would keep appointments with. (Except for Buffy of course, which I got into fall of 2000.) Having a life was far preferable to scheduling one around TV.

And then I lost my job. Now I didn't immediately get sucked in, I was dating someone else unemployed so we hung out and talked all day online and stuff, but by the time 2003 started I was trapped and locked in good and tight. I'd wake up relatively early, work out and then during lunch watch TV. And keep watching it sometimes till eight o'clock at night. It was, quite frankly, utterly ridiculous.

Somehow I started to taper off, even moreso after I got a job of course. To the point now that I can get home and not immediately plop on the sofa and flip on the TV.