Truth Tuesday: I'm addicted to TV

On any given night, if you were to sneak into my house or were a fly on my wall, you would see me sitting on the couch watching television. I have an abnormal capacity for television watching and streaming tv has made increased this capacity even more. I have to admit that television is one of my vices.

After I graduated college, my best friend and I budgeted the best cable package we could find with all the premium channels. We watered down our juice, ate less, but we had the best tv channels money could buy. It’s silly, right? But it was the best tv watching ever.

I try hard to keep up with all the different shows that are out there. It’s a great conversation starter and also helps me to stay in the know with all the goings on of my celebrity “friends.”

I’ve been considering the reasons why I’m so addicted to tv and I think it has to do with not being able to watch it when I was younger. My grandfather, who would pick my brother and I up from elementary school, would always watch Price is Right and some other Korean shows. I wanted to watch our afternoon cartoons, but couldn’t really do that so we ended up watching either Korean dramas and shows or a lot of Price Is Right. When we were a bit older, we were what they used to call “latch-key” kids. However, all good Asian parents wouldn’t let their children just come home and watch tv all afternoon. We were supposed to do homework, practice violin and piano, and then read books. But as all children must do, we didn’t always follow our supposed to’s and watched tv. We made sure to turn off the tv in time for it to cool down – no evidence of tv watching for parents to find. (Sorry mom!)

I have an early childhood memory of my parents watching Dynasty after we were supposed to be in bed. From that moment on, tv became something utterly fascinating and a bit forbidden. Now that I am an adult, I’m still fascinated by it, but it’s no longer a forbidden. And now, I have to catch up for all those years of not being able to really watch tv.

The television has also been a way that Ninja and I could connect. He’s introduced me to the likes of Dr. Who, Freaks and Geeks, Battlestar Galactica, and I’ve turned him on to a little bit of Downton Abbey and the wonderful world of reality tv. It’s been a way for us to bond and have something in common.

Since I’m such a tv fiend, I try hard not to make my child one. I try not to be too restrictive, but to teach her some moderation since I don’t want her to spend her adult life in front of the tv.

It’s my way of unwinding and escaping from the day. It’s also my way to fill the silence when I’m by myself. That part of it, I don’t really like and am trying to break that habit, but it’s hard.

Whatever you may think of the tv, I love it. It still continues to fascinate me to this day. I have many favorites and am always looking for more interesting shows out there if you have any recommendations. Let me know what your favorite shows are, too!

Til then, I’m tuning in – tonight it’s Orphan Black.