It all began when I was a little girl — my obsession with television and movies, that is.
You see, as a baby, and then as a young child sticking me in front of the television seemed to be the only thing that kept me out of my mother's hair for years. It's not that I necessarily even watched it, I just like to have it on near me.
I blame my mom for the reason why I own nearly a thousand DVDs and have a long list of TV shows I have to watch. OK, I know that's not fair, and I'm not really blaming anyone, because I happen to like my obsession. I have learned a lot from TV.
I went from playing in the playpen and having the TV on in the background to doing my homework, reading and even studying with the TV on. I think that's probably the reason why it drives me absolutely insane to take a test in complete silence. I need some kind of background noise!
My mom used to come in my room when I was in high school and I'd be reading a book and there'd be loud music in the background, or I would be working on my calculus homework and there the TV was. "How can you concentrate?" she'd ask.
It's also the reason why, when I hit my mid-afternoon slump, I write my best work while listening to music — LOUD music. It just gets me going and keeps me on task. I can't explain it. It just does.
It should also be no surprise to anyone that I now review movies and sometimes TV shows as part of my job. Get paid to watch movies? I can do that! Who wouldn't want to do that?
Whether I'm actually paying attention to what's going on, or if I have the TV on trying to fall asleep, sometimes I don't know what I'd do without that entertainment. Isn't that pathetic?
For me, it's the one electronic I absolutely cannot live without (well actually, both a TV and a radio). I can do without a computer, sometimes I even think I can do without a cell phone. But take away my TV or radio for too long and I'd probably go crazy on you.
I can't clean, bake or cook without listening to music or without watching the TV or a movie. I even bought myself a portable DVD player for Christmas so that I could watch something when I'm going to be in the kitchen for a few hours.
The more I talk about this, the more I wish I could have a cooler, healthier obsession like biking or mountain climbing. Wouldn't that be sweet?
On second thought, I like me, and this obsession makes me part of who I am. I'll just stick to watching those things on TV. I have my own fun every now and then, but I'm OK with getting a lot of it from TV.
And don't even get me started on my obsession with Lifetime or the Lifetime Movie Network. I'm such a girl when it comes to watching those movies. I will tell you this, if you want your boyfriend or your sister out of your hair faster than you can say bye, just flip on LMN.
Maryville, Mo. —
