In the interest of keeping in touch with the clan about things, I thought I’d post this update.
As of today, I’m turning in my cable box. In the past I had been without cable but I had it turned on over the last winter. 19 hours of night means a lot of indoor time. Add this to having a six year old in the house and well, you see my point. I’m shutting the cable off in part because it’s too damned expensive. See, in order to get internet, I have to bundle it with the TV. I have to pay for about 120 channels of which I watch perhaps a dozen. It would be nice to do a cafeteria plan and pay for what I use but who am I kidding? The cost of internet, telephone and the basic channels is $180 a month. I have a HD TV and I can’t afford any HD channels. Crazy. I don’t need a telephone since all of my calls are on my cell. But I have to have phone service to have the cable to have the internet.
You don’t have to be a rocket surgeon to figure this out.
So now I’ll check my email from work when I can, and take advantage of the wifi at the coffee shop. I’ll write all of my posts in Open Office and upload them when I get to the wifi spot. Same with my email.
For the readership here, it means that I may not respond to comments immediately, but trust that I will respond within a day or two. Thanks for hanging in there with me.
So, having no TV or internet access means I’m going to get a lot of reading and writing done.
And that ain’t too bad.
Love the photo!
I see lots of DVDs in your future.
I don’t blame you. I don’t watch TV at all, but I don’t have a six yr old either.
Laura Eno´s last [type] ..Zombie Luv Flash Contest – Island Nights – #FridayFlash
Hey Laura, I’m still laughing at that one too. What did we ever do before Photoshop?
You are right about the DVDs. So far I’m most of the way through “The Deadliest Catch” Which I love, by the way.
George
Good for you… I find TV an unnecessary addiction… though some days the best thing I could do is watch an old classic.
It is pretty expensive, I totally get it. I’ve gotten my costs down, but when I think about how much I pay the cable company for TV and internet it is galling!
Thanks for your help today; I’ve emailed Amazon for help… there’s a huge learning curve w/ my new blog! And, I’m so eager to write yet I’ve spent untold hours studying up on self-hosted related stuff!
Walker´s last [type] ..Wednesday Words
Hey Walker, glad to help. I’ll be anxious to hear what Amazon has to say.
I was afraid I’d suffer TV withdrawals but so far, so good!
George
Hey George,
I hear your roar, compadre!
I don’t have a land line and I haven’t had any TV service (cable, etc.) for ten years now. Other than occasionally not getting jokes about commercials or Viagra advertisements — I don’t miss it one bit. Like Laura said, though, I don’t have kids at home to entertain.
I’m looking forward to hearing how you feel being without landline/cable/TV and I won’t freak out when and if it takes you longer to respond to my comments.
P.S. I got a hoot from the photo — good one!
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Lori! Hey, how’s one of my most fav peeps?
I’m actually excited about not having the stuff around. Not only that, but in Maddy terms, it is summer and we will spend a lot of time outdoors. By the time winter rolls around, not having TV will be the norm!
George
Join the club, George!
Although I do have the Internet (a portable USB modem), I do NOT have a landline telephone OR cable/satellite TV. Imagine that! LOL
Can’t wait to see what kind of posts (or books!) you write without those added distractions. And, of course, you know we’ll patiently –and anxiously!–await your responses (whenever you’re able to respond).
Take care, pal!
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Hehe. Michele, always so nice to have you come around. I’m looking forward to the change actually. I’m excited about the reading and the new focus.
The past few weeks I’ve cut my email subscriptions WAY back and that will help me stay on top of things!
George
Thanks, George! It’s nice to come around.
And I’ve cut my email subscriptions WAY back too–been deleting like CRAZY, I have! hehe
Michele´s last [type] ..NuNaturals Giveaway—for FOUR WINNERS!!!!!
Hi George, I followed a link on twitter, and here I am. Less TV has to be a good thing. I taught my six year old how to play cards. He and his sister love it. Good luck with everything, Simon.
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Hey Simon. Thanks for dropping by and for the Twitter follow. I’ll get over to Twitter in a bit and get you a follow as well.
Teaching the sixy to play cards, eh? Very cool and I’m sure you have the patience of Job!
Cheers
George
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I applaude you, George! This is something my hubby and I have recently been discussing. We have a 7-year old who’s a baseball addict; and with Directv, he’s constantly watching baseball. And, both hubby and I are football addicts so when football season rolls around, well, you get the idea.
We want to cut back on costs and tv seems to be one way of doing that; whether or not we actually do it, well, that remains to be seen. It would be good not have my son watching so much tv and start using his imagination more to play. I had to do that while growing up (we had the rabbit ears thingy and only 3 workable channels to watch) and I turned out just fine (hold the comments please). If you can do it, George, then I know I can too. Best of luck! 
Carrie
Thanks Carrie!
I was afraid I’d have seizures or something and I thought Maddy would freak without Phineas & Ferb but so far, so good. I am getting a lot of other things done. Getting rid of the TV receives my highest recommendation! Maybe we need a support group!
George
Good for you George – you must be saving a fortune. We can’t get cable here yet and I can’t get rid of my Internet because I live in the sticks. But I dumped SkyTV months ago, when they severely overcharged me and we are saving over £50 a month. And do you know what, we don’t miss the same old crappy channels and film repeats. When we want to watch a film, we choose something we really want to see and order it by mail from lovefilm.
I barely use a cell phone anymore, so I just have pay as you go. The next challenge is to ditch the home phone. I just need to figure out how we can get the Internet without it.
Cath Lawson´s last [type] ..7 Enjoyable Ways To Spend Less Money
Hi Cath,
I ended up turning in the whole shooting match – cable, internet and local phone. $180 a month is a big deal for me and somehow it just feels “right”. Know what I mean?
Thanks for dropping by, Cath. Always nice to have you here.
George
You’re a brave, brave man to turn off your home internet connection. I couldn’t do it! But I hope it leads to much productivity and you get loads done. Heck, maybe you could even go outside or something
Heather,
Thanks, and yes, it will require a few gymnastics to stay in touch and do my stuff, but I think it is doable and worth the effort!
And then there is the outside thing as well…
George
Hi George!
You mentioned a few posts ago that you felt, somehow, that you and your writing were on the cusp of something great.
Maybe this change in lifestyle will be just the nudge you need to take your efforts to the next level. Imagine what would have been the outcome if Poe or Hemingway or Dickens had had to contend with the distractions of TV and the Internet! Or Twitter.
I’m retired and have become so disillusioned with what passes for TV these days that I could probably do without it. We have subscribed to Netflix which brings great films right to our mailbox, so I would highly recommend that.
Maddy will surely benefit from more time to use her imagination and to keep her dad on the straight and narrow. Someone has to.
With a real writing career, it’s all about focus, focus, focus. Just think what your life will be like when you are on a nationwide booksigning tour, George! And all that riding around in that stretch Bentley Or that private jet.
Just don’t forget to give me and the rest of the Tumblemoosers a shout-out when you are up there on the dias receiving your Independent Spirit Award. We made you what you are!
Hey Wayne,
It does seem to be part of a grand scheme that is being pushed my direction. Like I said in a previous comment, it just feels “right”. That tells me I’m on the right track.
And ther eis no doubt that the readership has carried me this far as I know they will carry me to greater heights in the future.
I’m a lucky man!
George
I just took the internet off my little writing laptop – no email no internet – tough at first and every now and then I do feel a longing to know what’s happening – but actually, its fantastic, not being connected!
I feel just the same, Lisa. There is some liberation involved that is indescribable!
George
Hey George,
Way to go. I was just discussing with my husband earlier today about turning the TV off for a week. It will be a total shock to both his and my childrens’ systems but I think it will be a good experience. I can’t believe how much you are paying for internet, phone and TV. I currently pay €56 for broadband and phone and that is a 15mb broadband connection. Couldn’t do without it though but I am considering getting rid of the Sky TV subscription which is an extra €28.
At least you will have a lot more time to read and of course write so that can only be a good thing.
Amanda Evans´s last [type] ..A Book For All Writers
Amanda,
It is a tough thing to do but it is so worth it. I check out DVDs from the library, I get a lot more books and now when I sit down to write, there is not the distraction of the TV, email or surfing.
Cheers
George
Hey George! It’s crazy how convoluted it is to get an internet package. Is tethering an option for your cell phone plan?
Although really, I think your plan is a solid one. How much time do we all waste on the internet?
Don’t be a stranger!
T-a-Licious!
Silly, isn’t it? As it turns out my ATT contract is about up. Will probably get the new iPhone for its tethering ability but who knows when ATT will turn that on. I’d love the HTC Evo 4G but no carriers up here support it and it definitely has the tethering thing going on.
I will check my email daily, dah-link so no worries if you need to get in touch, ok?
George
The whole bundling thing really annoys me. Fortunately, where I live I can choose Comcast cable or Verizon DSL for Internet. I use Verizon because I can have the Internet without anything else – I don’t even have to have a landline. I rarely watch tv so I wouldn’t want the cable. We do get the basic channels without it in my apartment.
I don’t think I could do the no Internet thing easily since it’s basically how I earn a living.
That is a huge savings every month.
I find kids are pretty flexible. They like tv but if it’s not there they adapt well to other activities. Our tv broke when I was a kid and my Mom didn’t get it fixed or replaced for a very long time. By the time we had one again I wasn’t interested in it anymore and haven’t been since.
Kim Woodbridge´s last [type] ..How to Decide What to Read- Books Read the First Half of 2009
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