Why i pay for it

I have wireless internet as of today.

Let me briefly explain why this is worth saying. 

We had been without cable or internet at home for about 3 years.  What i did have for a while was unlimited data through verizon which i took full advantage of by streaming netflix over my cell phone and mirroring it to the television.  For a bit.  Seems i wasn't the only one doing that and Verizon wised up and made it virtually impossible.  But that is a different story, the one of cell phones and their contribution to the decline of intimacy and subtle nuances...

Back to the cable.  Even after i was no longer able to mirror movies onto the television we were fine living without television.  More than fine.  I read a lot of books.  Shit got done.  We went out a lot.  Life happened.  I missed the morning news and the weather which i just got off the radio.  No biggie.  

Then my son moved back home.  He said there was no way he could live without internet so I invited him to fix that, which he promptly did.  For the first time i was able to use the "smart tv" we had only watched dvd's on in our bedroom.  And that was pretty much all it took.  I purchased amazon fire tv for the gigantic living room tv that was already outdated because *gasp* it wasn't wireless OR smart. I became worse than ever before when i realized that i could also purchase HBO NOW which allows you to watch all HBO shows and movies without having cable tv.  Magic.  I can do marathons like nobodies business. For a whole year we had access courtesy of my son.  I still wasn't paying for it.  He was.  So that wasn't technically me........anyways that's how i made it okay in my head.

You see- my last gunfight with the cable company happened after they dumped all the material i had recorded on the DVR player that i paid to rent each month on top of all the other stuff.  When they dumped it and i inquired how long it would take for them to "make it all come back" I was informed that they were "sorry" they couldn't do that.....I asked (screamed) if they understood that I used to be able to tape my shows on cassettes in a machine that i paid for ONCE and had forever after without further charges....they cared not.  When i told them if i had to call them one more time to "reset" my box I would charge them for the time i had to keep spending on the phone with them...they cared not. 

I cancelled them.  With glee. And after a few days we were okay again- having woken up from our tv coma.  I vowed to never again pay for something that turned our brains to mush.

I lied.

I'm weak.

My son moved into his own apartment recently and took the wi-fi with him.  

For days i felt like a drug addict.  "where's the wi-fi, how can i get the wi-fi, can i steal wi-fi, I NEED THE WI-FI"  I lost sleep, no tv to soothe me.  I wandered aimlessly through the house when i was alone missing the voices that used to keep me company - the sounds of all the Real Housewives playing in the background of my housecleaning......Music just doesn't fill the emptiness....

And oddly, i missed my streaming radio 1heartradio the most.  Pandora.  and my favorite cheat -youtube hooked into the stereo (i don't really care about the videos).  It soon became very evident that I am addicted to internet.

So we're back on it, he and I.  The router arrived today and i got it all hooked up and did the happy dance as each device declared it was "connected".  Ah.  This is the life.

Did you know Bob Ross is on Hulu?  It was the first show we watched and i felt chills running down my spine as i listened to him talk of happy trees and caressing the canvas...Let me tell you, I have a whole different take on his dialog now that i'm not taking everything literally......i think i got a little turned on.  I kid you not.  Close your eyes and listen to him sometime.....

As i write this blog i have Taxi on in the background....Jeff Conaway and Tony Danza... Remember Chico and the Man?  Or Barney Miller?  I miss those shows.  So that's something to be happy about right?  Wi-fi allows me to re-visit shows that otherwise i wouldn't be able to.  And that's a good enough reason for me to pay for it now.  

That's my story and i'm sticking to it.