Posted by Amy Sun November 9, 2008, 11:18 pm
Said with Sarah Palin's (or Tina Fey's) voice. If you follow politics, you'll get that line...haha (and will understand what I'm talking about by the end of this entry). But, I will not be talking politics today. I've had my fill this past week.
Brr...it was so cold today, wasn't it? And dreary. I'm not ready for winter. The past two years I've felt like the temperatures have gone from hot to cold with no crisp fall weather in between (even though the leaves have been changing colors).
I haven't been great about posting on here lately. Besides feeling like I don't have much to blog about, I can pretty much blame my absence on Facebook! I'm on it more often than I should be.
So, I have an announcement that several of our closest friends already know about (drumroll please)....we've gotten rid of the DVR (gasp!). I'm sorry if you thought this was going to be a more significant announcement, but this is important to us, okay?? We had like 5 years with the DVR, 5 years! It was so reliable and good to us. It's been a part of our family, almost like a limb, and it's gone, poof....just like that. After one dreaded phone call to that darn cable company. You know which one I'm talking about. It shall remain nameless because I know, for a fact, that they employ people who specifically scope out blogs containing their "C" name.
We received our monthly bill a few weeks ago that showed an increase of $30 on all of our cable services. There was no way we were going to pay that every month. We'd tossed around the idea of cutting back on cable probably for a year, or so. Sometimes I'd be more adamant about letting it go, other times it was Mike, but we never seemed to be on the same page at the same time. Plus, it came down to making that call....we always backed out of it when one of us reached for the phone. Could.not.dial.that.number.
Those of you who don't have a DVR, or the cable box, probably think I'm being overly dramatic and I am a little. But, you haven't lived this sweet life that I've lived :-) Those who have experience with these wonderful amenities can relate, I know.
Anyway, Mike bit the bullet when we got this latest bill and made THE CALL. I knew they'd try to give him a cheaper rate to keep us on, but Mike is stronger than I...that idiot didn't take the deal!! The deal of a lifetime...I won't tell you how much (or how little). My husband had his mind made up, ugh! He stuck to his guns and we now simply live with basic cable and internet. No DVR, no fancy remotes (no "info," no "guide"...how do I know WHAT is on...and WHEN??). I AM LOST! No pausing to take a dump or fix a snack. No rewinding when something is funny (Alex especially misses that feature). We are forced to watch commercials now. I hadn't watched a commercial in years. It was awesome. Actually that DVR probably SAVED us money over the years, now that I think of it (although you wouldn't be able to tell that from my Wal-Mart receipts). We are simply BASIC now. (And I know we could get even more basic than this, like absolutely no tv at all...but this is as basic as this family gets).
I went through withdrawal/denial the first week, then anger (I can't stop thinking about THE DEAL) and now just kind of an underlying sadness...like missing an old friend. I know that, with time, I will forget about how sweet that friend was, how good it was to me. Someday...the friend (and the pain of losing it) will be a distant memory...someday.
Anybody out there feel my pain? Or have any advice for me? Be nice. We had been spoiled, I know this. I've watched some of my favorite shows, like Grey's Anatomy, online, but ABC's site is often broke. I think I watch more crap than I did before, seriously. I just find myself flipping and settling instead of watching what I really wanted to, which was recorded on the DVR (aah...I said it again. I need to stop referring to it. It's dead to me.). I know, I know...I need to turn off the tv and read a good book. I do love to read. I just need to get out of the habit of going for the tv and pick up a book instead.
Thank you for listening (reading) and putting up with me. I'll be okay.
Comments
Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry - Mon November 17, 2008, 10:47 pm
I am just now reading this and I am APPALLED that you quit your DVR. I hardly watch TV and I still could not survive without my DVR. We've had ours for nine years. Last year we switched from C------ to directTV. A good move.Couldn't you have given up something else beside cable to save money? Like fruit or toilet paper?
emily mcd - Sun November 16, 2008, 3:13 pm
Oh, if only there were other companies to compete with those people. :( I have had miserable experiences with them. So miserable, I decided to go to Dish...except that then they jack the price of Internet up to MORE than we pay now for both Internet and cable. :) They are really sneaky that way. Anyway, you can always check out my blog now in your spare time (I've written two posts in two weeks).Julie - Sun November 16, 2008, 2:35 pm
Duh, read more! I could happily live without the DVR and satellite at all (except I'd miss my Sirius/XM channels). The withdrawel is hard, I know, but you will survive.Gail - Fri November 14, 2008, 4:25 pm
I can't believe you haven't called them back yet! And insisted on "The Deal"! I actually just switched from TiVO to a DVR from that C place. I hate it...I want my TiVO back. So you are not out of line to be sad...deeply, deeply, sad. I do agree that having a DVR helps to watch less TV, shows are only about 45 minutes long, and yay! No commercials!! Try out the hulu.com, and tell those crazy people who tell you to find something else to do that sometimes you just want to sit on your *ss and watch tv:)Beth - Tue November 11, 2008, 11:27 pm
Hey! Found you! It's Beth from MOPS. I knew you had a blog, so I googled you. And I had to reply when I saw this post. HAVE to tell you about hulu.com. Seriously. Just about every basic cable show is on here. And it's free. We watch Heroes, The Office, SNL, Chuck... And you can pause, rewind, stop, replay. And there are only maybe four 15 second commercials throughout a 45 minute show. (Which, on cable, would be an hour long show)We've never had cable. We used to exist on bunny ears - then we moved here! ONE channel. ONE. So we found Hulu.com and now we get to watch all the shows everyone's talking about!
And we can watch them when we want (after the kids are in bed - and they go to bed LATE.)
I'm just a walking talking advertisement for hulu.com. So I feel the need to end with:
This message was approved by Beth.
Angela S - Tue November 11, 2008, 4:05 pm
Well I work for the dreaded "c" as a second job that I do a work from home right at my computer. The "C" does not normally offer promos after you had one so I'm surprised they even offered. I currently can't live without my dvr but have been through tight times where we also went back to basic and I noticed I spent more time on the computer because I couldn't handle just the basic. Once we had more money we went back up in service.Ang m. - Tue November 11, 2008, 2:06 pm
I am very curious about the whole Facebook thing.Why is it different then your blog site??
Just curious. :)
~~Angela
Becky - Tue November 11, 2008, 1:13 pm
My advice to you is find something else to do. I personally do not like TV so this isn't a problem for me. I meal plan, cook and bake, blog, organize, clip coupons, thrift shop, take pictures - heck there are tons of things to do.Janice Focosi - Mon November 10, 2008, 7:21 pm
I don't know where to start...I felt a sickness in my stomach after reading this. Please know that there is always a place on my sofa for you and I will gladly record any show you want. If you need me to come down there to hold you, let me know.Love,
Janice
Mom - Mon November 10, 2008, 2:46 pm
What's a DVR? And "Face-who?" Signed, an Old Person.AnneMarie - Mon November 10, 2008, 2:03 pm
I keep trying to find ways to save money on the cable without having to resort to losing my dvr. I just can't do it!! We are actually switching to u-verse from at&t and dumping "c" entirely. And I'm not calling to cancel until the other stuff is connected because I know I'll get the hard sell. Really, shouldn't they offer these great deals to their customers BEFORE they cancel...gosh, maybe even without having to be asked! Don't know if u-verse is available in your area yet, but it's going to save us a good deal of money over the other guys. And we're actually getting more than what we currently have! Including dvr & hd service! Go figure. Try checking it out. Good luck without the dvr, I am sad for you! :-(Beth L. - Mon November 10, 2008, 12:52 pm
I wish I had some encouraging words. Sadly, I think I almost had a panic attack just at the thought of it, when Mike told me he made That Call. ;) Good luck! You are stronger than I.Renay - Mon November 10, 2008, 12:35 pm
*GASP*I can hardly breathe for you. Ugh. Oh the pain. I'm seriously considering sending you condolence card. I know with my newfound full-time work life (which leaves me without friends BTW) I couldn't live without the "D" word.
AND, I can't believe he wouldn't take the deal...they wouldn't even offer us a deal-losers. AND, you are so right, if you would of written the "c" word they'd be all over you. I've gotten in more trouble on my blog writing out actual company names-including mynew employer-won't write that diff "c" word here. Anyway, I'm home today so I should just pick up the phone and call you with this rare occasion of me not being sleeping or at work. I really miss you.
Amy - Mon November 10, 2008, 11:49 am
I am so proud of you. Remember our no cable experiment? Yeah, that went over like a lead balloon. We tried to substitute with Netflix, but I can't give it up.What about switching to satellite? I love my Direct-TV and get a ton more channels. I think the DVR is like $4.99 per month so it is much more manageable in the budget.
