Monday 2 April 2007

Adaptation

So it is a Friday night and no DVD, no movie, no TV. The Cape Town Jazz Festival is happening all around me and my computer decides to crash. My first crash mind you and I think I took it rather well (maybe it was because of the 2 glasses of wine I had at lunch, hmmm). My first computer crash and on a Friday when you ready yourself to go home at the strike of five, not nice. Well, left work at about 7 and still had to go back for the programme that allows me to make this post at home.

I reckoned I could not really miss anything on TV as there is no TV for me, and I just can not bare a weekend without the internet and TV. So went back to the office and now am back and we have success.

I think I was meant to be an IT person because really, hey, I am back online and my outlook did not lose anything that I should miss. It’s good really. I think we all need our computers to crash every once in while if only to figure out how the heck stuff works.

Anyway, I am supposed to be writing about all the things I can get up to without a TV.

1. I do not have to rush back home, from gym so that I do not miss the 19h30 drama. Tuesday is Gilmore Girls which I have outgrown (no one can have that kind of relationship with their mother! No one should have that kind of relationship with their mother!), On Wednesdays it is some stupid detective story which I watch because hey I am on my couch and something is on TV. On Thursday is the etv movie that has been repeated 200 times. Friday, oh Friday, that is the test as I usually treat myself to the latest DVD’s from the video store. I am doing okay, I will survive, I have to survive.
2. I do not have to watch crappy shows
3. I can be a snob. When co workers are standing around the coffee machine and talk about the previous night’s episode of CSI, I can say, ‘oh, I do not have television, I am just finishing the latest book by Stephen Hawking, you should really read it, it is fantastic’.
4. I have time. I can wash dishes and pack them away, and have a bath and relax.

This is all great. But a long weekend is coming up and I am just too weak to face it without visual entertainment. The boss said to me today, ‘oh, you should get a plasma flat screen TV to replace your Tv’. I hate rich people, they just do not get it.


I am going to break this weekend and I will probably get the TV fixed or get one of those rock bottom cheap ones and just give in.

If it is between paying R500 for a weekend’s entertainment at the Jazz or R500 for 6 months worth of lousy TV, my choice is made. Now if I can just find the R500.

6 comments:

Toto said...

Yha..i feel you...i feel you. We are so used to TV its not funny any more. Have you noticed what is the first thing we do when we get to the house.....take off shoes (apply to ladies)then switch on TV...sometimes you find that there is nothing interesting on TV but we still open it anyway even if you are going to mute it and play radio......

I think the visuals make us feel better.

That was a quiet weekedn you had there....but maybe you needed it. Tell your boss we can't all afford Plasma screens duh!!!!

Heartwarmer said...

I've gotten used to life without TV.
I also got into the habit of hiring DVDs on Friday night. But I ain't doing that either anymore.
This Friday was going to hire that Children of Man or Man of Children that you hated so much (I just had to see it for myself) and another movie - something bug - can't remember now.
Anyways, picked a pack of microwave popcorn as well on my way to the video store counter.
When the ugly, freckle faced dude at the counter told me I gotta pay a late fee for bringing a movie I watched months ago late.
You see usually a really cute, sweet chick that knows me is at the counter. I guess Friday was her day off.
So there I was, dude tells me I owe R33 or so.
I ask him do your customers come back to this video store after you make them pay such a hefty fine.
He said yes. And told me it was my 8th late return.
I'm thinking, you dumbo, the point is to keep the customer coming back.
So there I was irritated with this youngen that wouldn't even give me a smile or nothing. Tellming me my total was something close to R100. I told him to fuck off. I ain't hiring the movies anymore, and I ain't taking the popcorn anymore, I'll pay my bloody late fee - but I ain't coming back to this dumbass video store.
You've lost yourself a customer.
I told him to give me his name...I planned to call his manager just to let him know what a dumb employee he has.
Is a R33 fine worth losing out on R65 worth of income?
What pissed me off is the movie I was late on was an old ass movie. You know it brokensword - Hero...well I'm pretty sure nobody else came in and asked for it.
ARGH! I was just so pissed off.
Thought I'd drive down to the next video shop - but guess what - they close late.
What am I to do with my friday nights now.
Book reading it is.
the video story is MR VIDEO by the way. I'm boycotting all MR VIDEOS from now on thank you.
And the dumb employee's name is RYAN. So nyeh.

Heartwarmer said...

I meant to say the other video store closes early. By the time I got there it was already closed and this was around 8pm. Eish

Brokensword said...

I feel you heartwarmer. I also have a nice relationship with my video shop boys and girls. I cheat on them with each other. They are both in my walking distance vacinity and they both like my business. Both treat me like a queen, even give me free movies sometimes. But, I treat them okay as well because I am never late with my movies, never after 17h00. But the an old movie like Hero you should have for at least 2 days anyway. Mr Video is wack. Glad I do not have to deal with them.

Anywho, so the weak ass that I am, I got a loan set TV and I was glad to be able to watch CSI last night. Now I see how newspapers can report that CSI is helping real criminals get away with crime. Now i knmow to destry DNA and cover up a murder I must use bleach. A perfect murder is possible and because we do not have CSI types in SA, I am garanteed to get away with it. Now that I have the information, who should I whack??? hhhhmmmm

Oh and thandiwe, that is so true about women and shoes coming off first thing. I suppose for guys it's ties, if they wear them.

My flat felt empty without the TV. I am kinda glad to have some noise.

Anonymous said...

brokensword you have no idea how mad I am about this.
The thing is that, you knwo when you hire a movie with this idiots, you have to bring it the next day before 11am - like what the fuck. That's just fucken unreasonable.

I remember in the old days you keep a move for a couple of day if it was an old movie. And if you hired lots of movies you could keep them longer. I remember that place, you could hire movies for seven days at no extra charge.
You remember that place...down Corlett Drive - it was at the corner. I remember from the days when I used to live with teh brother in Illovo. They knew what they were doing. But then again, they ain't around anymore. So maybe it didnt' make business sense. But fuck it, MR VIDE SUCKS period.

Brokensword said...

Both the video stores I go to let me keep old movies for 2 days