cursed internet!

My quality of life would be much improved without the internet.

I can no longer scoff in silent judgment at others who watch TV, for I am an active TV watcher. True that only a couple shows hold my true interest--this season, Grey's Anatomy, my old standby, is frustrating me with its plot lines while a newbie, Pushing Daisies, is charming me to death, so to speak. (Oh, I didn't mean to be punny! But surely my subconscious did.)

In my senior year high school English class, Mr. Friedman gave us daily allusions--references to literature, film, culture, etc. Once in awhile, someone in the class recognized the source, but usually he would have to tell us what it was from. We would have tests over our daily allusions and study so much for these tests that the allusions became ingrained in our day-to-day speech. Friedman scholars, as he liked to call us (but none of us called ourselves), took with us to our respective schools an army of allusions, ready to wow our professors in our papers and essay tests. And it worked. I understood references the most lofty thinkers made to ancient Roman history; I knew what a double-edged sword was and could quote from many of Shakespeare's speeches.

Back to the point. There was one afternoon when Mr. Friedman had an allusion that read, "Demon box! Thief of time! I forsake you!" It was from this comic, which I've also posted below.


This internet has become to me what the TV seems to be for many. I need to impose a time limit for myself. I use the excuses that I'm writing, or reading news, or catching up on this weekend's goings-on. But then, twenty minutes later, I find myself looking through the photo album of a high school friend I've not talked to (other than through facebook or myspace) since 1998 graduation. For no reason. I know what she looks like. Do I really need to see how her vacation to her the Bahamas with a bunch of friends I've never met went? NO!!!

Demon box! Thief of time!

Just now I played ANOTHER game of solitaire Scrabble, when what I really wanted to do was write a thank-you note to my neighbor, who made me some Halloween cookies the other day.

So I'm off to do just that. NOW.

No more excuses, you little thief.

Happy weekend!