breaking free from stevie, my tv

Like I said, I've tried this before, and I've obviously never been successful. So here are the devices that are going to help free me from stevie, my TV. (That's right, I named my TV stevie - just like Joey did in season 7 of Friends.)

1. Send my beautiful Sharp Aquos TV home to my parents. Sure I could still watch stuff on my computer, but the lack of a bigger screen will make it less appealing.
2. Cancel my Netflix subscription. Believe it or not, Emily and I have never actually subscribed for cable television anyway. All TV that I watch comes from my computer - Netflix, Hulu, NBC.com, CBS.com, ABC.com, usanetwork.com, etc. The age of the interwebs has made my efforts to avoid TV that much more difficult. Just as well, eliminating Netflix will eliminate the constant income of fresh DVD's in the mail and cut me out of their "watch instantly" selection of shows and movies - the most fatal attraction that TV has to offer me.
3. Blog my successes and struggles daily. Cancelling Netflix only accounts for one of my six sources of TV, and sadly I can't cancel a website. I suppose that if worse comes to worst, I could set up some sort of parental controls on our interwebs that would block me from the TV websites and have Emily set up the password, or even cancel my internet service. But those are extremes that I would only resort to if it became absolutely necessary. I'm hoping that this blog will become a system of accountability. Knowing that someone will read this if I cheat just might be enough to keep me from cheating. If you do follow my journey to freedom - please feel free to post emotionally crippling words of disappointment should I fall off the wagon.
4. Rely on the power of the Lord to resist temptation. He is after all, my inspiration for this whole ordeal. And all things are possible through Christ who gives me strength, right? God has shown his power by doing some pretty crazy things. I mean come on - how many of you have seen someone walk on water? Part a sea? Impregnate a 90 something year old woman? Yeah, I think he's got the power to help me see this through. If I do succeed, He'll get all the credit.

Only two TV type exceptions are allowed for this endeavour:

1. TVs that are out of my control. For example, TVs of friends and family members. This weekend the Olympics start, and we're going to my parents. I'm not going to subject my parents to my "no TV" rule. In fact, as long as I'm not the one with the remote, I will allow myself to watch the things that they choose to watch. If I don't want to watch it - tough luck - I'll have to find something else to do.
2. Date nights of the theatre variety. Probably about 5 to 10 times a year, Emily and I will go to see a movie for a date, or we go with some friends. I think that's ok. Theatre of any kind is fair game - and the motion picture type is the only kind I'm interested in - broadway... YUCK. After all "the big screen" is NOT a TV.

So there you have it. That's the agreement. Those are the rules. Good bye my beloved fictional friends. Hello freedom!

Days without incident: 2