Posted on: Friday, May 4, 2001

The Homebody Chronicles
Forsaking TV seemed a remote possibility

By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer

Gone are the not-so-distant days of clubbing, partying and staying up all night with friends.

These days, this twentysomething wife and full-time worker usually looks forward to having absolutely no weekend plans. My idea of fun and entertainment, of rest and relaxation, is unwinding in front of my television set.

"Addict" and "TV-holic" have often been used by loved ones to describe me and my secret obsession. I watch all kinds of TV shows (with the exception of sports programs), from "Antiques Roadshow" on PBS to MTV's "Jackass"; you name it, I've probably watched it and probably enjoyed it.

So, with much hesitation and anxiety, I challenged myself to go a whole weekend without television and tried desperately to establish a "can do" mindset. The timing was perfect. Coincidentally, I would do this during TV-Turnoff Week (April 23-29), a national campaign to encourage people to reflect on how much television they watch, which is what I wanted to do.

However, the thought of going an entire week seemed too extreme. So I settled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday ... a seemingly small feat to others, an incredibly huge sacrifice to me.

To avoid the beckoning of the 19- and 27-inchers in my house, I knew I had to keep busy. I entertained the thought of spending the entire weekend shopping. But in order to get the full experience of this challenge, I knew I had to stay home to face my weakness, literally.

Friday was surprisingly easy. Instead of watching the "Today" show as I normally did while getting ready for work, I listened to the radio. When I got home from work that night, I was so exhausted I went straight to bed after dinner. One day down, two more to go.

The weekend, however, seemed to last forever.

"Keep busy," I reminded myself whenever the house became uncomfortably quiet, or each time I glanced at the cold, black screen that seemed to call for my warmth and company.

I balanced my checkbook, did several loads of laundry, dusted every piece of furniture, cleaned all the glass and mirror surfaces in my house, scheduled my annual check-ups with my dentist, dermatologist, gynecologist and optometrist, and for fun, read J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" from cover to cover within hours.

That was Saturday.

I also managed to write to several family members and old friends — the old-fashioned kind of correspondence that requires a postage stamp and not a "send" command. Sure, the quickness of e-mail is great, but it was nice to have the extra time to pen a thoughtful letter on pretty stationery.

I even had time to make a delicious, home-cooked pork chop dinner for my husband. OK, so it involved Shake 'N Bake and a Caesar salad kit and took only 15 minutes to prepare, but those who know of my culinary shortcomings would have been proud of this major accomplishment.

Choosing to exercise over the weekend was a slight issue. I wasn't sure if I would be breaking any unwritten "no television" rules by popping my Tae-Bo tape in the VCR and doing my 30-minute workouts. But I eventually reassured myself that because no viewing pleasure would come of it, it would be OK.

For some reason, Sunday was much harder. The weather seemed to reflect what I was feeling — gloomy, which, by the way, is perfect stay-in-bed-under-the-covers, TV-watching weather. So the busy-bodiness continued: I did more loads of laundry, vacuumed every room, mopped the kitchen and bathroom floors, and for fun, began reading Isabel Allende's "Daughter of Fortune."

I also spent a considerable amount of time calling people just to chitchat, as well as to keep from dying of boredom.

I did have my lows. At one point, I found myself thumbing through the TV guide just so I could imagine what I was missing. Never before did I look forward to a Monday.

But the experience was a good one — being able to realize that TV does indeed take up a huge chunk of my time. It was nice to free up all those extra hours to get much-needed chores done and to be able to devote some time to cater to my physical and mental well-being.

Would I do this again? I know I could. But I probably wouldn't. Television is too great an escape to completely give up, and being as madly productive as I was last weekend just isn't in my nature. I can, however, see myself giving up a few hours of TV time every day to live a somewhat less remote-controlled life.

Advertiser staffer Zenaida Serrano Espanol absolutely cannot live without "Friends," "Survivor," "The Simpsons," "Malcolm in the Middle," "Antiques Roadshow" or her husband, Ernest.