Television-watching is a Skill

In my 7 months of unemployment, very little has changed in my daily functions: I still have a tendency to wake up before any alarms go off; I still keep fairly fit by going to the gym; I still keep up with karate. With all that, the only real difference from the Jumbo now and the Jumbo 7 months ago, is that I had a solid 8-5 job. Considering that very little has changed in my routine, it has been a fairly easy transition into unemployed life -- something I am not too keen on.

Everyone who has had a job has uttered the words "God (or any other deity you complain to), I wish I didn't have to go to work today." Of course, this is assuming you actually liked your job, which I did. If you weren't a fan of your place of employment, you may have found yourself uttering the words "Man (or any other gender you complain to) I hate my job, FML" or something to that nature. In any case, everyone has had a point in time where they wished they could wake up one day and have nothing to do. Well, that is what I, along with 14,194,200 other people in California go through on the daily. Applying for jobs, looking through Craigslist, and calling random phone numbers asking for openings is something I've grown quite accustomed -- so much so, I may even add it to my list of skills on my resume. Along with those skills, I've also become quite the master of the Comcast On Demand remote control.

Now, I've always been quite the television connoisseur (I used to watch hours upon hours of MTV back when they actually played music videos). But lately, especially in these past few months, I've built up quite the appreciation for television shows that may or may not be watched by the masses. Not only are these shows not fully appreciated by most, but the fact that I watch some of these shows might not reflect how much of a tough guy I actually am (just kidding...). A couple of the shows I'd like to admit to watching are the Jersey Shore and Wife Swap. The first aforementioned show is one many feel can be quite irritating and annoying, while the latter can probably be considered a guilty pleasure of mine.

If you've actually taken the time to watch an episode of the Jersey Shore, there is no need for explanation as to why you would watch it. Either you're totally entertained by complete "WTFness" or you actually think the show is actually the best show on MTV (quite possibly of all time of any channel next to the original Iron Chef in Japanese with English subtitles and not dubbed by those awful voiceovers from Food Network).

Now let's talk about Wife Swap (on Lifetime from 12-3PM -- uh... yeah... I watch Lifetime). What can I say?? What a show!!! I know you're probably scratching your head wondering why I would actually put the time into a show like this. But I guarantee you, take in one episode, and you'll see why it's so intriguing. If you haven't seen the show, let me break it down for you. Pretty much, wife from completely nuts family #1 switches places with wife of complete polar opposite family #2. They then live a week in the shoes of the other wife. After a week of torture in the shoes of someone else (not necessarily literally, because some of the women are complete opposites in size as well), they get to change the rules of their new family and try to give them a feel for how they live back in their own convoluted world back home. Ultimately the show builds up to possible life-changing changes (yeah, life-changing changes), and a meeting between both families. After they complain to each other how weird and messed up each other's family is, they all come to the realization that their own ways need some change and that it was a great experience... yada yada yada... blah blah blah...

See why it's a good show? Ok, maybe not the best way to describe it, but whatever. If anything, makes me realize how normal my life is and to be thankful for being a part of a family that isn't as off the wall as some of the families portrayed on the show. Check out the show and let me know what you think.

On top of the Jersey Shore and Wife Swap binging, I've managed to memorize the daily schedule of most channels and know what On Demand at any given time. Anyone who has had a lazy Sunday after a long weekend knows how relaxing it is to just kick it on the couch and watch TV till they pass out, only to wake up when the sun goes down. Imagine doing that everyday? I watch way too much TV. I wake up, check Craigslist for any new job postings, go to the gym, shower, get back into bed (or the couch) and watch hours of TV, periodically checking the Blackberry for any responses to the emails I've sent out. It's all a vicious cycle, day by day that needs to end. Maybe I should apply for a job at Comcast.... hmmm

So as to not bore you completely with my ramblings, I've decided to leave you all with a sort of "Video of the Day" kind of thing. In case you haven't seen the Jersey Shore or are hiding under a rock, here is a video that may possibly sway you into checking out a show I consider to be one of the best shows of the new year... Enjoy!