DVR Wars
Sunday evening in the AQ household
In the heat of battle, SO clutches the DVR remote, frantically trying to cancel a recording in order to tape another episode of Rome. "What do you mean, we can't tape two shows and watch another one at the same time?" His voice rises in frustration and LegoGuy curls into a fetal position on the couch, rocking back and forth.
The DVR Wars continue. Ever since we got digital cable video, the boys and their father have been engaged in a battle to see who can record the most TV shows. At first, SO was in the lead, but LegoGuy was a close second, programming the box to catch each and every television documentary featuring a WWII aircraft. Sport, not to be outdone, feverishly studied the TV Guide channel, plugging in the NFL games and late night EPL classics. As for me, all I asked for was The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, 30 Rock, and SNL. Soon, the amount of space available on the DVR hovered near 18%. What to do about this dilemma?
"Dad, you're going to have to cancel out that Patriots game," LegoGuy volunteers, removing his thumb from his mouth in an attempt to solve the problem.
"This is bloody ridiculous!" SO thunders, marching off to inform Sport (who is showering) that he won't be able to watch the game later. He tries to use his calm voice, but Sport nearly jumps out of his skin anyway. He is promised a chance to watch the EPL review show before bed, and things start to settle down.
"I just lost four pounds from all the stress," LegoGuy says when the crisis was over.
Through it all, I huddled at the computer keyboard, finally inspired to start another blog entry. I've been stuck for awhile, trying to come up with something that might be mildly amusing. For the most part, life at the AQ household is pretty routine: kids get up, kids get dressed, I go to work, they go to school, SO pays the bills and keeps the pantry stocked, kids get home, I get home ... yada yada yada ... showers, bedtime. I think I will go mad with all the repetition. All the child rearing books I've read talk about how kids need structure. It makes them feel safe. Still, one week bleeds into another in a mind-numbing parade of sameness.
The ice storm broke us out of our routine, but there's only so much one can write about the weather. I thought we might be covered with a foot of snow this weekend. Thankfully, the weathermen were wrong, and we had rain instead. So when I heard the uproar over DVR issues, I perked up and started grinning.
I know we aren't the only family who struggle with DVR programming addiction. My friend, The Collatress, got so excited when hers was installed that she immediately programmed 100 hours of TV taping during the first week alone. This became a problem when her husband wanted access. Negotiations ensued, and some shows were carefully deleted. I have a feeling they are still dealing with space availability.
I haven't been able to watch all the Daily Shows/Colbert Reports I taped last week. SO keeps eyeballing them, hoping to zap them out of the queue and free up some more space. I planned to watch them while we were snowed in on Saturday, but, as I said, we got rain instead. I also got distracted by cobwebs and ended up spending my weekend cleaning the kitchen from floor to ceiling. So, my shows wait in limbo to be viewed.
Unless they've been deleted.
5 comments:
You bast**ds! That was one of the best football games of all time!! I can't believe you ganged up on him while he was in the shower and cleared his game. You know he's going to bring that up every year when the "Best Games of All-Time" shows air. Oh well, he'll sort it out in therapy.
When will you find the time to watch your shows? I'm beginning to hate my tv, I can't imagine having a dvr. But I do kno what you mean about one week bleeding into another. My excitement for the week was rearranging my furniture. I need a life!
Life? What's a life? Don't think I ever had one! OHHH! Wait a minute I had one along time ago. No wait that was just a dream. pastgrace
I dind of know the feeling. I've taped so many movies on the belief that I will watch them when I retire, they now fill about 20 cardboard boxes--three to a tape for the most part. Perhaps I never should have sworn to collect every film made between the introduction of sound and the beginning of WW II.
EEEwww you have a DVR!!! I am tres jealous!! in college, my roommates and I shared one, but goodness so many things on basic cable replay themselves to death. Anyhow, perhaps this will provide the impetus for me to get that fancy cable you have...???
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