I am a creature of habit. I like routine in my life, and I'll admit I get agitated when my routines are upset. This need for continuity has been one of the more difficult aspects of shutting off our cable service _ mostly when it comes to my morning routine.
Not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination, I spend my first hour of wakefulness like a robot, my actions dictated by the hands of the clock rather than any impetus of my own. Before we went cable-free, a big part of that routine was governed by TV. After stumbling downstairs, bleary-eyed, I would turn on CNN and go through a perfunctory series of exercises that barely qualify as "working out."
After 20 minutes of half-hearted weight-lifting and sit-ups, I earned my reward: coffee and breakfast. If I got up early enough, I could sneak in a short nap on the couch after breakfast, secure in the knowledge that the theme music for the next hour of CNN's "American Morning" would wake me in time for my 8 a.m. shower. (Did I mention that I am really, really not a morning person?)
My first week without cable, I felt bereft without my good friends from CNN smilingly updating me on the news of the day. Firing up the computer and playing a series of short news broadcasts seemed like way too much work to me, and paging through news websites on my laptop was difficult to do while exercising. It took several days before I was coherent enough in the morning to think of turning on the radio.
I don't really know why this didn't occur to me sooner, because I love listening to public radio. In my opinion, it's the perfect accompaniment to knitting, doing dishes, cooking and driving. Now I stretch to the soothing sounds of National Public Radio's "Morning Edition," knowing that the business update that begins at 10 minutes before the hour will tell me when it's time to hit the showers (or wake up from my nap).
This is a pleasant way to spend a morning, one that brings back what are now somehow fond memories of my junior high and high school days. When I didn't feel like riding the bus to junior high, I rode in to school with my mom, who worked at the high school (a fact that, while convenient for transportation purposes, had its embarrassing aspects as well, such as when she gave my friends detention or called me silly nicknames in the halls). When I transferred to an out-of-district high school, buses weren't an option, so I hitched rides with my father, who worked near the school, until I was old enough to drive myself.
All these car rides were invariably accompanied by "Morning Edition" at one end of the day and "All Things Considered" at the other. I may have been surly at times (what teen isn't?), but I always found those familiar theme songs comforting _ and still do. I'm happy to welcome "Morning Edition" back into my life, even if I do snooze through some of it.
Other routines have been harder to accept. While there are only a handful of shows I watch religiously, it does bug me to know that the rest of the Western world is enjoying the latest episode of "The Office" on Thursday night, while I have to wait until Friday. And don't even get me started on "House M.D." _ Fox doesn't release new episodes online until eight days after they air. Eight days! Do you know how hard it is to avoid my boss and in-laws for eight days in the hopes that they don't give away a critical plot point from the last episode of "House?"
This week, I'll face another interruption to a routine that comes around only once a year. I feel almost embarrassed to admit that I'm a little sad to miss watching the ball drop on New Year's Eve. Some part of me feels like it won't "really" be New Year's without seeing the seconds tick down on my television screen. I can probably find streaming video of the event online somewhere _ but let's be honest. It won't be the same.
Daily Star Community Editor Emily Popek is chronicling her cable-free lifestyle in "TV 2.0," a weekly column.
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