Our *Pretend* Vacation

Last weekend, I decided that Andrew and I needed a getaway. The winter had been cold (considering locale, of course) and we had been home too much over the past few months. But, it's crunch time in the semester with stacks of papers to grade and such, so there was certainly not going to be enough time for us to take an out of town trip-- even a quick one to some place like Myrtle Beach. So, we decided to do something that may sound a little silly, but was well worth our while.

We rented a hotel room in town. After much deliberation, we chose to splurge a little on a whirlpool suite at the Holiday Inn Express. The room was cute; it had a tiny kitchen and living area and a large bedroom with a surprisingly comfy bed. And the whirlpool tub was fantastic.

There were rules involved in all of this. We didn't watch any television, we didn't bring computers, and we absolutely could not run home when we realized we forgot to bring a corkscrew for the wine-- instead we went to the store to buy a cheap one.

The amazing room (did I mention we got a discount because I work at UNCW?) wasn't the only part of the "vacation" though. We also took the time to get dressed up and go out on a date. I've lived in Wilmington for the larger portion of my life, and Andrew has lived her for a few years, so we know a lot of the restaurants around here. We decided to pick a place we never go, and managed to trick ourselves *slightly* into feeling like we were really out of town.

We may even make this a tradition! Hopefully this was enough to get us through the rest of the semester...

DVR and the Value of Commercials

Perhaps my most guilty pleasure is the soap opera, General Hospital. The problem is that I'm not necessarily interested in every story line associated with the show. And some of the characters annoy me. Not to mention, my life doesn't work in such a way that I can be sure to sit down in front of the television set at 3pm (or even 10pm, thanks to Soapnet) to watch. Inevitably, I'd manage to miss the good stuff, and only ever see the most tedious dialogue.

Then we got DVR.

Not only can I watch the show at my convenience, but I can skip the scenes with the characters that bug me, skip the story lines that I could care less about, AND skip commercials. I happen to be very fond of this. However, at the same time, I'm concerned that DVR is yet another perpetuation of the "I want it now" attitude.

Well, yesterday I read an article that touched a bit on the same concern. It explains that commercials can actually enhance our viewing experience. Read it here: "Liked the Show? Maybe it was the Commercials."

The article does point out that depending on the type of show you are watching, interruptions may not be beneficial. I think this also goes for Soap Operas.

On the other hand, I think the article is dead on when it comes to shows like Lost. My boyfriend got me started on this show a while back- but we were watching all the episodes on DVD. While I was interested in what was happening, I found the show to be stressful and a bit difficult to digest. We watched the first 4 seasons on DVD, so that I'd be able to watch it with him on ABC when season 5 started.

I like season 5 the best so far. I have to wonder if this is because I am given these interruptions with commercials. I can grab a glass of wine, or talk about what has just happened during the commercial break. I can also just give my mind a rest by watching the commercials.

In any case, we all know that the way we are entertained is ever changing. It's just a good idea to sit back and think about the effects every once in a while.