I am convinced Hubby and I are one of three households in America who do not have cable. I bid adieu to that spendy luxury when I moved away to college at 18. After that, I couldn't even afford a TV until age 24 (and it was an in-kind exchange from a boyfriend who owed me money. Romantic), let alone a cable package.
Lately, with long days taking care of our 10-month-old, the daily hours of cleaning up after ourselves and said baby, long days trying to work, and plenty of working nights that begin the minute baby goes to sleep at 9:30 p.m., I've been seriously yearning for some mindless entertainment. Mostly, sitting in front of the TV vegging out for an hour or two.
We considered cable. Too spendy. Cheap runs thick in our blood. We don't have enough time to veg out to rationalize spending $60 or more on cable every month. That's when I started secretly lusting after Netflix. It started like a casual affair. I started walking by the site, throwing casual flirty glances at the monthly subscription prices. Then, it grew into a full-fledged affair, roping me in with its generous list of 1960s B movies and Bollywood classics. (Who would have guessed they had Corpse Grinders II??)
It almost turned adulterous when I filled out the membership information. Hovering over the send button, I just couldn't do it. For once, I was giving myself a bonafide Cheapache. Usually it's hubby who does that.
I was moping. Dreaming of DVDs dropping through the mailbox this week. We've had 12 inches of snow and for several days the city has been virtually shut down.We are under a level II snow emergency, which means everything is closed, and we can't drive anywhere. Miraculously, or sadly, Larry the mailman has faithfully delivered our junk mail flyers and tax forms every day this week, despite being knee deep in snow. Wistfully, I thought, he could be delivering our NetFlix videos, too. How awesome would it be to snuggle up with a movie now that we are trapped at home?
Only last night, when the snow stopped and the city started to dig out did I start to feel mildly better. I pulled on my boots. I needed to trudge to the public library to pick up Judith Levine's "Not Buying It." I have a story due next week on super frugality, and I am interviewing her on Monday. It's always better to read the book before you interview the author. Don't want to sound silly, after all.
The basement of my local libary is wall to wall videos. I used it a lot when I was too pregnant to do much but get off the couch, but hadn't given it much thought since then. With more snow in the forecast, I thought it would be wise to peruse the selection and grab a handful of videos to get us through another potentially snowbound weekend.
Standing there, in the As, I made a pact. I would not pay for or sign up for a Netflix membership until I had watched all of the videos in this library. No, any video just because it's there, but all the movies I want to see, missed at the theater, were vaguely interesting, or would inform me of some piece of cinematic history or the cultural dialogue. I would make all of this more palatable by organizing library movie nights around themes, to make it more fun for me and the hubby I was going to drag reluctantly into this orgy of popcorn, quantity alone time, and free DVDs.
Tonight is French & Saunders night. A little BBC comedy from the creators of Absolutely Fabulous will set a nice tone, and give us a good cheering up. Saturday night is 1970s camp: Cannonball Run and Every Which Way But Loose. Hubby watched zero television growing up, and missed out on these <ahem> classic films. Now he'll have something to talk about with our friend Brian the movie buff, who is also the author of "Wild Beyond Belief: Interviews with Exploitation Filmmakers from the 1960s and 1970s."
He needs to have something to talk about with my friends, right?
Luckily, it looks as though we will have fuel for many theme nights to come. Next week? Diane Lane. Yes, the library even has a copy of "Streets of Fire."
I'm sure Alfred Hitchcock night and Charlton Heston night will be part of our not too distant future. It looks like the library has trumped Netflix. At least for now.
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