It started years ago with "This American Life". I would wait all week for the Sunday afternoon episode. If I was traveling, I would desperately search for the local NPR station so I wouldn't miss anything. Life only got better as technology advanced and I could download the podcast, and eventually have access to every episode via the app.
There have been others, "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me", "Fresh Air"... but lately it's gotten worse. Enter Netflix. I was officially the last person on the planet to sign up for Netflix last month and it has ruined my personal relationships, my sleep habits, my life.
"Downton Abbey" became my everything. Only after I searched every shady internet site for free streaming of Season 2 (since Netflix doesn't have it) did I get smart and go to the source, PBS.com. I started resenting my family for making me feel more like a servant than the lady of the house. I started wishing we would dress for dinner and go on riding parties. I wanted to send a handwritten letter on a small piece of parchment and seal it with wax. But most of all, I studied Maggie Smith and her clever delivery of insults.Now I wait every week for the latest Season 3 episode to air and worry what I will do when the season is finished.
For now I have "Mad Men" to fill my time. I spend every waking moment thinking about when I can sneak in another episode. I am ashamed to say that I dragged poor Chickie into this one. I cue up an episode every time she's up in the night. She's come to expect it, pointing to the wii remote the minute I sit down in the dark room to rock her back to sleep. I won't be surprised if she starts wanting to smoke and pour a drink every time she starts a conversation. In fact, if you are trying to quit drinking and smoking (or if you don't want to start) I don't recommend watching. Oh, that Don Draper... so troubled and complex...
And with "Breaking Bad" lined up in my instant cue the obsession is sure to continue.
