I Got Nothin' But Time

I was writing in my journal earlier and the topic of time came up (naturally) in my stream of consciousness. It's a popular topic at this point in my life. And it'd dawned on me lately, time is one of the most precious gifts I have been given. I've come to realize over the years that life is all about time, and I've realized this very much so during this summer, as I've had quite an abundance of time on my hands. The tune "Turn, Turn, Turn" popped into my mind, and then I remembered that song actually stems from an Old Testament scripture (that's a sign I need to start reading the scriptures). So, I looked it up and will repeat it here, because it's pretty fantastic:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Ain't it the truth?

Time's a-wastin'!

For the first time in my adult life, I live in an apartment with cable television. I just never have signed up for cable before. Most the apartments I have lived in, I found and started the lease and, frankly, I just never wanted to pay for TV. And all of the roommates I've had were cheap like me, or they just didn't care either way. I did go out and buy "bunny ears" once or twice, in order to receive basic channels, but I could not justify paying more than 12 bucks for something that I very well knew would numb my mind. Don't get me wrong; over the years I have loved watching cable TV whenever I was home at my parents' house or at a friend's. It was like a treat, since I never got to do it otherwise. And I should mention, my parents did not get cable until all the kids were out of the house! Go figure. And maybe that's why I just never cared to have cable, because I didn't know what I was missing.

Well, after nearly 10 years of adulthood and nearly 10 different apartments, I moved in to a place that ALREADY HAS CABLE! And just as I might have suspected, I have been "living at my parents house" for the past 6 weeks. What I mean is, I've been acting like I've been on vacation ever since January 1st. Or, in other words, you could call me a "coach potato", but we don't have a couch where we watch TV, so...my nickname would be more like "mat potato". There's a thin, yet, comfortable, mat or pad with a bunch of pillows up in our loft where the TV is, which provides instant, easy lounging, perfect for watching endless hours of nothingness. Oh, and did I mention we also have DVR?! Seriously, the death of me. If only we still had televisions that looked like this:

Then, maybe I wouldn't get so sucked in. But we have one that looks like this:

so it's a little bit more appealing.

BUT! I have a plan. I've been attending a Gospel and World Religions class, and as a part of class I will participating in Lent, starting this Wednesday. I plan to give up this vice of mine for Lent, which lasts until Easter. There's just one exception to this rule...

I know it's not entirely giving up TV; HOWEVER, it is cutting back my TV watching from who knows how many hours a week to ONLY 1 hour a week. I'd say that's progress.:)

Commuting My Life Away

Like everyone else, I'm sure, I am shocked it's already February. Where does the time go?! I'll tell you where it goes...the New York City Transit. If I added up the time I spend commuting in this illustrious city (but I won't) I would probably find that half my waking hours are spent walking to and from and riding to and from various locations. From where I live now, it takes about one hour to get to my internship one way, and I do that commute three days a week. Two days a week I commute to school, about 35 minutes or so each way. And don't forget even the Sabbath. I take either the train or the bus at about 15-20 minutes one way. Now, that's not bad, and I realize that people commute in their cars back in Vegas easily for 30 minutes to an hour. Honestly, as much as this sounds like I'm complaining, it is nice to just sit and not have to worry about bad traffic or, even worse, bad drivers!