TV

            I am a very casual, infrequent TV show viewer. I have very little downtime in my schedule, so there are many weeks when I do not watch any episodes of any shows for several days at a time.  I watch about five to six hours of TV per week.

            When I do watch something, I watch it on my computer either directly on the monitor or hook it up to the TV set. I primarily watch new episodes of shows that I like on Hulu or on the provider’s website, most of which are short comedy series.

            Sometimes I watch a recent episode of “The Colbert Report” in the morning while I get ready for the day, but most of the time I catch up on shows if I get home from work early or over the weekend. If my boyfriend or roommates want to watch it, too, we’ll connect a laptop to the TV in our living room and watch it together. Most of the time, I just watch them on my own on the computer screen.

            I greatly enjoy shows that make me laugh, like “How I Met Your Mother,” “New Girl,” and “The Big Bang Theory.” I go on the networks’ websites to watch them once a week after new episodes are posted. I also really enjoy “Project Runway,” “America’s Next Top Model,” and “The Vampire Diaries.” These are the only shows that I regularly watch.

            When new stand-up comedy specials go onto Hulu or Netflix, I sometimes check them out too. I like to watch “Saturday Night Live” when I like the person who is hosting it.

            I do not have cable or satellite service in my house, as I don’t consider it to be a worthwhile expense. Everything that I want to watch is available and easily accessible online for free or for a low cost, so I have never even tried to budget funds for anything more.

            I grew up in a house with basic cable and parents who strictly regulated how much TV my brothers and I were allowed to watch, and we rarely all agreed on the same show, so I learned to entertain myself through other means. Now, as an adult with a full-time computer-based job and a full-time student schedule that demands computer use for homework, my eyes are usually too tired at the end of my day to look at another screen.

            Even though I like some of the shows that air on TV, it’s not something that I consider to be extremely important and is definitely not a priority in my day-to-day life.

Film

          I usually watch two or three movies per week either on DVDs or streaming online through Netflix or Hulu. Once every month or two I go to a movie theatre to watch a new movie. The genres that I enjoy range from suspense, action, and tragedy to cartoons, superheros, and musicals. I almost always watch a movie with some one else.

          Most of my movie watching happens in front of the television in my living room, which is connected to a DVD player and can easily be connected to a laptop. Sometimes I will put on a movie as background noise if I am home by myself, but most of the time I will watch a movie with my boyfriend or my roommates on nights when there isn't something else happening.

          I watch a lot of movies in a row when I am sick because it helps the time pass when I need to rest. In such a case, I like to pick a theme or a series of movies to watch throughout the day, such as old musicals, James Bond films, or Star Wars.

          When I feel sad or lonely from time to time, it always makes me feel better to watch a funny movie. “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and “Legally Blonde” are two of my favorite movies to watch when I want to feel happy and forget about whatever problems I may have.

          My absolute favorite movie that I've ever watched is “Casablanca.” Humphrey Bogart is one of my favorite actors, and I absolutely adore his performance as Rick. I first watched it in middle school with a very good friend of mine, and we bonded over a love of black-and-white movies. It was also the movie that I watched at my boyfriend's apartment the first time that I cooked him dinner. Since I have memories of watching it with people who I love, I enjoy remembering them each time that I watch it.

          For every genre of film that I enjoy, I have a favorite. “Star Wars” is my favorite science fiction film. “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” is my favorite musical. “Beauty and the Beast” is my favorite cartoon. “The Avengers” is my favorite superhero movie. “Casablanca” is my favorite romance. “National Treasure” is my favorite suspense. “The Matrix” is my favorite action movie.

          If a movie is released in theatres by a director or producer that I love or starring an actor that I love, then I will usually go to the theatre to see it. When a movie that I already really like is released in a 3-D version, I like to go see it in theatres, too. Baz Luhrmann is my favorite director, and I have bought DVDs of most of his movies. I also love Marvel movies and movies that star Johhny Depp, my favorite actor, so I make it a point to see them in theatres and buy a DVD of my favorites when they become available in stores.

          I spend about four to six hours watching movies every week, usually during the weekend over a meal at my house. When I go to a movie theatre, I always have candy and soda. I enjoy having something to munch on or sip on when I watch a movie, whether I'm watching and sharing with some one else or on my own.

Reading Habits

          I like to read a few news articles, social media updates, and emails while I wake up with a cup or two of coffee every morning and relax with a chapter of a good book or a few entertaining articles from a magazine every evening. Primarily, I read non-fiction works in newspapers, magazines, and blogs and occasionally read poetry, memoirs, short stories, and novels.

            I read something either in print or online every day. I read through social media feeds and emails the most consistently, at least once per day. This includes my personal and academic emails as well as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I also read news either in print or online an average of five or six days out of the week. This includes articles from New York Times, Le Monde (the French “Globe”,) Wall Street Journal, and The Economist. Sometimes I also read them on my phone throughout the day.

            Luxury events, especially weddings, and interior design, fashion, and equal rights for GLBT organizations are the primary topics of blogs that I visit regularly. I also follow some blogs about specific interests that I have, such as extreme cooking experiments and latex clothing. I probably spend 2-3 hours each week reading the newest articles on these blogs to stay up-to-date on them.

            Most of my daily reading is done at my house on my couch right after I wake up and make coffee. When I read blogs, I tend to do it somewhere in my house on a morning when I don’t have to go to school or work for a few more hours. When I have a book or a magazine that I want to read, I like to keep them in my bag and reach a chapter or an article when I’m out of the house and in between doing other things, such as waiting in a long line or when I get to a meeting fifteen minutes early.

            I like to have both a novel or memoir and a book of short stories, quotes, or poetry with me at all times. Since it only takes five to ten minutes to read a few poems or a four-page story, I like to have that option to read when I only have a little bit of free time. When I find myself with a longer length of time available, I take advantage of it by reading something that requires more time and thought.

            If there is a magazine or book that I am very excited to read, I like to schedule a block of time to be alone with it. That usually means that I get myself comfortable and set up a big pile of pillows and an extra fuzzy blanket on my bed and some things to sip and munch on at my side table. This allows me to sink into my own space and stay there for hours undisturbed.

            Although there are many great poets, my favorite is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. His “A Psalm of Life” is a constant source of motivation for me each time that I feel low or doubtful. The fluid words always inspire me. When he reflects on the opportunities that man has in life, I become optimistic about my personal circumstances. When I read the final call to “be up and doing, with a heart for any fate, still achieving, still pursuing, learn to labor and to wait,” it makes me want to do something important and do it now.

            Most of the novels in my collection are either historic fiction or suspense stories. The words of Dan Brown never fail to arouse excitement within me. His series about the character, Robert Langdon, is the best series that I've ever read, with “Da Vinci Code” as my favorite. I am currently in the process of reading this book again for the fourteenth time since I first bought it in 2002.

            Student life demands that I read things that I would probably not read otherwise, such as specific articles, reports, essays, and other texts that are relevant to each course. Of the approximate 12 hours of homework that I do outside of the classroom each week, 8 of them are probably spent reading and taking notes. I also read over my own work when I edit it prior to submitting my assignments to my professors.

            I have a job where I work as a data analyst for 25-30 hours every week. With the exception of a  meeting for 30 minutes every other week and short breaks during a shift, I spend the remainder of that time reading emails, policy updates, and files. After I label the file, I re-read and verify the information and compare it to the information on our server, and update it as necessary. I would say that 90% of my job is reading.

            With the exception of my work requirements, I take pleasure in the act of reading. I enjoy learning about local and global events when I read the news. I even prefer to read the news than to watch it because when I read it, I can chose not to read any of the articles if I don’t like the headline. This freedom that does not exist when consuming televised journalism is something that I embrace. Sometimes I even enjoy my homework. Any story that can catch and keep my interest, in whatever form it may take, is something that I enjoy taking in and may even read multiple times.

New Class!

This blog has been created exclusively for the purpose of posting assignments for the course, Survey of Mass Communications, taught by Professor Carpenter at Valencia College.