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That's the sound that tivo makes when I fastforward through the commercials. Oh how I miss that sound. I've been 40 days without tivo now. I long for that little badoop.

I'm not sure how I made it so long. The loss was first felt when I missed all of the season finales of my favorite shows and had to watch them on my laptop. And, though my laptop has a large screen...it simply wasn't the same (and I still haven't seen the season finale of the Office...so don't anyone spoil it for me). Then, I was ok without tivo for a while, what with my new and exciting life in Portland. But then...SYTYCD started up it's third season. It's really the only show I'm watching this summer and even just one show is torture without tivo.

Here are the reasons why I hate tv without tivo:

1. I have to be home on the day and at the time that the show is on in order to watch it. WHAT?? I can't watch the show whenever it's convenient for me? This is especially an issue for SYTYCD because it's on two nights a week (and both episodes are crucial). I hate the idea of not doing something outside of the house or hurrying home in order to "catch my show."

2. I have to wait for a commercial to do things like go to the bathroom, make food, answer the phone, blow my nose, and talk to my roommates.

3. I can't rewind if I miss something. This leads to the next problem...

4. I am annoying (and annoyed) when watching tv because I don't want people to talk for fear of missing something...this makes tv watching far less social than I'm used to it being. Usually I'm pretty chill about the talking because you can always pause until the conversation is over, rewind to catch what you've missed, or just watch the whole thing later when things are less crazy.

5. I can't rewatch particularly great things (like Pasha and Jesse's contemporary Jazz dance or Jim's face when Dwight says something ridiculous) or paulse to laugh really hard at something that just happened (like GOB's falls on mother's tequilla) so we don't miss the scene that follows.

6. I can't fastforward through commercials or other really annoying things on tv like whatever dumb guest performer is on while the SYTYCD judges deliberate.

7. Watching tv takes a LOT more time than it used to...I have to multi-task in order not to feel lazy. I used to be able to blow through a tv show really quickly before heading to bed...now it takes up the whole night.

8. If I do happen to be home and bored and I want to watch tv, I can't sit down and watch something that I actually want to watch. I have to flip through the 13 channels we get (half of which are home shopping networks) in hopes that something good will be on (i.e. Seinfeld re-run or Jeopardy).

9. I can't tivo shows that look interesting but will likely be horrible (i.e. that new missing lyric show). I am not going to spend an evening at home, waiting to watch the show and then sitting through all the crap and commercials to see whether or not it's a good show. But, if I had tivo, I could record it, watch it, and decide if it was worth tivoing each week just for fun filler.

10. I miss the cute sounds it makes.

I know I'm being a snobby little brat right now. You might ask, "Why do you even still watch tv if you're so annoyed?" The answer...I still like tv. I'm an American...what can I say? I like my friends Cat, Mia and Nigel, and Izzy, and George, and Meredith, and Jim, and Pam, and Jack, and Hurley and Charlie (rest his soul) and even Sawyer and Kate and Michael. You might also ask, "Why don't you just buck up and by one for yourself you freeloader?" The answer...don't worry smarty pants, I will! I am moving to a new pad in August at which time I'll run to the nearest store and purchase the beloved machine.

The lack of tivo certainly has cut down on my tv watching...which is perhaps the greatest benefit. Despite how annoyed I get during commercial breaks when I reach for the remote and find it's missing those crucial buttons, I am just not willing to give up SYTYCD (and LOST, Grey's Anatomy, and the Office when the time comes). I even miss catching an episode of Heavy Petting in the City when nothing else is on. And, what in the world am I going to do when Project Runway starts up again? That not only requires tivo but also cable!!

I feel like my car has broken down and I've got to scrounge for change, hike up the freeway and find a payphone rather than whip out my cell phone and make a quick call. Seriously...how did we ever live like that? It's not that I won't make the hike...I mean, I'm stranded on the freeway for heaven's sake! But I'm sure I'd outline the top ten reasons for wishing I had a cell phone while peeling that quarter off the bottom of the car's sticky cup holder.

P.S. Here's a picture of me and Mat...he came to Portland last weekend and I never had a chance to blog about our visit. Love this kid...