Operation Simplification

Over the past two years, I’ve developed a strong desire for simplicity in my life. I call it “Operation Simplification”. Nice rhyming, aint’ it? Anyway – the idea is that I begin to take steps to simplify my life. Getting rid of excess; recycling; living on less; purchasing only necessities. At times I’ve done rather well and at other times I’ve fallen of the wagon. Successes: same jeep for over eight years (paid in full four years ago); modest home furnished with mostly bargains; large pile of objects awaiting a trip to Salvation Army – the result of the latest comprehensive cleansing of my house and my closets. Failures: continued purchasing of over-priced books that wait to be read; sale-of-the-day purchases that were not on my list; and cable television.

So, today I made efforts to take care of one of the failures: my cable. I don’t watch television very often – mostly the news in the morning as I’m getting ready. However, I pay a ridiculous amount each month for something I don’t use and that when I do use is more often than not a waste. With the few moments I have at home, I would feel much better if I read a book, played the piano, even cleaned house compared to the aftertaste of two hours of mindless flipping of channels. So I called my cable provider to have them drop my account. After 35 minutes of listening to the instrumental version of “She’s Like the Wind”; infomericals for the latest cable price trap; and the sweet operator telling me to “Please hold. The next available customer service representative will be with you in a moment.”, I decided that it must not be my day to cancel. I’ll do some strategic planning tonight and try again on Monday. Perhaps this weekend, I’ll tape one of those diet and exercise infomercials or part of a reality show like Joe Schmo as a precaution when I’m feeling weak and suffering from cable withdrawals. I’ll put the tape in and within moments, I will well remember why I gave up cable. It will serve as my cable patch.

Tonight I watched the movie Mystic River which I’ve been wanting to see since I saw the previews. (ok, ok, I know I just wrote above about the ills of cable – but movies are different!!! Right??) What a great movie and story. I highly recommend it. You’ll be living the story line and feeling the pain of the characters for a few days.

Time to call it a night. Peace –

Melissa