Tuesday

[susandennis]

I read something this morning on Instagram that really struck me. Paraphrasing to make it my own:

Gratitude should stand on it's own. Comparing stuff doesn't count. It could be worse so I'll be grateful is just valid to me.

But really this one.

My hard is not your hard. This is one I used to get a lot in Live Journal comments. I still see some of it but not as much, thankfully. One that still burns is a woman who used to always comment, when I was complaining about my Mother, 'at least your mother is still alive!' What is difficult in my life does not compare, in any way, to what's difficult in your life. I respect your difficulties and understand that what is hard for you might not be for me but that makes it no less hard for you. And... vice versa.

I have known both of these things for most of my life but it took an Instagram comment to crystallize it for me. Wow.

I am off to the doctor this morning. I've had enough of this coughing shit. I slept great last night but this morning, the cough is still here. I even ran out of breath after two laps in the pool. And I never run out of breath in the pool. I did get my stride back by the third lap but really, fucking with my swimming is going too far.

I have a great doctor and he will fix me up. I'm hoping for prednizone which fixes me up every time but I hate to be one of those drug begging people...

When I was up at my neighbors the other night, we were discussing TV sourcing. They gave up cable TV and now watch DirectTV Now and Hulu via Chromecast. They get all the channels I would watch at more than half the price. And, in their case, it's a particularly attractive deal since they have a beach house on Vashon Island (a nearby access-by-ferry spot) and so their TV watching is perfectly portable. It was all sounding very attractive until I asked "so how do you record stuff?" We don't. Rip.

I know there are ways to do it - record stuff and lots of options and probably even money saving ones but I cannot imagine being confined to live TV. I rarely even watch live TV at all. If I wanted to give up something, it would be live TV. Plus, while I could maybe get used to another DVR set up, I've had a TiVo since the year 2000. It would take a whole lot to get me separated from my TiVo. A whole lot. And, yeah, there are non cable TiVo options now but really, in the scheme of things, I'll keep what I got. It works for me. I could save a bundle by switching to Comcast for a year and then switching back. And I'm incredibly lucky to even be able to do that. But, no. Thank you. End of TV naval gazing for a few months or more.

Time now to get dressed.

Comments

[mindyklasky.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you're keeping your doctor's appointment. It'll be good to get to the bottom of what's causing your coughing!

As for cutting the TV cord -- we look at it periodically, but every single time we come up against the Baseball Wall. We won't give up our ability to see our team play home games. (Even with MLB.com, we're blocked from seeing home games, and we only have tickets for 1/4 of them...)

[susandennis]

OMG!!! give me a little cold weather and my baseball brain crumbles. NFW would I ever do anything that would prevent my being able to record Mariner games. Yikes. MLB.TV blanks out all Mariner games here and Root Sports is only streamable on a handful of weird one off's and Direct TV (dish only).

So, thank you. Now my change-nothing decision moves into a solid RIGHT THING position. And, really, we're less than 3 months from the first televised Spring Training game!

[lifeinroseland.livejournal.com]

I hate the expression "first world problems." Problems are problems.

[susandennis]

yes yes yes - exactly

[anigo.livejournal.com]

I had a friend on LJ once a long time ago. She had a less than ideal life - abusive husband, had kids when she was super young, welfare, health problems, etc. etc. I was going through a rough patch, but nothing compared to what she had gone through and I always felt bad whinging. She said something to me that really struck home, though I can't remember the exact phrasing anymore. It was something like a broken leg doesn't hurt any less just because you're sitting beside a guy in a wheelchair with no legs. I wish I could remember the phrasing. It was good.

[susandennis]

How kind of her and... Exactly!

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

I respect your difficulties and understand that what is hard for you might not be for me but that makes it no less hard for you. And... vice versa.

This. Hardship is not a competitive sport where individuals vie for who has it worst and the winner gets all the help and/or sympathy. Everyone's problems matter to them.

Using streaming services often means you can watch what you want when you want, so recording things is not necessarily an issue. I'd say your baseball games are much more of an issue than wanting to watch at times other than when shows are aired live.

[susandennis]

But their Direct TV Now is live tv - live tv with no recording. like in the 1900's! with no baseball. the worst of the worst :)

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

I don't know a lot about DirectTV Now, but I do know that their advertising says they offer 25,000 titles on demand, many of them within hours of being aired, so it definitely isn't just live streaming. If they offer what you want on demand, there's no need to record it. You just stream it whenever you want to watch it.

I can definitely tell you that Hulu offers current TV episodes on demand, as well as older stuff. That's what they started out doing, before they added the ability to stream shows at broadcast time and that's all I use it for.

[susandennis]

Oh right. I understand Hulu and get what you are saying. I honestly think my hangup about recording is vestigial but I can't quite shake it yet :)

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

I think you could get over that hangup relatively easily if switching to streaming was otherwise suitable for you. I think the baseball games are probably the real deal-breaker for you.

[sweetmeow]

This issue of gratitude and "comparing" has come up often with me... I have mixed feelings... My take:

With our house damage due to Hurricane Matthew, when I saw others who had 5 feet of water damage compared to our 3 inches, or who had a tree(s) that sliced the house in half vs. our "minor structural roof damage", I felt I needed to shove my feelings inward - at least in real life (I expressed it on LJ). Then there was the devastation in Puerto Rico and Houston which was / is far greater which exacerbated this.

Then there's Ray who served in Vietnam, the most difficult time in his life. If I complain about something in my life, I find he often minimizes my emotions as he compares my "minor" issues with Vietnam.

It is probably true that those who have endured much, find they can more easily shrug off what they see as minor.

Yet -- I see the point of this. My feelings DO stand on their own, and I must allow that. Comparing is faulty because we are different people with different backgrounds, temperaments, etc. Yet, I can't totally embrace this. Because I have had a lifetime of having my feelings minimized by others (a long story in itself), then doing it to myself, I also still believe that a certain amount of comparing can put my intense emotions into perspective. It's a balance of acceptance of my feelings, but then putting things into perspective. Maybe the sad thing is that I find my perspective via comparisons, and need to find another way.

[hopefulspirit.livejournal.com]

Those are both really great points. I get tired of the 'it could be worse' phrase. I completely understand things could be worse, but that doesn't mean someone isn't having a hard time right now.

That comment of 'at least your Mom is still alive' struck a chord with me. A few years ago I said that to a friend after she spent the better part of an hour complaining about how horrible her Mom was for buying her something (I forget what it was). I was fine listening to her vent about it until she started calling her Mom names, and after trying to change the subject didn't work, I got tired of her bashing her mother for doing something nice and said something along the lines of 'at least you have a mother to bitch about'. I royally pissed her off, and I felt bad as soon as I said it. My Mom being dead doesn't make her issues with her Mom any less valid. I didn't think she was being fair to her Mom, but pulling the 'dead parent card' (as she put it) wasn't fair either. I try to be very careful of that now.

I'm sorry you haven't been feeling well, I hope the doctor gets you feeling better soon.

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

Ari wrote a piece on cutting the cord that we'll be running on 14850.com most likely next week, after I do a little more editing. I pay way too much for cable, as I'm sure you do, too, so it's tempting to contemplate taking another route! But, again like you, I'm very tied to my TiVo!

The one thing that makes me think it might be possible to cut the cord someday is that the Apple TV and iPad TV app have gotten to the point where they will keep track for you of where each show you want to watch comes from. This one's in the ABC app, this one's in Hulu, that one's in the TNT app, and t'other's is in Amazon Video. It just lines 'em all up for you without you having to know where they are or who's selling them, which is perfect for me... just like my TiVo knowing what channel everything's on, and when, so I don't have to care!

[susandennis]

Interesting about the Apple TV deal. But, baseball. And my anti-Apple prejudice :)