So, I have this one co-worker that I absolutely cannot get along with. No effective communication whatsoever. Seriously, it's like we are not only from different planets, but from different solar systems, different galaxies, perhaps even from alternate realities. Today, I finally learned why that is.
He doesn't have TV.
Now, this is not to say that anyone not currently in possession of a television is from outer space. I mean, there are probably some aliens out there picking up on our airwaves, giggling over our pseudotechno-babble while we try to explain how a hyperspace drive works. Who else would watch Rock of Love?
No, it was the way he announced it, all smug and morally superior, like only knuckle-dragging, unevolved Neanderthals would deign to watch television. Why do these people assign some particular virtue to the decision not to do something? I'm sure he thinks he's setting some great example for his kids. Nevermind that those kids are not going to get the cultural references bandied about by their peers, or be able to participate in the lunchroom discussion of whatever the week's preteen Omigod!Squee!! is. Surely that opera he dragged them to will be an effective substitute conversation starter.
TV can be a wonderful, shared point of reference; east coast, west coast, north, south... we can all talk about the series finale of Battlestar Galactica, or debate the comparative virtues of this year's crop of American Idol hopefuls. It gives us a common cultural language and provides something to discuss on the elevator beyond the mortally exhausted topic of the weather. Why is it some supposed revelation to cut oneself off from that avenue of communication?
Whatever. So, co-worker: Nice breeze today, huh?
8 years has flown by
1 month ago
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