Into the future

My Monday ritual has been going to my 13 year old niece's volleyball game, afterwards going over to their house for dinner, watching CW shows together (we don't get CW on our satellite), and then come home around 10 pm.

(My nieces really like this show,

while I love this show,
and we like this show)

Well, Volleyball is over so I was going to come home early and mix up my Monday night primetime shows, but my other niece begged me to stay and watch One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl, since it has become a tradition I couldn't say no, so I said "Alright" and stayed.

While we waited for her friend to come over (she doesn't get CW either), she didn't arrive until 9, so we skipped OTH and went straight to GG (Yay!). While I was waiting I went ahead and set the recorder for Thursday at 8 pm on the CW network. It is true I love Vampire Diaries. That is my new favorite show, and we haven't gotten into the show together (I tend to watch it by myself on my laptop), so I am hoping we can add it to our "tv bonding" time.

In order for me to record a show on Thursday evening I had to skip ahead on the cable's "Guide" to set the recorder. Growing up, watching tv wasn't always this easy, nor was it as time-saving. When I was little you couldn't turn to a guide on your tv, we had to purchase a TV Guide magazine (or read it in the entertainment section of the newspaper), then record our shows on VHS, and we could only record one show at a time; then in 1997 when Tivo was invented-- a box you could hook up to your tv to record, pause, and fastforward through shows independent of satellite or cable boxes--our lives were simplified. With Tivo we could record multiple shows at the same time, save them as long as we want, and program it to record one episode or the series whenever it came on without being home; we no longer have to worry about missing our shows, and we can catch up on a season during our free time. Now, our satellite or cable boxes come with DVRs (for a little extra money). Tivo and DVRs are a huge time saver, we can watch two shows in 8 pm - 10 pm time slot in about 1.5 hours, that's 30 minutes shaved off!

Setting the recorder for Thursday was like going into the future. I felt like Marty McFly for a brief second. I'm a time traveler now. It's every sci-fi lover's dream come true!