With the Football season almost over, I am happy to say that I am dropping cable. Talk about an expense I just don’t need any more. In fact I can’t believe we decided to get cable again having not had it many times in the past. I guess it boils down to the fact that I just love watching sports and wait for it, I am sorry, please don’t be mad at me, cable news. My COVID quarantine drug of choice is turning on cable news and playing puzzle games on my phone while crazies on both sides of the political spectrum lectured (usually incorrectly) about this or that.
In fact, it is my goal most nights through the pandemic to stay up until 9pm when Rachel Maddow comes on. Don’t worry, I watch Fox News from time to time as well – got to keep up the crazies on both sides of the coin.
Though I particularly like Rachel Maddow’s approach; she is really great at what she does.
After a just about perfect day. Great day at work. Good dinner. Wonderful family time. I grabbed a snack to destress for the evening. I turned on Rachel. She started with something to the effect of, “its time I work on some other projects – I am not going to be around that much for a while”. These cable news hosts (on all sides) have almost a religious following and I imagine that upset a lot of people. I just smiled over my iphone. There was even an article in the NYTimes this morning about it.
Cable news hosts were at the center of the world for the last 2 years. Ratings went up, went WAY UP! While I am sure it was amazing for the pocket book, it must have been terribly draining. I can’t imagine what kinds of things people say about them online. How does one deal with all that? And then doing the same thing every night! I am sure she feels that it is time to move on.
That said, it must be nice to have a voice that matters. A voice that people listen to. Even if it is Cable News.
I am luckiest* dude in the world. How many people have a job that allows them to reinvent themselves periodically? They even will pay for me to go on a sabbatical when the time is right.
* By luckiest, I mean I had to endure the academic path from college degree to PhD to Post Doc to Post Doc to 6 more grueling years of working 80 hour weeks making less than one half what I would be in other industries I was qualified to work in. And now that I have “made it”, I still work a lot more than I should keeping my lab going, managing the physics department, teaching, and the million other things I do. But I digress.
I AM SO EXCITED! I am focusing on me this summer. No summer teaching. For the past nine years I have taught at least 12 credits a summer. This summer I am taking it off. I am going to finish a number of writing projects I have been working on. I am really going to think hard about where we are going to take the physics department, my research lab, etc. And Rosie and I have discussed the possibility of going to 10 different water parks this summer. 10!
It’s time to reinvent myself!
Last night during the Rachel Maddow show, she explained that she was quarantined and was doing the show in her house. She said they delivered makeup for her to wear on the show and she just didn’t care and went on air. HAHAHAHA! I too would have no idea what to do with makeup, but I imagine that it is an important thing for a cable news host.
I completely agree with her! Who cares anymore? We got through the last two years. Let’s just move on to better things. Who cares about the norms. Drop the makeup. Let’s get to reinventing ourselves. (It sounds better than The Great Resignation).
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