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What I Did During the Writer’s Strike

…. I almost died, that’s what I did!

I don’t talk too much about personal things here … but it’s been a long, dry spell with the Writer’s Strike and this was overdue.

My favorite show — NBC’s The Office — went to reruns. Don’t get me wrong … I love Office reruns, but after watching every episode of Season 4 at least 5 times (each), I practically memorized it and needed fresh stuff. (Yes, I’ve watched the previous seasons too, with the deleted scenes).

So here’s what I did with my free time during the infamous Writer’s Stike of 2007-08:

• I started a company – It’s amazing what you can do with a couple extra free hours a week.
  
• I started looking for shows online – There are tons now offered for free, plus I got a free account at Hulu, primarily because of Dwight, Jim, Pam and Michael.
• My wife and I got hooked on ABC’s Lost – After curiously clicking on the Pilot episode, we have watched three episodes a night for the last three weeks and are caught up on all 4.3 seasons. As we started Season 4, my wife said, and I quote, “I’ll be glad when we’re done with this curse.” It is indeed addicting. Because I’m now incredibly addicted to the show, I started reading all I could about the background for it. I found out it’s a blend of Survivor, Castaway (loved the movie), and Lord of the Flies, throw in a healthy dose of Stephen King inspiration, plus something called story arcing … and it’s a recipe for disaster if you already had your spring TV watch schedule mapped out. Funny thing is …. I like to figure things out … but although I’m caught up on the show, I’m still lost. [Pun intended, or was it? You’ll never know.]
• I watched the first two original episodes of CBS’s Jericho — After almost passing out from the school bus emergency medical procedure, I haven’t gotten back into it. (Fans of the show will know what I’m talking about!)
• Recalled my childhood and watched Knight Rider 2.0 — The college kids I know think they’re the first to have all these great iconic shows and toys (yeah, I played with Transformers before you were born!).
• Cursed everyone involved in the strike — To be fair, I cursed both sides, and even the advertisers. Perhaps the cable company too.
• I hoped in vain that my old favorites would come back after the strike — Including Heroes (which they rushed the ending I thought), Life, Bionic Woman ….
• Played a Wii — I was a tad sore after my 5-year-old cousin beat me at batting practice, duck hunting and bowling.
• Bought the Oceans 11-12-13 and Shrek triology DVD sets – Oh, and introduced my wife to the Godfather movies (can you believe she’s over 30 and never watched them?!)
• I went on a jog — Yes, actual physical exericse! I got halfway around our block (winded) and got a phone call from my brother, so I walked back. It was cold too. And I started playing volleyball again. (OK, it was two times, and now I’m on the injured reserve list.)
• I became the extremely proud uncle of my first nephew – I have four incredibly beautiful nieces (Patience, Georgia, Rainey and River — Lord, help us!), and now a little nephew to rile them up! Hunter “H.D.” Miller was born Jan. 30. Plus, another cousin/”nephew” Zander. Life is soooooo good as an uncle! I have found that the first couple years of their lives, I am their personalized jungle gym, programmed to do exactly what they want, when they want, no matter if my back hurts so bad that I will need to go to the chiropractor. Often, they will treat me like the family Labrador, who feels no pain, even when his ear is pulled across the room. Later, after those initial “play” years, the girls will simply bat their eyebrows at me and ask for my wallet and credit cards. Naively, I will think they love me and just want to see what’s inside, when in fact, they will be buying clothes or cars with it and I probably won’t put up a fight. H.D. and Zan will just ask me to play basketball with them in the driveway and consequently dunk on me. I will use my sore back as an excuse to retire and keep some of my dignity.
• I bought a French press from Starbucks – Coffee just got that much better!
• I became a Mac guy again — We bought two laptops for business (and to watch Lost in bed at night). Using iChat as a home intercom is pretty neat!

There’s probably more …. but I really just wanted to talk about my nephews and nieces and mention that I have a new love-hate relationship with Lost.