Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part One: Tivo

Another week of rain and overcast weather has set me back emotionally, I swear I have seasonal affective disorder. With both of us unemployed and getting into the habit of our Monday ritual of claiming our benefits, it is hard to remain upbeat with this weather. Also, the news is absolutely and completely distressing as we all know. Somehow, a little more sunshine would give us more hope. The free light and warmth makes you smile and it gets you outdoors to enjoy some activity like gardening or simply playing with the children and you look up at the blue sky and the beaming sun and it makes you appreciate life. Unfortunately, like May and April before it, our New York June is disproportionally wet and gray.

So, in an effort to elevate my mood, I thought I would look around my world and write about those things that I do appreciate besides my husband and children which are a given. No matter how well adjusted you are, when both spouses are unemployed it is downright impossible not to internalize the distress. So I will start with my trusty helper as I sit here writing every night, my Tivo. Yeah, when I write, I am usually taking in some show that I have recorded on Tivo.

I love my Tivo and I must admit that way back in 2002 when we bought a lifetime subscription for a few hundred dollars outright, I was uncertain about the lifetime benefits. Unfortunately, now that many of the cable companies have DVR service as well, for a small monthly fee, Tivo is technically no longer special. Nevertheless, 7 years later, I couldn't live without it.

Having the ability to have Tivo record all of your shows so that you can watch them anytime and have the choice of watching them sans commercials is a must for the busy household. The most interesting thing about the whole experience is that I really couldn't tell you the day or hour when any of my shows are aired, Tivo records what I tell it to and it even records its own suggestions so I'm never short of any thing to watch. It is nice to watch that 1/2 hr show in 20 minutes and that 1 hr show in 40. I know advertisers don't want to hear this but they should know that I record the Superbowl and I fast forward through the game so I can view the commercials, is this not a win-win?

Tivo has other nice qualities like having the ability to network it to your computer so you can view all of your music and photos on your TV. If you have your TV hooked up to the stereo then you can have an instant party anytime you want. Of course, you can do this all with a well placed PC but I use this feature all of the time. Also, you have the ability to record shows to Tivo from any PC anywhere in the world so if you are on vacation and you see something that you want to watch you can set it up to record at home so you can watch it when you get back. Another feature is the ability to transfer recordings from your home Tivo box to any computer anywhere. So, if you are away on business you can retrieve your recorded shows and watch them in the comfort of your hotel room.

I suppose that I am even more appreciative of my Tivo now since I do not incur any current expense for the service. I can happily chalk this up as one investment that actually has paid off.