Musing On Viewing

by Bronwyn Jameson

Lately I've been musing on my changed TV viewing habits, because it seems that sometime (when I wasn't watching) there have been radical changes. What are these changes of which I speak/write/muse?

1. Nowadays I rarely watch live TV (except sport.)
2. More often I watch on-demand TV, sometimes on my computer, sometimes cast to TV.
3. I sometimes use Netflix to binge watch a mini-series.
4. My movie watching these days is 95% in theatres or on planes, not on TV or subscription/streaming services. 

I’m not sure when all this happened exactly. I wasn't an early-adopter of streaming services. I am basically old skool (aka a Baby Boomer.)  It’s likely been a gradual shift over several -- or many -- years. It could be linked to the quality of mini-series being made for TV and streaming services these days. Aside from the quality of acting, story-telling and production, I love the limited length. I know going in how many hours/episodes I’m committing to and that the storyline will be resolved.  Usually.

In the last year I’ve obsessively watched:

• The Crown
• Big Little Lies
• The Handmaid’s Tale
• Godless
• The Sinner
• The Fall

And recently I’ve binge-watched the first two series of Fargo and season 2 of UnReal before starting on the latest/last series of The Bridge. Some of these are quite (!) dark and I have to take care not to watch right before bed or *nightmares*.  Diving into my Kindle for some therapeutic romance reading before closing my eyes helps.

Have your viewing habits/preferences changed with the advent of subscription and streaming services? Are you a fellow devotee of the limited-length mini-series and — most importantly — do you have any recommendations?

Challenging Oneself

by Bronwyn Jameson

I was a competitive person once, loving sports and trivia nights and TV quiz shows and writing contests, but I seem to have lost this personality trait as I mellow into *euphemism alert* "late middle-age".  At least that's what I thought until I examined this more closely.

Lately I've been challenging myself rather than others, which is another form of competition, right?

This started with my acquisition of a treadmill desk, which encouraged me to record my mileage walked and to build on this week by week.  Not always successfully but I am walking, in technical terms, a helluvalot further than previously.  My Fitbit tells me so.

I also found that walking while I worked reduced my desire to snack, unhealthily, while writing. That had become a nasty habit.  Which led to further examination of my eating habits, my mindless eating, my laziness in meal preparation, and my addiction to sugar...or sugar-loaded treats.

My 2017 challenge has been, if not to quit sugar, to be mindful of my intake.  To eat healthily day to day, week to week, and to keep the treats for special occasions.  Again, I'm not always successful, but I'm proud of my efforts thus far and my pursuit of the goal: to work more on "how I feel" and less on "what the scales say."

A couple of months back I added another challenge: I started a gym program based on strength and resistance training.  I am no gym junkie, that's for sure, and most weeks I only make 3 visits but it does make me feel good.   And by the time our 2018 ski trip comes around, I hope to notice the difference in my strength and endurance.   

At the moment I'm halfway through a two-week challenge with these amazing girls, making healthy meals and eating and living more mindfully and joyously.  The meal/eating part = success.  I'm loving these recipes, which are largely gluten-free, sugar-free and dairy-free.  The other parts = not as successful, as I'm flat out organising the household ahead of a two week trip to London.  

This involves a lengthy To-Do List, arranged within my go-to organisation tool, Todoist.  I adore this app, probably because it appeals to my latent competitive spirit,  granting various karma levels as one completes tasks and crosses them from the list.  As evidenced below, I am a Master.

Are you a competitor?  How do you challenge yourself with your writing, your reading, your everyday life?