Hi. My Name is Ashley and I'm addicted to TV.

I always get a little annoyed when someone says to me "Oh I don't watch that much TV." Um what? I've even read articles and blog posts from people who don't even own a TV. WHAT?! Can someone place a pillow under me so I don't injure myself when I pass out from shock?

I grew up on TV. Hell, TV practically raised me. When Danny Tanner had those heart-to-hearts with DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle, he was having them with me too. Alf taught me how to get in and out of trouble. Captain Planet taught me to recycle and be kind to the Earth.  I learned valuable life lessons from my childhood of TV watching. 

My TV obsession is still going strong now that I'm in my late 20s. Except these days it's so much easier. I've had quite the TV journey. 

I didn't have my own TV in my room (at my mom's house) until I was 16 or 17. I remember fighting with her over the TV in the living room. If she wouldn't budge, then she'd let me watch TGIF or Felicity in her bedroom. But these days Dustin and I share a flat screen in the living room and one in our bedroom. Plus I can watch TV on my computer AND phone! It's kind of crazy. These are the parts of adulthood that just straight up rule. 

I remember first getting DVR when Dustin and I moved in together. I was (and still am) amazed that I can record all of my shows with a simple little click of the remote. When I was a kid I'd ask my mom to record a show on a damn VHS tape! Shout out to the '90s! And half of the time she recorded over the last part of Dawson's Creek with The Young and the Restless. It was basically like living in the stone age.  DVR is one of my favorite inventions ever.

Now to the whole point of why I even started this particular blog post: streaming!

I remember (not that long ago) if I wanted to watch a TV show from the beginning and didn't feel like buying the DVDs, I had to go to multiple sketchy websites for pretty shitty quality. Also every 5 minutes they would make you (as in you couldn't fast forward!) watch commercials. I HATE ONLINE COMMERCIALS. Annoying. 

But then Netflix came along. I didn't jump on the bandwagon right away. It actually wasn't until 2011 that we joined. And even then we only kept it for the one month free-trial, watched the first and only season of Freaks & Geeks and we were done. Cancelled our subscription. We weren't impressed by the streaming only selection. But then Netflix started putting TV shows (that I hadn't seen but had been dying to) up for streaming so we tried it again. We've had it since December 2012. And in that time it has let me catch up on every season of Mad Men, Friday Night Lights, Breaking Bad, Orange Is The New Black, and a bunch of movies too. 

I also had a free month of Amazon Prime back when Dustin bought my Kindle Fire HD which has it's own streaming service. That allowed me to catch up on Downton Abbey and Parenthood. 

And of course HBOGO (which you get automatically when you add HBO to your cable bill) where I was able to watch True Blood, Sex & the City, Boardwalk Empire, & Game of Thrones.

The thing is, I rarely start a show when it first airs. It's usually not until everyone starts talking about how great it is that I'm actually interested in seeing it. And then I not only watch it but binge watch - from the beginning (always from the beginning)! Episode after episode for hours on end. It's a TV addicts dream come true. 


So yeah, streaming pretty much rules. 

This is the future. 

Now it's not like I'm stuck in front of a TV all day every day. I have plenty of other interests and also a job. But TV is one of my favorite ways to unwind, relax and forget about a bad day. 

It's like my alcohol. I like to get drunk on TV. Not ON TV but while watching TV. Nevermind.