The Boob Tube

I realize it’s been awhile since I posted a blog and there are two reasons for that… 1) I’m trying not to write too much about Kwajalein since it’s such a small place and somehow there are quite a few people here reading the blog.  I don’t want to offend, irritate or embarrass anyone without intending to,  2) After three weeks here, we finally discovered that we can get the 8 Armed Forces Network (AFN) channels here on our boat.  That’s right…we have TV.

Now this may not sound like a big deal, and maybe it’s not to most people, but remember…we haven’t had TV in almost two years.  Sure we get to watch movies, but they’re all pre 2009 and there is no access to news, commercials, or the latest prime time (outside of the occasional info we get on the internet).  So, I haven’t had time to write…I’ve only got a few days left to get all my TV in. 

What have we been watching??  Well, we’re fairly up to date on the Republican Primaries, I saw the latest episode of Desperate Housewives (I have missed A LOT), Jake has discovered the Power Rangers, and Andy has been re-inspired by the Iron Chef.  We’ve seen a few post 2009 movies, gotten up to date on the news, and discovered that Fear Factor has gotten totally out of control (cow hearts in a vat of blood?).  We watched House last night and tonight we get to see the latest episode of Bones. 

I totally forgot how much time we used to spend watching TV.  I’m shocked that I wasn’t 300 lbs before we gave it all up.  Prior to our stop here, we would either watch a nice family movie after dinner or we would play UNO or Go Fish.  Monopoly was a family favorite or we might just sit outside while Jake played on the bow and watch the sunset.  And we would RARELY watch a movie in the middle of the day.

We did take time off of the tv to watch Cpt. Ron pull his
boat into the dry dock area for some repairs.

Now don’t get me wrong…we’re not a totally electronic free family (since replacing our computers and possibly getting the old ones back, we have the potential of having 5 computers and 2 iPads on board).  Jake loves his video games and Andy and I love our movies.  But when it’s harder to get the latest and greatest, you find yourself thinking of other things to do – like swimming, coloring, cooking, reading a book, etc.  I think that’s probably a good thing.  

But I’m not giving in just yet…we have three more days here and I am determined to see everything that might remotely interest me…

There’s a commercial that American Idol starts next week…I wonder if our antennae will reach from Bigee?

Other things we’ll miss when leaving Kwaj…

Frozen pizza, Edamame, Burger King, Subway, Baskin Robins, fresh strawberries (I know – everything revolves around food for us), bike riding, speaking English all the time, cleanliness…but most of all, the great people we’ve met and our sponsors who have become good friends that we’ll keep in touch with for a very long time (and maybe share an anchorage one day soon).