— 2015 update —

It’s way past time to make this official on my blog, so here it is. In early September Peter and I officially became Massachusetts residents (well, I guess it was “official” in early October, when we changed our vehicle and voter registrations). I’m very excited to explore my new state, and to keep exploring New England from the perspective of “that girl from the Midwest.”

— 2013 update —

So much has happened in the last year. I have a master’s degree now, and I live in Connecticut. I lived in D.C. briefly this summer after graduating, but now I’m well on my way to becoming a proud New Englander.

— 2012 update —

My blog lives! And here I thought WordPress had deleted it for lack of activity. Well, quite a bit has changed since 2009 — my life has changed directions almost completely. However, I do still live in Bloomington, this time in an effort to complete a master’s in Public Affairs, and I am still dedicated to (mostly) living my weekends free of TV. Heck, I don’t even have basic cable at this point. Maybe I should update this baby some time soon.

— end 2012 update —

*FYI, my blog used to be named “A Weekend Without TV.” Then Netflix streaming went big … and those ambitions went out the window.*

My name is Megan Clayton and I’m a recently graduated journalism and political science major from Indiana University. I don’t have a lot of job prospects yet, so I’m keeping this blog as a way to occupy my time and document some of the interesting things I do.

Unlike what you might guess from the blog’s title, I don’t have anything against television. I just realized at one point that I watch a lot of it, usually as background noise and without putting any real thought into what I’m looking at. Then I wrote my thesis this year on the anti-social effects of television (Robert Putnam’s “Bowling Alone” being one catalyst for that decision) and realized I could actually be harming myself with this over-reliance on television as an entertainment medium.

Along with my realization that I watch too much television came the obvious conclusion that most of the things I like to do in my free time — read, write, eat, travel — can be TV-free, so I made a choice to start off my weekend by turning off the tube. So far, I’ve been uneasy. I can’t stand complete silence, and not having the idiot box blabbing in the background has given me plenty of that. But it’s also helped me clear my thoughts and keep my brain cells.

— end 2009 update —