Hello. My name is Michelle and I am an addict.

I am addicted to the television that is.
I have said it in the past and will tell you to this day that I need the "noise". I need the constant commotion going on around me to thrive, to keep from feeling lonely, to keep the voices in my head from driving me insane. It's kinda like, well... an addiction.

I watch TV the moment I wake up. In fact, my addiction is so imprinted on my brain that when the afternoon sun wakes me up each day, my first thought is, "I wonder if Oprah's already started, or will I get to see the last half of Dr. Phil again today?"

There's never an innapropriate time for television viewing either.

I watch it when I wake up.
I watch it as I clean the house.
I watch it as I get ready for work.
I watch it as I eat dinner.
I watch it as I surf the net.
I watch it as I read magazines.
I listen while I'm in the bathroom.
I listen while I'm in the bedroom making the bed.
I listen while I'm in the laundry room washing clothes.
I listen while I'm on the phone trying to have a conversation.
I listen while I'm face-to-face with someone having a conversation.

It is an addiction. What makes it worse is when I sit down to watch. I could sit all day long, and as my husband can tell you I have many times over. True too, I have a schedule - also engraved in my brain. At any given time of the day, or day of the week, I could tell you what show I'm missing or should be watching at that moment. If I don't have a scheduled show for any given time slot, I do have a couple of channels (more like twelve) that work as backups where any show scheduled will do. I also have a night of television viewing that I try to schedule my life around in order to stay home and fill my cravings.

I don't know quite what it is about television that I enjoy most or what intrigues me so much to keep me going back for more. Is it the drama of ER? Is it the hilarity of the Gauntlet II? Is it the emotional truths Oprah poors out onto my heart each day? Probably not. It's probably because I'm lazy - so plain and simple it pierces my heart to admit. Oh how easy it is to be entertained at the push of a button.

I thought I could give up TV once too. An attempt that lasted but a couple of weeks. When we moved I swore to myself I could go without TV. However, I found that without cable we still had three local stations that worked well to entertain despite the snowstorm overcast that covered the screen. I found myself leaving the TV on, getting caught up in the realities of characters that I had never met before, who were not on my list, who did not fit into any of my time slots... but all of a sudden they did, and they became regular guests in my home.

I know that some of you may not understand how tv can be an addiction, but I blame it for a few problems in my life currently from weight gain to disorganization of my home. TV is an addiction. It may not sound as bad to you as cocaine or chocolate for instance, but it still has me up at all hours waiting for my next big fix.

Excuse me, I think I just heard the theme song for Passions.