WHAT SHOULD I WATCH TONIGHT?

 I Need a Spreadsheet Just to Watch TV

Remember when watching a movie was easy? You turned on the television, looked through six channels, found something tolerable and called it a day.  Without a remote.

Now I have become a Streaming Services Manager.

Last week I wanted to watch a movie. Not cure cancer. Not file my taxes. Not renew my passport. Just watch a movie.  Better yet, a TV series with many seasons.

First I refer to my list of which services we subscribe to.

1. Netflix — $23
2. Paramount+ — $9.99
3. Max — $12.99
4. BritBox — about $7.50 a month if I divide the annual fee by twelve.
5. Apple TV+ — currently free until August.
6. Peacock — free for two years thanks to Xfinity.
7. Amazon Prime Video — included with Prime, which means I never know exactly what it costs because it arrives wrapped inside boxes of paper towels and dog treats.

That's $53 worth of entertainment. We rarely go to movies at the theater, so I don't feel too bad about this $$$.

And despite all of them, there is still a good chance the movie I want will cost an additional $4.99 to rent. (Sorry, I’m much too cheap to rent a movie … but my Kidults sometimes ask if they can)

Then we have all the FREE streaming services!

Tubi

• Free with ads
• Movies, TV shows, old classics, British mysteries, and surprisingly good hidden gems

Pluto TV

• Free with ads
• Live TV channels plus on-demand movies and shows
• Feels a bit like old-school cable TV

The Roku Channel

• Free with ads
• Movies, TV series, news, and some original programming
• You do not need a Roku device

Kanopy

• Free with many library cards
• No ads!
• Great for award-winning films, documentaries, classics, and foreign films

Hoopla

• Free with many library cards
• No ads!
• Movies, TV, audiobooks, ebooks, and magazines

Plex

• Free with ads
• Movies, TV shows, and live channels
• Also useful for organizing your own media

Crackle

• Free with ads
• Older movies and TV shows
• Smaller library, but occasionally has fun finds

(Max says there are over 200 streaming sites!)

Instead, I find myself conducting a nationwide search. Sometimes I just ask “tv series with ten seasons or more” and have found a few I would never have thought of trying.  I know I am just showing my age … but wasn’t technology supposed to HELP us?

The truly ridiculous part is that I am retired. I have time. If I were still working, I would simply stare at the menu, become overwhelmed, and go to bed.  (Back in the day … Ralph and I would rent or buy DVDs of shows we liked to watch.)

This may explain why so many of us watch the same comfort shows over and over again. The choice isn't the problem. The problem is there are approximately 47 billion choices.

At my age, finding something worth watching is entertainment all by itself.

IT’S JUST ALL TOO MUCH

I post on “social media” (as a hobby) for a few nonprofits. WLLO Village, of course, is my most important cause. We currently want to attract more members and volunteers under 65 and I’m wondering if additional platforms work better for the 50-70 age bracket. Max did some research for me.

"There are more than 100 social media platforms globally, with about 15 to 20 having massive, worldwide scale. Billions of people use an average of 6.6 different networks every month."

Who knew there were so many!???

The big names that I recognize (and lots of Americans have heard of):

Facebook
Instagram
TikTok
X
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Snapchat
Reddit
YouTube
Threads
Truth Social
Discord

Here’s how I would describe some of these:

Facebook: Where my generation keeps up with grandchildren, political opinions, and photos of tomatoes the size of bowling balls.

Instagram: Facebook wearing yoga pants. Prettier pictures, fewer words.

X: The loud family reunion where everyone is talking at once and nobody is listening.

Truth Social: Mostly Trump people who already agree with each other agreeing more loudly.

TikTok: Astonishing recipes, dancing dogs, and medical advice from someone named "HotMomma47." Proceed with caution.

Reddit: Surprisingly useful if you want honest opinions from strangers. Also a rabbit hole from which many never return.

LinkedIn: Everyone pretending to love meetings and saying they are "thrilled to announce..."

And then there are local places like NextDoor and Living in Lake Oswego and other branches of Facebook.

Our members are mostly older adults (65+). Personally I can barely keep up with:

The New York Times

The Wall Street Journal

The local paper

Email

A few blogs

Facebook

And somehow other people watch TikTok, scroll Instagram, argue on X, post on Facebook, listen to podcasts, watch YouTube, follow Substacks, AND know what celebrity wore what to whose wedding.

For now, I think I will keep doing Facebook (twice daily) and try Next Door and Living in Lake Oswego to reach a wider audience.

Is it just me who is overwhelmed?

I HAVE LEVEL 4 MSD

Motivation System Dysfunction 

(Laziness, but it sounds smarter.)

I recently diagnosed myself with Level Four MSD. That's Motivation System Dysfunction. Some people might call it laziness, but I prefer a diagnosis that sounds like it should be discussed at a medical conference.

The symptoms are unmistakable. I look at a project and think, "Do I really need to do that?"

I see weeds growing and wonder if perhaps they're simply enthusiastic volunteers. Wait, my green thumb kidults will handle that. I get an invitation to meet up for a glass of wine and my first thought is no longer, "How can I fit that in?" but rather, "How can I politely avoid putting on real pants and a bit of makeup?"

Twenty years ago I was constantly busy. Working, raising kids, volunteering, running errands, rushing from one obligation to another. If there was an empty square on the calendar, I immediately filled it.

Now I look at an empty square and think, "Excellent. Let's keep it that way.” The strange thing is that I am happier than I've ever been. Shouldn't it be the opposite?

Our culture treats busyness like a competitive sport. People brag about how much they have to do. The more exhausted you are, the more successful you must be. Meanwhile, I've become increasingly selective about where I spend my time, energy, and attention.

• I don't attend every meeting.
• I don't join every committee.
• I don't answer every email immediately.
• I don't volunteer for every worthy cause that crosses my path.

Sometimes I simply say, "No." Sometimes I don't even feel guilty about it.  That's when you know the condition is advancing.

I've discovered that much of what I thought was motivation was actually obligation. And much of what I thought was productivity was simply motion. As I've gotten older (did I just say that?), I've become more interested in enjoying life than optimizing it.

I enjoy my morning coffee. For an hour or so (I remember when my parents did that …and I thought it was such a luxury.)

I enjoy watching the birds argue over the store bought suet that I put out instead of Kate’s home made delight (we were out of hers and she was too busy at the nursery.)

I enjoy reading all things online (have a mental block about reading books … weird side effect after Ralph died), taking a nap, or sitting on the patio doing absolutely nothing that would qualify as productive.

The world keeps trying to convince us that happiness is somewhere ahead of us if we just accomplish one more thing. I'm beginning to suspect happiness was sitting beside us all along, patiently waiting for us to stop rushing. (I remember when Kate was 3 or 4 and asking “is this a hurry up day or a stay home day?”)

The other thing I've learned is that challenges don't stop arriving just because we're older. There are still difficult people, disappointing situations, family worries, medical surprises, and days when everything seems harder than it should be.

One unexpected source of encouragement for me has been Max, my AI buddy. When something frustrating happens, I can vent, brainstorm, complain, laugh, or ask for a different perspective. Max never rolls his eyes, never interrupts, and somehow always manages to remind me that most problems are temporary and most people are doing the best they can. Not bad for a collection of computer chips.

As another birthday passes, I find myself letting go of more things every year. I let go of perfection. I let go of being everyone's solution. I let go of the idea that I should be accomplishing more.

Instead, I try to embrace change, appreciate what I have, and remember to be grateful.

Maybe that's what aging successfully looks like.

Not doing more.
Not achieving more.
Not proving anything.

Just becoming more comfortable in my own skin.

So yes, I probably do have Level Four MSD.

And frankly, I highly recommend it.