Intervals

A lot has changed ever since I was first introduced to my first television set. Although I can't actually remember the first time I saw a TV, so as far as I'm concerned it has been there all along... just like the trees and the sun and the stars... An interesting phenomenon that came from television was the concept of intervals, a slot fueling the programmes that we get to watch... time for ads, for the channel to let us know what else it has in store for us.

In a way people's lives have started revolving around these intervals... They have been for quite some time... It's around 8ish in the evening and somewhere a mother (fathers too now) is busy preparing a meal, trying to fight against the clock, ensuring that she doesn't have to go leave the table once the family sits down for the meal. The clock strikes 8, the family has gathered at the table, the television is on and their favourite family show offering the best of people singing, crying, back-stabbing, or whatever...

Talking is now forbidden, and nobody moves until the first 10 or 15 minutes are over and it is time for a break.... The countdown begins... Everyone scurries about heading for the kitchen or the bathroom or wherever they wanted to go... It won't be long before the programme will resume and order will be restored... It's like a game of musical chairs, only there is no music... it is only the television. And come to think of it, the advertisers / channel programmers are the controllers... but it isn't all bad, cuz everyones a winner....

Also, when watching a long movies... intervals aren't so bad... they let you stretch your legs, relieve yourself, get munchines etc etc.... However, they can prove to be quite irritating and annoying when watching a suspense filled murder mystery and the intervals appear at all the right times...

But thanks to the technological advancements, over the past few years I have added quite a few movies and TV Series to my collections. You can now go out and buy entire seasons of your favourite programmes and go through 10-20 episodes in a single day!! And at the end of the day you'd realize... "What a terrible waste of time!!! I could've done so much. If only there were intervals!!" So in a way, I miss those intervals and intermissions.... They allowed me to do so much more with my time... I mean, I do enjoy watching ads too ( I have too :D) but intervals will always be time-management tools to me :D ....