Big Decisions

I'm in Santa Barbara this week, staying at a different hotel than normal and loving it. I love the grand staircase here, the mission tiles and old school elevator (with a real iron gate door!). Sometimes it feels very luxurious to be on the road. Sometimes it's just lonely.

The particular hotel I'm staying in this week has a plethora of channels on cable television. I don't have cable at home and when presented with such a wide array of choices, I find myself unable to make a decision. I flip back and forth between the Travel Channel and the Food Network occasionally jetting over TLC and Animal Planet.

I get stuck watching spoiled girls on MTV whine at their fathers for cars and lavish parties, hoping to fill an emotional void of acceptance and unconditional love. I find myself with eyes glued to before and after, do-it-yourself home renovation shows. Cable means I can watch Sponge Bob Square Pants and The Daily Show. It means Lifetime Movies and E True Hollywood Story.

It's all very overwhelming and it makes me think I'd be better off sitting in quiet solitude reading. Currently, I'm enjoying Choke by Chuck Palahniuk. It's got way more disfunction and humor than I'm going to find on TV tonight. And, so I think I'll sit in my lonely hotel room drinking a cheap single-serving bottle of Fish Eye Pinot Grigio with my nose in a book.