Reality TV

I admit it, I'm a huge fan of reality tv. I know, some consider it really silly tv, and some consider it downright awful. I've spent time defending myself and the best excuse I can offer is that I like to study human nature (thus my day job in HR) and I'm fascinated by the variety of people on these shows.

The shows I watch, pretty faithfully, are (in order starting with my favorite):

• Big Brother
• Survivor
• America's Top Model
• The Apprentice

There are a couple more, but I consider them to be more entertainment then reality:

• So you think you can dance
• Dancing with the Stars
• American Idol (is Adam Lambert awesome or what??!!)

Then there's one that I do consider downright awful, and I watch it with my hands over my eyes like a scary movie:

• The Bachelor

Big Brother is on in the summer starting in July (there was one winter season during the writer's strike) and it's on 3 times each week. I know. To make matters worse, you can subscribe (and I do) to live feeds, which allows you to watch the house and the contestents 24/7 (and I do). When the show really starts to get good - after a few weeks - I start to lose a lot of sleep because I'm downstairs at my craft table with the live feeds up on the screen. I listen to the conversations more than I watch, and it's so entertaining! I've been known to stay up until 1 or 2 a.m. on a weeknight, which makes getting up for work at 6:30 a.m. very difficult. There was one season in which the contestents were so disgusting I was able to cut way down on my viewing (remember Chelsie and James??) but usually I find them very interesting.

The other shows are all on once per week, so they don't take nearly the same time committment but provide good entertainment. My daughter and I got hooked on America's Top Model and we always watched it together before she left for college. Now we watch separately but we still discuss the show and we typically like the same contestents.

I think it would be fun to try Survivor except that you get really dirty and I'd most likely break a nail, so that's out. I'd also love to be on Big Brother, but I don't think I'd be given a sabitical from work if they knew what I was going to do. I'll guess I'll just have to be a fan . . . I can't wait for July!!