Posted on by Pat Coakley

Waiting for My Ya Ya Without Cable TV

It’s apple pickin’ time.  I went to a farm that picks them for me because lord knows I don’t want to have to exert myself during fruit gathering.

Five of these apples cost me 5 dollars.  They are the size of Cinderella’s coach. They are called Wolf River apples, (named after a spot in Wisconsin) and they are good for cooking and, the reason I bought them, for photographing. Folklore says you can bake a pie with just one of them they are so big.  They are beautifully colored, sort of like a Gala apple on steroids.

There.  Now, to the news.  I am renaming my blog, giving up cable TV, and going to get off my la la and stop waiting for my ya ya.

Yep, after two and half years of writing and posting under “Single For A Reason” I am going to transition over to either my own domain name site, patcoakley.com or to another blog I have called,”Waving or Drowning”.  I’ve written short articles about caregiving on this site in the past but it has been sorely neglected and still is.  But, the name suits me to a T which is why I took the time and money several years ago to register its name.

I felt that it would either be this name (SFAR) or Waving or Drowning that would be the title of “things”…blogs, articles, books, sitcoms, cattle auctions, you know…things of interest.  I did a Google Alert on ‘Single for A Reason”, the phrase, and 100% of the time it is used in blogs about dating.  People unhappy or unlucky in love.  So, I bequeath them the name and wish them well with their co-mingling.

I’m Irish.  I coexist with hope and doom on a daily basis.  I’m neither unlucky or unhappy but the poem by Stevie Smith, Waving Not Drowning, strikes home.   It is about someone who has taken a swim, gone out too far–the water is much too cold, exhaustion sets in, and when they turn to signal for help, the people on the shore think they are just waving “Hello.”

It makes me laugh out loud as well as feel a footfall of profound recognition.

Creativity has been my life jacket throughout my life and so I’m consolidating my creative ventures under a new umbrella, more of which I’ll write about later.  The blog move is just a part of what is going on.

But, as of November 13, I’ll have no more cable TV or land-line telephone– which if you know me, you are a little bit slack-jawed– and that is the date I’ve determined to transfer this blog to one name or the other.  If I could figure out how to do it all on my own domain, I’d do it.  But, I’ve got some techie issues.  The next paragraph will give you an idea how serious the problem is.

I’ve been a TV girl from sprout status.  I had an HD TV before most people I know.  Why?  Because it was important to me.  Now, unless I can figure out this antennae business…I bought an antennae that is supposed to get me over the air “free” channels but in order for me to get the stations I have to stand in the middle of my living room holding up the antennae like the Statue of Liberty.

I’m stopping short of buying a cabin in Montana and growing a beard but I am loosening the grip of media madness and relying only on an internet connection.

We’ll see.  I’ll write about it, photograph it, dip it in detergent, and leave directions on this site where to go to find me.

Hope you do.  I’ll be here till November 13, though.

Waving.

(Here’s a link to that silly song, “Ya Ya”  by Joey D and the Starliters that was so popular when I was graduating from high school.)

©Pat Coakley 2010

PHOTOGRAPHS CANNOT BE USED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION

Select photographs from this blog and my wider archive can be purchased or licensed at www.patcoakley.com

17 Replies to “Waiting for My Ya Ya Without Cable TV”

  1. I love this photo! Can I get a print of it to frame for my kitchen? I’d love to have to use only one apple to do a pie with, although I’d likely use two anyway – just to make a yummier pie!

  2. This is great. I can’t wait to read your experiences. I’ve been trying to cut the satellite cable for months now and have almost succeeded. But where I am, an antenna, even the tallest installed on my roof,(which is where yours needs to go) gets me nothing. You might want to check out:
    http://www.ivi.tv/
    and /or:
    http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/products/EyeTV-One/product1.en.html
    Both interesting in very different ways.
    I also wanted to unplug the landline but that would mean no internet…not happening.
    I love “Waving or Drowning”.

    1. thanks, Pat! I’ll go to these sites for sure. I love the name W or D as well! I’m in a condo so I don’t know what I can put on my roof. All I know is I’m not going up there!

  3. Change is good. And you seem to take it in stride, which has always inspired me. So I wish you well in your transition. And no cable? Been doing that for years. People like us are way too fascinating to be sucked in by cable TV . . .

    1. Brian, Well, I guess my FF aka fascinating factor must have been marginal as I was sucked in for a long, long time. This is probably the only fascinating thing I’ve done in a while!

  5. I’m off the interwebs for a few days to come back and find you posted a zillion new pictures, you’re going rogue on us and you’re changing your blog name.

    WOW.

    People always say change is good and I guess I will admit that sometimes it is, but I do not like change. As long as you’re still blogging and posting those fab photos, I guess it will all be ok.

    I’m off to mope.

    1. Hey, Carol! Don’t mope! You are changing your painting knowledge all the time and that doesn’t bother you, right? Your blog has introduced me to new things you try or take a class on….it’s the same thing! Change is learning. At least, that’s my story now and I’m stickin’ to it.

  6. Nice looking apple! Juicy and crisp, I bet, too. You know, I can buy five pithy undersized red delicious apples and pay $5, probably because they were picked in the fall of ’09 and are now considered antiques. Ahh, the benefits of life on an island!
    Disconnecting from cable is a great idea! With that done, you should be able to touch bottom; then we can all be sure you really are just waving, not drowning. Good luck on migrating your great work somewhere else. I’ll follow it anywhere!

    1. Oh, Don, that is so profound and funny at the same time…giving up cable I’ll touch bottom and you’ll be sure I’m waving not drowning…Actually, a wolf river apple is not very good for eating…just baking and photography!! My favorite is Honey Crisp. Love them.

  10. Well. Keep us posted as I have been enjoying your posts, immensely. I would like to do away with cable and go back to the kind of TV we had before. It doesn’t exist!!!!!! Free is not a choice unless you just don’t do TV. Antennae doesn’t work, here. I went to local channels two years ago, pay very little for the service, have no cell phone and had to be talked into a computer for ten years before actually getting one. Soooooo, I will enjoy following your posts about these changes!
    What do the trees look like that grow these monstrosities? The branches must be like iron to not break under their weight!

  11. I also have been thinking about changing blog names.

    Good for you getting rid of cable TV. Too much low quality content and repetition. Here in Oz, we have about 10 free to air (all digital so the picture is very clear and wide screen) stations and there is still plenty to pick from.

    Your apple reminds me of the giant apples one can buy in Japan from Amori. The japanese buy them for decoration but they don’t eat them because they are tasteless.

    1. Ah, change!! Nice to hear from you, Razz…plenty of change goin’ on here. I’m going to email you some highlights and ask for your thoughts.
      Why are your thoughts on changing your blog’s name? Isn’t it funny. At the time we think the name is perfect. Then, we go…nah, maybe not.

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