Too Much TV is Bad For the Brain but Easy on the Eyes

Of the long list of things I wanted to do during my trip home to California, sitting on the couch watching TV was not one of them. But because I got sick and my fantastic list went out the door along with my energy and motivation, I found myself sitting in front of the TV for hours on end. Luckily, I got sick at the perfect time to catch some stuff I definitely would have missed out on if I had been in Peru.

August sweeps started with the Olympics. I sat in the living room every night with my father for two weeks. It's the one time every 4 years our favorite sport, track and field, is in the lime light. Even though I was not a fan of NBC's "prime time live" coverage, I still got to watch all of my favorite summer Olympic sports like gymnastics and beach volleyball. And this year, along with the rest of America, I was addicted to swimming. More specifically, I needed my nightly Michael Phelps fix. Michael Phelps helped revive feelings within me I feared may had gone extinct in Peru. Apart from those feelings, the Olympics bring out a whole bunch of other sentiments that have me feeling like a complete sap. I get so worked up by the emotion of the athletes and relive my former athletic glory days to the point that I actually tear up. I feel so much admiration and envy for the olympic athletes and as I cheer for them, I find that I am cheering for the USA. Then I start feeling this strange serge of pride for being an American and actually begin to route for our dominance over other countries. All the while the Peace Corps Volunteer inside is cheering for all the little guys.

After the olympics were over, I had two weeks of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. I enjoyed watching both parties conventions, but the real entertainment was tuning ever night to the Daily Show and the Colbert Report for the real news. It's been very entertaining for me to watch all the controversies over Sarah Palin. By the way, I watched the season premier of Saturday Night Live tonight, and Tina Fey made a guest appearance to play Palin and I don't think I've ever seen a better political impersonation in my life! I would actually vote for McCain if he picked Tina Fey as his running mate. Also on SNL tonight, Michael Phelps was hosting and I fell in love with him a little mores with each dorky wig they made him wear. What am I going to do in Peru without my regular Phelps fix? I know, screw my previous dream ticket statement of McCain/Fey. I think the ultimate ticket would be Obama/Phelps. You know Michael Phelps has more foreign experience than Sarah Palin. Phelps won over the Chinese with his goofy smile, I bet Palin hasn't ever been to China. The image above is Tina Fey acting as Palin. There's also a more likely chance that Fey has been to China over Palin.

So as you can see, my time in front of the TV has been well spent. I've simultaneously been working on romantic endeavors and the future of US foreign policy. So While watching TV wasn't on my list of things to do in the US, I'm sure glad things worked out the way they did.