News junkie needs a fix

I know nothing about what's going on in the world today. I used to know stuff. I used to be "in the know." But now- well, I'm a current events idiot. And I blame myself, my lack of man, and my lack of job for this. Follow me here....

Back in the day, I was a news, politics and current events junkie. seriously. I used to watch CNN every morning, listen to NPR on the way to work, listen to the news at night and read 3-4 daily papers. And I don't count my local "podunksville" newspaper in that list- I read the Post, the Times, the Christian Science Monitor, and USA Today, and occasionally the Journal. I devoured news and politics like I did my morning coffee.

As the post-college years went on, I took in a little less. I still caught the nightly news with Tom B. and still had my CNN fix. I read USA Today and the Sunday NY Times. I still listened to NPR but not as much because it became Rush Radio.

Then the Internet exploded and I went back to my daily diet of newspapers but online. I also became a pretty good magazine junkie and took Time, Newsweek, and Vanity Fair (ok, gimmie a break- they do have a current events and a political section which are very well written). I could also check out other news sources like The Onion and links to various international papers. I was also speaking on daily basis to AlaskaSam who inhales politics and news like air; we are often like minded about such views so we could bat around ideas and events, having healthy conversations and debates (Gawd, he is so smart!)

When I lived in the Wild West, I almost dropped off the map when it came to news for a few reasons. When I dated Sams there, no one ever followed politics unless it affected ranchers or farmers so I had no one to discuss it with. And when I did try, I was treated like an idiot and ridiculed because I'm rather... liberal. I could only take being berated so much. I was also so very very busy. Anyone who read my old blog knew the amount of time I spent grading, prepping, working on programs for my students, sponsoring activities. I did the bare news information minimum- I either caught the top of the hour headlines on CNN and tried to watch a local news station to keep up with my new "home" state or I skimmed the Times on my prep period. Or sadly and more often, I scanned the MSN headlines.

Then I moved back here and my brain became stagnant. I love President Obama but I feel like I'm an idiot. This carries back to the last few months of the Bush era as well when I could barely stand the TV and all the Bush talk. Now I feel like every time I turn on the news, I hear the same stories over and over and over. Just a different variation. Oil prices (still too high). War in Iraq and now Iran (I have no idea why we war there now). I hear about how Americans are idiots about a national health care system (they are). About the current state of the economy (it sucks). The job market (it sucks, too.) Dead pop stars (who cares?). Seth Rogen is skinny (again who cares? But he is hot; I thought he was cute before, but now...!). I feel like the news is stuck on a loop. I feel like the media re-hashes it over and over again and brings out all these experts, quotes politicos that I don't know. I then get completely and utterly bored from hearing the same thing day in and day out so I stop watching and reading. I also hated everything ending with "follow us @ Twitter" or "visit us at www.icantreporttheentirenewsstoryhere.com". Now, I'm so confused and I feel stupid. When I do get it sorted out, I've also realized I don't know anyone who has a shared interest in political and current events.

No one I work with at any job follows anything about current events or politics. Neither do my family members. And I'm not dating anyone so that's not an outlet, either. I was getting back into my political groove back when AIISam and I were an item since he was a news junkie but that was short lived.

I don't need other people to enjoy the news but right now I'm so behind about what's going on I need a sounding board to help get me back on track. I tried to read my Time mag cover to cover and I feel like I've been living in a cave for all I know about what's happening in the world around me.

And to think, at one time I wanted to be a lobbyist in DC! I'm an embarrassment to my roots.

Needin' back on the news track,
Mags