People always say that our generation is one that lives vicariously through the movies and television. I've read a bunch of articles that speak eloquently or bombastically about the matter, and since I have few clever academic comments to make in response to them, I can only say that I agree. Also, I must state the obvious, too : I am the vanguard of this generation.

I spent my entire day watching the newest episodes of Alias, Joey, The O.C. and some new show that is a copy of America's Top Model, only this time they're searching for a Sports' Illustrated swimsuit model. On top of that, I watched the completely UNTRASHY Celebrities Uncensored on E! and regaled myself with one of my favourite tv shows ever, Globe Trekker on Discovery Travel and Living. My favourite shows, apart from the trashy (Desperate Housewives, The OC), the funny (That 70's show, Daria), the sexy (uh, Sex and The City, obviously), the touching (Once & Again, My So-called Life), the sweet (Gilmore Girls) ... are travel and cooking shows. I will sit through hours of Nigella Lawson and Anthony Bourdain, staring at food being cooked and eaten despite the fact that I cannot cook anything that doesn't only involve boiling water or pressing buttons. I will stew in my big person-sized bean bag while I watch Ian Wright or Justine Shapiro roam the streets of Peru or Dubai, imagining myself experiencing the same sensory overload the endearing tv guides are. Hell, even when I'm not watching documentary-style tv show, I find myself imagining what it would be like to always have good indie bands to watch while wearing the newest Marc Jacobs in the fictionalized version of Newport Beach (a la the O.C., for the people who don't watch it as religiously as I do).

Since I spend most of my time indoors, quite preferring the company of a relatively empty house and pretty views, I really do consign myself to an existence of vicariousness. If I immerse myself in a book that is dense and detailed, I transport myself to Macondo, or whatever other separate world novelists construct. I imagine myself living a life far more colourful than my own. In a lot of ways I know the banality of my life is my own doing, the result of a mixture of fear and indolence. But right now, I break it up with all the flourish of life in far away places.

I suppose one day I'll have to jolt myself out of this state of vegitation. I'll learn a language, learn to drive, learn to cook, learn to meet new people, learn to step out of my comfort zone (though what a comfort it is), learn to be useful, learn to be involved, learn to be engaged and connected to the rest of the world in a palpable way. But in the meantime, I guess I'll get back to re-watching Gilmore Girls episodes.