Marathon (Wo)Man

Ah two week vacations at Christmas time... the perfect plan. One I have been ingeniously implementing for years now. Because I refuse to admit I procrastinate, I desperately require that first week off work to do final preparations for the Biggest Day of the Year.

Therefore, it's not surprising that the second week is vitally necessary to collapse relax from said Biggest Day of the Year.

I must not be the only one; because television programmers seem to have adjusted their schedules to match this phenomenon. The week before Christmas is filled with holiday specials and every seasonal movie ever made.

And the week after Christmas is jam-packed with "marathons". They just know we are stuffed with turkey, chocolate and champagne and thus can barely summon the energy to heave ourselves off the couch for days. Talk about a captive audience.

Sometime on New Year's Eve I got hooked on the Comedy Network's Corner Gas "Merry-thon". They aired all 107 episodes in the series, which took nearly three days. Makes me thank the Gods I didn't purchase those Corner Gas DVDs for hubby's Christmas gift after all.

I love Corner Gas. Not just because it's Canadian. Or because it's hilarious. Or because it frequently mentions Winnipeg. No, I just love the characters and the writing.

What I DON'T love is the other Marathon running at the same time. The Marathon of Exactly.The.Same.Stupid.Commercials at every frickin' break.

I mean for the first hour or two that Burger King Bourbon Whopper looks kinda appetizing.

But by hour 20, I was getting nauseous at the thought of a burger with a sweet sauce, onion rings, cheese and bacon on it.

By hour 40, I vowed as God is my witness, I would never step into a Burger King again.

Every few minutes I was watching the idenitcal run of repeating ads from cough and mucous medicines (Gak!) to dandruff and acne cures, with of course, Burger King thrown in for good measure.

It got so bad, I nearly turned it off! But instead I grabbed the laptop and got a few things done whilst rooted in my comfy chair.

  • I answered emails.
  • I napped.
  • I surfed.
  • I napped.
  • I snacked.
  • I napped.
  • I even wrote a blog post!
So it wasn't a complete waste of time.

But I just about died when it was over and hubby asked me to pop by Burger King to get him that stupid Whopper.

BK Bourbon Whopper

58 People would rather be commenting:

Richard said...

Hmm, I think I found what I want for a meal today! :P

Riz said...

You are right about marathons, having the same commercial all the time. It was the same thing on Travel Channel. :-(

Riz
listentoriz.blogspot.com

TWolf said...

The Boy (my son) and I went on a marathon DVD movie fest of our own this week. Seeing as how he loves Burger King, I'm glad we missed out on that particular marathon!

Jackie said...

lol

Perle said...

Ahh the good ole days when cable was considered the alternative to 'commercial tv.' I had cable back then. I'm with TWolf, dvds or cds with a good book. Pass on the burger - I've been eating leftover peas and greens for 2 days.
Happy 2010.

Jackie said...

Btw, I watched the comedy network last night. I love that show too . The guy(Jeremy Hotz) that was speaking to a montreal audience , is hilarious. One of our favourite comedian is Russel Peters LOL

Holly said...

Haha! My daddy was watching that too! He got the DVDs for Christmas. I don't know what it's about or anything, I just know that he use to watch it a lot. Lol.

I hate Burger King. D: Their food tastes weird but then again, I barely ever eat out. I'm more of a home cooking kinda girl!

Love the blog! <3

Brenda Grolle said...

"But I just about died when it was over and hubby asked me to pop by Burger King to get him that stupid Whopper."

I notice you're not telling us what your response was. :)

ReformingGeek said...

It would have been appropriate to follow the Whopper commercial with a penis enlargement commercial!

Anonymous said...

Ew, Ew, EW!! I would just have called Burger King, and told them what i thought :D funny<3

/marina

thelittlebag.blogspot.com

Jeremy said...

One reason I love DVDs is that I do not have to sit through all those commercials. One downside is that I get spoiled by DVDs of my favorite TV shows because watching TV with the ads makes me impatient! I was at McDonald's a few weeks ago and looked at my sandwich and could barely eat it after watching a marathon on TV!
Also, the McDonald's has a TV that shows the ads. Sitting at home getting sick of the food is bad enough, having to hear/watch the commercials while the food is in front of me is worse!

Brenda Grolle said...

Jeremy, I know what you mean. Once in a while someone will ask me, "You know that commercial about/when/where..." and I'll honestly say, "No, I don't watch commericials." Then they look at me like I'm weird.

Carley said...

I used to work at Burger King... I never go there.. nor will i ever go there.. All the things you learn about when you work fast food is horrifying! stay away from that place avoid it like the plague :)

http://ithinktheworldisouttogetme.blogspot.com/

Dreamer said...

well well well...
i just finished reading your blog... and i don't mean the last blog post. yes i have read your entire blog!!! i read your most recent post on dec 28th after seeing your blog as a blog of note! (note that i am not a blogger, i just had nothing better to do so i got on blogspot.com to view a random blog). after reading your first posts i just couldn't stop! i wanted to read more and more! your writing is really amusing and your life seems pretty interesting with so many odd things happening to you!
Congratulations!

choochoo said...

Ooooh, now I'm hungry :S

Christine C. Janson said...

The marathon commercials are more than I can take too. I keep the clicker at hand to silence them.
I enjoyed visiting your blog and invite you to visit mine, Crotchets (ccjCrotchets.blogspot.com), where I examine everything to do with words and how we use (and misuse) them.
Happy New Year!

JoJo said...

I've never heard of that show and Comedy Central down here didn't air that marathon that I know of. I am a huge fan of Canadian TV shows (I'm still incensed about "This is Wonderland" being canceled several years ago).

My personal marathon faves are LO:SVU and LO:CI.

Janie B said...

I watched one of those TV marathons yesterday...NCIS (love that show), and yes, the commercials got very annoying. It's time to go back to work! Ha!

Karen MEG said...

We just finally discovered the beauty of PVR and the best part is avoiding all the commercials!

I think all those Whopper ads would send me to emerg!

Happy New Year, Maureen!

Swubird said...

Maureen:

I absolutely agree with the whole Whopper thing. I never want to see another one of'em again. I never heard of Corner Gas. I guess it doesn't show out here on the coast.

But have a great 2010.

jay said...

I've never heard of that show, but I'm going to look it up - and then if I like it I'll buy the DVDs. Those ads drive me nuts - I don't mind ads, but why do they think that I need to see the same one twenty five times during the course of a programme? Don't they know it just turns us off?

Maureen said...

Ack Richard! Noooooooo! ;)

Riz: Yeah. If they want us to Marathon, couldn't they at least rotate the commericials? Too much, of even a good thing is bad. Too much of a bad thing is a nightmare.

TWolf: Ah yes, we have done the DVD marathons too. Which are far better, no commercials and breaks whenever you want them. But like I said, I passed on the Corner Gas DVDs this year!

Perle: Oh yes, leftovers have been sitting in our fridge for days now. Thank goodness it's nearly gone and that tomorrow is garbage day (for the rest!)

Jackie: :) Thanks. Yes, the Comedy Network can have some real gems at times. Probably my third favorite channel after the Retro Toon and Food Networks ;)

Aw thanks Holly! Corner Gas is funny, but especially to Canucks (there are a lot of inside jokes and guest appearances by Canadians).

Brenda: To be honest, I really wanted to type "I just about smacked him upside the head", but I didn't want people to think I went postal or anything. My response? "You have GOT to be freaking kidding me!" We had pizza instead.

Ahahahaha Reforming Geek: Only YOU would come up with THAT one! Har!

Thanks Marina. Yeah, I wonder how the heck they think that kind of brain washing works? Well, it worked on hubby, so I guess it does for some people.... gak.

Jeremy: There are commercials INSIDE McDonald's? Why? You're already THERE! Ha! Yeah, that would be weird.

Brenda: Oh yeah, we have TIVO too, but 107 episodes wouldn't fit.... boo.

Ug. Thanks for the tip, The Perks of Being Young and Married. Noted. Gak.

Holy crap, Χρίστος! Really? I thought *I* was the only one to read them all... you rock! I need to make you some kind of award or something. Or give you a list of REAL books to read ;) Thank you, you are way too kind and blew me away with that comment.

No, No, No Choo Choo. Stay away from the Burger King. Heed "The Perks of Being Young and Married" 's warning... ;)

Thank you Christine! And I shall pop by! Happy New Year to you as well!

Jo-Jo: WGN used to carry it. Sadly, it ended this past Spring. They only did six seasons, which is far too few. Apparently it shows in Australia too... I guess there are a bunch of Canucks down there. ;)

Janie: No! Don't say the "W" word (oh crap, "word" starts with "w" too). Anyway, I still have a few hours left of winter vacation....

Happy New Year Karen Meg! Yeah, I tried to just ignore them, but it was hard (but not harder than turning down the volume each time).

All the best to you in 2010 too Swu. I think I will let hubby get his whole Whopper craving out on a night I want salad.

Exactly Jay! It's the mentality of "well if one is good, 100 must be better!" Um. No. No it's not.

Unfinished Rambler said...

Ugh, I hate commercials too...what's worse are infomercials, but those are a marathon in themselves.

I've never seen Corner Gas. Is that really a show? :)

Babs-beetle said...

Thankfully we never watch ads. Mo always records what we watch. We watch it 10 minutes behind and skip through all the ads ;)

Ed said...

I have to admit I enjoy a good commercial from time to time--in moderation. I wish I had learned that with martinis.

Lynn said...

Love LOVE Corner Gas! I could catch it every once in awhile at about midnight here in PA (I'm Canadian, but living here for the time being.) But now they don't show it at all. Le sigh.

I giggled through this post--especially the end. That would so totally be my husband!

Kevin said...

I feel the same way when I'm watching a football game "brought to you by KFC." By the end, I'll eat/drink/buy whatever KFC wants me to.

Marla said...

I hate commercials! Just when I get all cozy in bed and want to watch a little TV before dozing, the dang food ads come on convincing me I am hungry.

Anonymous said...

I just stumbled upon your blog & your post cracked me up. But yes that is definitely the bad part about watching marathons, the repeated commercials. Then again, if you have a DVR you can just pause it during the commercials & hit the fast forward button. :)

Sistertex said...

...And ya' know... it is Burger King that causes the coughs and mucous, dandruff and acne that you see all those cures for in the commercials that air along with their various burgers! Yep, they pretty much go hand-in-hand with each other. ;)

I always vow to get so much done on break. However, it never fails that everyone always comes up with enough stuff I need to do that it fills all my time so I never end up getting around to the things I wanted to do before break is over.

Oh well.

Happy New Year to you and yours! Great post.

Daniel Taverne said...

I just want to say, "I know what you are talking about!" Those commercials dreve me nutz too! I deal with them by 1. pressing the mute button and playing with the dog in blissful quiet, or 2. I turn the TV off. Too bad your hubby was hooked by the commercials though. YYou know, you should read my little article, "Walking Away" it kind of addresses this tv issue in an interesting way. You can google that article. You may also reprint it if you want. God bless.

Dan (Forward OBserver: Peering from a fox Hole)

Ca88andra said...

Great post! Very funny. I'll be back!

MikeWJ at Too Many Mornings said...

I'm hungry. Craving a burger, in fact. Wonder where I could get one with some sweet bourbon sauce and onion rings on it?

Anonymous said...

Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!

George said...

I love the holiday marathons on TV but I did not get to see the Christmas movie "A Christmas Story" movie marathon, one that I always enjoy. Love the blog!

Brenda Grolle said...

Pizza's better anyway.

2416966 said...

you are so right i was watching a tv show and i cant stand a commercial of the swiffer mop thing... i guess like you said at first its okay but when you have seen it for a couple hours it gets really annoying! that must be really horrible that you dislike that comercial ov burger king so much and you got to a point that you could swear you would never walk into a burger king ever again and then they ask you to stop by burger king to buy food! :(

2416966 said...

happy new years!:)

Maureen said...

Unfinished Rambler: Oh yeah, it's really a show... or was, at least. They ended it last spring after six seasons.

Babs: I love my Tivo for that too; but sadly, it would never hold all those episodes!

Ahahaha Ed! Martini's eh? Shaken or stirred Mr. Bond?

Thanks Allegria! And my condolences about hubby ;)

Ugh. KFC is another bane of my existence Kevin. I have done a post on them previously...

Har Marla! Yeah, they just know when to run those munchies commercials, don't they?

Anahid: Yeah, but record 107 episodes???? I'd never get off the couch!!!!

You are so right Sistertex! How did I not put 2 + 2 together???? And you are exactly like me; I had such great plans for my time off. Oh well... back to the routine again. Happy New Year!

Thank you Daniel! I shall Google that article! (Sounds like I need it!)

Welcome Ca88andra, and thank you for stopping by!

Sorry, I have NO IDEA Mike. Can't help you out. Nope. Not at all....

Thank you Jet!

Thanks Anon!

Rad-aholic: Now Christmas Story is one I DO have on DVD. We saw it the first year it was made and have made it a holiday tradition to watch it the night we put up our tree... hilarious movie!

Agreed Brenda, agreed.

2416966: Yeah, those commercials worked on him; had the reverse effect on me. Happy New Year to you too!

Anonymous said...

This is the first time that I've read your blog and I really like it!!

But you are so right about the marathons!! While working at home or at work if you stay on the same channel for more than two hours, you start seeing the same commercials on repeat. It drives me insane! I can repeat word for word some of those commercials and I'm not even watching them most of the time! Tell you one thing, I am just glad they don't have those "head on" commercials anymore!

Jessa said...

I love your blog! Just found/joined it today, can't wait to read more.

VioletSky said...

could have been worse. one marathon show I was camped out on the chesterfield to watch insisted on telling me to have a "happy period" every.ten.minutes.

Pamela said...

OMG!!!! YES! I was SO unbelievably tired of watching my husbands annual "Twilight Zone" marathon during the New Year holiday - it scares me when I'M the one mouthing along with the dialogue! (who knew?) Definitely a good reason to follow-through with New Year's resolutions to get UP and OUT!! Thanks Maureen - love your blog and your example!

Anonymous said...

I stumbled upon your blog...it's really funny and interesting!! I'm 13 and i just started my own blog...which I've been very excited about...I only have 3 followers but hey, I'm working my way up!!! I have one question: Where AND how did you get your cool template/layout???? I would like to make my blog more interesting and more, well....me. So please, PLEASE respond to my question by commenting your answer and more onto my blog...i only have 1! Thanks and ta-ta!!!!

JD at I Do Things said...

Mmmm. This blog post makes me hungry. I haven't had a Whopper in quite a while. This "Bourbon Whopper" doesn't sound all that appealing, tho. At least, not as appealing as the "Angry Whopper" being advertised right now.

Ed & Jeanne said...

You should have just went and got him some burboun instead...

amcewan82 said...

Wow, I really love your blog! I've recently started my own website where I basically recap TV shows and movies. I'm hoping it is something I can use when I'm looking for jobs since I graduate in July. Check and out and feel free to leave a comment. mediareporter.weebly.com
THANKS!!!

Maureen said...

beginningphotographybug: Aw thank you! Welcome! Ahahaha! Yes, I remember those Head On commercials (gee, thanks for reminding me.... ;) ) Har!

Thanks Jessa! So happy you found me too! Happy New Year!

VioletSky: OMG... That is a whole post I would LOVE to write about having a Happy Period! GAK I hate that one!

Pamela, thank you! Yeah, I definitely needed to get up off the chair... and not just to visit the bathroom or the fridge. At least now that I'm back at work, I am actually DOING something!

Hi Steph and thank you! I started with the free Notepad Chaos template and tweaked it from there. I shall pop over to your blog tonight!!!

Oooh the Angry Whopper... isn't that the one that lead to bloodshed in the commercial? I could be exaggerating there...

VE: I'M the one that needed a drink; he can get his own ;)

Thanks for visiting amcewan82! I shall visit you as well!

John B. said...

Burger King, lol. nice post

http://adventures-of-decimus.blogspot.com/

Dr. Patrice Smith said...

WOW! I love your blog! and the design is to die for. I'm happy I came across your blog in this deep blogosphere.
Please...follow me back :)

Jason said...

You have a great site here. I have a site myself where people come from around the world to debate on popular issues. I'd like to exchange links with you to help spread some traffic around between us. If you would like to, please leave a comment under my "Compadres" page letting me know when you've added my link and I'll return the favor.

Keep up the good work.

Jason
DEBATEitOUT.com

LaRue said...

That's an awesome looking hamburger, so I don't blame your husband for asking nor you for probably saying no.

LaRue

adultvideonews.blogspot.com

FAS said...

nice blog

Maureen said...

Thanks J!

Aw, Patrice, thank you! And I shall!

Jason, thank you. I shall pop by and take a look!

Yeah, LaRue, but in Real Life, they NEVER look like that...

Thanks FAS.

Thank you Loved Ever.

ahsan said...

nice post
http://www.apnafunandfunonly.blogspot.com/

James Hutchinson said...

This reminds me of my struggle with The Snuggie. I posted a blog mocking these these ridiculous things and the somehow or another the guys at adsense decided that that is what kind of product i need to advertsie on my page. On top of that, my son noow owns two and my best friend owns one. Looks like I'm losing the battle. I need to go get a whopper and rethink my strategy. Come see my problem at here.

Cupcake Blonde said...

I always say channels need to get a better variety of commercial for those of us who sit on our asses and watch them all day. I mean, it's not fair if they advertise marathons and then torture us with the same four ads every commercial break.

Maureen said...

Thanks Ahsan!

Hahahaha James! That's so funny! I shall pop by for the full story!

Exactly VP, I mean if they want us to keep tuned in, they really need to re-think the WHOLE show; breaks included!

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