I've decided to write down the thought process behind an example of questioning assumptions. I may do more, but since this is the first time, I figured I'd start with an easy one for the first. I have an account with Blockbuster Video for the mailed service, similar to NetFlix, where I pay a flat monthly rate and have up to three movies out for as long as I want.
Lately, as long as I want has been something along the line of "ages." I asked for "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" over a month ago and it's been sitting there ever since. I'd decided I wanted to have watched all the top 25 movies from IMDB's Top 250, so I have "Rear Window" and "Vertigo" sitting there now, too, both for almost two weeks.
I believe I pay $14.95/month for the service. If I rented movies only when I wanted to really watch one that night, that'd be about three per month, so the rate that I'm watching them seems to be about the same at best. I don't have to go to the store to get them, but that's only a small inconvenience as there's a Blockbuster store directly across from the Dunkin' Donuts where Olympia sometimes likes to get a donut and coffee. Picking a movie while she gets her stuff is no big deal. I've also noticed that there's a new Blockbuster that's opened up a little closer to my house, so even going to that one isn't necessary.
Getting the movies by mail has a down side in that the movies that have arrived may not be the ones I want to watch when they are there. Like right now, if I were to pick a movie to watch tonight and I didn't want it to be something I'll end up watching alone ("Fear and Loathing") or a Hitchcock thriller (the other two) then I'd probably just not bother or end up renting something at the store anyway. I know I've returned movies unwatched because of this.
I just remembered that the mail-order subscription does include two in-store rentals monthly to attack just that last problem. However, I think I've used that only twice in the last year or so I've had this service. It's kind of an extra barrier to a rental to remember to print out coupons before heading to the store. I could fix that by putting it on my calendar to print them on the 1st of each month and keeping the coupons in the car, but I'm generally loath to add additional recurring tasks to my calendar.
The biggest factor I can think of at the moment is that last year I bought quite a few TV show seasons on DVDs. Those are a great deal, I think, because they often work out to about $2/episode or so and if I don't want to keep the season after I've watched it, I could always sell it on eBay and get some or even most of my money back, especially since I picked up many of them with discounts. I have 3 seasons of "X-Files", two of "24", one of "Alias", and several others I still haven't watched. I could probably just stick to those (and maybe a few new ones I don't have yet) for months without ever renting anything.
Finally, I wonder if I don't spend too much time watching stuff like movies and TV DVDs anyway. There are many other things I could do with my time that I'm not doing and sometimes I'm not totally comfortable spending so much of my time in this way.
So, after laying all this out, it seems like a mail-order Blockbuster subscription is not the right idea for me at this time. I will cancel the account today. That's the first result of my questioning assumptions, and I feel confident in the decision. I'm glad I picked a relatively easy one, because now I'm much more excited about the next.
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4 comments:
Have you considered questioning the second order assumptions?
Your first order assumption seems to be that you should retain your Blockbuster subscription. (or not, but you need to state it one way or another)
Second order assumptions might include:
1. I want (like, have time, prefer, whatever) to watch (many) movies at home.
2. Blockbuster is the most appropriate vendor.
And an underlying question:
What are the alternatives for my disposable time (like disposable income)?
Or:
How many toys do I need to feel fulfilled?
Of course there is another one:
Where does this self-examination stop? :)
I have considered questioning second order assumptions, and probably will. Whether I post such long-winded descriptions of the thought process depends on my energy and others' interest.
As for where it all stops, from a breadth perspective, it doesn't, while from a depth perspective, whenever I feel satisfied I've looked closely enough.
I really have no idea about the Blockbuster thing. I rent movies from the public library, or borrow them from friends. Such is the budget of a grad student.
RYC: Thanks for stopping by my blog! It's good to see you're still alive and well.
In terms of your question, my issue with the awards isn't with honoring people in general. I am all for recognizing people's gifts and I am all for people doing specific jobs within the church (or in the world) that correspond to the gifts and talents they have been given. But you are right that in some of the brokenness of the church/world we ascribe different levels of value to different roles in the church (ordained, lay, etc.). That, to me, is a mistake.
So, I am all for honoring people and uplifting their gifts as long as the following things are true:
1) No one is considered to have more or less worth than another person based on their gifts or role.
2) That the honor is not achieved competitively (that is my problem with the awards at my school). I wouldn't want it to be an environment where people became rivals for honor. To me rivalry and competition are not marks of a Christian community. We can all be the best we can be, but it is not worth rejoicing that we are "better" than someone else. That's my take on that.
Well--you asked! ;) Take care.
Heh, I have a basket of movies I need to watch before I go out and rent more.
When friends switched to DVD they gave me a pile of their old video-cassettes.
Gone are the days when I worked in a video store and knew everything about every movie that came out.
I don't really miss it.
Then again, I'm probably missing some good ones...
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