Guilty Pleasure

At this very moment I’m supposed to be crafting pithy sales pitches, little gems of engagement designed to get you to spend your hard earned cash on a plane ticket to an oh so lovely vacation spot. But, how can I – or anyone for that matter – fashion believable justifications for irrational behavior when I have the best distraction in the world right here on my desk. Hulu.com.

For what more could a work-avoiding girl ask than mediocre television at the touch of a button? It’s absolutely addictive! Granted few shows that I would actually watch if I were at home are posted, but that’s its charm. Where else can you find Land of the Giants, 30 Rock and Arrested Development all in one glorious place?

While such greats as The Partridge Family and The Riches beckon, by far my most insistent work nemesis is Ghost Hunters.

Following the antics of our favorite paranormal investigative plumbers, Jason and Grant (how I wish I came up with this one), Ghost Hunters come to the rescue of poor scared souls living and working in ghostly haunts. With reality cameras in hand, they use a battery of “scientific” techniques to prove or debunk an entity’s presence. Classic!

Each time I watch, the same gnawing questions arise. Why do ghosts only come out at night? Can’t the TAPS (Trans Atlantic Paranormal Society) team turn on the lights? Why do ghost hunters whisper – can’t ghosts hear whispers? Do ghosts only show up on low-quality grainy video?

But, none of this really matters. It’s still the perfect waste of time. Scanning, rewinding, pouring over frame after frame of infrared footage trying to catch a glimpse of the irrefutable “evidence” that Jay and Grant find so easily. No one can deny its appeal.

So, as my workmates think I’m toiling away writing meaningless copy, here I sit with ear buds in trying to pick up on disembodied EVPs (electronic voice phenomena). It’s the perfect work day.