A Venti kinda day*

Yes, it's a Venti-sized kinda day. Come in early, work through lunch, stay late. Keep your fingers crossed for poor Cynical, because after a day like today, somebody's gotta pay!

Let's not talk work, let's talk television, that's much more fun, right? Well, not if you are a Sunday night television enthusiast. I am still reeling from "Grey's Anatomy" and yes, Denny died. And yes, Emily, I am as distraught as you. However, I think it was a stroke of genius (that was not a pun, I swear), to end the romance before it even got good and started. It was a perfect ploy for anyone that understands the feminine psyche: we often yearn and miss what never was, what never could be and what we could have had. Darnit, they pushed our buttons, didn't they?

And, that scene between Meredith and McDreamy. . . I may have to pose as an intern. Anyone know where I can get a lab coat? It's the same hook they have used for years, torn between two lovers, feeling like a fool. You'd think we'd learn to look away and not get sucked in.

My great grandmother was a huge fan of her "programs", which translated meant daytime soap operas. She knew every minute detail of the lives of the characters and often in her letters to me would include updates on them, just to keep me in the know. She also included lots of family gossip and news. However, sometimes it was difficult to differentiate from news about Iris, the coniving, backstabbing cousin and Iris, the coniving, backstabbing, two-timing soap mistress.

I had been watching soaps since I was about four years old and I too knew everything that was going on and would often share my knowledge with fellow pre-schoolers, much to the dismay of my parents who learned of this propensity in teacher conferences. You see, my grandmothers often had charge of me and since they couldn't bare for us to be out of their sight, (fearing we'd overflow a toilet or dig through their True Romance magazines), and they had this daytime television addiction, we just joined in with them.

I eventually quit watching them, as full-day school got in the way. However, in college I picked right up where I left off, mainly because everyone else was doing it and I didn't want to be left out. Peer pressure at its best.

Eventually I got a job and couldn't afford a VCR, so I just quit watching all together, turning my attention instead to evening dramas.

Now, here comes a big confession. Please don't think poorly of me. Don't dismiss my intellect, emotional fortitude or my good sense and don't laugh at me or you won't be invited back. This is a big step: admitting you have a problem.

In my search for "quality" television, I fell in love "Party of Five". Yes, I must admit that I cried whenever the Salingers parted ways. I willed Bailey into rehab. I am convinced that Griffin was simply misunderstood. I knew them as if they were my own family. Upon the ending of this series, I started feeding my need for nighttime drama by watching "Felicity". Yes, the Wednesday night WB program centered around college trials and tribulations and the age-old story of one poor girl being torn between two boys (see "Grey's Anatomy").

I watched the show religiously, and by religiously I mean, I often found myself considering ritual offerings to assure that Felicity would indeed end up with Ben. I loved the show so much, in fact, that . . . (please try to understand), I have all four seasons on DVD.

Whenever it surfaced again as reruns on WE, I found myself drawn to it all over again, even though I possessed the entire series and those DVDs were at my fingertips. It was if I was watching it for the first time. Would Ben forgive Felicity? Will Noel die in the fire? I had to know. I had to know.

Cynical is much ashamed of my dark secret, but without sharing too much, he does have a few of his own.

Sadly, "Felicity" wrapped up just as the main character finished her college career, so I needed a new fix. I waited, tried a few evening dramas, but found myself wanting more: more drama, more interesting characters, more, more, more.

I never found more, even though I searched for it. Plot lines were weak, the chemistry between characters was lacking, the foreshadowing poorly done, the theme music not quite right. . . and then I spied "Grey's Anatomy" and I was hooked. They, as I said early, expertly pushed my buttons, included an episode that incorporated knitting and they made me sit on the edge of my seat each week.

They abused this devotion of mine in the season finale, making me well up in snotty, choking tears and I am not sure I can soon forgive them. The good news is that I have enough time (the summer in fact) to recover and renew my dedication. It's no "Felicity", mind you, but I will in a nerdlike fashion, write down the season premier date in my calendar. Who knows, I may soon own all of the seasons on DVD or watch reruns of it on A&E and weep all over again whenever they show Izzie snuggled up to a long-gone Denny. I love my programs.

*I changed terato (Greek for monstrous) to venti in order to use a more Starbucks kinda speak. Our local coffee shop calls their largest size "terato". Sorry for the confusion.