Dilemma of the Day

It is no secret that I read many blogs. According to Google Reader, I subscribe to 52 of them. Many of those are infrequently updated, but still I will not be surprised when the crew of Intervention shows up on the doorstep with my extended family. I read Christian blogs and parenting blogs and craft blogs and photography blogs, and they are all food for my soul.

If you have a discussion with me in real life, it will probably not be long before I say, "One of the bloggers I read says..." It has occurred to me that this might a) be really annoying and b) indicate that I should get out more, but oh my stars you bloggers are some smart and funny people! Often with pretty pictures!

That's background info for the real issue here. Several years ago my youngest brother and I were having a discussion about our TV viewing. Now, I am not a huge watcher of TV. Perhaps you are speculating that it cuts into my blog reading? HA, I say! I have a TV tuner card that allows me to watch shows in a window on my computer. Nonetheless, I am picky about what I watch and am reluctant to get invested in new shows. Somehow I always miss "the big ones," the ones that everyone watches, because if I don't see the first show, I can't jump in in the middle.

LOST? Never seen it. 24? Ditto. Amazing Race? The Hills? ANTM? Gossip Girl? Heroes? Never seen an episode of any of them. And also, The Office. When I admitted that to my brother, he gasped and claimed that it was the best show on TV. Eh, but he's my baby brother. What does he know?

Recently, though, BooMama has been posting her favorite moments of each episode of The Office and I feel left out. And don't tell her because she doesn't know me from Adam's housecat, but she's one of my best girlfriends. If BooMama thinks it's hilarious, it must be hilarious! Then my dear friend Pioneer Woman started making references to the show as well and then it popped up on more and more of my favorite blogs.

Naturally I decided I needed to get in on the secret and so I downloaded Season 1 from iTunes for only $11.94. A bargain! I watched all six episodes yesterday and not surprisingly I am hooked. Those people are so hilariously dysfunctional that they make me look well-adjusted. Is that why everyone watches? No? Never mind.

My dilemma arose when I went to download Season 2, which has not six episodes, but 22 and costs $35 even if I choose the non-HD version. It will cost me $105 to get caught up to this season and by the time I have watched four seasons I will have missed most of the current one and have to purchase it too. Do you SEE what I am up against?

As far as I can tell, here are my options:
1) Just start watching in the middle of the current season. Pros: It's free. Cons: Nope, can't do it.

2) Buy seasons 2, 3, and 4. Pros: Quick and easy. Cons: Bad economy, children expecting Christmas presents and college educations blah blah blah.

3) Reinstate my Netflix account and rent them on DVD. Pros: It's $8.99 a month. Cons: I canceled the account because it was taking me approximately three months to walk out to the mailbox to return each movie, making each movie rental cost about $27.

Please share your thoughts on the matter.