The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • I Survived a Week Without TV

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    Ruth Carter

    I did it – I went a week without watching TV or DVDs or mindlessly watching videos on YouTube!

    Kill Your TV by Gigi Ibrahim
    Kill Your TV by Gigi Ibrahim

    It was definitely a mind-opening experience. I didn’t have the ability to zone out in front of the boob tube or to use it as a distraction from other activities. It was weird getting used to the quiet. By the end of the week, I often turned on music or a podcast to fill the void.

    I had been using TV and YouTube as background noise, but I didn’t realize what a time suck it has become. Before if I finished a task but a video only had 5 minutes left, I’d waste 5 minutes watching it. I also wasn’t aware of how much I used these vices as a way to avoid work. Without TV and videos, I was much more productive. One day I had my to-do list done by 3pm, way earlier than I’d normally be done.

    So what did I do instead of watching TV?

    • Worked on 2 projects in my backyard garden – I don’t have a green thumb, but they needed to get done.
    • Relaxed in my pool at the end of the day.
    • Attended and sang at my friend’s birthday party.
    • Worked on setting up my home video studio.
    • Caught up on reading business periodicals and building my database of professional contacts.
    • Cleaned out my bathroom and sorted my photos as part of my year-long clean-out-your-life project.
    • Caught up on sleep – I realized I would watch TV when I’m tired instead of taking a nap or going to bed.
    • Attended networking events.
    • Read a book.
    • Played with my dog.

    Throughout the day I get flashes of TV shows and movies that I’ve seen. I used to think that meant I wanted to watch them again. Now I see them as fleeting thoughts.

    This week also reminded me of how much I suck at sitting still. TV was good for getting me to hold still for more than 20 minutes. This past week I probably didn’t keep still except of the times I was icing my sore shoulder. (I was walking my 60-pound dog and I tweaked it when, unbeknownst to me, she decided to stop.)

    The only thing I’ve watched since the ban was lifted was a YouTube video of a soldier surprising her Mom – I’m a sucker for those. I think TV and YouTube will continue to not be part of my life unless there’s something I really want to watch. I have better things to do with my time.

    If you want to hear more about my clean-out-your-life project and what I found when I cleaned out my bathroom, I made a video about it.

  • A Week Without TV

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    Ruth Carter

    kill your tv by philentropist
    kill your tv by philentropist

    I love gymnastics. I watched all the artistic competitions this year during the Olympics. Part of NBC’s failure this year was they barely gave notice about which sport they would be showing next and how long we’d have to wait to see it. So, I spent hours sitting in my chair waiting for my beloved sport. I felt like I was wasting so much time sitting there.

    I enjoy TV. I always have a handful of shows that I watch pretty consistently.  But my experience with the Olympics inspired me to see what would happen if I gave up TV for an entire week, starting yesterday. For 168 hours, I will not watch TV, DVDs, or any mindless programming on YouTube.

    I often use TV or TV shows on YouTube as background noise. I like to watch it during lunch and at the end of the day to unwind. It will be weird to have to find something else to do during those times. I wonder if the quiet will make me uncomfortable or if I’ll substitute it with music or podcasts.

    I have friends who don’t have TV or rarely watch it. I’ve wondered what they do instead. So what am I going to do instead? I have some ideas . . .

    • Attend networking events and community meetings
    • Read – I used to love reading, but reading for law school made me not want to read as much for pleasure
    • Work out
    • Get ahead on my blog posts
    • See my friends – especially those who took the July Bar Exam
    • Clean out my drawers – my plan this year is to get rid of things I don’t use or need
    • Create videos for my law firm
    • Gardening – The evenings are the best time to do this because it’s cooler and there are fewer bugs
    • Go to the movies – Going to the theatre seems ok since I have to leave the house to do it and it’s something I rarely do
    • Sing – It’s something I don’t do enough
    • Sleep – I think sometimes I watch TV when I’m tired when I’d be better off taking a nap or going to bed early

    Of course I will have a countdown going to track how many hours I have to go. This will be a fun experiment. I’ll let you know how it went next week.

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  • I Want to Wear Your Art

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    Ruth Carter

    In case you didn’t know it, I love wearing custom t-shirts. I see myself as the lawyer who wears t-shirts. I think it works when it comes to working with entrepreneurs. I have quite a few shirts that were made at Brand X Custom T-shirts in Tempe.  They make the shirts for Ignite Phoenix and they’ve made quite a few custom pieces for me.

    Ruth Carter at Phoenix Comicon, Photo by Devon Christopher Adams
    Speaking at Phoenix Comicon – Photo by Phoenix Comicon and Devon Christopher Adams

    Brand X has made me spoiled when it comes to my shirts. They carry the super soft American Apparel shirts. I rarely buy a t-shirt if it’s not as soft as the Brand X shirts. I had trouble shirt shopping at Phoenix Comicon because most vendors use cheaper shirts which are somewhat stiff and itchy compared to Brand X.

    I have quite a few ideas for verbiage for shirts. I think my next custom shirt will be hot pink and have my Twitter handle on the front (@rbcarter) and say “Do Epic Shit” across the back in white lettering. (Thank you to Charlie Gilkey for inspiring this shirt.) I also want to have a running shirt made for my next half marathon that says “Masochist” on the front and “Run Bitch” on the back.

    I want to expand my shirt collection to include more shirts with artwork on it. I was recently in San Francisco. I saw a craft booth near the Ferry Building where a vendor was selling shirts with original artwork on them. I saw a tank top with a line drawing of an octopus wearing glasses on it. It was so random and wonderful. If I had more disposable income, I would have bought it.

    I would love to have more shirts with original artwork in it, but I have no artistic talent when it comes to drawing, so I invite all of my readers to send me artwork that you think I should turn into a shirt. Please send me your line drawings of pictures or patterns that would only require 1 color to put on a shirt, in PDF form, to Ruth@CarterLawAZ.com.

    Legal Disclaimer: There’s no guarantee that I’ll have every shirt made, but I promise if I have a shirt made with your artwork that I’ll attribute the art to you and publish a photo of the shirt on this site. By sending me art work, you attest that the art is your original work and that I have permission to put it on a t-shirt and if I get sued for copyright infringement because of what you send me, agree to indemnify me against all claims for copyright infringement and to pay for all my related legal expenses.

    Brand X is always on my wish list for my birthday and Christmas. This year instead of asking for gift cards, Brand X is letting me build a registry of all the shirts I want to have made which will eliminate all the guesswork. I hope some new original art will be added to my wardrobe soon!

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