saxy and i have been avoiding the whole reality show thing. we're just not interested in people eating bugs, survivors trying to knock each other off the show, and so and so forth. it's insane, really, to think "true love" can bloom in the fantasy fairy tale woven in tvland. maybe it can, but in most cases it's unlikely to survive long away from the lights and cameras. as for the fascination of what people will do for money, why bother. most people (granted, not all) would do most anything for $1 million. bringing in entire families where mothers tell their children, "don't you cry now!" after being told to do something scarier or more disgusting than they can handle isn't entertainment, it's cruelty. all in all, i'm not particularly interested in watching entertainment endorsed child abuse, twins don't make it any more interesting, and guys against gals? well, that's been going on for centuries without the million dollar bonus.

i don't even want to be a contestant on one of these shows. i need money, but not so badly i'd like to lose my dignity and self-respect in one fell swoop. these shows just have not been our thing.

and then we caught an episode of "average joe."

big mistake.

yes indeed, the reality tv bug has finally bitten us. not in a bad way, i don't think (we will watch the reunion show being done by vh1 in a week or two, and if crossing jordon ever came back, the reality tv would bite the dust in a big way on monday night), but definitely an impressive nibble.

maybe it's the "i can so relate" factor. we're average, and we've been looked over by the beautiful ones because we're not beautiful too. in a country where heavy is the norm, thin is the aspiration, along with perfect breasts, legs, teeth, and everything else that goes into good packaging. anyone remember the hubbub over kate winslet going to a size 14? "she's fat!" articles screamed all over the country.

i would LOVE to be a size 14 right now and in no way would i EVER consider that fat.

but the sad truth of it is the prettier, slimmer person will get the job, the man/woman, the promotion, the pay raise, and so on. and the first "average joe" proved that - the handsome model guy got the girl despite coming in late and not having the nice bank account that no one expected the average joe to have. i admit it, i was rooting for the not so average, average joe (how many men do you know with a million dollars in his pocket?).

well, tonight we watched again (i'm soo ashamed! lol) and i was sad that this woman had to spend 30 minutes talking herself into being okay with the "average joes." granted, you really have to wonder where they found some of these guys (and that's not based on looks but behavior - did these guys have ANY idea there was camera watching them be idiots? somehow i think her 4 choices to drop the first night would have been entirely different if she had seen some of that footage before hand). to go upstairs cussing because these guys weren't model pretty boys was just sad.

*pause*

so, yea, we were bitten by the reality tv bug. save me. please?