AUBREEVISION - Observations from the far side of the dial

I'm spending the later part of this evening on the phones for the New Hampshire Public Television auction. Eric's mother volunteers every year and invited me along this time around. Since I'm pretty new to the area, I figured it could be a fun foray into the local(ish) community.

This is my second shift -- I did the early shift last Friday (theme: flashback to 1974) and decided to go back for more (tonight's theme: Mardi Gras). Last week was a lot of fun -- though I'm not a big phone/dealing with the public kind of person, there was enough chocolate (Lindt is an auction sponsor) and goofing around with the other volunteers to make it worthwhile. The whole production is also delightfully low-budget -- I say that not out of snobbery, but with a genuine appreciation for all things discount (Eric cringes at my passion for the Christmas Tree Shop). From cheesy graphics -- e.g., the curtain image that looks like a plywood cutout someone's holding in front of the camera --  to people randomly walking in front of the camera to guest appearances by "local celebrities" (e.g. politicians who haven't held office since the mid-seventies), the flavor of the production is definitely a testament to the fact that public television needs your money.

On the other side of things, I've also been watching the auction off and on in the evenings. It runs for six and a half hours every night for 11 days, and the sheer volume of merchandise, from gift baskets to vacations, is amazing. After seeing the deals that winning bidders come away with (Eric's mom, for instance, got a hotel stay worth $150 for $90), I can definitely see myself becoming a TV auction nut.

Let the bidding begin!