Unemployment and the art of couch sitting.....

In the early days of this looking for work debacle, I had a "no TV during the day" policy, in hopes of stimulating my brain through reading and other like productive activity.

Thanks to Hulu and all-day marathons that mysteriously suck your will to get off the couch, things have changed a bit. Additionally, the regular baseball season is over, and the Giants have hung up their cleats, clearing 3-hour blocks of my evening to fill.

I didn't watch TV in graduate school. Short of the Thursday night lineup, I was strictly an NPR girl, and proud of it.

TV, after all, is the culture of the unemployed. And I was a busy girl. Between class, school work, and my six roommates, I was rarely hurting for plans.

Now, I don't know if my standards are getting lower, or if I just have way too much time on my hands, but there are a lot of television shows on right now that I'm pretty impressed with.

So as both therapy for me and advice to you, I thought I would share the programs I like this season. I watch a lot of this online, but with research I've broken it down into a weekly schedule for your viewing pleasure.

Note: as a rule, I avoid like the plague: vampire shows, reality TV (with one super awesome exception), and cheesy high school dramas.

Monday: How I Met Your Mother. This show is legend--wait for it---dary. Still funny, even after all of these seasons.

The Rachel Zoe Project. My one reality exception. It's so obnoxious, but like any good weekly train wreck, I need to watch. Every week. As Rachel herself would say, "It's bananas."

Wednesday: Glee. The best new show on TV. Hopefully you already watch it, so I'll say no more.

Modern Family. A mockumentary-style take on a typical family sitcom, except the families are far from typical. So funny. Watch it on Hulu.

The Middle. Another dysfunctional family show, set in Indiana. Watched it last night on Hulu with low expectations and was very pleasantly surprised.

Thursday: Parks and Recreation. The Office. 30 Rock. Best shows on TV.

And the jury's still out on Community. People like it. I don't, but feel I should give it another chance since it resides within the beloved Thursday night lineup.

Saturday: SNL. One of the reasons I love Hulu so much is that you don't have to watch an entire episode--they have it broken down by sketches. I watched some of the Ryan Reynolds show the other day, and I was definitely laughing.

Sunday: Mad Men is sooooo awesome. It's "mesmerizing," as my mom would say.

I watch the Today Show but stay away from CNN, MSNBC and any other 24-hour news network because I think they make Americans hateful and fearful and compliant for no reason.

Anything else I could be missing?

I got time.