Decisions Are Hard

     I'm at a time in my life where I'm being forced to make some pretty important decisions.  I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons and look at all the options.  I have to make a choice, and soon.  I could also technically "do nothing" but that is also a choice.  I need to know what I'm going to do before September 1st and every time I think about how close that deadline is I start to breath a little harder.  I just don't know, oh god, what Netflix option I should take. 
     I first heard about the price change slash plan structure change from Mary, several hours before I received the actual email.  It made me curious as to why I wasn't getting the email.  Perhaps I was special.  I've been a Netflix customer since 1986they started.  A very small part of me thought maybe I would catch a break.  No, apparently they were just sending out the emails alphabetically.  I received mine last night and I kind of sunk back on my bed, distraught.
     An extra $6 a month?  Highway robbery!  This is terrible.  They're practically taking food out of my children's mouths.  I've had The Departed sitting on my desk for about 3 weeks now.  In a month and half, that'll cost me $4.50 more than it's costing me right now.  That just doesn't seem worth it.*
     It wasn't that long ago when they upped the prices for the whole package.  It was a little upsetting, but I think my package only went up a dollar, so I took my lumps.  And really, I felt like I was still getting a good deal.  Now it's not as clear because now I really have to think about how much streaming versus DVD watching I do.  Plus, as Mary pointed out (to me personally) one of the great things about their DVD selection is that you could find the smaller independent films that were unavailable in RedBox or even for streaming. 
     I don't intend to get rid of it altogether, though I know this is what a lot of people are planning, or threatening, to do.  I have been using Netflix as a primary source of entertainment for years.  I don't even know how people watch movies if they don't have it.  I am, however, seriously considering cutting down.  Perhaps only getting DVDs or only streaming.  I did recently purchase a BluRay player, so it would be a shame to see that go to waste.  And also, I was able to stream the first 6 episodes of SportsNight because my DVD was severely scratched and wouldn't play.  So I enjoy the streaming too.
     What I've been reading across the infoweb is people are mostly upset that there isn't an increase on content and also the announcement went out on Facebook before it went out via email.  This also explains my email consternation from earlier.  I think I do agree with those general sentiments.  At the same time, I'm not all that angry with the idea of the price hike.  It does seem shocking that it's going up so much at once.  I wonder how we would feel if they raised it $1 a month for 6 months though.  We'd probably still be pissed off.  I think we just want things for free.  Of course, why not?  Who wouldn't want that?  Back in 1986 when Netflix came out, it was amazingly cheap.  We couldn't believe it; that's how they got us.
     I'll probably end up doing nothing, which is also a choice, and I'll keep my DVD and streaming selection.  This makes sense for me because I don't subscribe to cable and I like to watch old things and the commentaries on the DVDs.  However, this has made me think about how tough life is in general.  I've been thinking about this for a while.  This is the thing that has been on my mind since Mary brought it up.  It has bothered me enough that I just wrong this decently lengthy post about it.  What is going to happen to me when I have to make a real decision?  Something that actually matters?  Am I going to "do nothing" and hope things work out?  Oh man, decisions are hard. 

*I was making light of $6 because right now, I have the luxury to do so.  However, I realize this $6 is actually significant.  If my herpes medication went up $6, I'd be really pissed off, and I really need that.**  
**I don't have herpes, nor do I use medication.