It's in my nature to resist change. I was one of the last people I know to get a DVD player. I only just got an iPod this past Christmas.

My home computer runs Windows 98, and my car is equipped not with a CD player, but a tape deck.

Yet the facet of my technology-resisting persona that shocked most people was my refusal to get a DVR. Given the fact that part of my job involves watching copious amounts of television, the DVR would seem like a must-have for me.

After all, it allows you to digitally record more hours of television than can be stored on a videotape. And — best of all — you can record two shows at once.

But I resisted, insisting that I didn't really need it. My VCR worked fine, I reasoned. Why did I need to spend the extra money on a DVR?

My attitude changed this spring when my boyfriend moved in with me. At least once a week I would monopolize every TV in the house so I could watch and/or tape all of my shows.

This annoyed the boyfriend to no end, but I reasoned that it was only one night a week. It wasn't a huge inconvenience, right?

He grimaced and hung tough.

But, after a particularly ugly incident in which I accidentally taped an episode of "The Closer" over a recording of an auto race (which he still hadn't finished watching), he put his foot down.

He had wanted to get satellite cable anyway, so we decided that we would pick a service with a DVR and kill two birds with one stone.

Though I agreed that the DVR would

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make my life easier, I was still a little squeamish at first. What if I couldn't figure out how to use the new technology, I wondered? What if it turned out to be a total waste of money?

Well, I've now had a DVR for roughly a month and I don't know how I lived without it. It might be the greatest invention ever — I mean, after TV itself.

First off, there are the obvious advantages. Yes, I can tape two shows at once, which is particularly helpful on Monday nights, as the programming gnomes at TNT and HBO cruelly decided to schedule "The Closer" and "Big Love" against each other. I guess they didn't think a police procedural and a show about polygamy would have overlapping audiences. Think again, my friends.

Pre-DVR (an era henceforth known as "PD"), I would have been flummoxed by this. My options would have been to furiously try to find out when one or both of these shows would be rebroadcast, so that I could catch both of them, or to forego one of the shows completely.

But now that I have a DVR, this is no longer an issue. I can tape both shows. And the just the start of the DVR's coolness.

Here is my favorite part of my new lifestyle, henceforth known as "AT" (short for "Awesome Time"): a DVR allows you to watch a show AS IT'S TAPING!

I realize this seems like a modest technological achievement compared with say, space travel or those robots that can perform surgery. But to me, this is nothing short of miraculous.

Do you know how many times I've sat staring at the VCR, waiting for it to finish taping the last few minutes of "Prison Break" so that I can watch it?

Because of my DVR, I no longer have to delay my gratification. It's glorious.

The DVR is also ideal for the lazy, as you can automatically schedule it to tape an entire season of shows. Gone are the days when I had to remind myself to program the VCR every week. The DVR is like that rotisserie machine they hawk on infomercials — you just set it and forget it.

Granted, our new device isn't perfect. A few weeks ago, it cut off the last few minutes of "The Closer" (note: why do weird things keep happening while I'm taping "The Closer?" What do the TV recording gods have against Kyra Sedgwick?).

But, mostly, the DVR has been a godsend. I don't have to strenuously schedule my TV viewing the way that I used to. I can relax, knowing that the DVR is collecting shows for me that I can watch at my leisure.

Given my excitement over my new toy, it's hard not to be bitter that I didn't get it sooner. But hey, change is tough. The important thing is, I have a DVR now. And I couldn't be happier.

Staff writer Amanda Cuda can be reached at acuda@ctpost.com. Visit her blog at forum.connpost.com/turnedon.