Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Monday, November 12, 2007
Share some of your favorite boredom-alleviating tactics from when you were a kid.
This part will be short. I read books. There were darned few girls my age in our neighborhood (the number was often zero; we were one of the few stable families in a very transient area) so my choices were to play with the boys or find something to do on my own. Now you know why I'm a tomboy. But the boys didn't always want a girl around, especially a four-eyed geek who (surprise!) ran and threw a football just like a girl.
So books it was. Yes, I loved to read outdoors, so don't think I was a pasty-faced, four-eyed geek. Actually, I was. I had - and still have - the complexion of Conan O'Brien. I couldn't tan if I tried. And believe me, I did. But that's another story. What you want is the Extra Credit!
Extra Credit: When was the last time you were really, really bored?
Easy. Saturday. It was the kind of excruciating, non-stop, thumb-twiddling, oh-dear-God-I'm-gonna-die-of-it-all boredom I just thought I experienced when I was a kid. I always dream of having a day with nothing to do but curl up somewhere and read a book. That sort of thing is all fine and dandy when it's planned (except then the telephone is guaranteed to ring constantly), but when it's forced solitude, it's no fun at all.
So what happened? I had the mother of all allergy attacks, and it hit me about 4:00 in the morning - while my contacts were still in. (I wear the 30-day lenses; next best thing to sonar-assisted vision!) Usually when I feel an attack coming on I won't sleep in my contacts for this very reason. Too late. The irritation was so bad that I couldn't even stand normal room light.
Thus, my day curled up in bed with a book. I had the bedside light on just enough so that I could read. Fortunately for me, I had just started on Ben Elton's This Other Eden. I've recently discovered Ben Elton and have been working through is backlist. It's one of those books that I strongly suspect I'd have trouble putting down under normal circumstances. But it's hard to concentrate on a book when you have to stop every five minutes and grab a tissue.
I tried to read my e-mail, but even the little LCD screen on my phone hurt my eyes.
There are two types of boredom: The first is when nothing appeals to you. 500 channels and nothing to watch. A big fat fiber pipeline and nothing online worth doing. Hundreds of books and nothing to read. The other is when your options of things to do are limited. I could read, watch a little TV (500 channels ... ) or sit and drink. The latter was right out (other than enough water to keep hydrated) because that meant going to the bathroom, which meant turning on the lights. I had several Bela Lugosi moments.
I finally did turn off the bedside light and watch a movie (couldn't have the TV and bedside light on at the same time, though). I had two DVDs in the back room - Maybe Baby and Cousin Bette. I chose the latter since I'd been reading Ben Elton all day. (Maybe Baby is fun - but get the uncut UK version if you can.) By that time the Britcoms were starting, so I had something else to do.
Yes, I am better today, and able to wear my contacts. But for how long? FOR HOW LONG? [/bad Shatner impression]
Tags: Weekend Assignment