Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with boredom

San Francisco Nights

clorox — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:39:21 -0800

It's 6:30 P.M. on a Friday/Saturday. You're in San Francisco. All of your friends are doing something else. There's no Sharks game on. The Symphony and the Opera are sold out. The library is closed. You've read the newspapers front to back. You have to start heading home by 10:30 P.M. What do you do? Due to some unfortunate scheduling, this will be the problem I'm presented with for the rest of this semester. Any ideas on how to occupy myself for those four hours?

What's the optimal amount to spend on this raffle?

boghead — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:04:13 -0800

There's a monthly raffle at work for 5 parking spaces out back. There are about 30 people in my office. There's no limit to the amount of tickets you can buy. You can only win once. Otherwise, parking costs about $4 a day, or about $80 a month. Raffle proceeds go to charity. What's the optimal amount to spend on this? I should tell you also that this question is purely academic because the raffle has been discontinued. But I still want to know what you all think because work is boring as all get out.

What's the best way to figure this out? One friend said she'd use a stats program, another said Matlab. I was thinking maybe a nice line graph with asymptotes and bright colors and such?

I figure the absolute most you would want to spend on this raffle would be $80, only because it goes to charity. Also, I'm assuming no one else in the office ever bought more than 2 or 3 tickets.

Broken legs suck, and so do totalled cars...

Anonymous — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:26:16 -0800

My best friend has a broken leg from a car accident and is very depressed. Need activity suggestions and advice on how I can encourage her to comply with her doctor's orders to keep any weight off the leg and keep her immobilizer on. I was driving her to get some dinner almost 3 weeks ago and a kid with no license pulled out in front of us. My car was totalled. She took the worst of the injuries including a broken leg.

1. Activities. Naturally, she's extremely depressed that her summer is gone and she can't go anywhere or do anything by herself. She is in a wheelchair. A big part of the reason we're both stressing out is that my car is gone so I have a hard time getting over to visit her and can't take her anywhere - I have to borrow my mom's SUV and she can't get in it. The medical bills are already astronomical so I'm not sure seeing a therapist is possible.

She crochets so I asked her to make me a blanket, and she does have a PS3. The only PS3 game she likes is Need for Speed Pro Street and it took her about a month to get good at it - she likes *easy* games with very shallow learning curves. (She doesn't even like Little Big Planet - she finds it too hard, but is okay with the original Super Mario Bros.) I'm thinking of taking her my PS2 if we can get it hooked up to her TV in hopes that perhaps she'd enjoy Katamari Damacy. She's got Netflix. She doesn't like to read. She has a computer that she can wheel over to sometimes. Any suggestions for other activities, or specific games/movies are welcome.

If you were an active person and broke your leg and could no longer go out easily, what helped your depression (or would help your depression)?

2. She is the kind of person who is not exactly compliant. Her doctor did not put her in a cast but an immobilizer that she can remove, and she takes it off to sleep because the doctor didn't explicitly tell her she had to sleep in it. Also, to get up and down the 4 steps to her house when her husband isn't home (e.g. to go to the doctor), her daughter isn't strong enough to lift her so she puts a slight amount of weight on her toes. The doctor said absolutely no weight on that leg for 3 months. She says "it's just a little weight." I've told her she could cut an artery (it's a jagged fracture) or be permanently disabled, but it doesn't seem to register as a serious risk. I suggested she borrow my shower chair but her husband decided she could stand on one leg long enough to shower and she didn't argue, and sure enough, while getting out she came down on it and said it hurt a lot. How can I encourage her to be compliant?

3. Related to number 2 - where can I ask around for someone to donate some plywood so her husband can build her a wheelchair ramp (or possibly request a volunteer to build the ramp)? The ramp would at least enable her daughter to get her out of the house without her putting any weight on that leg, and I could take her for walks when I can get over there. I already asked Freecycle for the wheelchair and I believe my local Freecycle only allows one Wanted request per month.

Thank you so much.

Ways to make working out less boring and torturous?

cmgonzalez — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:16:53 -0800

I hate working out. It's incredibly boring. I've tried music, and it does help to a degree, but it's not enough. I don't have anyone to work out with. Last time, I put my towel over my head and drowned out outside sensory input as much as possible and was able to perform better. But that makes the boredom much worse. My gym ( I can't afford to switch nor do I have the discipline to drag myself outside to run or something) plays loud, crappy radio. They have a few flat screen TVs for everyone to watch, but there's no sound, only captions. I do bring my own music, but as I don't want to damage my hearing, it's sometimes drowned out a bit by the gym's radio. The crowds kind of bug me too, especially when people are yakking away on the phone or chatting very loudly.

Enter putting my towel over my head. I found that killing a lot of the outside sensory input helped me focus more. But it also took away the distractions I like, like the TV.

So how do I beat the boredom and get through my workouts, especially long stretches of cardio (yes, I know about HITT, but it seems rather dizzying, and I have lowish blood pressure, so jerking from one thing to the next can make me feel sick). I've searched and found this, but I prefer mental stimulation to true zoning out. I think that's why I find working out so boring - it's not mentally stimulating.

I enjoy playing sports. There's a mental component and a kind of battle going on there along with the physical. Can't afford to join a league at the moment.

And the whole trying to focus on how your body feels thing doesn't work, because I hate how I feel when exercising - sweaty, in pain, breathing heavy, struggling against something.

Yes, I'm aware that in time, it would feel like less of a struggle (my health will improve, etc), but that doesn't help NOW. I need suggestions for now not for how good I'll hypothetically feel in the future.

I have tried a couple of the gym's classes. They're more fun than a piece of cardio equipment, but I find myself unable to really keep up a lot of times, except with yoga.

My current player is music only, so can't bring along my own video yet. I generally dislike audiobooks, and possibly wouldn't be able to really hear them over the background radio. Podcasts may help if they are entertaining and not people rambling. I am considering trying some Pimsleur lessons, but once again, the radio may be an issue.

Generally, some music does help make me feel better. I sometimes break it into "okay, just one more song" , or "two more songs", or "you've done it for 10 minutes already, only 20 more to go".

What can I try? What has worked for you to be less bored, more mentally stimulated, or make time feel like it's not dragging while working out?

Looking to entertain and educate a toddler while not getting up.

kmennie — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:51:11 -0800

What can I teach my toddler about while we stay on the sofa? Supposed to rest legs. We've been watching Leonard Bernstein on YouTube, learning about orchestras -- looking for more stuff like that. I've got a twenty-month-old daughter and bum knees; the physiotherapist says rest is essential to fixing the knees. Our days normally involve (it turns out) a fair bit of physical activity and resting is quite boring for both of us. She loves books, but not for hours and hours, and I'm going wobbly from excess Seuss.

I don't have a TV, but I do have a laptop. I am loathe to get my toddler used to a screen, but... A little while back we got into watching orchestras on YouTube. We went to see a Beethoven-for-the-kiddies production in person, checked out the various instruments via Google image search, and generally had a grand time learning about music.

What can I do with her that's similar and keeps me mostly on the sofa for the moment?

Idle hands are eating a devils food cake

abdulf — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 09:55:48 -0800

I have the opportunity to exercise in the morning, at lunch and in the evening. Does it matter if I do certain exercises in order? I have an hour to workout before work, around 7-8am in the morning. Then another hour at lunch from 12-1pm. Finally, I have about 2 hours in the evening, typically 5-8pm or 7-10pm.

This is about 5 hours a day, possible more, that I could be using to reach my fitness goals. Right now I use 1 hour of that time.

I already follow a 3 day a week lifting routine from a Men's Health book. That typically takes about 20 to 40 minutes. Once or twice a week I attend a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class in the evenings that lasts 45 minutes.

I could do this indefinitely (have been doing this for almost a year) but it's not helping me reach my goals of weightloss. It has helped me maintain my weight and it has improved my fitness levels, but that isn't enough. My goal is to reduce weight (I'm 25 years old, 5'10, 240lbs).

Can you point me to extended exercise routines for people with a lot of time on their hands? Maybe the routines used for Olympic athletes or "the biggest loser tv show"? The only exercise I hesitate to do a lot of at this weight is running for extended periods since it tends to cause pain in my shins and knees.

I know nutrition matters. The issue on the nutrition end is not daily things like sodas or cookies. Rather, it's things like eating an entire box of cookies out of boredom. Being aware of this problem, combined with burning that spare time staying physically active, I think, will help me with this.

How long is the average attention span?

cranberrymonger — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:44:38 -0800

What is considered a reasonable amount of time to be able to concentrate on one task? My job requires a lot of multi-tasking and I find it easy to quickly switch from one short task to another. Since working this job full-time for 18 months, I find it more difficult than ever to concentrate for extended periods of time.

Though I can read fiction for hours, I've always had difficulties focusing on anything 'mandatory' and I'm presently taking a course with a lot of readings. The articles are 20 + pages long and moderately dense - about average for most liberal arts degree type articles.

I read this thread which has a ton of great ideas about improving attention span but I want to know what I can reasonably expect of myself. I've heard people say they spend hours in the library reading and studying textbooks. Are they exaggerating? Are they reading every word? How long is the average attention span? How much time can I expect to devote to studying?

Help me find something to DO before I drive myself crazy.

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:52:22 -0800

Help me find something to DO before I drive myself crazy. I'm bored all the time and nothing seems to appeal to me anymore. I think it may be because for the last few months I've not done much of anything besides sit around at my computer, sleep, repeat. Please, help me find things to do that will get me out of the house. "Take a walk" won't do, I don't know this neighbourhood well at all but from what I've seen it's just rows of depressingly identical suburban houses. I'm so tired of wandering around aimlessly bored out of my skull, both IRL and on the Internet.

I'm in Vancouver, CA if it matters, moved here late last year. Entertainment budget: low to non-existent. That's not to say I'm blaming a lack of money for a lack of recreation, I know there is plenty of fun to be had for cheap or free, it's just that I can't seem to think of anything right now. I have time on my hands, obviously, just not a lot of money to spare. I need to do things that will make me feel alive again. I feel so inert that it's surreal. I find myself crying sometimes thinking about what to do next. Normal everyday things look impossibly huge in the light of not having any other hobbies. Some days I literally can't do anything at all because I can't seem to stop fretting about being bored and concentrate on anything else. Schoolwork is taking a hit.

I have a boyfriend and ideas for couple-y activities are welcome.

bored but not broke

Jason and Laszlo — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:12:56 -0800

I need to keep myself busy at work, and actually look like I'm doing work—even if I'm not really working. I have lots of downtime, but can't stray from my desk for too long, and must look busy (downsizing is in the air), so no computer games.

One option is to make myself useful, which would actually require me giving a damn about my job. (I'm looking for new jobs constantly). But I find it difficult to get motivated and creative with what I've got. Also, boss keeps a pretty close eye on me.

I need to fight the boredom. I like to write, and do plenty of that in my spare time. How else can I be productive (i.e., fulfill my own needs, and maybe even tune into the company) while on the clock at my desk? Resources include the internet and paper clips.

Why Does Lady Narcolepsy Affect Me So?

terranova — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:12:49 -0800

Why does my business colleague have such a strange physical effect on me? And how can I change this? For the past year, I've had weekly 30-minute teleconferences with "Ann." We discuss professional matters and engage in light personal chitchat. About two months ago, I began to grow sleepy mid-conversation, but didn't think much about this. Maybe I was tired, maybe bored. But over the last few weeks, this has become a much more severe problem.

Now, within about five minutes of beginning the conversation, it is as though I've been administered a general anesthetic. I start drifting off deeply, stifling yawns, losing fragments of the conversation, and fighting to keep my eyes open. By conversation's end, I have to nap -- deeply. And I don't recover for about an hour afterwards.

There are universal jokes about people "putting us to sleep," I know. But I've never had such an extreme reaction like this.

About Ann: She is personable, smart, ambitious, though very stubborn. She's sometimes a difficult conversation partner because she repeatedly interrupts and talks over me when I'm trying to express my views. She also can be close-minded -- for example, when I'll suggest a possible solution to a problem, she will ignore or dismiss it with little consideration. Her voice is not unusual: high but not shrill, and strong.

Many people are like Ann, yet I don't fall into a semi-coma when I speak with them. This only happens when I deal with Ann. Why is this happening? And might you have any suggestions so that I can remain conscious when I speak to her each week?

What are some things I can do to fall back in love with my partner?

Anonymous — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:31:34 -0800

Have you ever fallen out of love with your partner, worked at it, and fallen back IN love with he or she? If so, how did you do it? What would you recommend? My partner and I are in our early thirties and have been together for just under two years. Our relationship has been nice and stable without much drama. We were never really "crazy in love," but we do love each other, and the relationship just works. Now, I don't know what triggered it, but recently I felt like a switch turned off in my head. I looked at him, and I thought, "I don't think I can continue this." But I want to continue it. It's a good relationship. I'm just losing interest for some strange reason, and that scares me. I'm thinking that maybe it's just gotten a little stale, and we need to shake things up. I realize that this relationship could have simply run its course, but I'd like to give it a real try before I call it quits (or he does... maybe I'm not the only one who's bored!).

Any tips on rekindling a romance gone stale? Any personal stories from people who've experienced this same situation and overcome it?

Spending a long weekend alone.

inatizzy — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 07:25:50 -0800

I'm off work the next four days over the New Year's holiday & weekend. I am usually a very social person, but I live alone and I don't have much of anything planned this weekend. And I'm worried about spending the whole weekend alone, because I think I will get really lonely and unhappy. How can I enjoy myself? I've reached out to a few friends to hang out, but have no commitments yet and may get none. I usually go out swing dancing on the weekend, which gives me lots of social interaction, but there's nothing this weekend. I live alone in a 2-room studio that can sometimes feel a little claustrophobic/isolating and I get cabin fever if I spend too much time alone there, especially if I don't have something social to look forward to.

So I'm worried about getting bored and depressed and feeling lonely the whole time this weekend, which would be pretty awful and unbearable. I usually keep myself pretty busy outside the house, probably in order to avoid this type of discomfort, so with this weekend not having much in the way of busy-ness, I'm at a loss for what to do with myself and how to cope.

I have the option to spend a few hundred dollars and go away to a dance conference at a hotel for these days, which would surround me with people and activities. (Mostly people I don't know, but there’d be a couple of friends.) But I am afraid I'd just be running away from a problem that I would benefit from solving.

It can get pretty bad with long times alone at home without plans. Feeling very sorry for myself, like no one loves me, like I am all alone and no one cares, like I am wasting my time, like I am trapped there alone and unhappy. To alleviate this on normal weekends, I often go to a cafe with my laptop just so I can be around people. But I can only do that for so long (not for 4 days!) and we're looking at bad weather this weekend (snow and extreme cold) so it won't be easy to go out of the house. Plus, most public places will be closed tomorrow for New Year’s holiday.

So I guess my question is, is there a way that I can overcome this loneliness/sadness/worry this weekend and really enjoy all this unstructured responsibility-free alone time? How would I spend the time? It sounds like it should be a wonderful thing but it is just making me really anxious, as you can tell.

Or would it just be better for me to give in to my need to be around people and go to this dance conference? Sorry for the length; I appreciate your advice!

Help me entertain my fingers.

valadil — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:02:25 -0800

My hands get bored easily. If there's food nearby they make me eat it. What can I do to occupy my hands so they stay out of the doritos? Ideally I'd like something that occupies my hands but not my mind. So far I've come up with two things. Lockpicks/masterlocks and a rubik's cube. Both are excellent entertainment for my fingers, but take a little too much brain power. They're also heavy or bulky so I can't bring them everywhere.

Salvaging freshman comp?

puckish — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:03:36 -0800

Help me to not suck at teaching! (focus on analytic reading) I'm halfway through my first semester teaching freshman comp. I'm great at one on one workshops, talking through essays, giving feedback. What I'm not so good at is getting them to be excited about the reading. Enthusiasm might be a bit much -- but you know, curiosity? Interest? They're bright kids, but sometimes they look at me as if I'm in the process of slowly driving a stake through the heart.

What I'm mostly concerned about:

1. Basic participation -- getting people to actually DO THE READINGS, so that they can actually talk meaningfully about the texts. Short of mandatory participation (which I think kind of defeats the point), what's the best way to get the level of participation that *is actually mandatory* for good discussion?

2. Making class discussion meaningful-- What happens when they want to talk about how this relates to the movie they saw last weekend?

3. Gauging how much I should actually care about this?

I'm really interested in hearing from other people who have concrete improvement stories -- I've got lots of examples of "great teachers I've had" that I can draw on, but that doesn't really help in figuring out how to replicate this yourself, you know?

What you might need to know:

1. The class is structured around 3 essays, in which they gradually integrate more sources into their essays, and develop their own arguments based on the texts we're reading. The texts are a mix of popular (New Yorker) style criticism and more concrete academic work - Susan Sontag, Anthony Appiah, etc. Strong emphasis on "current affairs"

2. Most of the problems (in class and in papers) have to do with analytic reading -- getting them to sit through, parse, and then use arguments from other texts. In other words, writing is not strictly the problem (though I'm mining this post and this post for advice)

3. Not surprisingly, nobody likes this class. Including the grad students who have to teach it. We try to suppress this as much as possible, but it's pretty much a given that by the second week, they've figured this out. This, I understand, is a problem.

Thanks in advance!

January, it's just this month, you know?

Rinku — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:57:55 -0800

I have a month in which to do a project. What kind of project, you ask? Good question. Perhaps something fun, perhaps something educational, perhaps something mind-expanding. The options, they are endless. The college I attend has a "winter term" between fall and spring semesters. It lasts through most of the month of January. The three official options for winter term are as follows:

1. Academic Study: a faculty-sponsored, academically-focused research, study, or performance project that can be conducted on- or off-campus, individually or as part of a group project.

2. Field Experience: a learning activity that could include career exploration, social or political action, community service, or an unpaid internship.

3. Personal Growth and Development: an opportunity to learn a skill, try something new, or pursue subject matter outside of traditional academic disciplines.

As you can see, the possibilities are endlessly broad, especially the third - under its banner of "personal growth and development" a student in the seventies (it is told) once etched the word "potato" into every tray in the dining hall. I'm wouldn't be surprised if this was true, considering how every single tray in the dining hall has the word "potato" etched into it. Given, these were the Seventies, and if I were to propose this to a teacher today (your project must be approved and sponsored by a teacher) I doubt they would accept.

Still, you can do pretty much anything, as long as it's more or less worthwhile. Last year I did a private study of Buddhism, where I read books and went to Buddhist services at a local shrine, but the shrine's only monk was gone on a tour of India for three weeks out of the month, and the books, they were long, they were dry, and the project devolved into me attempting to win every achievement from the Orange Box.

This January, I'm hoping for fewer gnomes in fewer rockets, that is, less boredom. Not that my project last year wasn't interesting, it was, I really enjoyed attending the few services I did, and the books were interesting, even if I didn't read as much of them as I probably should have. I am aware that no matter what project I choose, I will be a little bit bored, just because January is a long time. The exact dates you're supposed to be doing the project are January 2nd - 27th, weekdays, supposedly about 5 hours a day, but most people don't do quite that many hours. It can be all at once, too - I've heard of a group project that only took a week, but the kids were working almost solid, save sleep, during that time.

So, what do I do? I'll have access to a computer and the internet, (obviously), a good reading couch, a kitchen, and Seattle (an hour away) if I choose to do it at home, which I'm leaning towards. Travel is an option - I could go somewhere and write about it, propose it to a Journalism teacher - that works but it costs money. What projects can I do at home, on a relatively limited budget? Seattle specific recommendations would be cool (oh hey you should totally just go volunteer at ___) but, more generally... what kinds of projects could I do in a snow-locked cabin for the winter? That's really not too far off from what I'm talking about here.

The only thought I've had so far is of an "Ambient Music History and Appreciation" kind of thing, which sounds interesting in one way but also devastatingly dull in another. I've also thought of learning to play the guitar, or writing a comic of some kind, or writing songs in Reason, and while those might be fun I'm sure there are more creative ideas out there. Oh, also: I cannot get paid.

There are sponsored projects and team projects and things like that, but they haven't really started to be advertised yet. I'm asking this early because I've been thinking about it the last couple of days, and on the off chance there's some awesome program I have to apply for now, or what have you.

This is a really awesome opportunity, MeFites. Help me make the most of it. Thanks in advance.

Handling boooooring times. How do people do it?

sixcolors — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:47:20 -0800

How do I deal with boredom in situations where I have to sit or stand for long periods of time with little stimulation. I think there’s already some posts on this subject, but not on my specific situation. I think the previous posts were about finding things to do with your free time. I don’t have that many problems entertaining myself on my own time. I either find someone to hang out with or entertain myself with TV, music, video games, internet, eating, and porn.

The problem is that I die of boredom when I am NOT on my free time. Those times include long classes (4-8 hours), long meetings, traveling, long church service, boring movies or plays, or any other situations when I have to sit/stand for long periods of time with little stimulation. Then there’s work, though I doubt I would get hired at a “office job” because of my lack of experience, I don’t think I’ll be able to hack it anyway because I’ll be sitting there doing repetitive things all day long. I’m VERY tempted to only pursue lower skilled but more “active” jobs such as bartending, despite I’m very close to getting my master’s degree. What’s bad about the above situations, is that I can’t just whip out my IPOD in the middle of class, play Nintendo DS while driving long distances, or browse through Playboy during church.

I used to occupy myself by daydreaming, but I don’t find daydreams that stimulating anymore. Seriously.

I thought about chemically altering my moods with alcohol, weed, or stimulants before going somewhere really boring, but I looking for more healthy alternatives.

I guess my only option is to entertain myself mentally. I’m not sure on how to do this. I have a friend who entertains herself by critiquing everyone’s fashion choices, mentally. I don't give a damn about fashion though. What are some other ways I can mentally entertain myself?

Fizzled Out on Passion

divabat — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:36:41 -0800

Depression has knocked my passion (for everything) out. Gwargh. What do I do while I get therapy sorted? I've been diagnosed with depression and anxiety for about six years, and have been on and off treatment for that time. Last year (after about 3 years of being treatment-free) I had a bad relapse and went back on medication (Effexor XR) and counseling. They helped, and I was getting better, but recently I had a big setback and never managed to recover properly.

I've found that this wave of depression has robbed me of the ability to feel passionate about everything. I was once really passionate about changing the world (in various ways), and was invited to an exclusive summit last week for 100 other young passionate people. I felt like a dullard next to them - I didn't feel like I had anything of substance, and at one point I sat alone in a room crying and declaring that "I'm done". Surprisingly, even though my only contribution was wise-cracks in lectures and a Thank-You card for the organizers, the rest of the group accepted me wholeheartedly and felt that I was one of the most memorable people in the whole summit.

After I came back from that summit, my boyfriend and I went on a weekend vacation, but I couldn't muster any sort of enjoyment whatsoever. My boyfriend's showing me so much affection and love and care, and all I could do is go "meh". This got worse in the following week, and I felt really guilty that I couldn't feel as much love for him as he obviously does for me. (According to the Triangular Theory of Love, the companionship and intimacy is strong, but the passion's gone missing).

For a while I felt like I was holding him back, that I wasn't the best person for him, even offered to find him someone else that could treat him better. In all other respects, our relationship is actually going great - we communicate well, we deal with ups and downs maturely, we respect and care for each other deeply. I just am an emotional wreck, and I didn't want him to suffer because of that. Nonetheless, he still insists that he loves me, and that he doesn't mind the lack of emotional passion. (For example, I like cuddles and embraces, but felt guilty that I was being selfish and not bursting out with love for him. He told me not to worry because he didn't find it selfish at all.) It's good, I guess, but I still can't help but feel guilty that the only emotional response I can muster to anything is "blaaaaaaah".

I went to see a GP (my regular one was away) and made appointments with my usual counselor. It's two weeks away though, so I have some down time. I have work placements this uni semester (my last!!) and I'm still waiting for those to be sorted out so I've got nothing to do for a while. I'm already wallowing away in sorrow and despair, and find it hard to do stuff - I'd rather nap all day (and indeed do sleep a lot) and it takes a lot of effort to make myself shower or prepare a meal. I have things I could do, but I'm too lethargic and bored to do anything other than think about them. My boyfriend and I are also looking at relationship counselling to see how else we can deal with my depression - we're talked out and we're out of ideas.

How can I cope with the lack of passion and energy? Should I feel guilty for not being as romantically inclined towards my boyfriend? What about my current apathy towards making a difference, when I once was such a passionate worldchanger? What can I do in these two weeks (until my counselor appointment) so that I don't drag myself down into further despair and actually feel better?

(I'm doing a little better now as I write this, but my moods change so quickly and intensely that I'd rather have some practical ideas for when I get another "sad attack". Also, I've found lots of relationship questions about dealing with a depressed partner, but not much about being the depressed partner itself.)

Activities for bored boys?

kerfuffled — Tue, 27 May 2008 10:42:56 -0800

What are some good things to do with one or two pre-teen boys? Besides play video games? I spend every other Sunday with my boyfriend's ten-year-old son and/or his twelve-year-old nephew, and I would like to do things with them that they would enjoy, but their only interests are pokemon and video games.

I have four younger sisters and I'm very good at playing dolls and dress-up and crafts and other girly things, but I am lost when it comes to boys, especially boys who seem perpetually bored without a tv/computer screen in front of them (they both complained about being bored during a two minute walk to the park!). What are some good activities to do with them or encourage them to do themselves?

Lazy, bored, worthless.

giggleknickers — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:30:45 -0800

Why am I so lazy? If anyone has seen Office Space, I'm exactly like the lead character. There is nothing in the world that I want except to do nothing. I have tried and tried and tried to find something that I enjoy, or that will motivate me. Everything I can find is painfully boring. Travelling, a career, hobbies, meeting people - all of it bores me to tears. I only do the minimum in life to get by and it grates my nerves to do that much.

Sometimes I go hungry for a couple days because it's just so damn boring to go to the grocery store. It boggles my mind how some people hop out of bed and go about doing things, when it takes such enormous will to do something like washing the dishes.

I get by in life by scavenging and I have never held a job for more than a few months because the boredom overwhelms me. I'm so ashamed of myself and I'd give anything to feel motivation and drive for something. The only reason I do anything at all is so that I can keep a roof over my head.

I tried all the obvious solutions:
-Exercise
-Therapy
-Depression meds
-Blood test
-Healthy food

No, I don't have ADD, much as everybody loves to tell everyone else that they have it.

Nothing works. Please, somebody help me. There must be something.

What to do at the beach besides gamble?

frosty_hut — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:45:09 -0800

Avoiding beach boredom! It'll be me, my dear hubby, my mother in law, my sister in law, and my adorable nephew Stevie on a short trip to the beach. Last time we did this, the adults all hung out at the casino, and I felt bad because we neglected Stevie.

What fun things can we do to include him this time? He's thirteen, but is a younger thirteen. Loves video games, and if we don't come up with alternatives, he could well spend the entire trip playing them.

He does like to wander on the edge of the water and find the weird little animals that live in the rocks. I can do that for an hour, and then I get bored. What else should we try? It wouldn't have to be beach-specific. Stevie is artistic, and I thought it would be fun to take some Sculpey with us and build things together...

Any other ideas would be welcome.

Fun while housebound

betterton — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:59:57 -0800

Please suggest fun thing for me to do while housebound and healing from fractures. How can I keep from dying of boredom while spending the next month+ lying on the couch?

I have multiple pelvic & leg fractures and have to lie around for at least a month. I would love any suggestions for fun distractions. So far I have been reading magazines, web surfing, and playing sim city, all of which are fine but starting to get old.

Things I can't do: moving (I can hobble short distances on a walker, can't sit for more than about 30 minutes), thinking too hard (narcotics have fuzzed my brain).

Things I can do: reading, listening to music, using a computer (I have a laptop + internet connection).

“You'll find boredom where there is the absence of a good idea”

Sassyfras — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:42:25 -0800

I am bored. I don't know what to do with myself. Any suggestions? I am a stay-at-home mom. But, I'm bored. Not bored of the mom thing, just bored in general. I don't do much during the day. How do I get out of this rut?

I am a stay-at-home mom because that's what I want to be - I want to be home with the wee ones, so working outside of the home is not an option. My children are 7 (in school), 4 (at home) and 19 months (at home).

To encourage my boredom are a few restrictions: I am always tired. I guess it comes with the territory. So, going out and doing something demanding is difficult (I really just wanna nap). Finances: money is tight, although we get along - there just isn't much left over to spend money doing stuff (and I always cringe when I drive because I know I'm using gas and gas is expensive). My children are small: my youngest takes naps in the afternoon so the things we do usually need to be accomplished before noon. Also, since my children are small, so are their attention spans. No family near by: I don't have family near by to count on as babysitters or someone to go visit or go out with. I do have friends and we visit and swap babysitting every once in a while, but that contact just isn't enough.

So, considering the above restrictions any suggestions to help me be less bored? What are some things that you do during the day?

Up, up and away!

Cat Pie Hurts — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 09:12:53 -0800

Well, I did it. Due to most unfortunate circumstances, I flew on an airplane for the first time in 8 years. As awful as the reasons were, the entire world has been opened up to me and I am now extremely excited by my renewed ability to travel the skies, and seek advice. Much length follows. 1. I used to use Instant Air to book all of my flights back in the day. It appears that they have been defunct since 2000. I see a billion different fare finder sites as well as a bunch of meta-fare finder sites. I'm sure poinions will vary widely, but I'm looking for recommendations for better ones to use.

2. I now know that JetBlue is (to me) the grand goddess of all airlines (they have video screens on airplanes now? With tv stations??? Amazing!). I'm a big guy and found the seats to be rather comfortable and roomy. The flight attendants were awesome (one, the most awesome woman in the skies, gave me wings!). What airlines might be comparable to JetBlue's awesomeness?

3. I am easily bored. The vid screens on the flight kept me mildly entertained, but I still reached a point of extreme boredom an hour in to the 3 hour flight. My return flight was on AirTran (who I spit upon most profusely...ptew!) and I had nothing to keep me occupied. I've never been able to read or sleep on planes. What are more interactive things that I could bring with me? I was thinking of some kind of portable gaming device, possibly.

4. To keep my fear of flying in check, I will need to fly fairly often (I'm thinking a minimum of 5-6 times/year). I'm not rich, so fairly inexpensive trips would be ideal. Recommendations for short hops (from the Boston area) would be greatly appreciated.

Any other random advice that would help my travels more comfortable and interesting (especially for when I decide to brave much longer flights) would be great as well.

Thanks!

More Cans = More Recycling = More Money. Make it so.

TomMelee — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 19:30:46 -0800

I see you there. You're smart. You've got great ideas. You want to help me make the world a better place. So, help me brainstorm this contraption. I work for a non profit. As part of our fund raising, we recycle cans. Lots of them. Hundreds and hundreds of pounds of them even. Trouble is, they don't usually come crushed. I can't afford a briquetter or a baler, so don't suggest that. We do have enough that a wall mounted single can crusher is probably not the best bet either. I thought about driving over them, I do have a double-wheel 3.5 ton truck, but I don't like that either since we're pretty public and have a gravel lot.

Last week we recycled 260lbs of cans, that was December's load. That's about to at least double in the next 2 months. Certainly not enough to warrant a bailer or briquetter.

So I'm thinking, what's the easiest way to crush these cans? My thoughts: I'd prefer a non-electric approach...or at least I don't want to plug it in. I wouldn't mind pneumatic, we do have a compressor (or we can get one).

Resources: plenty of PVC, sch 40 and 80, fittings, compressor, big truck, every power tool you can think of, wood of all sizes and dimensions, and just about any hardware you can think of. (hinges and screws to plugs and switches.) I could probably also spend another ~$200 if I needed to.

Requirements: Needs to be fast, ideally I dump a bunch of cans into a hopper and it starts crushing, or it crushes them all together. It needs to be safe and simple to operate, so that I can have volunteers and staff operate it often. Needs to be fairly small, or foldable, or suspendable. Lightweight would be ideal too, but I can deal with heavy. Also, it obviously needs to be able to deal with getting some soda/beer/whatever on it sometimes, and/or should be able to be hosed off, at least in the crushing area.

Bonuses: the tighter the crush the better. The more cans I can get in the same space the more money we make per cubic foot of storage space.

So mefites, get thinkin! Help me design my toy.

What can I do to not get bored while exercising?

JPigford — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 14:56:39 -0800

What can I do to cure my boredom while exercising? I generally prefer to bike or run outside for exercise, but here in Colorado when it's 15 degrees and snowing outside, it's not exactly a good time to burn calories outdoors.

This usually forces me to go inside and use something like an elliptical machine or treadmill.

The problem is that I just get bored out of my mind. I've got an iPod loaded with music, but I just can't seem to get my mind off of how absurdly bored I get.

I realize I'm a bit limited on "activities" with this, but what are some ways I can pass the time? I usually try to workout for 30-45 minutes.