There have been many moments in my life where Ive felt like there’s been nothing to do. Boredom has occupied much of my time. Ever since I was about 10 years old, I’ve had a hard time figuring out what I could or should do with myself.
In Oregon, there are many rainy days which prohibit outdoor activities. As I write this, a rain storm attacked our neighborhood and moved on as quickly as it appeared. It seems like the weather forces us to stay indoors often.
Video games have been a sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating activity for many years. I always consider playing a game as a means to pass the time, be entertained and go on an outlandish adventure simultaneously. I have a vast assortment of games and consoles in the loft: NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, PS1, PS2, Dreamcast, and 3DO. I own games I haven’t even played, and many others I’ve started but never finished. I should go up there and play something.
Then again, I put a Super Console X King in the exercise room. That thing has over 100,000 games in it. 79 different consoles. I could play any NEO GEO game I wanted.
Additionally, I have a full size arcade in my living room with hundreds of games on that. Another thing I should do is get my wife’s Windows laptop, download Pandory Tool and figure out how to customize the ROMs on that thing.
I could play an MMORPG on the XBOX Series X, but the only thing I’ve been playing on that lately has been Breakpoint. It’s not quite as fun as it used to be.
As I think about the loft, I remembered how many old comic books I have up there. I should take a drink and a snack and lay up there with a pillow and blanket, reading through a bunch of them. I’ve got DVD’s up there, too. I could watch any one of those. And out in the garage, I’ve got old video cassettes I could watch. There are hours of old, nostalgic TV recordings I could put on. I could make Youtube videos of them if I wanted to.
I’ve got my guitar and Marshall half stack in the garage, too. I could play, practice and learn something.
I have a lot of books. I could read any one of them, get inspired to write my own story and start dreaming up concepts.
I have notebooks full of random writings and poetry that I could add to. There has been a lot on my mind lately that I need to get out.
Earlier, I was thinking that I could go somewhere and do something fun, like the local bowling alley. Some physical activity would do me good. Funny thing is, every time I want to go, there’s always a tournament or something and every lane is full. I just want to go when there’s hardly anyone there. Calm, peaceful and as little blathering as possible.
There’s also Next Level Pinball and Arcade, which is not very far away and reasonably priced, for what they offer. A massive assortment of video games and pinball to choose from, although I have most of them on emulators at home, so in a way, it feels like a waste of money. Besides, it can be very busy at times and all those bodies in one place becomes a concern, especially after touching all the joysticks and buttons.
Of course, I should be more of a responsible adult and focus on things around the house I SHOULD do. I should pull weeds. I should fill the cracks in the driveway. I should clean the garage. I should clean and organize. I should clean the carpet in the bedroom.
Or maybe it would be best if I spent my time perfecting my craft – what I’m supposed to do for a living. Learning about user experience, reading articles and books and making a list of best practices and creating career goals. I could apply for another 100 jobs like I do every day.
Maybe I should find ways to have student loans forgiven or get quote from a new insurance company to save money. Maybe I should watch all those videos I saved about how to make money with side hustles.
Every day, I find myself looking at facebook, instagram, reddit and tiktok multiple times a day. I hate it. I hate it because I know that they’re stealing my time from me, just like they’ve done for years. Every once in a while, I get these moments where I suddenly realize my time is being stolen and I want to cut social media out of my life forever, but then I just go back to it like a spineless weakling going back to a toxic relationship.
Things need to change. I feel like time is escaping me and if I don’t do all the things I want, I won’t have any time left.
I suppose the next time I feel bored with nothing to do, I should just revisit this post and remind myself of all the things I should be doing. I should remind myself that tomorrow is not guaranteed and that I should make the most of every moment.
Also, I need to teach myself to stop beating myself up for not doing what I could or should do. Sometimes resting is needed. Planning is needed. Preparing for future moments of future days can help me to be in the right mindset.
I have so much to be thankful for.
