My favorite things to do when I am bored.

A clever man is never bored. A witty guy once said this, probably with the sole intention of pissing his bored friend off. Unless you have an unfathomable exciting life, chances are that you will get bored. Boredom is a healthy thing in my mind, as it combats stress, and stress is the modern day equivalent of the black plague. That being said, I generally think boredom is something that is easily alleviated with some “guilty pleasures” which I know you all have. Be it romance novels, auctioning, online shopping or a computer game, the result is the same. You may tell yourself, that the only reason you’re searching the web for a video of a wild animal pooping into a jeep, is because you are bored, but are you really bored then? Can you actually be bored when watching animals pooping?

                                                            

                                            The answer is no.

If you are still confused and scared, then let me put you at ease. What follows here are my personal choices, when it comes to fighting boredom. These will share some similarities, in that most of them are done from your computer or home, but that’s just how I operate I guess. These things might seem foreign and perverse to you, but always keep in mind, that this is my list. Not yours.

#1: Switch off brain and look at 9GAG.

www.9gag.com is a great source of random stuff. Just don’t go there and expect to be enlightened or educated, as most stuff on there deliberately makes you dumber, once picture at a time. To the uninformed, 9gag is a collection of user-generated content, which for the most part is crap. Your mind can only take a limited amount of abuse, but luckily for it (and you) there are some rare gems among the filth. The pieces I really love are the ones that explore science, our planet and human nature. This site is definitely not for everyone, and if you get into it, I would not recommend mimicking the many memes that are on the site, as that is just a sad sad thing to do. I usually use this site if I have nothing going on and I don’t really feel like doing one of the other things on the list. Such as…

#2: Watch tons of retro videos produced by the world’s most awesome nerd

I worship James Rolfe. For me, he is the definition of a nerd, enthusiast and critic. He does a lot of silly stuff on his website www.cinemassacre.com, but it’s his passion and his drive that really keeps me coming back for more. The site is a collection of videos, which James Rolfe makes on his own, as he is a moviemaker, who also loves games. He is constantly doing new projects and he has regular segments on his site, which are both funny and informative. I grew up with the same games and movies as he did, so many of his reviews and small movies are really nostalgic to me, but it’s in no way a requirement to enjoy the site. If you are into gaming and movies (the medium, not just watching them once in a while) then this site is probably the best there is, for experiencing the pure joy of our fantastic hobby.

                                                  Do you agree?

#3: Read silly, informative articles on the internet.

This one is a given. With nothing to base this on at all, I dare say, that most idle time spent on the internet is used to read articles of interest. And it’s no mystery why! You can find some truly great stuff if you know where to go. I can spend most of my day reading articles from sites such as www.cracked.com or www.spike.com. Both sites are written in a funny way, which at the same time answers some political and scientific questions in the process. Especially Cracked does this, and it’s my favorite of the two. The articles are quite universal and Cracked has a large selection of original video content as well. They just seem to appeal to both my humor and my taste. I’m not going to list all of my favorite articles, as they are too numerous to count. All I can say is that if you find yourself with a million hours to spend, then give them a try. Just be careful, it’s addictive.  Speaking of addictions…

#4: Indulge yourself in your hobbies.

You pick up several hobbies during the course of your life, and the worthwhile ones stick around. When I get bored, then I know I can always boot up a game or paint some miniatures. And as of now, write on my blog! Hurray! I pity people who don’t have a hobby of some sort, as in my mind, it is one of the most calming experiences you can have. My two greatest hobbies are gaming and modeling and painting plastic figures. Now, you might think that these hobbies are a bit nerdy in their nature, and you would be absolutely right. Although gaming is pretty much a mainstream thing now, there is still some prejudice towards the people who enjoy it frequently. The other hobby, the plastic figures is something I will cover in a future article, as they are my great passion and they deserve an entry of their own. Gaming is a hobby for many men and it’s not about killing stuff or doing morally bankrupt things. Gaming is therapy. Gaming is relief. Gaming is fun. I am not going to get into that now, but suffice to say, a man who plays games AND paints figures in his spare time, he damn better be a real Casanova with the ladies.

                                    If by Casanova you meant serial rapist.

#5: Daydream

The final entry is also the most abstract one by far. I daydream a lot. It’s a way for my brain to vent all the crap I experience from day to day. Some of it gets stuck in my brains filter, and to exorcise it, I often need to build some fantasy or situation where I am in control, and I am the director. So when I get some quiet time, it often appears as if I am doing something else, but my mind is not there. This often happens when I am bored, or have a disinterest in what I am currently doing. It has often happened when I am having a conversation with a boring person, or somehow the person managed to pick the most uninteresting subject ever. If you’re ever talking to me and my responses turn into “mmhmm” and light nodding, then I guarantee you, I am already gone. I realize that many of the people who will read this are my friends (please) and they may get a little offended. Some of you are probably scouring your memory for instances where I’ve gone “mmhm” and nodded. Should you find such an occurrence, then I assure you, it’s nothing personal, it’s just in that instant, for me, my mind was the better choice. And there you have it! A little bit of insight to my private life. The boring parts atleast. Perhaps you were bored when you decided to read my blog? In that case, you’re welcome.

See you around

Kris