I work a Monday thru Friday, 9 to 5 kind of thing. Most evenings, I come home, go for a walk/workout, eat dinner and then hit the couch to absorb whats on the DVR until bed. When I think about how much TV I watch in a week, it seems like madness!
For those of you with a similar work schedule… what do you do in the evenings instead of zonking out in front of the TV??
Read books, read comics, play video games, play with the pets, play with the siblings, talk to friends, surf the web. Work on the car if it needs it, do odd jobs if I have any lined up in the evening. Nap. Go for walks. Do yoga.
Just depends on what kind of mood I’m in.
No No No, its TV all the way all the time.
Write.
Fix things around the House
Write
Go to the Mall
Write
Surf the Web (a lot)
Write
Go to meetings of various sorts
Write
Play Racquetball
Rub my wife’s feet. Or get mine rubbed
alcohol and video games
Before I had kids, I would run for an hour, shower, make dinner, eat it, read and go to bed (preferably around 10 or 10:30).
Now that I have kids, I make dinner, eat it/feed it to kids, run the gamut of kid putting to bed, prep lunch for the next day, clean up the kitchen, wash bottles, then when I get downtime, I work out, read, sometimes do both at the same time on the treadmill (when I’ll feel guilty about not working out but really don’t want to), do extra chores or surf online.
I have three children; long gone are the days where I’m looking for something to do in the evenings. I make dinner; pick up or drop off kids at activities; clean up/supervise kitchen cleanup; pick up clothes and do laundry; supervise bath; supervise homework; and get on the computer to do SD or work on my blog if — *if * I have the time. Take my evening walk — if I have time. Vacuum if it needs it. Drop dead asleep, when I can manage it. So get yourself some kids. You’ll have plenty to do.
We usually have something scheduled. I often crave time to sit and do nothing. Or read a book. We don’t have cable because we’re not home enough.
Lots of galleries and theater things have pay-what-you-can nights. There are a lot of venues that have free art shows. We also have hobbies, so in addition to our workouts, we do stuff like play squash or just go play catch (monkey in the middle with the dog).
There is a recreational co-ed dodge-ball league in the city. There’s also a cool recreational league where you don’t know exactly what the sport will be that week. You just show up in shorts and sport shoes and then you find out if you’re playing floor hockey, basket ball, dodge ball, indoor soccer or whatever. It’s different surprise every week.
A buddy of mine signed up, spur-of-the-moment for free improv comedy classes that he finds super-fun/funny.
I’d look for some little hobby that would get you out of the house just one night during the work week. It’s amazing how that one little disruption can change your entire week.
It takes time to get the kids to bed. After that it’s usually TV or videogames. Sometimes my wife and I will go out and do something together (we’re going to play tennis tonight) but we have to get a babysitter for that.
When I was single, I would hang out with friends (to play games or go to the movies) or play videogames.
I zonk out at the SDMB of course!
(Also TVTropes and the Air Force Blues forums. And that purpose which the internet was designed for, obviously)
Write
Read
Listen to music
Waste time on the internet
Play video games + design clothes/object recolors/walls & floors for the sims 2
Exercise
Night school.
Video games/computer games, walk/bike, do stuff around the house, read.
Learn to play a musical instrument.
Take the dogs for a long walk.
Moonlight kayaking.
Drugs and alcohol.
Swimming
Drinking with friends
Lots of surfing
Doing some office work (shameful, I know)
Get yourself some kids. My evenings revolve around them and the endless associated chores/activities and I can’t IMAGINE what I’d do with a whole evening to myself! The ten minutes I DO have to myself in the evening before bed, I read.
Before kids, my evenings were spent socializing and drinking with friends, movies, exercising, long walks, shopping, and having a lovely social life.
Not anymore. Wait, maybe re-think the kids thing :eek:
Used to be mostly this
then it became this…
And now that kiddo is eight, it is becoming more coaxing her to do stuff and helping her a bit, lunch, homework, etc…
Read.
Do random chores.
SDMB and other time wasters.
Do my work hobbies, such as working on papers and my column.
Crossword puzzles and the like.
Long walks, though you seem to have exercise covered already.
When I do watch TV, I also do jigsaw puzzles (unless it is a really good show) since just watching TV by itself is a waste of time.
Before kids I played drums in a band, so I had rehearsal a couple nights a week, the occasional gig, took banjo and drum lessons, played in a student jazz combo, practiced guitar, ate out, still managed to watch some TV, which I’ve enjoyed since I was a kid.
Now that I have kids (7 y.o. twin girls) I pretty much come home, change clothes, sit in my big chair, and my girls climb up on me, tell me about something that happened that day, try to dress me up like a girl, play with what little hair I have left while I surf the net, etc.
I’ve given up watching TV with them in the room for the most part. We used to have an “8:00 is daddy’s time to watch TV” rule but there’s usually nothing I want to watch that is also suitable for them, so I just leave it on whatever they’re watching, if I can stand it. Plus it keeps the howls of protest to a minimum. A couple nights a week after the climbing on daddy part and dinner I’ll disappear into the music room and play a little before their bedtime.