Seriously, you guys. I used to have tons of interesting stuff about me! I used to belong to unusual groups, do interesting things, know interesting people! Now, it seems all I do is work and watch Netflix DVDs and play board games and surf the Dope and cook and eat and acquire cats. I mean, I’m happy, but haven’t you ever looked around and realized that you used to be a little more… interesting?
I’m supposed to come up with 5 one-liner “interesting things about yourself” for this Jeopardy audition, and I’m coming up completely blank. I don’t want to do stuff like “I’ve won blue ribbons at the fair for my needlework!”, because the idea is to be different from all the other cat lady librarians who are auditioning! The only thing I can come up with that sounds at all interesting is the week I spent in Maine last year learning how to sail a schooner - everything else is lame, lame, lame.
My boyfriend says the only things he can come up with start with “My boyfriend does…”, which I told him is a serious personality defect. And it’s not like he’s that fascinating, anyway. And he hasn’t done any wet-plate photography in a year, so there. And he never does gear up for a moustache competition like he keeps saying he will.
Isn’t that just depressing? Christ, we don’t even have kids and we’re already a boring couple. I’d say we put people we meet to sleep, but we don’t ever meet any people because we never leave the house anymore except to eat. I’m going to have to get my mom to fill this thing out, and I’m going to end up with stuff like “I work in the 2001 Library of the Year!” and “I took a class on chocolate artistry at Johnson and Wales”, which is quite honestly not exactly going to make me stand out from the crowd, is it?
Ever turn around and realize your life has had a change, and while you’re not unhappy, you’re not exactly sure how you ended up where you are?
Yeah, that happened to me throughout college. Particularly in the last two years or so, which was unfortunate. I was happy in a relationship but I wasn’t doing anything else with my time, which can’t have helped things.
Things have improved in the years since then. Now I’m so fascinating I just don’t know what to do with myself. But try going someplace new, or reindulging in some old passion or hobby you haven’t tried in a while.
You used to cook and eat cats you’d acquired? How’d that taste?
I know what you mean, though. It seemed as though as soon as I joined the working world and married my husband, we became hermits. Having a baby made said hermitage worse. Which was unfortunate, particularly since I tend to be the social one - you know, the one who strikes up conversations with strangers and finds out they have lots in common so they become good friends? That used to be me, but not so much anymore. Though my husband and I are getting better at meeting the friends we do have more frequently.
Plus, since I’m out a job (by choice) and looking for another, I’m forced to extend myself and go networking more frequently. I’m already a little more energetic than I was before now that I’ve joined a couple of associations.
If you really want to do more, there are lots of places you can get involved with other, new people - volunteering, travel (local and farther afield - adventure travel is especially fun), business associations (which also help your career). But if you’re happy as you are, don’t sweat it. You don’t have to be spontaneous all the time - and the spontanaeity is removed if you plan to be so anyway.
I joke that this is the exact reason we had kids.
Before children, we didn’t really go anywhere or do anything that might be considered exciting. We were dull homebodies.
Add kids to the mix and now instead of being dull homebodies, we’re responsible, hardworking parents! We’re no longer chosing not to go out - we’re forced to stay in! By children! (who hold guns to our heads and prevent us from getting a sitter - yeah, right)
Is there anything in the Jeopardy! rules that specifies you have to be honest? You could make up something *really *interesting. Or this could be the perfect time to start something new: “I’ve just begun collecting vintage 20th century hair pieces, Alex!”
Hm. I like my life a lot (though I could do with some more world travel, preferably free), but on paper I probably don’t sound so great.
Librarian, running a program for 3rd-graders
Classical homeschooler
Interest in quilting and heirloom sewing
Member of SD Slob Reform Club
Go to the gym a lot, still pudgy
Yawn. I went hiking Monday, can I put “loves hiking in national parks” on my list even though it was the first time in a year and Lassen is the only national park I ever go to? (It’s not my fault, there were forest fires all summer!)
Clearly we need to start a Straight Dope Boring People Reform Club. Members will need to have one new experience every 8 weeks and start one hobby that doesn’t induce catatonia in acquaintances or sound hopelessly geeky.
But try going someplace new, or reindulging in some old passion or hobby you haven’t tried in a while.