Most evenings, I am presented with an hour or two of downtime after we've put Lydia to bed and cleaned up the terrific messes of the day. And how do I spend this downtime? Some nights I go for a run. Wednesdays I play hockey. I used to play guitar. On my more inspired nights I actually sit and read. But mostly I just sit on the couch, find some HD sports and surf the web aimlessly and compulsively - sometimes blogging, sometimes "Twittering" (I hate that word), sometimes shopping for music or dream houses - but mostly just watching the scores and checking for site updates. F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 (repeat).
Recently, I've been trying to reconcile this activity in my head. Is it a colossal waste of time and brain cells? Am I destroying my attention span? Would anybody tell me if I was getting... stupider? (That was a Faith No More reference right there) Surely this time could be better spent improving myself in some form or fashion, eh? When I used to do Fromthewomb, at least I could claim that my downtime was spent being creative, but now - is there anything really "creative" in blogging about your day, dislikes or child's development?
I've considered all kinds of cliché, pipe-dream activities: writing short stories, maybe some songs, rebooting Fromthewomb as some kind of podcast (I even downloaded Audacity... but I so hate the sound of my own voice). There are an infinity of ways to pretend to be creative on the internet without actually flexing your creative muscles: see this here blog as an example. I contemplated starting up a Tumblr site and making silly scanner collages of old CD covers and smooshed food in Ziploc bags, which I may still do, but only as another distraction and not something I would consider... worthwhile?
I dunno. I dunno why I'm feeling guilty about all of this idle time. I dunno.
F5 F5 F5 F5 F5...
About me:
- muiseam
- Dartmouth, NS, Canada
- I live on the suburban plains of Cole Harbour. I take my coffee large with single milk. I am an open book. Some days I wish I were a housecat.
3 comments:
I miss the womb.
Meat
Aaron - you honestly bring a lot of enjoyment to our days. So sarcasm instended whatsoever. I know that "guilty" does-my-life-have-meaning feeling too but please know that the ways you have put your creativity to use over the years has definitely made us all feel 'connected' even if we don't see each other nearly as much anymore thanks to all of these darling children. (By the way - we are jealous you have found a group of non-children couples to spend LOST night with.) Anyway, keep it up. It's good for all... and feel free to delete this post as it's not nearly edgy enough and likely somewhat too cheesey and mushy to remain on your site. I won't be offended, really. Well, not really but anyway.
shucks.
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