entertainment

The most recent in my identity series.

I love entertaining. Well, sort of. I love it when I can make others laugh. I'm only sort of good at it because of my dry wit and sometimes using the wrong medium (something that takes too long to explain) or I misread the room (it's funny to me but not others).

I love being entertained. Or at least I wrote down "entertainment" when I first created this identity series. But the more I think about this tonight, the more I think it's about being mentally stimulated. My brain is often moving at a high speed and I allow myself to get bored easily.  Call it entertainment, or call it distraction.

I will usually add music wherever I can to whatever I'm doing. Or I'll carry around the iPad while I'm doing chores, watching something on Netflix. (Now that I have Netflix, I rarely watch TED Talks. I'm still coming to grips with what I think of that.) Or I can't stop checking my email. Or I'm reading Feedly while watching TV. Or reading a book while I walk. Or before I go to bed. Most nights I'll squeeze the equivalent of at least two hours of TV in (minus commercials) and still get 30-60 minutes of reading in, plus reading before work. And while I'm driving, I must have Waze running and either music or on the way home from work, the weather forecast, latest tech, business and general news and the stock quotes for a bunch of companies thanks to Sync. I must constantly have external stimulus.  Before I get out of bed, I'll check my email, the latest headlines from MSNBC and Feedly. I usually have 1 or 2 books in progress and at least one magazine.  While I'm shaving I'm playing a video game or watching Netflix on my iPad.



My only quiet times are when I am showering or occasionally when running or walking if I don't feel like reading or listening to music.  (I don't run and read, that's too difficult, but I used to listen to podcasts while I ran.)  I'm constantly on the lookout for things to take pictures of for my blog or listening for things to write about.  (Still trying to find use for the overheard phrase from work "If my boss is going to keep kicking me in the butt, I wish he'd kick me downhill." So far, not sure what to make of that and no, it wasn't me.)

Lately I've been trying not to read email right when I get home from work and once I even put the phone in the cabinet until after dinner, and trying to do that more often so that there isn't even the temptation take it out during meals.  At work, it's so difficult not to check email or the task management system for new tickets, sometimes I have to leave all my devices at my desk and bring only post-its and a pen in order to stay focused and on task.

So, yeah, not sure if entertainment is the right choice. More like chaos and constant motion.