“All of men’s troubles stem from his inability to sit quietly alone in a room” – Blaise Pascal

A couple of years ago, I loved eating plain old salted fries. With no ketchup or sauce whatsoever. Then it got a little boring, so I started to have fries with tomato ketchup. I enjoyed it for a while, until I got bored again. So I switched to fries with mayonnaise. Mmmm. They were delicious. But then, guess what, that got boring too. Then I got hooked on cheesy fries. Yummm! And two minutes later, I was bored and searching for more interesting ways to enjoy my fries.

Okay all this talk about fries is making my mouth water. Let’s get to the point, shall we?

“What’s wrong with me?”, I recently asked S, my good friend & mentor. My latest dating experience has been the most dramatic one yet, and as I recalled other bad choices I made, I really couldn’t help but wonder what’s wrong with me. I just have this knack to dip my feet into a pool of trouble every single time!

“You get bored with one way of things and so you seek to get out of that status quo,” he informs me, “You are always looking for ways to not get bored.” Hmmm..I give it a thought, and come to a harsh realization that my friend is right. I hate being bored. It’s just so… Boring!

So it seems, in order to not ever be bored, I’ve taken a similar approach with men that I’ve done with fries. All my past relationships have been everything but boring. I dated a control freak, jumped to a narcissist, switched to a manipulator, and cartwheeled to a sociopath. I basically went through all the trouble to avoid normal, so that I would never be bored.

But why, you ask, why would someone go through such great extents to keep themselves entertained? This is a tough question to answer, but I guess some of us are always looking for some kind of stimulation. Maybe we feel like something is missing? Or we feel like we’re stuck in a rut? Or maybe we watch too many movies and imagine that our lives should be like that. I don’t know, to be honest.

I do know from experience that, contrary to what you’ve read in 50 Shades Of Grey and the likes, getting into twisted, troubled, dramatic relationships won’t make you feel any better about your life. I mean, sure, you won’t be bored. But you will be torn, broken, devastated, confused, depressed, and a roller coaster of other emotions that can’t even be described. Are all these emotions really worth it, just to keep yourself entertained?

I’ve recently decided that I might try and lay off “entertainment” for a while and go back to plain old salty fries. My life as of lately consists of work, laundry, writing, mindless TV, long walks, fries, and wine, oh lots of wine. Sounds boring? Maybe. Peaceful? Very. For the first time in my life, I can think straight without being overwhelmed with intense emotions. And you know what, it’s not so bad being bored. It’s given me more time to read and write, more time to think about hitting the gym (and possibly even hitting the gym, I hope). As a result of my new boring life, I’m actually happier. So to those of you who share a similar fear of being bored, I urge you guys to try the ‘boring’ thing for a bit. I promise it’s going to be a refreshing change 🙂

P.S. if you REALLY want to be entertained, have a look at these Guys with fries

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