Thursday, February 17, 2011

Boredom vs Inspiration or Motivation

I've read that boredom is not necessarily something to be unhappy about. Rather, boredom can be the source of inspiration or motivation to change.

So, although I've felt incredibly bored with just about everything for the last couple of months (life,the universe, and everything), I've just let it be, thinking that at some point, something would catch my mind's eye and I would emerge from the foggy state of nothingness that I've allowed to percolate.

Might be something to it. Just this week, I've found a bit of motivation to move a couple of steps out of my current rut. For example:

For a couple of years, I've mumbled vaguely about fixing up the condo. Things are just starting to fall apart or get worn out (hmm, looks like I need to glue that laminate countertop in the bathroom AGAIN).  Last weekend, I purchased a new tool chest from an antique store that I'm going to use as a repository for all the arts 'n crafts supplies that are scattered everywhere. That meant, I had to get serious about getting rid of the old desktop PC and the computer desk (PC is too old to be useful and the desk is starting to fall apart). I was in Lowe's looking for some glue to do a minor repair on the chest (hey, it's 97 years old, a bit of repair isn't unexpected!) and as I passed by the countertop displays, a sample of a recycled glass countertop caught my eye. Poof! Like being hit by a lightening bolt, I started to research the company and just ordered some samples today. Found a list of suppliers for the product (not sure Lowe's will be the best installers). I'll do some measuring this week and get out to one or two stores to get some estimates.

And, I'm making good progress on getting rid of the PC. I converted the desktop into a Virtual Machine, loaded that onto my laptop, and am now working on wiping the hard drive so I can recycle the hardware. This weekend, I'll tear down the PC desk and trash it. Another step forward!

After procrastinating for a couple of months, I finally got the plumber in to make some minor repairs to the 2nd bathroom (motivated a lot by the fact that I expect a friend to come visit overnight next week...nothing like company to get me moving). And, am now researching new shower heads/faucet for the bath in the Master Bath (which is about ready to disintegrate from our hard water). In fact, I have a couple of selections picked out and I'll ask my plumber whether either of them will work. If so, I'll go ahead and schedule that work before procrastination envelops me again.

Next on my list is to research a possible "retirement career" and I've actually found an online program that just might be what I want. My thought is this...in order to maintain my current, comfy lifestyle when I stop working full time (if I can acquire enough $$$ to do so!!), I'll probably want to continue working part time for awhile. I can't imagine that I'll continue as a tech writer...mostly because I'm totally bored with the job and have absolutely no ambition to learn any of the new stuff or become a social media expert. I need to figure out something else. The one thing that seems like a possibility is learning to be an archivist. Which means, I need a Masters in Library Science. Now, archivist salaries aren't very high and I have no idea where I would find a job (local historic society or museum?), but by that time, I won't need a full salary, so I'm guessing it won't matter much. Will I be able to make this work? I dunno, but at least I'm feeling motivated enough to look at it!

Did I just get bored with being bored? Or did I just need "time off" for awhile?