"But I've already watched the Ewoks five billion-quadrillion times!"

When I was a kid, I would always get really bored by the end of the summer. I would just sit there and complain that I was "borrred." My mom would suggest I go outside and play. "But it's too hot," I'd whine. (And I would still agree with the kid Lauren. We grew up in the South. It was crazy hot.) So my mom would suggest I ride my bike and go swimming at my grandparents' pool. (How lucky was I, by the way, to be able to ride my bike to go swimming?) "But I don't wanna swim by myself. It's not fun to swim by yourself." (Read all of this with a whiny kid voice.)

Bascially, I'd whine long enough until my mom would yell, "It doesn't matter what I suggest to you! You won't like any of the things I say! You'll find something wrong with everything!" And she'd be right, of course. But I had successed in causing at least a little excitement, if only for the moment. My poor mom. I used to love to pick fights with her. Even when I was little. Maybe I'm revealing a little too much about myself, here. But I enjoy a good argument. These days I guess I usually take the heated discussion route via politics, religion, music, whatever. And I've even grown kind of tired of that.

So I was sitting around tonight after Project Runway went off, (SPOILER ALERT) bummed that Bradley Baumkirchner got kicked off. (I love those hippie, bearded types. I'm tellin' ya.) He was the only person left on there that wasn't totally cut-throat. But I digress.

So I was sitting around tonight after Project Runway went off. Sara went to sleep at about 7 PM tonight. (And rightfully so, because we stayed up until 2 AM last night talking about boys and goofing off by making sweatpants look like mom-jeans, a favorite past-time of the Snow sisters, apparently.) I was bored out of my mind. Still am. I've thought of every possible solution to the problem of boredom, and come up with some reason against every solution. Maybe that's how I deal with boredom? By discrediting the solutions that I come up with to stop being bored?

• I thought about going for a ride around Atlanta; gas prices are freakin' high and I might get lost somewhere in the ghetto.
• I thought about going to the fitness center in our apartment complex; I don't want to get sweaty and have to take another shower before I go to bed.
• I thought about watching a movie; I've already seen them all, or I'm not interested in watching them.
• I thought about channel-surfing for a while; I didn't want to get into that eyes-glazed-over stupor that sometimes results from channel-surfing late at night.
• I thought about surfing the internet; I've already done that today. Nobody's updated their blogs lately.
• I thought about going to the lake; I'd get there really late and wake up my parents.
• I thought about booking an overnight flight to NYC and landing on Lexia and Reghan's doorstep bright and early in the morning; last-minute flight prices are insane.
• I thought about booking an overnight flight to the cheapest destination I could find; but then I'd have to rent a car and stay in a hotel.
• I thought about writing a short story; my brain isn't cooperating.
• I thought about writing some poetry; I suck at poetry. And I'm not inspired enough by the misery of boredom to write about it.
• I thought about going to sleep; it is physically impossible for me to get to sleep before 2 AM these days. (What's up with that?)
• I thought about taking pictures of random things around my apartment; my digital camera isn't too good with macro, and I've already taken pictures of the apartment itself.
• I thought about listening to music and just sitting there; Charlie Parker was the only stuff I could handle for more than two songs, and just sitting there inevitably leads to thinking too much. Usually about how bored I am.
• I thought about taking a Benedryl and forcing myself to sleep; I just took two Advil because I think I might have the first cavity I've ever had in my life. And I don't want to overdose.
• I thought about reading something, anything; can't concentrate on anything, even David Sedaris.
• I thought about calling people; ehh, why bore them with my boredom?
• I thought about eating anything I could get my hands on; bad idea all around.
  

So I wrote this blog post instead. But my question is this: What do YOU do when you're bored? (And my next question is: What am I going to do now that I'm finished with this post?)

Note: I changed the picture above. I was sick of looking at the image I had up there.

Addendum: I've been looking at my horoscope and apparently I need to find a Gemini because we are "karmically destined to bring fulfilment on many different levels." Are there any single, male Geminis out there? I don't think I've ever even met a Gemini. Ever. Star-crossed, I guess.