Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Boredom...


"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” 
~ Ellen Parr

I’m reminded of a scene from The Cosby Show, and every time I think about it, I totally crack up. In the scene, Rudy is bothering Vanessa, and Vanessa, in her annoyance, tells Rudy to quit bugging her. Rudy responds, “But I’m bored.” Vanessa then looks at her little sister and says very matter-of-factly, “You’re bored because you’re a boring person.” Hahaha!

When I was younger, I hated being bored. I hated not having anything to do in the summertime; hated Saturday mornings after cartoons were done showing (before satellite cable, obviously). I wasn’t into sports until I was in the 6th grade (volleyball), but it’s not like volleyball courts were as prevalent as basketball courts. I liked reading, but huge bookstores weren’t exactly common when I was little.

“Idle hands are the devil’s playthings,” the saying goes. If this indeed was the case when I was younger, then the devil must’ve loved Barbies, because darned if I didn’t have 10 different Barbie dolls to keep me occupied after the homework was done. Aside from, maybe my toy plates set or toy sink, it was my toy box of Barbie and all her various paraphernalia that saved me from boredom.

My Barbies had their Corvette, Dreamstore with clothes and accessories for sale, a bathtub and of course a wardrobe that could rival that of any pre-teen up-and-coming actors of today. I never did get my Ken doll or Skipper, though. I basically ran a sorority – Pink ‘n Pretty Barbie, Barbie & the Rockers, Loving You Barbie, Day to Night Barbie (which, now that I think about it, sounds like she could’ve been a hooker).

I loved trying to figure out what else I could do their hair – braid it, twirl it, tie it up, etc. I’m starting to realize that maybe that’s why I love playing with hair so much now. Curling, flatironing, braiding – I love it all! My chick friends can attest to this since I do most of their hair when the occasion calls for it. It’s my belief that there is no coif-related problem that can’t be solved with a hair appliance. It’s not vanity; it’s just something useful to know.

Funny how time works though, because at my age, I rarely have time to BE bored. I probably wouldn’t mind an afternoon every so often to be bored. Maybe I could come up with a new skill in the process =)

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