h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Gee... Boredom (or biredom, if you prefer) has set in again. This time, however, it's not from having work to do - rather the opposite in fact. Now that university is finished for the summer, I don't have a whole lot to do. I'm spending most of my time sitting at home trying to think of something to do. Of course, my main problem in life has always been the amount that I worry - I worry almost constantly, sometimes about sensible things, but usually about incredibly stupid, usually hypothetical problems that might befall me in my life, and then tend to convince myself that these are things that I actually need to worry about, when of course I don't.

That's the problem with being bored - my mind starts playing up, analysing everything, wasting my time. And the problem is if I try and do something else to take my mind off these worries, and in fact that thing turns out to be boring itself, my mind just returns to those worries it had before even more fervently. So I have to try and fill my time as much as I can with things that interest me, and there aren't very many of those. Even television and reading, two staples of my normal daily life, tend to bore me in these periods. I like the escapism they provide when I have real work to do, but when there's nothing 'real' to do, they're just as boring to me as everything else.

So, really, what I like doing best is getting out and talking to my friends, but even then you can't do that all day every day. Still, I'm trying my best to get out and arrange things to do. My one-sided love affair with Sam is now probably over - she didn't reply to messages I sent her asking her, casually, if she wanted to see a film, so I guess that's the end - I've actually pestered her so much that she won't even reply to me to say 'no' any more. There are, of course, other possible explanations for the lack of response - perhaps she has no credit on her phone, perhaps she's lost her phone, perhaps my messages aren't getting sent or received, or her replies aren't getting sent or received by our respective mobiles - but Occam's razor would have me look for the simplest explanation possible, and that explanation is simply that she received them, but can't be bothered replying.

Well, writing this has given me something to do for the last five minutes or so - it has exercised my brain, and all that, and left me feeling slightly refreshed in some odd way. I'll go and try very hard not to worry about something silly for a while.

R25968 18:18 7/6/04

Sandwiches, sitting on your computer, and buying a new pet always work. In fact, you could buy a lobster named Gregory. Dear, must you always worry and apologize? Try doing something senseless, for a bit. Go for a walk, or something.

I don't think I'd be any good at looking after a lobster, frankly. Although Gregory is a good name for one, should I ever decide to gte one. I might learn how to make chocolate rice crispie squares instead of sandwiches, I think...

F

Sounds good.

Well, as it turned out, I didn't make those rice crispie squares - I had chicken korma for dinner and then watched a TV impressions show. It works out to about the same, but with less chocolate-fuelled satisfaction.

F

You need a hobby.

Yes, I know. maybe i should take up a sport or something, but there's no one around to play one with, really. Hmm... Maybe I should just go for long walks in the countryside. I just don't know my way around the countryside here very well. Oh well, I'll hopefully find something.

F

Getting lost is half of the fun. You should try it.

Maybe I will one day... In the meantime, I'm feeling like an idiot... Just got a message from her - turns out her phone was out of credit after all...

F

As you should. That's what you get for being so down on yourself. Now, what did the girl say?

I still have the message, but not because I'm particularly hanbging on to it, just because I haven't bothered deleting it yet:

"Hey. Sorry I couldn't reply. Was out of credit and was in Edinburgh. Did you have a good time?"

At least she hasn't been ignoring me, that's all I can say.

F

Keep thinking that...

And she's asking about your well being. Take it.