Over the past three weeks or so it has been really interesting to examine my leisure behaviour, values, and attitudes as closely as I have. Having this blog to update has forced me to think about how I define, choose, and enjoy my leisure in a way that I never have before.
I made it clear right in my first post that freetime absolutely does not equal leisure time for me. I have come to decide that in order for me to consider something as leisure it needs to have the following: Freedom. More specifically I need freedom from certain things like stress, pressures, and certain responsibilities. I don’t necessarily need the freedom to choose the activity. Oftentimes I find myself having the most fun doing leisure that I had no choice in whatsoever (even somethings that I didn’t originally want to do). I therefore also don’t need my leisure to be intrinsically motivated. I still consider extrinsically motivated leisure to be valuable. For example, I was both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to go paintballing a couple of weekends ago and I had such a good time. I love every minute of it and was completely in flow. Time went by so fast and I had so much energy (until it was all over). On the other hand, the wedding is a good example. This was a completely intrinsically motivated activity, I was completely free to go or not go to this event. I wanted to be there for no external reason. Despite this, I didn’t really have a great time. There were other factors at play, including a lack of freedom to sit with my friends and enjoy good company. This brings up another point. For me, spending time with the people that I care about makes almost any activity more enjoyable. The social aspect of my leisure activities contributes immensely to my level of enjoyment and satisfaction.
I’ve also realised that there are a lot of things that I LOVE doing, but never actually seem to do lately. I love going to concerts, museums and art galleries. I have been telling myself that it is money that has been constraining my lately from participating in these things, but I’m wondering if that’s all there is to it. There are also some friends who I don’t see very often anymore because of conflicting work and school schedules. Perhaps a little more planning and structure is required here. Sometimes leisure can’t be as spontaneous as we might like. Sometimes life and responsibilities mean making changes to how I used to leisure.
What has also been interesting for me to observe is that I often feel like I do nothing but go to school and work. This blog has made me appreciate my time more, and realize that I do in fact have lots of other things going on in my life. I’m not as boring as I thought.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Definitely not what I was expecting
So, although I really have nothing to compare it to, the wedding this weekend was a bit weird. I don't mean that it was non-traditional or anything... I just mean it was very different then what I was expecting. The ceremony itself was only about 10 minutes long, and didn't include anything about love or happiness... only the reading of laws and everything. Then during the reception (with bad food, and even worse music) nobody really made any toasts or speaches about the couple. Not even the parents. It seemed pretty sterile. Anyway, it didn't help that my girlfriend and I were put at a table on the other side of the room from the two tables of our friends (which were right beside each other). We were put at a table with people who we didn't know and who talked about which new sports car they wanted to buy all night long (hmmm, the BMW or the Lexus?), seriously. My girlfriend being quite the environmentalist and me not even having a driver's license didn't really fit in very well. Oh well. I guess it's really not important if I had fun or found it romantic at all, it wasn't my day. I'm sure it's really hard to organize a wedding, so I shouldn't complain.
Anyway, blog summary time! I wrote it earlier, but need to type it up for you guys now before it's late!
Anyway, blog summary time! I wrote it earlier, but need to type it up for you guys now before it's late!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Wedding bells
I'm in Ottawa this weekend because I am going to a wedding today. I'm excited because I haven't been to a wedding since I was so so so young. It's a civil ceremony, and I don't know the couple very well so I'm curious to see how it all goes. Have to go get ready now!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Finally not sick anymore
I hate it so much when a cold lingers for weeks. I had been feeling mildly ill for about a week and a half.. just waiting for it everyday to fully hit me. Andàlast week it finally happened. I spent lots of time in bed and felt better this weekend. Biggest mistake one can make when 'recovering' from a cold = thinking that it's all gone too early and then spending the weekend running around without a care in the world. I went apple picking on Sunday with my girlfriend and almost her entire family. I'm from Ontario (Toronto) and this apple picking business is definitely not as big of a tradition there as it is here. It 
was interesting to see the mobs of people gathered in these orchards in gigantic groups filling gigantic bags with apples. And then all of the apple flavoured treats in the shop at the end. I enjoyed the day a lot, the weather was beautiful and I felt like I got to experience another (for lack of a better word) quirky Quebecer tradition. I loved it. Anyway, I probably should have spent the weekend being calm and resting to make sure I was fully recovered from my cold.. because on Monday morning it was back, and worse. I slept most of the day on Monday and then after work and class in the morning on Tuesday I had to go home because I could barely keep my eyes open. I ended up missing our Tuesday afternoon class, which I really didn't want to do, but I didn't think I could make it through.
On Wednesday (yesterday) I had to work all day, thank God I was feeling a lot better. I'm a nanny, so I look after two girls (1 yr old and 4 years old) a few days a week. Yesterday was one of the most intense days I've ever had at work though. While I was alone with the baby she had a seizure. It was her first time, and I've never seen someone having a seizure before... so I was completely scared out of my mind and brought her to the emergency room where we spent almost 5 hours going from waiting room to waiting room. Anyway, she ended up being ok and they think it shouldn't happen again. It was overwhelming and exhausting and I hope I never have to experience something like that again. Definitely enough drama for one week.
was interesting to see the mobs of people gathered in these orchards in gigantic groups filling gigantic bags with apples. And then all of the apple flavoured treats in the shop at the end. I enjoyed the day a lot, the weather was beautiful and I felt like I got to experience another (for lack of a better word) quirky Quebecer tradition. I loved it. Anyway, I probably should have spent the weekend being calm and resting to make sure I was fully recovered from my cold.. because on Monday morning it was back, and worse. I slept most of the day on Monday and then after work and class in the morning on Tuesday I had to go home because I could barely keep my eyes open. I ended up missing our Tuesday afternoon class, which I really didn't want to do, but I didn't think I could make it through.On Wednesday (yesterday) I had to work all day, thank God I was feeling a lot better. I'm a nanny, so I look after two girls (1 yr old and 4 years old) a few days a week. Yesterday was one of the most intense days I've ever had at work though. While I was alone with the baby she had a seizure. It was her first time, and I've never seen someone having a seizure before... so I was completely scared out of my mind and brought her to the emergency room where we spent almost 5 hours going from waiting room to waiting room. Anyway, she ended up being ok and they think it shouldn't happen again. It was overwhelming and exhausting and I hope I never have to experience something like that again. Definitely enough drama for one week.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Oh Wednesday
So it's the middle of week. I'm at work all day (7-5:30) which makes me want to cry because I woke up yesterday morning with a bit of a cold and all I want to do is.. well.. not work. Sleeping would be nice. Sleeping until I don't feel sick anymore. But that's not how life works, so here I am.
So I am now a paintball-er. I paintball-ed on Sunday and have the pictures, welts, and bruises to prove it. It was a lot of fun, slightly nerve-wracking at times and even stressful. Most people got really competitive, and there was about 50 of us, so there was a lot of fierce adrenaline bouncing around. I just kept thinking how weird it was to be 'playing' war. That's really what we were doing. The different scenes and areas, the weapons, the uniforms, the strategy... it was war simulation. I felt strange and slightly uncomfortable about this. Anyway, pushing my overanalytical brain out of the way.. I had a blast and would definitely do it again (just not very often, it's a pretty expensive activity). Here is a picture of me in action, with basically my entire body covered in a hundred layers of padding, so you'll have to take my word on it... it's me.
So I am now a paintball-er. I paintball-ed on Sunday and have the pictures, welts, and bruises to prove it. It was a lot of fun, slightly nerve-wracking at times and even stressful. Most people got really competitive, and there was about 50 of us, so there was a lot of fierce adrenaline bouncing around. I just kept thinking how weird it was to be 'playing' war. That's really what we were doing. The different scenes and areas, the weapons, the uniforms, the strategy... it was war simulation. I felt strange and slightly uncomfortable about this. Anyway, pushing my overanalytical brain out of the way.. I had a blast and would definitely do it again (just not very often, it's a pretty expensive activity). Here is a picture of me in action, with basically my entire body covered in a hundred layers of padding, so you'll have to take my word on it... it's me.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
It's Saturday morning.. err.. afternoon
Instead of going outside and enjoying my rare 'freetime' ('freetime' = that millisecond of non-work and non-school time that happens once in a while), today I am sitting around waiting for my girlfriend's landlord to come do some repairs on her apartment. Obviously he is significantly late and our day is put on pause until he shows up, starts and then finishes his job. Fun. Thus far, today has not been a day of living leisure (lesson 1: freetime does not equal leisure time). To be more positive though this empty waiting around time has forced me to actually sit down and face the reality that school has started yet again and I need to get some work done (hence the blogging). The weather is also rather uninspiring today, so I'm not feeling too sad about missing out on any outdoor adventures right now.
To fill my time and entertain myself I have been listening to music all morning and doing some mindless web-surfing. I am currently in love with these songs:
1. Santogold- L.E.S artistes
2. Bat for Lashes- Prescilla
3. The Sounds- Painted by numbers
And these websites:
1. http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/
2. http://www.idiomag.com/
Check them out! You know.. if you want.
Tomorrow I am going to play (play? experience? do?) paintball for the first time. It is of course supposed to rain. I have no idea what to expect from the day, but I am definitely excited. It's an activity that I've been saying for years that I want to try. So tomorrow is finally the day. There will be pictures to share I'm sure.
To fill my time and entertain myself I have been listening to music all morning and doing some mindless web-surfing. I am currently in love with these songs:
1. Santogold- L.E.S artistes
2. Bat for Lashes- Prescilla
3. The Sounds- Painted by numbers
And these websites:
1. http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/
2. http://www.idiomag.com/
Check them out! You know.. if you want.
Tomorrow I am going to play (play? experience? do?) paintball for the first time. It is of course supposed to rain. I have no idea what to expect from the day, but I am definitely excited. It's an activity that I've been saying for years that I want to try. So tomorrow is finally the day. There will be pictures to share I'm sure.
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