Just When I Thought I Was the Only One

I don't think I've ever mentioned it here...my great aversion to the shoe fashion travesty that is Crocs. I'm not talking about their kinda comfortable-looking flip flops. You know exactly the ones I mean...those horrible plastic/foam clogs. When were clogs ever a positive fashion statement anyway? I can't explain the reasoning behind my visceral reaction to them, but really, when I see people walking around in them, I kind of want to trip them, which would be easy enough to do in said footwear....

Today, however, I discovered that someone else hates Crocs as much (if not more) as I do! This Newsweek article is quick, funny read worth your five minutes. As much as I would like to reiterate how much I hate them now, the author did such a good job, there's really nothing left to say. I immediately checked out the website the author mentioned, I Hate Crocs Dot.com. While there are probably more worthwhile things to rail against in this world, I have to admire the dedication of this particular blogger to their cause of choice. What was funnier when I did the Google search for the I Hate Crocs site was the other blogs I found defending the wearing o' the Crocs with classics such as "Don't knock 'em 'til you've tried 'em." Got to love the blog-o-sphere.

My question is when are we going to take on the Ugg/shearling boot fad that just won't die??? I'm game when you are.

The Value of Girl Talk

Over the weekend, I got to catch up with one of my best girls one-on-one. Hot Mommy, as I like to call her, and I decided spur of the moment to meet at her house for a pizza & movie night. The movie part never happened...we got caught up in "girl talk." The next thing we knew it was almost midnight and we'd covered everything from relationships to politics to religion to friendships to careers to self-knowledge and back again.

I've known the Hot Mommy since she was a 19 year old non-mommy and we were both lowly hostesses at TGIFridays. We've been famous for our nearly life-changing convos ever since. Maybe it's because we're coming from similar life experiences. Maybe it's because we've been there to see each other's essential transformation into the people we are today. Whatever the reason, I leave those intensive conversations enjoying the emotional recharge that comes from spilling your guts and knowing that the other person totally got it.

By the end of the night, a theme had emerged. We've known each other a long time. Life has developed in ways we could never have expected. But the beauty of change is its power to transform us if we let it.

I Need to Get a Life

By "life" I mean a hobby. It's no secret that I'm very easily bored. I'm easily entertained but the entertainment factor never lasts long. So, I find myself searching for something new and fun to do. Specifically, I'm looking for something to do on weeknights, when I don't want to make plans with friends, on those nights that B. is engrossed by PS3 baseball, actual baseball, or eBay. Lately, I've been devoting lazy evenings to working on freelance editing projects. Umm, can you say nerd? Seriously, what do normal people do for fun???

I don't think any of my previous interests can rightly be labeled hobbies...
Reading...that's more of a pleasure than, say, a hobby.
Blogging is fun, but I don't want to do it after I've spent an entire day working in the world of words...not relaxing.
Volleyball...a little hard to play alone (and for reasons I don't want to join a league, please see below)
Yoga...Part of the fun of a hobby is getting better, and I'm as good at yoga already as I ever care to be.
Shopping...I could fill countless hours creating "looks" if someone wanted to finance it....yeah.
Karma...She really hates everyone and plays for about three minutes before she bites and runs away.
Watching television...who are we kidding here?? My brain is already reality tv rotten.

Before you pipe up with great suggestions for new hobbies, be aware that finding a hobby is more difficult for me b/c I have some very very specific criteria for what I am and am not willing to do in the name of fun.

1. I don't want to take a class in anything
2. I don't want it to be an exercise...I do enough of that on my own.
3. I would prefer an individual activity.
4. I'm not up for making anything (crafting, knitting, beading)
5. I don't want it to be a regular event I have to attend every single week.
6. I don't want to invest a ton of money in it.

I'm sure there are more, but that's where I'm at for now. From there, I tried to identify if any of my friends are into anything I'd like to do as well, but I discovered that:

1. I don't scrapbook (I'll never be that bored)
2. Cooking classes violate above stipulations 1, 4, and 5.
3. Rollerderby is cool to watch but not this pansy-ass's cup of tea
4. Watching sports or going to sporting events qualifies as torture rather than entertainment in my book.
5. I don't play video games.
6. Photography sounds like lots of fun, but I'm not up for buying all the equipment to do it properly.

I think the answer here is simple. A puppy would be a great hobby (or perhaps puppy ownership would be the actual hobby). Too bad they aren't allowed in our building. Anyway, I'm still looking.
What options am I missing? Any ideas?