Hey there, lover
It’s finally happened. I figured it out but there’s nothing I can do about it. TV has taken over my life. In recent years, there has been an influx of high quality television like never before. From the early golden days of Lost and The Sopranos to modern day classics like Breaking Bad, it makes for a harrowing existence, let me tell you. A life of popcorn and sitting around and looking at screens and pages. Do I get paid for it? No. But I enjoy it more than anything in the world.
This isn’t going to be an eye opener or a breakthrough to anyone because a lot of us are like this, albeit with a litany of other possible interests. The estimated time I spend each week either watching TV, watching a movie, reading a book, or writing is around 42 hours, or roughly six hours a day. That’s not even counting the Spotify playlists, YouTube videos, and endless podcasts I listen to daily while at work. So, ingesting and creating media as a hobby for me (and I’m sure millions of others around the world) equates to more than a second full-time job.
Hobbies are activities indulged in for pleasure outside of one’s normal routine. We all find ways to deal with boredom, depression, and ants in our pants. Hobbies dull the pain of daily life, so to speak. For those of us who presently can’t do something we absolutely love and get paid for it all the time, we must adhere to a ‘regular’ job of some sort. I like my job and I’ll be doing it for awhile. But do I love it and want to do it forever? Probably not. So, here I sit. Writing. Now, I’m not referring to those jobholders who have ‘given up’ on creative endeavors as a career or people with no possible means of ever making money off their oddball hobby. I’m mostly speaking of those ‘in-transit’ creatives. The ones who haven’t lost hope and are still finding their way. This is not a call to arms to break free from your corporate overlords and find what you love and FUCKING DO YOGA ALREADY OR SOMETHING! Rather, it’s a reflection on loving the daily grind and the escape of relaxing in front of that friendly red screen to find a wonderful distraction for the evening.
Work as a job can be stressful, time consuming, irritating, and sometimes boring. I have found that even people who love what they do feel the same and have their own nit-picks about their specific profession. And most of it’s justified! Some of it can be hard to understand which is why people snub their noses when they hear actors complaining about paparazzi. ‘Well, you should have thought about that before you got famous,’ they scream. ‘They’ being the loath and jealous internet trolls of the world. Everyone has a right to privacy and it’s ok to sometimes complain about stuff other people couldn’t possibly understand. We’ve all done or witnessed it. Just go to a work party when you don’t work with any of the other people. All the party-goers will talk about are things that so specific to their place of work, you will pray for someone to tell you The Wire was the best show they’ve ever seen and have you seen it? Oh my God!
The point is, occasionally we all get tired of doing what we do no matter what we do. We all have escapes. Even from our escapes. Just follow me. It could be woodworking, gardening, knitting, or even dog-sitting but we all have something. Even if that something is what you get paid to do everyday. That may seem obvious but my point is not to feel bad for letting your something consume you. Let it wash over you in soft baths of ironic ska music or reruns of Sex Box.
I have two jobs that take up most, if not all, of my time every single day. And I love every minute.
Photo courtesy of Mashable.com.
Jason Fabeck
Jason Fabeck lives in Chicago and likes warm socks. He camps occasionally but is terrible at making a fire. He is currently working on a YA novel in between watching every Nicolas Cage movie ever made.
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