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There are so many things I am not interested in doing, it’s kind of
wonderful. Most of the time I focus on all the things I want to do and worry
about whether I will ever have the time and opportunity to do them all. I am
quite grateful for all the things I get to do that I actually want to do,
but reversing the question makes me even more grateful for all the things I
don’t want to do -and- don’t have to do.
Getting a degree in business in pretty high on the list. I have never at all wanted to get one. Getting a degree in law is another of those things. So when I see people who, like me, started out as engineers, and then went on to do one of these other things, and are now rich and famous, instead of envying them their wealth and fame, all I feel is a great sense of relief. “Man, it’s so great that all I ever wanted to do, and anticipate ever wanting to do, is technical work.”
Another thing is writing a food blog. Don’t get me wrong. I love the damn things. There are so many great writers and creative cooks out there, all offering us their work for free, and I admire many of them. But please. I have no interest in writing one myself. I enjoy cooking, I enjoy taking pictures, and I enjoy writing. But food blog? Umm, not so much.
On a related note, I have no interest in finding the best coffee/cheese/pizza/chocolate in town. Honestly, all the elitism surrounding these things is so utterly boring. Nor am I interested in finding the best French/Ethiopian/Peruvian restaurant in town. And all this talk of “hole-in-the-wall” restaurants and the joy and excitement associated with discovering and sharing them? Leaves me totally cold. I will gladly go home and eat steamed broccoli, thank you very much. (I will confess to being interested in good bread though. But only to the point of knowing which one is my favourite from among the options in the stores I already go to. I refuse to go to a new store for bread alone. I mean please.)
Finally, I confess to having no interest in popular culture in general. I have no idea what Justin Bieber looks like, or Kim Kardashian. I have no idea which bands are the most arcane and/or the most popular and the not knowing of which marks one out as a sad loser and philistine. (If this is what it means to be a sad loser and philistine, I am happy to be one.) To be honest, I don’t even know a lot of Beatles music, and have no shame in admitting that or interest in changing that. I can’t always recognize the top Hollywood actors either, and have no idea what the actors in Breaking Bad look like. (Even though I confess that I often read about new movies and TV shows, so I do know the plots and themes better than the above indicates.)
To conclude on a positive note rather than a curmudgeonly one, I will say that writing this little essay is one of the things I wanted to do, and actually got to do, and for that I am grateful. Yo!