Saturday, June 16, 2007

Latest Roadblocks to True Geneaholism

Life conspires against the addicted geneaholic to deprive him of his needed research time. In the last month, the following have happened to me that cut into my research time:

1) Jury Duty - four days, from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, of sitting in a courtroom listening to attorneys and witnesses, and the judge's jokes and restaurant recommendations. I coulda been home finding more cousins or putting data into my database.

2) Grandchildren come visit: five days, from 6:30 AM to 8 PM, of feeding, diapering, clothing playing, chasing, helping, loving, laughing, sharing ice cream, bathing and reading to a 2 year old. I wouldn't give that up for any genealogy work in the world.

3) Furniture shopping: we only did this three times, and for about 2 hours each, but the hassle of it all is debilitating. We found a nice leather couch set with two recliners, two other seats and two storage/drink holder areas. When it was delivered, one of the recliners was damaged. Now they can't find another one to replace it. We have to make more trips back to the store to decide if we want something else or stick with what we have. Arrgggh. I hate shopping - I'd rather be in a library.

4) Watching baseball games: We have a Padres 20-game ticket plan, so about once a week we go to the game. It ruins a whole night - from 5 PM to 11 PM. When we don't go, we watch the game on TV, which takes only 2 to 3 hours. I get the paper read, and then the current book read, so it isn't a total waste of time. I'd rather watch them all on TV, but all genealogy and no outside time makes Randy a pale wretch.

These aren't cures at all - they are roadblocks to consistently enjoying my addiction! But some of the roadblocks are very enjoyable!

What are your roadblocks to your geneaholism? Or your cures? (And don't say "take your wife to Hawaii for a week" - that's coming soon!).