I am a fanatic when it comes to variety. I can only eat leftovers once that week and either they get frozen, or the next time around have to be incorporated into something very different on the taste spectrum, or they get thrown out. This theme is true with restaurants. It is unusual that I will go back to the same restaurant without going to other restaurants in between.
I do not like to watch the same movie more than once. (With the exception of Cars, Toy Story, or Tinkerbell because I love holding hands and watching movies!) There are a few that I will re-see with lots of time in between but that is rare. (Oddly enough I will watch re-runs of Star Trek or Public Television British mysteries until the cows come home, and we have no cows.)
I will go on a wine tour but that can only happen once or twice a year...then I am done with the whole wine thing for many months. I am not excited about going back to any annual festival even if I have enjoyed myself the first year I attended.
I will only go to the art museum when they change the exhibit, even if the attendance is free.
I regularly juggle my music on my CD system. Light Latin, movie themes, retro music, cool jazz and then on to independent international stuff or favorite singers for a while.
When I worked I had a rather large wardrobe because I would not wear the same outfit unless three weeks had passed.
I do get bored if I see people I know too often. Fortunately my current hermit existence resolves that problem for both them and me.
I do feel that variety is the spice of life. Thus my husband frequently says to me, "How did you stay with me so long?"
That is a good question. He is very predictable after 40 years of marriage. Our lives are becoming even more routine as we mesh our rhythms together in this retirement. I think I have fit in this relationship because he is high energy and I am more laid back. When I need an energy boost I go with him. When I want to read and drink a glass of wine or take photos in the yard, I send him on his way to his project with my good wishes. He will compromise, and naturally, I will get what I want.
There are those that hate change in routine, love the coziness of the predictable and want every day just like yesterday if yesterday was good. There are those who could fill every day with the repetition of their hobby or passion.
What about you? Where do you fall on the spectrum?
I like variety too, but to a degree. I reread my favorite writers every couple of years or so, but I have a routine in the early morning that I hate to have changed unless I make the change. Compromise is good as is change.
ReplyDeleteI do not re-watch movies, unless it is Cinderella, or such as Lily requests. I never re-read a book, I would be sad it kept me from a new one....I love new adventures, but only with people I know well. I am slow to make new friends....Is this too much info?
ReplyDeleteI never re-read a book (or so seldom as to be never). I will watch movies again though but I watch movies so rarely that I guess that would be never too. Being the hermit that I am I guess you could say my life is one long rut, one day pretty much like the one before it though I try to stay open to new experiences. In fact I like new experiences once I climb out of my ever deepening rut.
ReplyDeleteI rarely reread books - there are occasional exceptions. The same with movies. Yet, I tend to enjoy some TV reruns - particularly old sitcoms.
ReplyDeleteI'm one of those who loves leftovers and returning to favourite places but prefer trying something new.
As for music, I like my oldies but quite enjoy a mix of new (to me) pieces. I absolutely despise knowing what song is coming up next though, so I always keep it shuffled and never play a whole album of one artist. And I wish the DJs on the radio would tell me what the song/artist is AFTER it played, rather than announce what's coming up.
Sounds like an active and curious mind to me. I fall somewhere in between. I have a steady inventory of old favorites punctuated by forays into something new. My boring routine in the morning gets me moving out into my day for more interesting things.
ReplyDeleteI guess I am a combination of Variety and Routine... We love to go back to some of the same vacation places where we have been (Beach in NC, mountains in Arkansas, etc.).... BUT--we also like varety...
ReplyDeleteWe do have a routine --and I do like it that we are scheduled up to a point. We like some of the same restaurants --but also like different ones.
I think I am more of a 'variety' person and my hubby is more routine... We balance each other out pretty well I guess.
Hugs,
Betsy
I cook with the idea of having left-overs for at least two more meals. My husband likes meat and I go veg most of the time so it is my way of not having to cook two different meals everyday. (Actually, my husband does cook, too.)
ReplyDeleteI don't watch many movies, but I do on occasion re-read a book. My husband will finish a book and immediately re-read it sometimes. He does remember a lot more of what he has read than I do.
You would absolutely wear me out, Tabor.
ReplyDeleteI like routine because only routine gives me the space and time to live where I really want to live and spend most of my waking hours: in my head.
Other people wear me out, the need to listen to them, the need to pay attention to anything other than what occupies me at the moment.
No constant changes for me, please. I get bored too easily. A contradiction in terms? No, not really.
I daresay your need for variety has the same root as my need for routine: are you easily bored too?
Variety is indeed the spice of life, but I can watch a movie I love many times over... especially if it's one that I can share with someone close to me. But I do like to try new things occasionally, it keeps the boredom at bay.
ReplyDeleteI may watch the same movie three times in a row, or play a song over and over until I can't listen one.more.time. But generally, I like variety, enough to keep me interested, not often enough to distance me from my comfort zone. I make a good fence sitter until I'm so bored I hop off to one side or the other and get into mischief.
ReplyDeleteI don't like to read books again, or see movies a second time. But, now that I think about it, I do enjoy a daily routine, and don't like to miss exercise or reading time.
ReplyDeleteUgh, I guess I might be stuck in my ways!
I enjoyed the comments as much as I enjoyed the entry. I love the new. I love the old. I re-watch movies, and I re-read books. I love road trips with no destinations, and really enjoy unscheduled days.
ReplyDeleteYou leave me smiling today.
une bonne journée
ReplyDeleteamitiés de france
I just read Jane Eyre for, maybe, the 4th time. There are only a very few movies I care to see twice, 'Amelie' being one of them. I don't like to eat the same thing two nights in a row, but I hate wasting leftovers. We hardly ever go to restaurants, so it's always a treat.Before big trips I always kind of want to stay home, but then I do like to travel once I get going. When I retire (pretty soon) I am going to have to figure this stuff out! Sometimes I like routine, and other times I just want to drop it all and run...
ReplyDeleteI am like you in most of these ways except with food. I can eat the same things repeatedly. I don't like seeing movies or going to places on vacation twice but I do like a certain amount of routine. I often notice that I don't like conversations about things that already happened. I like to hear and say something new in the present rather than talk about the past.
ReplyDeleteI'm like a befuddled fairy in flight. Zinging hither & yon. Never re-read books, love leftovers, like going back to old favorite places and seeing new ones. Unplanned flights or road trips to interesting places are appreciated. Always changing creative endeavors. Seem to be in a static holding pattern at present.
ReplyDeleteThis is fascinating! I guess I don't mind some repetition. I could eat pizza every day!
ReplyDeleteI like my routines, morning coffee, pet care, times for doing music and art with others. Those everyday constants are a background against which I can paint spontaneity and new adventures. I reread books or see movies I've seen before, many years apart, they seem new again. I see the same story from a different perspective.
ReplyDeleteI barely eat leftovers, I need variety in every way shape and form. I do, however tend to stick like glue to cars, furniture, the wrong men..... :}
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