Confessions Of A Novelty Seeker: My Short-Term Affairs

A couple of weeks ago I was rummaging in my pantry for something.

Honestly, I can’t remember what. I think I was doing the teen “Hmmm is there anything in here I want to eat?” thing. As I was moving various black bean cans, boxes of pasta, and bags of chips, I stumbled upon three dusty wheat germ bottles near the back of the bottom shelf.

“Well, hello there old girlfriend.”

Before I could stop myself, I muttered out loud, “Well, hello there old girlfriend.” My boyfriend was in the adjacent room and responded with one of the most used questions in my household: “What?”

We seem to spend an inordinate amount of time talking to one another as we walk away from each other, or stick our heads in refrigerators, or hit the run button on the super noisy dryer. It is a constant game of “What did you say?” where I live. As often as  we play it you’d think it was the most fun game ever. It’s not.

This time, however, I wasn’t actually talking to him. As a matter of fact, I had no intention of being heard. The sly greeting to my old girlfriend, Wheat Germ, was for my own entertainment. Seeing those extra unused bottles (which will eventually get thrown away or donated) reminded me of my proclivity toward novelty seeking.

Not sure why it never occurred to me to wonder why. I have a reputation among my friends and family. The reputation comes with nicknames and coined phrases that mean little to outsiders but paint a vivid picture to those of us in the know. 

A Few Examples:

“Gone the way of the caramel apple.” – For a few months, while living in San Francisco, I became very fond of caramel apples. There was a kiosk in the Stonestown Galleria in the Sunset District of the city that sold them. Not sure how I discovered them or why, but suffice it to say at least a few times a week I would request a quick trip to the mall to get a caramel apple. My then-husband, who has quite a sweet tooth, kindly obliged. Until one day, I just stopped asking. Shortly thereafter he suggested a trip to the mall. You would have thought he had asked me if I wanted to go dig ditches. “Eeewww, no, I’m over caramel apples.” Since then many foods and activities have gone the way of the …..

“Farmer Jack.” – Needs no explanation.

“Susie No Pants” – Gets no explanation.

Poking around the internet, I learned that one of the symptoms of ADHD is to lose interest in hobbies or passions, seemingly for no good reason. ADHD can affect our ability to maintain habits, no matter how good they are for us.   

Is it possible to have part-time ADHD? Or situational ADHD? 

I know this is a real problem for many and I mean no disrespect to anyone. This is about me and me only. I get to make fun of myself, if I want.

I don’t burn through everything in my life a few months or years at a time. Some habits and passions stick around. Albeit I am a bit burned out on parenting…. When can we stop doing that?

Confessions of a Novelty Seeker:

“there’s always something “new” on my horizon”

Clearly I am a dopamine addict. Seeking novel and unusual travel opportunities, eating non-mainstream foods, participating in edgy or seemingly dangerous activities — there’s always something “new” on my horizon. I am on the constant look out for my next challenge. The short-lived initial excitement of starting a new project soon fades. 

I choose to look at it as “forever curious.” I thrive when I am learning and developing new skills or acquiring new knowledge. Keeping novelty high in my life is a priority. Once the habit or task becomes mundane and repetitive, with nothing changing, it’s Game Over and I move on.  

And yes, while I am fickle, there are some relationships in my life that are “forever” — just don’t mention that to the wheat germ.