Awkward dance questions

I've recently become aware of a new peeve I have. I really don't like/feel put on the spot when someone asks me what I like to do for fun, or what my hobbies are, especially if I only have about 30 seconds to answer. And I can't quite figure it out...it's a legitimate question to ask when you're trying to get to know someone. But for some reason, I can never come up with a good answer, and the person must walk away thinking I have no life.

Maybe it's because in high school, I slept 3 hours a day, and the other 21 were spent being involved in 29273759262 activities. And if you asked me that question then, the answer would've been so long, you would get bored after hearing the first 194 things. Or, ya know, maybe the first 6. Then in college, you never got asked that question, because everyone was the same. When you weren't in class, doing homework, sleeping, or eating, you spent your time hanging out with friends. Or you were involved in extra activities that made your interests obvious, like I sang in choir. Actually come to think of it, the first question you always got asked in college was "what's your major". Incredibly over-used and got old fast, but yet it does say wonders about who you are, your interests, and what you wanna be when you grow up.

But then you get to the real world, and most people ask you "what do you do for a living?" or "where do you work?". A topic that I LOVE to discuss. SO it catches me off guard when someone asks what I do in my spare time. Maybe it's good to get asked that, because we shouldn't be ruled by where we work, or judged on that alone. But I'm just really terrible at answering.

A guy asked me that the other nite, and my response was *shrugs* "well, I hang out with my friends a lot". This was the truth, especially being in charge of ysas, my weekends and many a weeknite are spent just being with people. And I'm fairly extroverted in the way that I like to be around people pretty much 24/7, with the exception of the hour or so that I get home from work and like to chill. Is that a lame response? This guy didn't like it apparently, because then he says "well, what are your hobbies?" and as I'm thinking to myself, "I have no idea what to say" I blurted out "I read". Haha which is also truth, kind of. I haven't been able to properly read what I want to read (with the exception of Harry Potter and a few others) since about age 12. And I've recently made a goal to read for fun at least once every day. So it was a true statement, but does it explain me? No way Jose. When you're given just a split second to answer, to talk with someone and give them an idea of who you are, it really becomes an impossible question. Because no matter what I say, it doesn't really accurately depict me as a person. Hobbies? Hobbies? What does that even mean? Isn't that something you do often?

I enjoy music...I love to sing and I sing in choirs when I can. Does that happen often? Nope. I used to play several instruments but haven't in years. I enjoy going to see bands perform but that only happens once every few months. I love tennis and used to be really good at it, but to be honest haven't picked up my tennis racket in a year and a half. I enjoy watching movies...I have a huge collection, but I usually only pop one in maybe once a week, and only go see one in a theater once every couple months. See what I mean?

Here's a better question: What's a day in the life of you like? I think I could handle answering that. I go to work in the morning. I'm a TSS for autistic/special needs kids and I love my job. I come home early afternoon, I sit on the computer for a little, I read for a little. I'm currently reading the fantasy series The Wheel of Time that I never got around to finishing before. Each book (and there's like 13 of them) has around 1000 pages, so it's a long process. My kitty usually cuddles with me when I come home. I'm an animal person, I like all animals of all shapes and sizes, and they love me. I listen to a large and wide variety of music and sing and dance as often as possible each day too. I spend the rest of my evening going out somewhere with friends or family. What we do varies greatly, however, it usually at some point revolves around food. I love food, I like to try new and different stuff, and I like to cook too. I've been told I'm pretty good, but then I have lots of friends who are professional chefs and just laugh at me. I think face time is so important with people and so I do as much of that as possible. I love to laugh with my friends. I come home at nite, I prep for my day, I do some more reading/computer time/paperwork, I occasionally blog about the awkward situations of my life, and I go to bed pretty early because I really love my bed and sleeping in it. The end.

Much better. So stop with this silly "what do you do for fun" nonsense. Worst question ever.

Oh and boys, also, do not within the first 2 minutes of meeting a girl tell her that you've made 2 resolutions: the first being that you refuse to kiss a girl until your wedding day and the second that you refuse to ask any girl out, but expect them to come to you. Guaranteed, the second one will prevent the first from ever happening anyway. Kthanksbye.