A Colossal Waste of Time

Four hours of driving seems like a colossal waste of time.

Last night I drove from Vienna (Austria) to Zagreb (Croatia). It wasn’t cheap. Apart from the cost of the rental car, the gas/petrol, the toll road, the Slovenian vignette (15 euros?! Geez, it’s a crime!), and the parking fee, it cost me 4 hours of driving. That’s four hours of staring ahead, into the darkness, with only cars, trucks, and the occasional bored public servant in his little toll or customs house sliding by.

And 4 hours of thinking.

When I travel by plane or train it’s different. When there’s someone else steering the machine I can read or write, or create presentations, or make plans for ruling the world. But not in a car.

I remember long ago I asked my father why he liked fishing. He said he enjoyed doing nothing, just staring at the little float in the water, and allowing his mind to wander. I didn’t understand it at the time. It sounded like a colossal waste of time to me.

And I still don’t get the point of hurling stinky animals out of the water, and then throwing them back in with a trauma and ruined lips.

But I look forward to wasting another 4 hours tomorrow, back to Vienna.

When have you wasted your time?

(image: Sean McGrath)