Just one of those nights.

You ever have one of those nights where you feel like getting out, but you don’t really have any place to go. You’re bored out of your mind and can’t find anything to do. Then, when you least expect it, the night is over and you’ve done absolutely nothing. I had a lot of those when I was younger and single. You spend a chunk of the night dialing up friends to see if anyone wants to catch a movie or hit a bar and when you get through your list of regulars, you start dialing up the people you don’t actually like. Hell, you might even ring up an ex just to have someone to hang out with. Eventually you exhaust every number you know of and still nothing to do.

At this point you could still go to a movie or a bar by yourself, but you don’t. If you get something to eat, it’s fast food and you bring it home. And at some point the television gets turned on. You start flipping through shows you’ve never watched before. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Ground Force, American Chopper or a plethora of others and somewhere in the back of your mind your subconscious is taking notes. I can open a tough bottle with a potato. A 22” slick on the back of a chopper works well but you have to check your fender height. All plants have Latin names and they really don’t make much sense. This is how people end up gaining all the useless knowledge that will someday come back to them at the weirdest moment.

The bottom line is… I had nothing to do tonight, ended up sitting in front of the old TV and ended up watching Supernatural, Dr. Who and The Unit (thank you Tivo) and there’s a good chance after writing this I’m going to go back and watch Smallville. But what I’m missing is that useless knowledge I used to gain on bored nights not that I have a wife who usually keeps me from being bored and a Tivo so I don’t end up on the weird shows. Now if I learn that a one-antlered antelope is shunned by his community, I only have myself to blame.

You would think this wouldn’t be important… and you would be wrong. As a writer, it’s these little tidbits of information that our brain files away that we will eventually use in a story somewhere. A special on Roman weapons could lead to a clue in a CSI story or a historical drama. Watching real life medical shows could come in handy if I ever get to write for House or ER. And I’m sure I’m going to be using a ton of stuff soon from all the episodes of the Mythbusters I’ve been watching.

So next time you have a bored night at home, don’t spend a chunk of time calling around for companionship. Flip on the old TV and learn something new… you may just need it some day.