Things that are supposed to be enjoyable but aren't in reality

[Tooconfused12]

Here's my list:

Holidays with the family (kids under the age of 6.) Too expensive, the kids are always tired/vomiting/over-stimulated. Travelling is a fucking nightmare. There's at least two arguments with your partner. And you (being the woman) end up doing all the prep for about three weeks beforehand. When you come back it takes at least a week for you to get through all the washing. And you're exhausted.

Being on the beach. It's actually a bit shit all round. Sand everywhere. People get too hot and uncomfortable. Sand in the food. Warm drinks that have been left out in the sun. The kids end up with sand in their eyes and so do you. It's always really windy and the sea is miles out which means you have to walk for ages to get there. Someone gets bitten/cut by a rock/sunburnt/swallows loads of sea water and you give up and leave after about 2 hours of drama.

Eating out. Too expensive, better quality of cooking at home with fresh ingredients.

Paris. Dirty, smelly, you're followed everywhere by sleazy men trying to sell you stuff or pickpocket you. Everyone's really fucking rude as well

Having sex. It's a bit touch and go, most of the time it's slightly boring, the bloke normally orgasms before you and the people you really fancy - when you end up shagging it turns out to be rubbish after all that build up. Or they ooze sex appeal and charisma but they do something to give you the serious ick and your vagina slams shut.

Hen do's - end of.

Fancy dress parties for adults or fancy dress for grown ups in general. Just embarrassing for me.

Road trips and driving long distance
😫 🚗 🫩
It used to be fun when I was younger, then having experienced soul destroying traffic jams for hours and diversions, there's only so much music you can listen to and only so long you can hold a wee in, before you're silently seething and eyeing up some random bushes on the road side/hard shoulder and searching the glove box for any leftover drive thru napkins and some hand sanitizer 🤦🏻‍♀️
@Tooconfused12

We enjoyed our last holiday with our toddler. She had the best time and it was infectious how much fun she had. Her dad is very hands on though so maybe that makes a difference as it wasn’t all on me. Plus we just have one.

picnics is another matter. Did one last week and we spent the whole time trying it make her sit and eat, she was manic and wanted to run. Would have been fine if she ran around us but she kept running further away. Not at all enjoyable

So true. I was at a relative's wedding a few weeks ago and was observing some of the evening crew chatting. It was quite amusing watching them grinning and nodding at each other when they clearly couldn't hear a word they were saying.

Maybe they were good lip readers :)

I agree with your suggestions OP.

I don't like beaches. Or picnics. I do like Christmas markets. A glass of Gluhwein at home isn't nearly as much fun or atmospheric as actually being at a market.

With sharing a bath, you need the taps in the middle (we don't).

Being a bridesmaid.

You are correct, I was referring to crowded beaches in Summer. I often look at the pics of UK beaches in a heatwave and think OMG, how can people tolerate that. But each to their own!

I live in Ireland, and we have some absolutely amazing beaches that go on for miles, rarely crowded, but our weather - yikes.... it doesn't make for many beach days! I do however love a walk along a deserted beach out of season, as long as there's a loo at the other end 😊

I like the idea of concerts, but you have to listen to what they are playing.

Whereas at home I can listen to what I want to listen to.

...but you have a fantastic bed! which I think is a key milestone in life 🌞

Well done!
best party I’ve been to had a silent disco. Brilliant innovation - those that want to talk can, those who want to dance can - to any of 3 different songs at a time.

If you don't enjoy Christmas, you're doing it wrong. There are far too many false expectations. Simply enjoy a meal with family. No need to make it perfect, or bigger/better than everyone else's.

Omg BBQ prospect fills me with dread. As soon as one starts one up bcos it’s been sunny for 5 mins, then everyone’s at it. You can’t breathe without smelling the smoke & all you can hear are twats talking loudly in their gardens BCOS THEY’RE HAVING A BBQ. My idea of hell!

Big Name Concerts- paying through the absolute snout for a ticket (if you can even get a ticket at all) and then being so far away from the performance that it might as well be on a TV screen.

Hate spa days

Love Paris with a passion. This is the first year for a long time I won’t be going. Gutted.

Spa days for me too. Such a waste of money. I'd much rather have swim in a lake or river.

I agree on sex and Paris! The others in you list I rather enjoy.

In my list would be theme parks. The kids think they want to go, but the reality is hours of queuing that they really don't have the patience for. I hate the crowds and the repetitive music which follows you around. Crappy food. God, they are awful!

Holidays with small kids on the beach - hot/dirty/annoyed/sensory overload

Making snow men or snow angels - freezing/wet and dubious snow quality

Bonfire night or other days like that with small kids, everyone whinging and getting cold/wet/bored

Very loud music at parties (clubbing), love a nice dinner and bar night though

Love spa days
love hairdressers

Definitely agree re snow days.

Also very hot days.

Also night clubs and anything loud or crowded.

I do like the beach, picnics and holidays though! And Paris but you need to approach it the right way. Like London really.

My first thought when I saw the title was sex - glad to see I’m not alone also agree about the beach. I like to look at it. I don’t want to be ON it.

Going out out - bars / clubs- annoying people everywhere, uncomfortable clothes, too loud music and way too much drama

Street festivals/markets. Our town hosts a lot of them, very well with loads of food stalls etc and they're really popular, just not for me. It's way too crowded, the dog gets crushed, and it's stressful everyone trying not to lose each other.

Camping and Christmas markets

Getting drunk: I like a beer, I like a nice glass of wine. I no longer have any interest in getting shitfaced. Feels crap at the time and worse the next day. I'd guess using drugs would fit this category as well, but it's been a long time.

Nightclubs: too loud to talk, someone else's choice of music (and rarely someone whose taste is interesting), poor choice of (usually overpriced) drinks. Maybe a small town thing, but usually full of wankers as well.

Music festivals / arena gigs: been there, done it. No more. I want a venue where I can (metaphorically) reach out and touch the performers. Sure, I won't get to see Depeche Mode again, but I've made my piece with that.

Fan zones at sporting events: either go to the arena and watch in person, go to the pub and watch with your mates, or stay home and watch on TV. Fan zones combine all the worst elements of those three with none of the benefits.

Meet the maker events and similar: I like the work, but that doesn't mean I'm necessarily fascinated by how it's done. And even if I am curious, I'd far rather read a perceptive interview with the creator or have a one-to-one chat instead of joining a group to be shown the process on a brisk and brief tour.

But a few that I love: live sport, at all levels. I've watched football matches with more people on the pitch than in the crowd, and I've worked at the Olympics. Any one individual event can be disappointing, but the experiences I've had travelling around the world following sports are unmatched.

Live performance: whether it's music (although see above for size of venue), theatre, comedy, dance, whatever, you can't beat that sense of being there. Also, I'd argue, the shared experience with the rest of the audience is an enhancement compared with streaming a show at home or listening to my playlists.

Physical media: reading a book is objectively more satisfying than reading off Kindle. Reading a newspaper is more rewarding that going to a website. I still have CDs (mostly in the car now) and DVDs. I print off a lot of photos.

And related, shopping in person rather than online: exceptions for things like booking transport, hotels etc, but the social contacts of going into town, browsing stores, selecting things that catch my eye rather than going where the algorithm steers me. It's a better way, honest.

But why did it make you feel that you wish you were a Lesbian?

A massage. If you get someone who is really good at their job, it ends up just feeling sore at the time (although it does ease the tension). But it's not relaxing.