Fun Without Trouble

[plumtreeblossom]

Yesterday's poll brought out some astute comments that echo my feelings on having fun versus staying out of trouble:

not being in trouble allows more time for fun.
-lady_anemone

trouble is anti-fun as far as I'm concerned. I find it hard to imagine something I could do that would be fun and possibly troublesome.
-heliopsis


This is how I see it, for myself. I am not attracted to danger or non-essential risk. I can't think of even one thing I want to do that's illegal in my state, nor anything I want to do that's likely to put me in danger or jeopardize my well-being. Yet I have incredible amounts of fun in my life. I've known people who can't fully enjoy many things unless there's an illicit or risky edge to it, but that's just not in my personal makeup. I don't feel that fun and lawfulness/safety are mutually exclusive. I see both as essential and intertwined. To wit:

Have fun: Throw a party
AND
Stay out of trouble: Keep it free of illegal drugs


Have fun: Have amazing sex
AND
Stay out of trouble: Use protection against STDs and unwanted pregnancy


Have fun: go hang gliding
AND
Stay out of trouble: Know what you're doing


Have fun: Enjoy a casino visit
AND
Stay out of trouble: Don't gamble more than you can afford to lose


I don't really need to think about it most times. The prospect of getting in trouble spoils the appeal of just about anything, so my choices in fun center on things unlikely to create or attract trouble.

Comments

[desireearmfeldt]

Me too.

(And this is among the reasons I can't imagine having fun at a casino. Gambling is only fun because it's about risk, why would I want to do that?)

[ron_newman]

If I went to a casino and said "I'm going to spend $100, no more. If I lose it, it's entertainment spending", I could relax and have a good time.

Setting a limit and abiding by it is important.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I felt exactly the same way about casinos, until I cautiously went to Vegas with Jay and found there's a lot to do in casinos that isn't gambling. Lots of shopping and shows and things. Amazingly, I did spend about $10 on the gambling floor, which I'd never done before (I don't even buy lottery tickets). But mostly I enjoyed the other offerings. :-)

[ron_newman]

I don't actually do much "urban exploration", but I'm attracted to that activity, which definitely prioritizes "having fun" way over "staying out of trouble". It's also an outgrowth of the hacker culture at MIT.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

i don't think I know what "urban exploration" is. If I had to guess, I would probably say "going to a city neighborhood you've never been to before," but that's brobably not what it means by the MIT definition. Explain?

[ron_newman]

Rather than try to explain something I've only occasionally participated in, I'll refer you to the Wikipedia page. It didn't start at MIT, but it meshes well with the culture there.

[beowabbit]

I think I didn’t get a chance to comment on that, but my priorities are:

1. Stay out of serious trouble.
2. Have fun.
3. Stay out of trouble.

I think my distinction is that serious trouble is trouble that gets in the way of future fun.

Another way of putting it is that staying out of trouble is my higher priority, but my definition of trouble is kind of narrow.

It also depends how big the fun is versus how big the trouble is. If I didn’t have a honeywuzzle on Earth, I’d almost certainly take a one-way ticket to Mars with a few years’ worth of air and food and water, just for the experience. Or, more realistically, I’d happily accept the risk of overwintering in Antarctica for the experience of overwintering in Antarctica. (And I guess my notion of fun is a little idiosyncratic, too.)

[vibrantabyss.livejournal.com]

There are limits to how much trouble I'd care to invite into my life in the name of having fun. And your example of hang gliding is a good example. Things can Go Wrong (tm) and likely very wrong, but you minimize the chances by knowing what you are doing.

Compare that to zorbing, where you are guaranteed to be doing micro-brain impacts every single trip, and the assumption is your body will repair the damage.

Two very different risk models, and I don't feel the same way about them. Both are fun, and I'm willing to do both, but it feels like I arrived at that conclusion by very different paths, and I'm having a hard time figuring out what the differences are.