Floor Time
/flôr tīm/
noun
the 15-60 minute time period spent laying on the floor in the middle of the work day, typically as a relief from the soul-sucking reality of corporate America.
If you know me, and I hope you do, you’ll know that I am a Gryffindor with Slytherin tendencies1. Specifically, I am incredibly competitive2. My parents had me in competitive swimming from age 4 and I proceeded to play volleyball, water polo, and soccer. Just call me a jock (derogatory). Then, I joined choir and musical theatre—and theatre kids will be the first to tell you that nothing fires up your inner competition like an available solo or open cast list.
Enter: Adulthood. As an adult, a lot of my competitive spirit has leveled out (probably for the better). There aren’t any meets to train for, any tests to set the curve on (not that this was me), or any parts to land. So I’ve been thinking about how I feed the need for competition that still buzzes in my soul. The need to chase the “triumphs and defeats, the highs and lows of high school football,” you might say. And I realized I have a list of low-stakes ways that I already let my competitive spirit come out to play. Putting this together made me giggle because it seems a little silly, but it works for me. I hope this encourages you to fire up healthy competition within yourself, or amongst your people. I wholeheartedly believe competitiveness is not a bad quality when utilized correctly. It means you have goals, you show discipline, you care, and you’re constantly striving for self enrichment and betterment.
3 ways I find competition as an adult (and how you might, too)
I joined a bowling league. What if I told you that joining a bowling league has been a lifelong dream of mine? Seriously. I love bowling. The game is just the right amount of fun and challenging, with a low barrier to entry, and I like that there’s a social aspect to it when you wait your turn.
So, the bowling league. We had our last game two weeks ago and I bowled…..the worst game of my adult life 😅. And there’s no excuse other than I may get competition jitters and basically just choked. So I’ve spent the last two weeks spiraling about a botched premiere showing (especially to my own team), practicing my form, and strategizing for how I’ll show up better in next week’s game. You might be reading this and thinking, that’s so silly, bowling is just whatever and this sounds like an intramural league you join just to meet people and drink! And I counter with, no, yeah, for sure, BUT there are also people in the league with their own shoes, balls, and fancy curvy bowls—and I want to get to THAT level. It’s not an activity that’s “whatever” if it’s something I’m choosing to devote time to. Things can be fun and a competition at the same time, and that’s exactly how I feel about my new bowling league.
I set annual reading goals. You’ve probably noticed that I share my book-of-the-week in every Floor Time. I genuinely love reading and have been leaning into it especially in the cold months (and because if I don’t read a book, I’ll read the news and the news makes me sad). I love going on Goodreads and being a creep to what my friends are reading, and their reading challenges. (Not that Goodreads went through an update and removed the “friend’s challenges” feature. I am heartbroken. They have stolen the most healthy, low-stakes form of competition from me). This is reminiscent of summer reading lists or challenges we had in elementary school. I love bringing back some joys of childhood in this way. Now if only we could bring back the joy of the Scholastic Book Fair….
I treat myself as the competition. This is a more broad but important point. Being competitive with yourself just means you have a drive to self-improve. One very low stakes example is how I make the dishes I like over and over again so that I can continue to perfect the recipe. It’s not even really a competition in that there never is a loser—I always end up with a yummy meal. I’ve even extended this to double date night, where four of us competed to see who could create the nicest and tightest sushi roll. All I’m saying is, competition adds a little spice and fun to the ordinary. So why not lean into it?
And if you still don’t believe me, here’s the research ;)
Something I Thought of in the Shower
Challengers getting snubbed in every way is an insult to culture as we know it. Who brought people back to the cinemas? HUH?!
Something for Clarice
Hey! This newsletter is free and I intend to keep it that way. That said, if you love it and want to show your appreciation, buy me a coffee :)
Something Pretty
It was Padma Lakshmi night at Una Napoletana Pizza (hers is the one on the bottom right). These pizzas were beautiful and incredible and totally worth the wait.
By the way…I’m reading this.
I ended up reading Jon M. Chu’s Viewfinder last week (it was brilliant—what a storyteller that man is) and have moved on to James by Percival Everett. I’m only 25% in and plan to devour the rest this weekend. I have a feeling this will be referenced as one of the great American novels, it’s sublime.
And I’m watching this.
Along with season 2 episode 1 of Severance, I spent this week watching season 2 of XO, Kitty. While the acting is—well, it just is—they raised the stakes this season and the story is so fun. I was giggling and kicking my heels like a teen. I’m so freaking glad I exist at the same time as the Jenny Han-aissance. Also, this makes me miss Korea so much. Is it too late to apply for my scholarship at K.I.S.S??
Hope you’re all taking care this very cold winter. May you whip out the board games or hit the bowling alley this weekend and add a little competition to your cozy :)
‘Til next time, Slytherins. Your friend,
Clarice
and you know what, YEAH, I’m also a MILLENNIAL who makes Harry Potter references in 2025 OKAY?! let me live gd!!
haters will say it’s astrology