Watching Paint Dry and Other Adventures

I intended this to be my fourth book (and first nonfiction piece, rather than a novel) but events conspired against me. (I.e., I wrote a different book.) This one is still on the docket for one-day, someday:

What is it like to actually watch paint dry? Is it more or less mind-numbing than being stuck in an airport, or watching grass grow? In the battle of boring between waiting for water to boil and toast to pop, which one is more excruciating? How do you get the most out of being stuck in traffic? (Hint: bongos sound like a good idea, until the drum fabric stretches out in the heat.) Reveling in tedium, bravely tackling the most mindless of topics, embracing waiting as a way of life, the book explores the ins and outs of boredom, anticipation, and anxiety brought on by the simple fact of having to wait. The book unravels the agonies of the day before a vacation, meditates on the emptiness of the day after Christmas, and observes the humorously desperate defense mechanisms of a trapped mind that will do almost anything to extract entertainment from a hopeless situation. Part travelogue and part survival guide, Watching Paint Dry provides wry insight and advanced techniques for understanding and coping with the thousand cuts of boredom that bleed the life out of the typical day.

"I considered A Watched Pot and then Watching the Toaster as early titles. Then I tried Watching Toast Boil, which turned out to be disgusting, before finding the right angle."