Keeping it up

This morning, on the way to work, I saw the Sudoku woman again. She was still working on those number puzzles. I first spotted her working on them with a mechanical pencil on the train a few months ago, and I bet she got those puzzles from some clueless colleague's puzzle book, blew them up and photocopied them on A4 paper using the office photocopier machine.

I was quite surprised that even after a few months, she's still engrossed in them. I think it's become a hobby for her. I was surprised because I have one of those small Sudoku books myself. It's divded into 3 levels, with about 40 puzzles per level. It's been thrown aside before I've even gone through the 1st level.

It's not that I've become a Sudoku expert, but more like, I've gotten a handle on it and thus have lost interest. That's my problem--I lose interest too easily. I can never sustain a hobby or interest long enough for me to become proficient or for it to define me.

The things that I do still, like drinking coffee and reading, they're not even my interests and I don't know why I even include them as such in my profile. It's more like, I have to keep doing them, even though I'm no longer into them. It's like an addiction, something that you're tired of but just can't shake off.

Every time I see a bookshop, even though I tell myself that it's going to be the same old few books that are not going to interest me (Blink, Shopaholic series, Harry Potter books, Dan Brown stuff), I still feel helplessly drawn to walk up and gawk at them. It's tiresome. I just have to keep doing it. I think at this point, it's no longer an interest but a compulsion.

Can someone tell me how to cultivate and sustain interest in things please? What exactly is my problem?

Anyway, I'm going to meet up with some friends and discuss the US trip that we plan to take next year. So excited. I think we should list down the things we want to do the most and then try to accomodate as many things on the list as possible. Mine are:

1) Visit the national park, preferably Yosemite
2) White water rafting
3) See mountains and lakes
4) Horse riding
5) Ride trains
6) Watch a movie
7) Shop at Gap

Any suggestions, please? From those who've been there before. Thanks.