I was a bit of a whiner as a kid. I am outing myself. That said, my mother wasn't the most engaging parent. She sat at the same chair every day, chainsmoking and drinking Lipton tea while filling out her logic problem books that she bought at the stationery store. While I was a very imaginative (morbid, even) child, there were times when not even my own brain could keep me entertained. And it wasn't like I could turn on the TV. That wasn't allowed. So I'd whine to my mother that I was bored. “I…