so i've got nothing going on tonight and just been parked on 7.200 for like the past hour listening to some guys ragchew about absolutely nothing — truck problems, weather, somebody's neighbor who keeps parking in the wrong spot. honestly its kind of relaxing? idk there's something about just listening to people shoot the breeze on SSB that i never get tired of. been licensed since 2019 and i still just like to sit and listen sometimes more than actually transmitting. anybody else do this or am i weird

nah you're not weird at all, i do the same thing on 75m sometimes late at night. theres this one net that runs around 3.890 or so and half the time its just old timers talking about their gardens and what they had for dinner and i just leave it on in the background while im doing other stuff around the shack. its good company honestly especially in the winter when its dark by like 5pm and you dont want to go outside

yeah 40m at night is great for that. skip brings in stations from all over and you never know who you'll hear. i jumped in on a QSO last weekend with a guy in Tennessee who turned out to have known my elmer from like 30 years ago, small world stuff. anyway yeah just listening is totally valid, not everything has to be a contest or a dx pileup lol