blondboy (imported) wrote: Wed Nov 19, 2008 8:25 pm
In my free time, I relax with friends, watch movies, attempt to cook (and hopefully not poison anyone or have more kitchen fires), visit www.eunuch.org, etc. And you?
My favorite hobby is procrastination. But I never seem to get around to doing it.
A procrastinating procrastinator is a very busy person indeed. And I am very busy.
I use to have hobbies, but then I retired, and after retiring I spent so much time on my hobbies that they weren't hobbies anymore, they were almost full time activities. I finally realized I needed a hobby to take me away from my hobbies. I have not found that new hobby yet.
If you spend all your time on a hobby, is it a hobby anymore? Or an advocation? Or a non-profit charitable organization? Some people claim that they make money (or get paid) from their hobby or hobbies. Is that then a hobby? Seems not to me. Seems like a job, or a business. But I could be wrong.
My "hobbies" have always been somewhat beyond the norm. I like sports and in High School played basketball (probably because I'm tall), and also baseball. I played softball for many years on a womans team. I took piano lessons when I was a kid and have even learned to pick a little guitar. Even sang a little (or tried to) in a little Country Band. I would love to give archery a try if I can figure out how to do that one handed. Hey! At least I try.
Well, unfortunately my most prevalent hobbies lately seem to be schlepping around the 'net looking for good stories and playing my PS3... neither of which hobbies are particularly healthy in any way.
However I guess my 'favorite' hobby would be paper making. I've got a sluice-frame in the basement and a bunch of screens, and once in a while Ill find ingredients that interest me (particularly nice old fabric I can throw into the mix or some sort of plant fiber that strikes me; last batch was dandylion petals and caraway seed with paper pulp and some red construction paper.. that ended up making a REAL neat and stronger than usual paper). I make 12 x 18 inch sheets so I can trim them down to 11x17 or 8.5x11, common sizes. Suprising that people actually buy the end result; I would supply more craft-shops if I didn't have a full time job. People seem to like the paper for making cards, etc.
I have posted my hobbies here before, but lately I have taken up some new ones.
My top priority in my life, ever since I became a father, was to see to it that my son had a better life than I did - so far I think I have done pretty damn good at it. But it has not been easy, it has been challenging, diverse, demanding, etc... So, to accomplish the mission of "being a good father" I have had to take up a LOT of new hobbies... not really taking up any of the hobbies, but supporting my son's hobbies.
To be a good father, it seems that an ENDLESS list of things tie-in. The tie-in things, are anything my son is interested in or things I want him to be interested in. Think back to your own childhood and remember, all the things you were interested in (besides girls) when you were 13?
Some hobbies I have recently "taken up" are archery... OMG! EXPENSIVE!! And "travel" (that is to say, I PAY for my wife's ticket and my son's ticket - they get a vacation and I get a "staycation"). And there is my hobby of "4H show pigs," (please see thankyou note below) that is where my son joins 4H, raises a pig and auctions it off at the county fair... but I get to buy the pig, the feed, and take care of it, and he gets the auction money... And then there is scuba diving, yes, I pay for my son's classes and diving equipment, and I get to watch him go into the lake, and disappear for a while, very interesting and entertaining to watch the bubbles on the surface for forty minutes... NOT!! And there is.... well the list is l - o - n - g, and very EXPENSIVE!
Would you like to read about my archery experience? Or maybe I should put it in the "blog" section of the EA. Well, I will post a short version here, and maybe the long version in the blog.
Three months ago... I was at a gun show, I am quite a redneck and like to go to gun shows to look at all the toys I could never afford, while I was looking around, I saw a hunting bow, price marked was $250. I know NOTHING about archery, not interested in it, but I was looking at the bow and the old guy who was selling his wares there noticed and practically BEGGED me to buy the bow... "I'm tired of packing it around, I was just selling it for my brother .... he gave up archery a few months ago... " I told him that all that bow would ever be to me is like a diversion for my son, that I never liked archery... I did not want it... STUPIDLY, I bought the bow and all the arrows and all the accoutraments (there are a LOT of "accoutraments" I have found out) all for $50. Even the "pro" at the archery store here told me that I made one hell of a good deal on that, but I don't know.... That $50bow that I picked up for my son has ended up costing me well over $500 so far. "Accoutraments" you know....
So my REAL hobby is watching my son develop his archery skills. Now in fairness, it IS entertaining to watch him, at 20 yards distance he is getting five inch groups. To someone who does not know archery, that does not sound like much, but believe me, that is an achievement that few people can match. My son has the "draw weight" on his bow set at 46 pounds, it reminds me of the mythical bow of Odysius, that no one else could draw... My son like to invite his friend and others to try to draw that bow and damn few (even grown men) are able to draw it fully. So far, NOBODY has been able to match his accuracy here in our back yard archery range.
*** "the thankyou note below" ***
I would really like the THANK the people here at EA who gave me a bit of advice on the 4H pig hobby. As always, I am so shocked and amazed at the increadibly broad and extensive knowlege base here at EA.
Hey! At least I try. 