Sunday, December 11, 2011

Hobbies... Or the Lack Thereof

Today I was struck by the strong urge to do a musical. Sadly the local theater groups aren't doing anything that interests me right now. The urge hit me after watching a short video of Lego minifigures singing "One Day More" from "Les Miserables". Les Miz is my very favorite musical and, in my opinion, it is simply the best ever.

But that was only the beginning of the train of thought for this post. As I realized that there were no musicals I wanted to do right now, I also realized that, except for Choir, Greek, and sporadic DnD, I have little to occupy my time. I lack a serious hobby. I sing, but apart from memorization and theory there is not much there on which to invest my time. I have been taking piano, but it does not take me very long every day to play through all of my practice pieces several times.

So then, my dilemma is this; I have too much time on my hands and I often find myself frittering it away in a mixture of anxious thought, boredom, passive entertainments, and frustratedly rambling at anyone who will listen. I spend much time at church, but not often doing anything of real use, aside from attending matins or the Divine service. I asked a friend what she thought and she told me what should have been obvious to me, I need to find something to interest myself in, a skill or hobby.

And so I find myself in a dilemma which I am not unfamiliar with. What should I spend my extra time on? I could certainly read more than I currently do, I definitely do not do enough of it. I could hunker down and work hard on my Greek, however most of the time that I am looking for something to do I am not looking for the mental gymnastics of Greek.... Or maybe I'm just too lazy....


I would appreciate any suggestions. Right now I am at a mental impasse, so any fresh thoughts would be lovely.


4 comments:

Annalise said...

If you were a girl, I'd say pick up photography, scrap-booking, physical activity, drawing, painting, sewing and just crafty things in general.

Model building? Like planes, trains and automobiles. Or ships. (Matt's suggestion)

Reading more than you already do?

Puer-Primus said...

Hmm, Find the answer to this question; "What happens when the unstoppable force meets the immovable object?".

Nat said...

Goodness, I can't decide whether I want your problem or mine (which is the opposite of yours). Since you have the luxury of being selective with your hobby-hunt, I will try to limit my suggestions to those hobbies which are not only intrinsically enjoyable, but have applications beyond themselves.

I will also limit my suggestions to things which can be done in a casual way. Intense disciplines (like math for non-math-people) can be very rewarding, but don't really feel like "hobbies". Anyway, suggestions:

—Running, especially for distance. Cardio will keep you healthy, energetic, and alive longer. The barrier for entry is essentially non-existent. Do it in cold weather to improve vasodilation, as well.

—Programming. Focus on web-based stuff. The chance of this improving your future career opportunities is enormous.

—Writing, if you don't do a lot already. Another universally-applicable skill. It's good to be able to articulate your thoughts.

—Something clever. Clever things are great for impressing/entertaining people. Examples include: juggling, doing math problems quickly in your head, memorizing the order of a shuffled deck of cards, solving a Rubick's cube, being able to write with your off-hand; and so on. All of these things are eminently learnable and will occasionally make people stare at you with big doe eyes of admiration.

If none of the suggestions you receive to your post stir your soul, E-mail me. I have a trick or two related to finding one's muse which I've been wanting to try out.

Bethany said...

Somehow I missed this post until just now. I suppose it's too late to suggest throwing yourself headlong into heavy academic pursuits?