Hobbies

Anyone have any interesting hobbies? What do you guys do when you're bored?

When I'm in a more focused and determined state of mind (hasn't happened in a long time...) I like to learn languages. If learning languages is something that you like, it can be very useful (even if the specific language being learned is not very likely to be useful) and it often evolves into other "spin-off" hobbies and interests.

When I'm not so focused and not so determined, I post here and do random stuff (I can't name a list of relevant things off the top of my head).

--------------

Not sure if this helps, but in case you missed it:
schizoid-personality/topic112009.html

they change all the time
programming
drawing
playing games
pissing off people
money making opportunities

are the ones i can think of atm

anagram wrote:

Anepsios wrote:Well this is a tad depressing. I couldn't even convince myself about any of these

guess.who.loves.you wrote:Maybe you can do the things you already do, but outdoors? Like surfing the Web at Starbucks... or reading a book in the park.

I did buy a Kindle just so I could read my books out in the sun. A Starbucks is no outdoor place, though!.. Unless I get the option to be completely alone in the place and to self-serve. I wouldn't even mind paying for the coffee!

-----------------

My favorite ones so far, not necessarily in order of preference, followed by their respective caveats or other observations:

• Going out into the woods (no woods anywhere near here)
  
  
• Geocaching (currently unfeasible, but might fit perfectly within future travel plans)
  
  
• Golf (maybe in another life )
  
  
• Racquetball (doesn't seem very popular in my country; it's apparently more like a thing to be found in resorts and such)
  
  
• Random online courses with virtually no pressure (may start a few; probably not going to follow through with any)
  
  
• Photography + bird-watching (definitely something I may be interested in developing in the future as a serious hobby, worth spending serious money on)
  
  
• Calligraphy (probably the same caveats as random online courses; I've played with beginner Arabic calligraphy in the past, it was interesting but didn't last long)
  
  
• Unwittingly destroying electronic/mechanical equipment (limited supply of things to be destroyed without consequence...)
  
  
• Growing plants at home (if I ever settle down in a decent place of my own, I'll certainly do it)

-----------------

My own suggestions (to other people, and for personal future reference):

• Playing and/or composing music (this has been an obsession several times in the past, but never yielding much satisfaction; I'm probably not trying it again in a foreseeable future, even though I'm tempted to)
  
  
• Ping-pong (I love it! and I am good at it — unfortunately requires another player)
  
  
• Foosball (I'm not very good at it, but it's fun anyway — same thing though: requires another player)
  
  
• Running for hours at a time (already do it semi-regularly, as described [here])
  
  
• Visiting alternative decor shops and second-hand stores for ideas about stuff I might be interested in trying to make on my own (can't see any caveats about this one!)

There are a few things here that are interesting to me, but they all have a caviet

Physical exercise: I would enjoy it if I was in good shape, but getting to that point is too much work. Alas, I am stuck in a paradox of not being in good shape because I don't exercise, and not exercising because I'm not in good shape.

Growing plants: I dislike heat and my thick black hair makes the sun unbearable, but would enjoy if I had a greenhouse or could grow them indoors or something along those lines.

Disassembling electronics: Was very much into this for a while. Unfortunately, when I went to college, my mom threw away my computers/TV's that I was working on, and we no longer have the space

Music: would love to learn how to play the guitar, in theory. However, I have learned that I am not patient enough, and I now have a guitar sitting in my room that I haven't touched all year.

I may try the online courses and visiting stores, but I think I would get bored with them after a while

I just remembered one thing that I thought of the other day: editing/cleaning Wikipedia articles.

I've also paid for a copy of Minecraft, but haven't played it yet.

Reading

Playing video games if that counts.
Listening to/playing music.

I used to read every night, but I can never gather enough focus to not drift off and I rarely have the motivation to do it anyway.

Velociraptor wrote:Playing video games if that counts.
Listening to/playing music.

I used to read every night, but I can never gather enough focus to not drift off and I rarely have the motivation to do it anyway.

I let my friend borrow my Xbox when I went to college so I could get better grades. I haven't gotten it back yet

• Lots of reading, fiction and fact.
• Programming in some "fun" language. (Perl/Haskell/Prolog/etc.)
• Walking/Hiking in nature.
• Photographing. (Birds/flowers/etc.)
• Collecting things. (Silk ties/knives/etc.)
• Playing games. (Chess/Go/Backgammon/etc.)
• Music.
• Target shooting.
• ...

Music can be used stimulate feelings that may be lurking underneath, so if that's something you want, I can recommend it.

When I'm too tired I may spend time on this forum or simply sit sharpening my knives.

archigallus wrote:Music can be used stimulate feelings that may be lurking underneath, so if that's something you want, I can recommend it.

Totally true, I like this.