arTau

Hobbies

When I was a kid, there was a store that, above all others, was my favorite place to go shop and look and think and dream.  It was called Hobby Haven –  you can still go there, though its moved to a new location.  They had trains.  Model rockets (which I flew quite a bit).  Model kits (which I assembled quite a bit, though never well).   Radio controlled cars (which I REALLY wanted, but never had).  They had more than that  - but I loved just walking the aisles.  Looking at all the pieces of brass tubing, fake grass, miniature gas stations.  Dreaming about what it would be like to fly one of the radio controlled planes hanging from the ceiling.

The bed I spent a good chunk of last summer building for my daughter

Now, I’m a grown-up.  I don’t  build model rockets anymore (though I have a couple in the garage that are Carson’s – so maybe I spoke too soon).  I do, however have some hobbies.    That word clouds things a little bit – it conjures up visions of late night spent bent over a workbench putting a sailboat into a glass bottle.  I guess its more fair to say I’ve got some interests.

Maybe I have too many interests.  Which is part of the problem.   Here’s a short list of things that I’m interested in and have some plans to do this year;

• Smoking delicious meat products.
• Brewing delicious beer
• Making things out of wood
• Taking pictures of things
• Geocaching
• Camping
• Landscaping/Gardening

That probably isn’t a comprehensive list, either.  There are other things I’d like to do, too – I’d like to build kinetic sculptures, I’d like to learn to weld.  I like to write (albeit not well).  I’d still like to learn some rudimentary computer programming skills.  I should stop this paragraph, or its liable to get very, very long.

I feel pretty strongly that, especially for guys, people need something they do.  Something they’re into.  An activity that is separate from vocation that provides some mental health and productivity.  But seriously, how many do I really need?  Would I be better served to sell the power tools and just focus on being a great photographer?

I’m struggling with the question of whether I need to excel at things, or whether its alright to take the long approach – hoping that by the time I’ve got the time to do the things that I want to do, I’m good enough at them to make it worthwhile.