(Modified 7/15/97)
I write short stories and a tiny dab of poetry. I also have some things in the works which might someday be novels, but I think as long as I view writing as a hobby and not a profession that they won't be.
I have to be in the mood to draw, which is yet another reason I can't do it professionally. I prefer to use pencil and paper, although now I have a Wacom ARTZ graphics tablet and that works very well also.
I can never seem to read enough. I usually stick to fantasy and science fiction, but I have been known to branch out to other genres including mysteries, spy thrillers, and horror. Some authors whose work I like are Arthur C. Clarke (who I spoke with on the phone once!), Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Frederick Pohl, Greg Bear, Orson Scott Card, Julian May, Douglas Coupland, Neil Stephenson, Stephen Bury, Michael Crichton, John Grisham, Robin Cook, Piers Anthony, Anne McCaffrey, L. Ron Hubbard, Tom Clancy, Brian Lumley, Dean Koontz, Robert Aspirin, Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkein, Terry Pratchett, David Brin, Bridget McKenna (a dear friend of mine), C.S. Lewis, Charles Dickens, Robert Heinlein, and Jack London...a more complete list may be found by clicking here. I have been known to read two full paperbacks on a cross-country plane trip, and the only problem I can see with that is the fact that lugging all those books around gets a little heavy while vacationing.
I have over 500 CDs, and I'm buying more all the time. I find music very motivational!
I have always liked Legos. I am not as fond of some of the totally pre-molded sets they have for kids these days (except the Technics models, which I sometimes will ask for or buy), but I had thousands of the more standard bricks as a kid. Now I have thousands again (amazing what you can do when you have a job!). I used to want to work for Lego, designing their models or building Legoland. I'm still thinking about applying there when I "retire." When I am immensely wealthy, I'd like to have a room full of them. As it is, my office is fairly full of them already.
As far as I'm concerned, movies are most of the reason I own a television. I like all sorts of movies from Action to Suspense. They're almost as good for escape as reading... but not quite.
Well, okay, this is an obvious one. I like to explore the WWW, I like to sift through newsgroups, and I have been known to sit and lurk in chat areas (mostly just to listen, but in very special cases to speak in whispers). The thing I like most about the Internet is that you can find anything out there, from rainfall statistics to true love.
I am rarely impressed enough with a computer game to play it all the way through. I have a number of game designs cooking in my head that I want to make just to play them. Hopefully, I will get the time or an official chance to do that some day. Barring that, I hope someone else makes them.
There are many different conventional games that I like to play. I have played and enjoyed Risk, Monopoly, Pictionary, Trivial Pursuit, Claymation, Scattergories, Scrabble, Car Wars, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Outburst, Guesstures, Cranium, Boggle, Chess, Spectre, Checkers, Backgammon, Dominos, Taboo, Mille Borne, Sorry, Triominoes, Yahtzee, Cribbage, Euchre, Poker, Bullshit, Spoons, Solitaire, Crazy Eights, Careers, Life, Pente, Jenga, Scruples, Darts, Twister, and many more, which I will try to add as I remember. I am amused by that fact that my father, who dropped out of high school in the tenth grade, can beat me (with my Bachelor's Degree) and my mother (who has Bachelor's, Master's, and Specialist Degrees!) most of the time when we play Scrabble.
I have a Diamondback Topanga mountain bike, and I don't get to ride it nearly enough or nearly rough enough. I used to ride 30 miles a day or so, but that was mostly when I lived in a much flatter area! Some spring or summer when I have the time, I would love to tote my bike up to one of the ski resorts that opens up for mountain bike use. I could use some shock absorbers, though.
I have a set of these and I use them much less frequently than I would like to. The Bay Area has such good weather for rollerblading, too. I hope to get back into this after things slow down a bit here at work.
I didn't even learn to ski until I moved to California from Michigan, which is supposed to be a winter wonderland. The fact is, though, it's too damn cold in Michigan during the winter for me to enjoy skiing. When I'm not real busy and cash flow isn't tight, I go as many as eight times a year. Last season I only went once, but I've been three times already this season. I ski just about any difficulty level, although I take the double blacks very slowly. I'd like to find somewhere where there are more opportunities to jump, which actually has been added to a couple of Tahoe resorts. I ski mostly in the South Lake Tahoe resorts.
This one is a lot more fun that it seemed like it would be. I mean, running around in the woods while a dozen people or so are trying to shoot you sounds like something to stay away from. It doesn't hurt (much), though, and stalking your opponents can provide a good batch of adrenalyn. It's no sport for crybabies, but I have a blast every time I go. It's even more fun if you manage to get on a team opposite a team with someone you don't like very much...and if someone cheats and doesn't leave the game when you've hit them, well, then, you just have to keep on hitting them over and over until they do, right??
This is one of those adrenalin rush hobbies. Unfortunately, I do not own a jet-ski yet, but I'm definitely working toward it. Well, after I get my own house, anyway. The damn things are expensive to rent though!
I don't have a boat, either, but my parents have (a few times in the past). For a larger boat I prefer power boats, but a smaller craft can be more fun if it has a sail and at least a small chance of tipping over.
I sculpt occasionally with plasticene, but usually nothing I keep around a long time. I did make a statue of a monk for my dad for Father's Day once - he collects them. There was even a trio of little stories that went with it, which I may post on my writing page some day.
I have a grey 1988 Honda Hawk 650GT, and I love it to death. The only thing I would change about it is its range, which is only about 130 miles with a strong tailwind. I have my eye on a couple of different bigger bikes, but there's a lot of things I would rather buy first. I'd like to have a dirt bike some day, too.
I have been known to drive for miles and miles in a given night, just looking at the scenery and other drivers and whatever. I have been known to drive fast - although there are currently no points on my license - but I never drive beyond my abilities. When I drive, the vehicle is an extension of myself. I had a very peaceful time driving to Michigan from California by myself a few years back. Driving time is also good thinking time. I have a 1996 Ford Mustang Mystic Cobra. What is Mystic about it? Well, the color of the car changes depending on the angle you view it from, because of the prismatic paint, which was created by BASF. There are six colors that I've seen...Green, Blue, Brown, Gold, Black, and Purple. That car is now for sale! $10,950 firm, look for it on http://www.craigslist.org. The "new" car is a used 2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK55 AMG Cabriolet...I figure I live in California, I should really have a convertible. So now I do! I've also got my trusty 4-wheel-drive 1967 Travelall, which is more of a "project car."
I have played around with both claymation and hand-drawn computer animation. This is a fun but very time-consuming hobby, as Walt Disney, Ralph Bakshi, and Don Bluth will tell you. Still, it's a form of artificial life that's fun to give birth to.
I used to hike a lot more when I worked for Sierra. In fact, we used to go on miniature hikes during our breaks there, hiking along (and occasionally in!) the Fresno River where it goes past Sierra's building. I would also hike around the mountains just south of Yosemite on the the weekends. I haven't hiked pretty much at all since I've moved to the Bay Area, though.
There's nothing like waking up feeling damp from morning dew, and realizing you forgot to zip the flap closed on your tent the night before. I like to camp - if at all possible - in places where no one else is around. Otherwise, I might as well be camping out in Golden Gate Park.
This is another one I used to do a lot (every summer) as a kid for a while. Someday, I'd like to have a house with enough land to own my own horses. I am accepting donations toward this goal, so don't hesistate.
I took tennis as the first in a series of 1-credit courses at Michigan State that I needed in order to have the right amount of credits for a "full load" to qualify for financial aid. As it turns out, they were also refreshing breaks from the daily grind of hitting the books. I'm fairly decent at tennis, but I find that a lot of the people who are really good at it are somewhat fanatical and tend to either try to teach you how to play while you're playing, or they're sore losers when they lose.
My second racquet sport that I took at Michigan State, racquetball is fun because it's all high energy, quick thinking, and quicker reflexes. I never seem to play anymore, though.
I had this one at Michigan State, too. I think mostly it screwed me up, because the way I used to bowl before I took the course worked pretty well (I got scores up near 200). I didn't do well with the method taught in the course, though, and afterward I never could seem to revert all the way back to my old style. Still, I have fun playing, and I'm usually content to break 100.
This was a horrid course to take at Michigan State, because the "professor" made it no fun. I can hit the ball far and straight, but my putting really sucks. My mother and sister, who both play more often than I do and jointly own a condo in Myrtle Beach, can beat me fairly easily, but it's fun to play with them anyway. They get embarassed playing with my dad because he hits from the ladies' tees. My clubs were stolen while I was living in Fresno (maybe even thieves need their hobbies!), but I have replaced most of them.
One last thing that I took in college. It was a fun class to be in, but there was only one woman in a class of about sixty! I wish my play were more consistent, but when I am in form I'm pretty good at making reasonably tough shots.
All sorts of puzzles - crossword puzzles, word games, jigsaw puzzles, logic games, you name it. I I have done both 2D and 3D puzzles and enjoyed them, and I have a HUGE (7,500 pieces!) puzzle of Manhattan from my sister. I like puzzles because I like to exercise my brain, which is probably why I program for a living.
I think most people who don't mention this one are not giving the full list!
I also have hobbies I have never tried yet, but would like to:
This is said to be the biggest thrill you can have with your pants on.
Similar to skydiving, without the alarming similarities to plummeting.
I have heard that this is very peaceful, with no noise from the wind because the wind is actually pushing you right along. I have a friend who proposed to his wife while balooning.
Another adrenalin sport I'd like to try. I have dangled from some smaller places, but it'd be fun to tackle something much higher. I used to climb fairly tall trees when I was younger, and I like that a lot too.
I will eventually go to one of the driving schools for this, but I doubt I'll ever have enough money or connections to actually race very often. Besides, I don't chew tobacco - they'd never let me on the circuit!
This is one of those money hobbies. There's a lot of interesting stuff down there, though, and I would really like to see it some time.