I Need a Hobby

Summer has sprung, and I do not know what to do with myself. Back in the day, a phrase I use in order to make myself seem older than I actually am, I used to fill my summer with fun organized activities- camps, teams, fighting my neighbor with pool noodles- the sky was truly the limit. However, this summer I have none of those things, the result of a need to seem normal and restrictive age limits on summer camps. This was perhaps best highlighted when I wandered down to my basement to escape the heat, came across the movie The Dukes of Hazzard and thought to myself “Now there is a movie that could use another viewing”. I got about 30 minutes in, at which point I turned the movie off, distraught and sad. The sadness was brought about by my realization that Jessica Simpson is already past her prime as the attractive female sidekick, making her one of the quickest flashes in the pan of the 00’s (my top ten would be: 1. Jenna Fischer, Blades of Glory and Walk Hard, 2. Jessica Simpson, Dukes of Hazzard and Employee of the Month, 3. Eva Mendes, Hitch and Ghost Rider). The distraught came from the realization that I needed to find something better to do with my time.

Top 3?

I’ve never been one to keep hobbies. Laziness has always been a stifling influence. So if I am going to successfully be busy over the summer I am going to have to stick with it. I wracked my brain for hobbies, and I came up with these options, all of which I am going to try:

Reading: As close friends may remember, I made a vow to myself that I would read over fifty books this year. At last count I was at around fifteen, a little bit off the pace. However, now I have the time with which to read! I recently read the book Zeitoun, the story of a man trapped in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, and I loved it. The story, and the way it was told, was gripping and enjoyable. It also helped that the story made me angry, the story deals in part with the mistreatment of the main character by the government, and had me looking for more information. I hope to find more books that will have similar effects on me. I’m starting with a book by the same author, Dave Eggers, called A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, the title alone made it a must read.

Roller Blading: I’m not an athlete. But I actually used to be able to roller blade quite well as part of my paper route. So I thought that maybe I would go down to the park and try it again. My first attempt resulted in an almost collision with a small child and, in avoiding the child, a collision with a pole. Luckily, I can’t really go that fast. After around ten minutes I was doing pretty well. I think this one has potential!

Learning University Skills: I’m going to university next year and I think that I need to learn some important skills. I made a short list to start with: Cooking, Laundry, Keeping a Room that I Live in Neat, and Driving (working on it with driver’s ed).

Those are just the first three of my long list of possible hobbies. In the future I hope to talk a little bit about my experimenting with hobbies and the various problems they cause (maybe spelunking?). Action Time!