I have been thankful to finally have a full weekend at home, after much traveling both for fun and for work in recent weeks. I’ve mostly been sleeping and hanging around the apartment, but on Friday night I got a chance to do something I have been craving for a long, long time: I dragged my drums into our living room and played music with my roommate and three other friends.
I try to play by myself several nights a week (I have an electronic set in my apartment so I don’t wake the neighbors), drumming along with music from my iPod through headphones. My roommate and I have recorded a song or two together, but it’s been a while since we’ve both had time to get together and create. He and those friends have come over several times before to jam on their guitars, but it’s always seemed like too much of a hassle to pull out the drums.
Friday night, though, I decided I didn’t want to be frustrated like that anymore. Damn the risk of complaints from the neighbors! The result was a night of therapeutic, beautiful, glorious music-making.
And so, with that intro, I have a few questions for you to ponder and answer this week:
- Do you have a hobby or other activity that, because of work or other circumstances, you aren’t able to do as often as you like? What is it? What’s holding you back?
- Are there any hobbies or activities that you know you love, but whether because of time or location or something else, you’ve simply let them fade away completely? As opposed to question #1, these would be activities you haven’t done in years, as opposed to activities you do occasionally.
- If you had to give up your job and choose one of your hobbies or activities to pursue full-time, what would it be? How would go about growing your expertise in it? How would you monetize it?
I’ll ring in with my answers a little later, but I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments!
Image used under a Creative Commons license courtesy of Flickr user || edmar ||.
1. Music is certainly one that suffers for me, but not just playing guitar: I don’t have/find time to discover much new music anymore. When I worked for the radio station in college I was constantly inundated with new tunes…mostly horrendous stuff, but some of it was incredible and I wouldn’t have heard it otherwise. While there’s absolutely no dearth of good music blogs and sites out there, discovering new bands and music has lately taken a back seat to other passions and interests.
2. I have to say, I miss playing baseball…it’s something I haven’t done in earnest since high school, for the simple fact that finding 17 other people for a game (or sometimes even one other person to throw with) is a chore. Softball is a decent substitute, but ultimately the game is very different (particularly in the co-ed rec league).
3. Ironic considering my answer for #1, but I think I would be very good at crafting soundtracks for movies and TV shows. Not composing, mind you, but rather finding songs that help create a mood or powerful dramatic moment. I’m pretty sure there are far more talented people doing this already…so I’ll stick to my iPod.
I love letters. During my first week of college, I stopped by the post office to find out the time by which mail would be delivered each day; there may have been 3 or 4 days total throughout my college career when I didn’t check my mailbox.
The flip side of this love for receiving letters is that I also love to write them. For whatever reason–maybe it’s the fact that it takes me longer, so my thoughts have more time to wander–I find myself being honest in a way that I often am not. There are plenty of things that hold me back: time, the fact that I can communicate more quickly by calling/emailing, and, frankly, I’m just bad at finishing letters even if I start them.
I couldn’t think of any hobbies/activities I’ve completely left by the wayside–if anything, graduating has helped me to once again pick up those sorts of things–but as for turning this into a job, I don’t think I would. I’ve always been careful about separating hobbies from work (one of the main reasons why I didn’t major in English). That is not to say that I want to hate my job or do work I don’t enjoy, but rather that I don’t want my hobbies and my job to overlap completely. I like having some “escapes.” For me, there’s something nice about knowing that I choose to do something because I truly want to, not because I need to pay my bills.
Oh my God, this is something I struggle with so constantly.
1. Writing. Reading. Lame though it sounds, I want to be a writer and only continual practice can make that possible. Not being able to fit The Writer’s Life into my work schedule is the biggest problem I have right now. In an effort to focus myself, I’ve instituted a schedule and everything, with a small measure of success.
2. I used to play the flute, but gave up freshman year at Davidson. It’s a shame because even though I played for 10 straight years, I don’t think I’d be able to read music any more.
3. Definitely with the writing. If I could afford to spend 8 hours a day writing poetry, I’d be the happiest, best, and potentially craziest possible me. Which is why I’m starting to make preliminary plans to head back to school…
1. As I mentioned in the post, I wish I could play more music with other people. In high school I played with people almost every day, but when I went to college I unfortunately let that practice slip. There wasn’t much physical space to jam at our small school, so while I would get together on rare occasions with others — mostly to prepare for Battle of the Bands — I stayed out of practice for most of the year. The other exception was pep band, but that’s a little different than rocking out with your friends. These days I do have more flexibility, but with neighbors all around there are limited windows of time to crank the volume up and let loose.
2. I really miss camping. I do this maybe once a year, if that, but I consider it pretty much one of my lost regular activities. In Boy Scouts we’d go somewhere every month. I miss getting back to nature, relying on scarce resources, and feeling disconnected from the ever-connecting world we live in for a few days.
3. I’d say blogging or drumming. If I could find a way to make money doing either, then I’d be happy. Like anything, I guess I would just need to practice and network both to improve my abilities and to get on the road to riches.
#1: Blogging maybe? I don’t have any Internets at my apartment so my only access is at work and in the library or occasional coffee shop. I would feel really weird blogging from work, so the quantity of my blogging has fallen off (though the quality is truly inspiring).
#2: I haven’t kayaked in over 2 years. Owning a whitewater boat in flat, dry Austin is the kind of luxury I can’t afford right now. And I’m thinking of swapping my car for a scooter, which would make transporting a boat and gear comically impractical.
#3: I would like to get paid for loafing around Austin drunk with my friends, but we already have a mayor so that’s out. For now… (Kidding! I love Will Wynn!)