Mike and I got to talking about hobbies the other day... how it was fascinating to learn what different people choose to spend their time and money on. Of course there are low-commitment hobbies when it comes to both time and money, but typically speaking you have to play part in at least one of these traits. The hobby that started the conversation was cycling... like Tour de France type stuff. For many, many years Mike was a bicycle mechanic. He worked in various shops around Nashville and he rode his bike everywhere. If you're at all familiar with nice quality bikes, they don't come cheap. Mike was telling me about his set up which was probably worth about $2,500 in the mechanisms alone. I was flabbergasted that it cost that much! But apparently that was just a drop in the bucket... he started telling me about some of the "super serious" hobbyists in town who rode $12,000 bikes... WHAT! Bikes are cool and all, but twelve grand?! It became very apparent that cycling wasn't something I had any desire to invest in. Mike loved cycling (though he didn't typically wear the ultra-tight cycle suit getup... ha! just kidding! Apparently he did... Oh my law!), but all I can think about when I think of bikes is my butt hurting for hours. But that's the beauty of hobbies... we each have different values and desires.
We shifted the conversation to what our hobbies were... in present day. Then I got wide-eyed (and embarrassed) when I realized I don't have a legitimate hobby anymore! We talked through it because I became sort of bummed out, feeling like a total failure... who doesn't have a hobby?! (For the record, I don't consider internet surfin'/Pinterest/TV to be a hobby... for me, at least. I hope that doesn't sound as snooty as it felt!) During our conversation I came to realize that it's almost impossible for me to invest time into a hobby when it doesn't have a "productive outcome." Like a product or something with some sort of benefit at the end. And that's really really sad. It's almost as if I don't know how to check out from work and just do something to relax. (Which, to be fair, I totally don't. But I want to!)
I love reading, but I don't do it an awful lot because I feel guilty trying to find the time (I have it... I just don't use it). I love sewing, but I get in way over my head and end up feeling frustrated. Not to mention I hate small tasks where you have to read instructions (Awful, I know!) I think my real problem is that I just haven't "tested the waters" to see what types of (non-work) things I would enjoy. That's my new goal! To find a hobby (or hobbies) that I don't mind dedicating time and/or money to.
I'd like to dedicate more time to small sewing tasks... Things that can be used around the house or with the baby. And maybe learn how to knit if I can sit down and do it. At least with knitting I could do it while lounging around the house. I also plan on toting around a film camera more often. I feel like I never shoot film anymore outside of Him + Honey, and I'd like to remedy that. Even if it's expensive, it's good practice for our actual business.
But I want to hear about your hobbies!
How did you get started? Why do you love it?
Are there any hobbies out there you'd love to try one day? If so, what are they and why?
Maybe you can help inspire me to stop being such a workaholic haha I know time for hobbies will be greatly reduced once Mike starts school in a few weeks, and even more so once the baby comes, but at least I can play around with a few options and see if anything sticks.
This was like, the most depressing blog post to write haha! I'm just trying to step up my self-awareness game and you know, be a functioning member of society. Most normal people have hobbies, and all of a sudden I feel very weird about it.
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