Re: Juggling shaped hole in normal people's lives?

On 2006-01-30, tiffty <tiffty125@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> my personal definition of a hobby is something u are interested in
> and want to get better at but as a side project to your real life, it can
> be a massive side, much more than 50 % but its something that isnt the
> main money focusin part of your life

I agree with some of that. I agree with "something u(sic) are
interested in" and "a side project to your real life" but I don't agree
with "want to get better at"

You don't have to strive to improve at something to spend a large amount
of your time working on it. Do obsessive readers who read a book a
night and spend their weekends at book fairs do it to get "better at
reading"? I doubt it. Yet I would gladly support the notion that for
such people reading is a hobby as good as any other.

People who play football on a recreational basis (eg saturday league)
rarely do it to iprove their tackling skills. Yet I'd gladly say that
playing football was a hobby.

> because of this going out is not a hobby, cos u cant improve at it,

Bollocks.

I used to suck at going clubbing. I used to have to duck out at 11pm.
I improved my pacing, stamina and interest to the point where an 8am
finish was nothing to me. I clearly got better at going clubbing, I got
better at talking to people, I got better at dancing like I do when
nobody's looking. I very definately improved over time.

Was going clubbing a hobby for me at the time?

Tricky. Part of me says "not really, it was just having a laff with
friends" but then part of me says "yes - I was obsessed with it!" I
spent hours getting ready, in some cases making an outfit to wear for
just one night. I spent hours on coaches and trains traveling half
way across the country just to go to a club. I read magazines about
it, I read usenet groups about it, I shudder to think how much
money I spent.

I think for me, at the time, going clubbing was very much a hobby.

Does that mean that it's a hobby for everyone? I doubt it.

Incidentally, these days I'm much more likely to be at home in bed with
a cup of coco by 10:30. Shame really.

-Paul
.