Convince Me To Take Up Your Hobby

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
41

Here’s my hobby: High Performance Driver’s Ed.

As we say, it’s the most fun you can have with your pants on.

And since you said you’re about 40, it seems like the perfect hobby for your age. Be honest, now: you had been thinking about getting a sports car, hadn’t you? Well, here’s your opportunity!

As for expense, it depends on how often you go and how serious you get about it. The cost of the car can range anywhere from $5,000-8,000 for a used Miata up to $1.25 million for a Bugatti Veyron (not recommended for beginners).

As for the track days, a one-day event will cost you $150-$300 for registration. If you have to travel any distance to get to the track, you’ll probably do a two- or three-day event and spend the weekend in a hotel. I generally count on spending about $1,000 for a weekend at the track, including event registration, hotel, gas, meals, etc. I have done as many as five to seven such weekends in a year.

Of course, once you get serious about it, and become a better driver, you’ll be spending more on things like brake pads, tires, and more frequent oil changes. And you’ll need a helmet (about $200-500), and perhaps some other safety gear.

So yes, it can get pricey, but it’s a lot of fun, and it’s worth it.

42

That sounds like a GREAT idea!!!
Do you have any local kite clubs in your area?

There are fellow kite people all over the place, and in my experience, they’re always glad to meet people who share an interest in kites.

One really nice thing about a properly made kite (no matter how simple it may be), is that you shouldn’t have to run with it. If you can hold it up by the bridle and your kite assumes flying position, it should take off right from your hand.

I’ve made some really simple kites too, and I’ve had a really great time with them.

I make a real simple kite, called a paperfold kite, and it’s just a cousin of the paper airplane, flown with one thread, and connected only by a staple. (I remember years ago, I was flying a paperfold kite, and my little sister saw it, and she said “you have all of these other kites that you’ve made, and you’re in the back yard flying sheets of paper.”)
Any kite that flies is a good kite!

I also make a simple box kite out of a paper grocery bag (with the bottom cut out), a small wooden dowel (or any light but strong stick), a little bit of adhesive tape to keep things together, I attach a kite line (wrapping it around the dowel), and a brand new box kite soars towards the wild blue…yonder!!

Any kite that flies is a good kite, no matter how simple or how complex it may be!!

43

Photography.

Doesn’t really matter what your subject matter is, although the kind I find most surprising is the kind where I throw my camera in a bag with a lot of film and just go wandering around. Either downtown, on foot, or in my car, outside the city limits.

I’ve gotten some amazing pictures of random people on the street, intriguing old buildings, farms, plants, graffiti, a turtle on the side of the road and even a beautiful white Longhorn who wandered over to see what I was up to.

My “main love” is actually portrait work, but the photography that’s the most relaxing is the kind where I just hit the pavement and wander around with my camera. I have an old Yashica FX 3. It was $50 at a pawn shop. Walgreens will develop the film for under $7 a roll.

Sure, you could go digital, but for cheap thrills and a relaxing hobby, nothing beats the old film cameras for the best results. You don’t get instant results, so you have to go with your gut.

44

Origami is very relaxing. I only do it on and off, but when I do, it’s weird to me how fast time goes by. Because I usually don’t have much of an attention span.

45

I am so new to this sport that I do not know if there is a local club.

I wish I could know that so I could join them.

Any tips pointing me towards local clubs would be a boon.

46

I think I’m in love with you. Now I just need a car and the money for the classes.

47

Gardening! Most of the really hard work is only done once/twice a year, and you can produce things both beautiful and edible!

48

Where do you live, and are you a female with a pulse?

Desperate? Me?

49

Another vote for fishing. The cost of entry is fairly inexpensive, $100 will get you everything you need, and probably some things that you do not, and there is a type of fishing for almost every sort of person. I am rarely more at peace than when I am waist deep in a stream casting for smallmouth.

Photography is another excellent suggestion. although it can get pricey in a hurry… but can also make money for you if you choose to go that route. My wife has turned this hobby into a second career.

If you are a collector, may I suggest playing cards? Almost every place you visit will have a deck for sale, so you can build youe collection relatively inexpensively. If you choose, you can also have specialty collections, like airline decks, breweriana related decks, etc., and many of those can be found relatively cheap on ebay, and sometimes at estate sales. I’ve been colllecting for about 6 years, and have over 150 decks, and they are great convo pieces, and still maintain utility.

50

Hi King!!!

Here’s a place that should hopefully help you find a local kite club:

American Kitefliers Association (AKA)

www.aka.kite.org/resource_club-map.html

51

I can’t believe no one’s mentioned biking.

There’s some cost for a decent bike but you can usually find used for a good price. Find a road or, better yet some bike trails, and go. It gives a good workout and (if there are hills involved) momentum gives a nice reward – speed without effort. :smiley:

Just be sure to get a bike that fits you and get it adjusted correctly. Also, spend some money on a good seat.

52

Nope I’m male; I just got a thing for fast cars. Eventually I’m going to own one and I’ve always planned on taking some of those schools so I could drive my car to our limit.

My best friend’s dad got a day at Laguna Seca when he bought his Chrysler 300 a couple of years ago and go to drive all of the SRT cars for an afternoon. He said the hardest part was driving the speed limit on the way home from the track because even 70 felt slow.

53

Citizens demand photos of hot-hot man-on-man action.

54

<Tom Lehrer>
some have a hobby,
like tennis or philately
I have a hobby,
rereading Lady Chatterly
</Tom>
which I thought of before seeing how appropriate it is at this point in the thread.

I’ve got two. Numero uno is collecting sf, which give me something to do in used bookstores (spend too much money.) I started in high school, helped by a bookstore in the East Village, on the same block as McSorley’s, which had tons of '50s sf magazines for $.25. I’ve now got 2600 books and probably slightly more magazines.

the cheaper, more restful hobby is jigsaw puzzles. They are very relaxing to do while watching TV, and use a different part of my brain than active thoughts, so I can sort through things while keeping my hands busy. The thrift shop near us has a good selection for $1 each, or less, so I can donate the ones I’ve finished.

55

Assorted hobbies have cause much of the clutter I long to be rid of. Recently though, I became interested in birding. We already had binoculars, and an old bird guide. I borrowed a better (easier for me to use) guide from the library. Since becoming interested in May I’ve identified nearly 2 dozen varieties of bird without ever having left my back porch. It’s generally a quiet hobby, although the birds can make a racket, and I find it restful. I could, if I chose go out and meet other birders, but don’t have to to enjoy the hobby.

My various needle and paper crafts require stuff to do them, and generate stuff as well. My results rarely meet my perfectionist expectations. Birds are lovely to look at, intriguing to listen to and do not require any clean up, or any last minute flying trips to a craft store for a different color of ink or type of adhesive.

56

I highly recommend knitting. In my not so humble opinion Everyone should knit!

It can be as easy (scarfs for everyone!!!) or as challenging (sweater) as you like it.

It can be as *cheap *( red heart acrylic yarn and Bates needles, $10 total to start your first project, or if you really want to be cheap, you can use two pencils and some string until you get the hang of it. ) to expensive needles ( $15 a pair or more, depending on size/maker and material) and a skein of *delicous soft cashmere *yarn, ( I won’t even tell you the price.)

Knitting is very portable. You can’t take sewing or woodworking on a train/plane/car/to work. It fits in your purse ( which if you get really into it, you can then start obsessing over knitting bags, which one day I am going to own one of these babies. I just need money. Can I sell a kidney?

**“I don’t know anything about yarn.” comes a lost little voice. **

Yarn, just so you are warned, is coated with a microlayer of crack-heroin-meth. It is highly addictive and causes forgetfulness. You buy five skeins of Cracktastic Yarn in Yummy Red for a new project that totally jazzes you and go home to find out you have five skeins of HeroinTastic Yarn in Delicious Red for the same farking project. I won’t even tell you how fast the addiction grows. by the garbage bag full. Because it might scare you. Y’know how old ladies collect cats. Well, it’s kinda like that, but with yarn.

**“But,” You ask, " Whom should I knit for?" **

You can knit presents for someone who just had a baby. This ALWAYS goes over well! and it is so cheap, usually less than $5 and a couple of nights sitting before the TV.

**You can knit **a present for a bride and groom. An afghan is just a large scarf, sorta. Or matching hats always goes over really well.

You can knit for someone who has breast cancer. Boobies!

You can knit for the refugees in Afghanistan.You don’t have to knit an afghan. It is a play on words.
**

You can knit** for anorphan going off to college. This is my current knitting project.

You can knit for Soldiers There is a plethora of organizations that take knitted goods for Military people.

You can knit for yourself. You know that tired, crabby person that greets you every day in the mirror? She needs a scarf.

There are thousands of recipients who will gladly take your early works of slightly wonky scarves and hats. Eventually, you start getting enough courage to fling your knitting at anyone who makes eye contact with you. Sometimes you will need to jam it down their pie holes to take it. I knit this for you and you are going to wear it, you BASTID!

“But Won’t People Make Fun of ME for Knitting?” comes a cautious comment.

Knitting ain’t Your Grandma’s knitting anymore. It is out of the closet and proud.

There are festivals all over the country, usually in the late summer and early fall. It’s like a Gay Pride Festival, only with wool and sheep and not so much Village People or Funky Parades.
“I don’t think I am Smart enough to Knit!” Adamantly you reply.

Horse poop.** You can knit. **

All knitting is is taking a string and making a loop and out of those loops, you make more loops. There are only two stitches in knitting. Knitting and Purling. Purling is the opposite stitch to knitting. Through these two basics, all patterns and designs are created.
*
It just takes patience*. And, here is the jewel of knitting, if you make a mistake you can unravel it to just before the mistake and START OVER! You can’t unravel your life back to that UNFORTUNATE HAIRSTYLE you had in the 80’s. But you get a do over anytime you want with knitting.

** " I don’t have enough time to knit!" You whine petulantly.**

If you sit in front of the TV. If you ride a bus.
If you are a passenger in a car.
If you are waiting for an appointment.
If you are a spectator in the stands.
If you are in a restaurant.
If you are in a movie theater.
If you are on vacation.
If you are taking a break from work.
If you waiting to pick up kids at school/practice.
If you are waiting in a hospital.
Then you have time to knit.

Knitting isn’t one long marathon of start to finish mad dash must complete a project. That’s Christmas knitting. It is bits here and there. Ten minutes at a doctor’s appointment. Twenty minutes at a restaurant. Three hours sitting at your inlaws. Five hours in a car all equal to a complete project.

**“I’m starting to understand that there are more reasons too knit than not too.” Comes a voice filled with question. " Where do I start?" **

Independent yarn stores are in every major city and burbs ( and online, too.) where staff is waiting to assist you. Big Box Craft Stores are also ready, willing and able to take your debit card for all your yarn needs.
Knitting groups can be found through a local meetup. They are out there, you just have to look.
**“I am too shy/too time constrainted/have halitosis/little money/live on Mars to ever do something like take a lesson.” **
Knitting Help A great way to learn the basics of knitting. I learned here.

Knitty is one of the most well-known online knitting magazines that has indie patterns ( free!).

Ravelry is a crack-heroin-meth speedball to knitters. You need to register ( free) and wait for your invitation ( possibly 2 days) and then you can see every form of knitting out there from Granny’s who can’t stop knitting granny crap, teens that are learning to exceptional works of knitted art that are sweaters/mittens/hats and stuff like that there. I Ravel 90 % of the time and knit 10%. God, I loves me some Ravelry!

Knitpicks is a very nice online purveyor of yarn, needles and books. Very affordable and excellent quality.
There are thousands of knitting enthusiasts out there on the web. Google is your friend.

Just remember You Can Knit.

If everyone in the world knit, the world would be a much calmer and happier place. You can quote me on that.

Writer does not assume any liability for any yarn habit that will ensue upon undertaking this fantastical hobby.

57

I tried dorodango once, but couldn’t quite get it to work. I’m going to try again soon.

58

Find an old car that needs a ‘little fixing up’, or a newer specialty car with little practicallity that you can improve a ‘little’.

Build a garage and purchase every possible tool or device you will ever need to work on a car. Subscribe to several magazines and web sites to get ideas about how to either restore the old car or buy performance improvements to the new car.

Take a large amount of money and place in a pile, set the money on fire, and then get rid of the car. It’s really much cheaper and will save a lot of time and trouble.

I’m just kidding, a little, I think. Anyway that is my hobby. I go to car shows and talk to other people with the same interests, and I feel good when I drive.

59

One of my fellow cow orkers at the Library mentioned that her husband had a “Mustang in a box”. :slight_smile:

60

Living in the burbs of Detroit we have a plethora of engineers and vintage car guys. When it is a fantasic spring-summer day, the sitings of these finished projects putzing down the road at some lower speed than I can bike at is always greeted with a VERY SATISFIED MAN driving the car and a woman in the passenger seat who looks like she just at lemons. Every time.

You just know that that man spends more time in his garage or barn practically masturbating the vehicle with an old diaper more than he has ever spent doing his honey-do list. Which leads to more complaining from the wife about how much time and money he spends on the car and less time and money helping around the house which sends him running for his man-cave.

If you ever get a chance, come to Michigan I swear we have all our shots. for the Woodward Dream Cruise, which runs every August for two days.. It is a fantastical event for the car enthusiast. Something like 1 million people line Woodward over two days to watch cool cars drive by.