I think this is a great question, and I’m going to be thinking about it all day long. I want to say something like juggling, because it’s an easily-mastered skill, where you’ll definitely figure out 3 balls, and might be able to move onto something like 4-5 by the end of it.
But I’m not going to say juggling. I’m going to say: Rubik’s Cube! People who can whip through a Rubik’s Cube in under a minute amaze the shit out of me.
Also, I think that with something like the Rubik’s Cube, you might be able to be doing something else with your time during that period.
Photography. $800 can get you a pretty decent digital SLR camera. The internet is loaded with free tutorials and helpful forums; you can learn the basics with a few days study and practice.
A small investment in some good throwing knives and a thick tree are all you really need. Start a few feet away, then gradually take a step or two back as you get more comfortable with the throwing motion and accuracy.
Take up a programming language, like Java. A decent beginner’s guide will only run you about 30 bucks, and the Netbeans IDE (programming/design interface) is a free download. Having a programming language in your repertoire never hurts, and it can be an extremely rewarding hobby.
Python or Ruby on Rails are also good choices.
public class signature {
public static void main( String[] args ) {
mySig( );
}
private static void mySig( ) {
System.out.println( " - Agent Foxtrot" );
}
}
Another vote for cooking, that’s definitely something you will have cause to use in the future and can continue to work on later even when you don’t have as much free time. Take some 3 or 4 day course, I think you can find something in your budget.
Or maybe some wine appreciation course.
I say this as a programmer – while I agree you can pick up some basics in 3 or 4 days, unless you have some reason to use it in the future, it’ll eventually fade and become obsolete anyway.
Any idea why they always have the acrobatics workshops tied so closely to the damn juggling? I know I, and plenty of others, would love to get into acrobatics, but we don’t want to hang out anywhere near the jugglers.
If you live in a larger city, there should be a home brewing supply store where you can get supplies. You won’t be able to finish the whole process, as it takes at least a few weeks for a beer to ferment, but you could easily get 5-10 gallons of beer fermenting in a couple days. After fermentation is finished in a few weeks, you’ll need to bottle your beer. A week or so after bottling the beer will be ready to drink. I suggest The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian as an introductory book. You will need to buy some equipment, but the cost is well under your $800 limit (think $100-$150 range). After fixed costs, you’ll be able to brew beer for ~$0.80/bottle or less.
I got my PADI Open Water certification in 3 days. And it’s good fun while you’re doing it (particularly if you are able to travel somewhere nice on your $800).
I am surprised to see so many suggestions of juggling. I came here to mention a variation, contact juggling. In three or four days of regular practice you can have down the basics, which is enough to show off in front of your friends.
Flintknapping? then pretty much anywhere you go you can make a knife to cut your steak and don’t have to worry about TSA confiscating it, last I knew a flap of skin, a deer horn of 3 inches long and a small rock were not considered deadly weapons =)
And if the ruler of the universe gets frisky and teleports you back to the stone age, you will fit right in!
Perhaps you don’t understand much about juggling, but there is far more to it than throwing 3 balls around in a cascade pattern. 3 or 4 days could be spent learning, say, Mills’ Mess or any number of other patterns.
MIG welding. Or, flux core welding. Welding is one of the greatest and most useful skills I have ever learned. It’s not hard, or even praticularily expensive. You could get into it for under $800 easily and have gear that will last for years.
Others:
Fly fishing/fly tying
Metal detecting (relic hunting): Learn your machine, map out some accessible sites and go digging.
