That one thing that everyone always talks up and enjoys but you just couldn’t connect the dots…what is it?
For me it’s Scotch and basically anything straight that isn’t clear. It’s so funny because I’m a big cigar aficionado now and “got” to the hobby form the first time I did it. But scotch I just can’t get into. And everyone will start to recommend me drinks that I just need to try to truly understand and appreciate - but I truly don’t think I ever will unless my taste buds develop more. It seems so James Bond-ey, it fits pretty well into my general aesthetic, and I’m kind of used to “harsh” drinks, but dude I just can’t get into it for whatever reason.
Which leads me to wonder what the similar thing for you guys is!
Art. I would love, so much, to be able to create the beautiful things I see at art galleries or wherever. I don’t mean Mona Lisa-quality stuff; just cool stuff that I find beautiful and wish I had the talent to create.
Running. Tried it for six weeks as a young buck and hated it worse each day. Finally said to hell with it.
Somewhat related: Working out with gym equipment. Tried it for several months in the gym our condo in Bangkok had. Working out left me dog-tired, truly exhausted. “You’re just not doing it right.” Screw that. I swore it off
Golf. I took lessons with a friend some years ago. Spent a bunch of money on equipment and books and videos, but I realized I wasn’t going to be any good at it unless I actually put the time in to practice, but I had no talent for it and just didn’t like it very much. “Golf is a pleasant walk ruined by a mall white ball” - I don’t recall who said it but I agree.
Snow skiing. When I knew I was moving to Colorado, I couldn’t wait to try it, but the reality didn’t live up to my expectations. Everything about it is expensive, getting to the resorts involves sitting for hours in traffic jams, lines are long when you get there, then you face another mind-numbing traffic jam to get back home.
I am told that these inconveniences are nothing to real enthusiasts, but for me there are so many other sports I enjoy so much more and which cost so much less.
Handweaving linen using authentic Shaker patterns. I’d done a sample at a workshop and having my own handmade tea towel to brag about appealed to me. I separated the warp threads into groups and began warping the loom. Did I mention the linen thread was just one size bigger than spider silk?
When I finished warping the last thread, I realized I’d overlooked one group of threads in the center of the loom. I cut the warp off, folded up the loom, and decided it wasn’t too early for a martini after all.
Needlework. I have a book on it with instructions. I have watched Youtube videos. I have more coloured skeins than you could poke a stick at thanks to Ebay and a sister’s flea market bargains. I have grand ideas of pretty bullion roses and delicate chains of leaves, but I haven’t picked up a needle yet.
I suspect the fun has been in collecting the different coloured threads.
I can knit a scarf, washcloth, mittens. I’d love to make a sweater but i cant be bothered to figure out the pattern, and after a certain point i just get bored with the amount of actual knitting involved.
I design and make my own clothes, but i often avoid designing anything that requires buttons, i hate sewing on buttons and making button holes.
PC/Online gaming. It seems like it would be fun, and the depictions on the box look exciting. But after trying a dozen different games I had to admit it was just… “meh”. No matter how interesting it looks, it’s just moving pixels around a screen for a meaningless number of “points”. I felt the same way in the 70’s about pinball games.
I found this true as well. We’ve been enthusiastic water skiers, along with wakeboarding, barefooting and any conceivable way we could drag behind a boat on a rope. We bought all the stuff including the AWSA tournament boat, private lake membership, personally-fitted skis – and spent decades enjoying it (the kids too). We never tired of it and were always trying the new “thing”. But even after several trips, we found snow skiing to be boring, cold, expensive, and (in my words) “a long run for a short slide”. Waaay too much effort for a few minutes sliding down a hill.
I tried computer gaming and didn’t enjoy it. It leaves me cold. I love the feel of a pool cue in my hands. Or working up a sweat with a basketball.
I totally suck at Art. I can draw a 3d box. I had to take drafting in electronics school. I despised the fussiness and trivialities. My lines weren’t a consistent width, eraser smudges, a arm smear on the paper. I never got better than a C on projects that I spent hours completing. Screw that. I’ll let somebody else draw.
Electronics/computing projects such as the Raspberry Pi. Looks cool and fun and I can envision uses for some of it but the actual mechanics of it don’t strike me as a fun time (plus the need to learn the coding; if only enough to mod other’s code). Or I want to do something relatively “big” but should really start small to learn how – but I feel like I could be doing something more productive than some dinky starter project for a device I don’t want or need.
Not to mention everyone I know who has ever done it has torn an ACL or something similarly terrible.
I’ve learned a while ago to stay away from any sort of roller blading/ice skating/skiing/snowboard sport since, on those, I apparently have the balance and grace of a baby giraffe.
Sorry, I had a few sips of something “clear” before writing this (made me think of the question). My main point was that, with regards to liquor, I can get over any sort of “burn” and that doesn’t bother me in the slightest, but the general taste of whiskey/scotch isn’t something that really appeals to me. With liquor I trend towards clear liquids
And I think it is! It’s definitely a “thing” people get into and has a following - similar to cigarettes, cigars, smoking pipes, clothing, watches, sneakers etc.
Biking. I’ve had a bike for a decade. Rode it around the neighborhood, but just around the block a few times, or down to the park and back. It’s just not a practical vehicle. I tried to ride it to the store once, but the entire time I was thinking, “If I’d just driven, I’d have been done with this an hour ago.”
I envy people who have hobbies they pursue with passion and competence.