The GHZ Forum

Video games are great and all, but I need another hobby. Something that's outside the realm of traditional geekery (video games, computers, anime/manga, comic books, rpg's).

I like learning about things in general, but especially Biology, History, and Archaeology. I have a strong attention to detail, but not much patience.(So chess, go, or building things probably isn't a good fit for me.)
Something that requires skill and is at least vaguely social would be nice. Leave off anything that requires good leg strength. (team sports, climbing, bike riding).

If you don't have any suggestions, how about sharing the non-geeky things you do during your free time?

Man, I come here to get away from this question.

What about learning a new language? I'm going to brush up on my Spanish, and I'd love to learn either Mandarin Chinese or Japanese.

I spend my time going to forums dedicated to a particular hobby and trying to talk about completely unrelated topics.

Actually I have been playing very few video games recently. Up until the beginning of this year, my life was practically focused solely on them - and I hated it and myself, because I knew they were a useless waste of time.

By now, I have radically changed. I prioritise creativity, productivity and education above everything else. In fact I judge a day's worth by how much I produced (which can be drawing, writing (I'm writing a small novel thing) or photography) and how much I learned (as I read a lot of wikipedia articles, mostly about history, architecture, and religion; I'm also supposed to learn a few more languages which would be easier if I remembered to). Aside from that, the only things I can do free of guilt is travelling, reading dramas (and some books, like currently Goethe's Die Leiden des jungen Werther), indulging in beauty (that of nature most of all), contemplating, and talking to friends (online of course). Recently I have become a bit more lax again about the occasional game (although I still prefer to stray from it as I usually feel very guilty after playing one because of the time pulverised) and watching anime (although it's not that much, and could be counted to the indulging in beauty. Since I'm currently watching Revolutionary Girl Utena and it cannot be described as but a surreal artful masterpiece), but I try to keep it at a minimum.

I'm also very active in a browser-based politics game with some 200,000 players ( http://www.erepublik.com/ ), where I'm currently acting as a congressman of Canada and ambassador to Belgium. I could claim that it's constructive in that it's a training for possible future real life political careers of mine, but if I'm fully honest I play it because I enjoy writing political articles/propaganda/reports, meddling with affairs, manipulating- Well, to sum it up: Power feels good.

Aside from that and as stupid as it may sound, I also think a lot. Recently, for the second time this year did I have an amazing experience in which nature itself spoke to me in an unmistakable and direct way, even answering a question of mine. This along with some other events and patterns in my life is currently making me rethink my position to religion: I am convinced now that there must be a higher power, if yet I don't know whether it's God, fate, the Tao, or whichever other concept. The concept of Brahman from Hinduism greatly appeals to me, as does this kind of faith in general; I can recognise a lot of the views I had developed myself, can identify with its concepts and see truth and wisdom in its teachings and suggestions. I still want to fully explore it, but if this keeps up I might convert to one of its beliefs.

Oh and then there is me being lovesick. :(

I did swing dancing for a couple years, though eventually geeky interests won out as I came started to have less time on my hands. It's a lot of fun and obviously gets you out and exposed to a lot of different people. I was involved in a club at the local college, they offered weekly classes and often planned out dance events or got expert instructors in on weekends and things like that, even a couple of trips. It was a lot of fun, I'd recommend it (or some other kind of dance) if it passes your leg test.

Delphine wrote:I spend my time going to forums dedicated to a particular hobby and trying to talk about completely unrelated topics.

I usually try to stay on topic, but it seems like postings at GHZ are rarely Sonic related anyway.

P.P.A. wrote:... a useless waste of time....

Can this be the new forum slogan?

Honestly, when I'm not at school or work, I'm usually at home in front of the computer. Videogames, Anime/Manga, and Comics sort of make up the triumvirate of geekiness for me, and I'll constantly go back and forth on which one takes preference. And when I do leave the house to visit friends I don't usually do much different then I normally do. Last night I ate a ton of greasy pepperoni rolls, saw Ninja Assassin and watched shitty youtube videos with a friend.

Occasionally I shake things up though. I just worked out today for the first time in months, and hopefully I'll be able to keep it up this time since I get little to no exercise, and I'm going on a two week trip to Albany in December to visit friends and travel around the area (New York City, Boston, Canuck Country)

I've been too busy with my final university project to be procrastinating with games, comics and movies. Unfortunately, that's what I've been doing the most. I do have the excuse that my project is a computer game. I did some unrelated 8-bit and 16-bit animation for a game design class I'm taking, designed and prototyped a politics-based card game and a board game, but all that falls in the geek category.

Anyway, earlier this year I took climbing lessons, which were great, but it's been a while since I last went up any rock. I do like to go camping once in a while, and I'll be going for a 2 week camping trip early January. I have a band (where I sing, badly) and even though our practice sessions are very very spaced from each other, we'll be practicing tomorrow, since our bassist is going away for 4 months.

I haven't have a job for a while, although I freelance here and there. I'm a Graphics Designer, by the way, if any of you guys need me for anything. I'm pretty awesome at what I do, at least that's what mom and girlfriend say.

If you're looking for a new hobby, you could volunteer at all kinds of charities. You'll meet some pretty interesting people there.

Lately school, work, family, and friends have consumed most of my time. I like to write and draw when I get the chance. And I've helped give early feedback on some stuff that a writer friend of mine has been working on.

Once in a while I'll go bowling or play pool at the bar with people.

Following the stock market can be interesting at times.

And so is a walk in the park if the weather is nice.

MiraiTails wrote:

Delphine wrote:I spend my time going to forums dedicated to a particular hobby and trying to talk about completely unrelated topics.

I usually try to stay on topic, but it seems like postings at GHZ are rarely Sonic related anyway.

Aw man, you're supposed to troll back. Now I feel bad.

I recently moved across the country from Rhode Island to southern California. The drive took my best friend and I four and a half days. Money's kind of a joke right now, but neither of us really give a shit; he's with his fiance and I'm finally in a situation in which I don't feel like my every move is under a microscope. Half the time it feels like I haven't done a thing, and the other half it's so goddamn overwhelming I don't know what to do with myself.

I spend my time taking terrible pictures and writing gay speculative fiction that will never sell. (Talk about an effin niche market.) When I'm not doing that I'm reading, although I'm running out of new books -- hopefully Christmas gift cards will arrive before I have nothing to read. I had more than my fair share of quiet contemplation being raised in New Hampshire; now I listen to the noise.

I read the news. Most of the time it's depressing. Then I listen to the music my generation is making that's mostly ignored by the mainstream, and I feel better.

I am into the hard liquor.

If you want to start that up, I suggest Goldschläger

I write fictional stories in spanish

Escribo historias de ficción en español

I play offline games with friends

Juego juegos de verdad con amigos

I walk and see the outside world

Camino y veo el mundo exterior

And in those COLD winter nights, I drinkblack beer

Y en esas frias noches de invierno, tomo cervesa negra

I can't say as I'm familiar with how to drinkblack something.

Personally... I have no damn clue, but whatever this college education is going to amount to, I just hope to have as much fun with it as I can before it's gone. That's why I see no shame in playing a video game now and then, so long as it doesn't interfere with me getting my work finished. I think I find my addiction to the Internet more severe an issue than anything involving video games.

I quit buying video games in 2002. Occasionally I'll play Guitar Hero or a multi-player Wii game at a friend's or load up an emulator, but post-Dreamcast video games never really captured my attention.

Distance running has been my primary hobby since 2000. This is probably in part due to my playing so many Sonic games during my formative years. I've run two marathons and will probably run some more at some point. I run 5 - 6 miles every day and feel odd taking a day off (endorphin addictions are socially acceptable, at least).

In the last few year's I've gotten involved in Mozilla and Firefox (especially in technical documentation) - I find contributing to open source software projects to be a pretty much perfect hobby; there's never a reason to be bored since there's always something to do.

I also work full time as a computer engineer and am getting married next month.

All that, plus sleeping and reading microeconomics blogs, accounts for most of my time.

Shadow Hog wrote:I can't say as I'm familiar with how to drinkblack something.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwarzbier

Its stronger than regular beer...

Delphine wrote:I'm finally in a situation in which I don't feel like my every move is under a microscope.

I hope one day to achieve that...

Delphine wrote:I recently moved across the country from Rhode Island to southern California.

Hooray, I am now the coolest GHZ kid in New Hampshire.

At the moment I'm trying to figure out what to study in "real" college, having finished two years of comic book college. My video game time has also drastically diminished, but this is because I have been spending a lot of time working on Dungeons & Dragons game mastering.

I spend a lot of time drawing comics. It has kind of taken over most of my available hobby time. But it is basically the best job ever. You'll never hear me complain about it, anyway.

I still really enjoy following the video game industry, and I buy a lot of titles, but I don't really get to play them that much anymore. I have a 'queue' of to-play games that is about as long as my arm. I almost never get them right when they come out, but when I see a one that I'm interested in for a really good price somewhere, I'll always pick it up and add it to the collection. Some have been sitting on the shelf, still in their wrappers, for over a year. And I do the exact same thing with books and DVD boxsets of television shows, too. I guess it's some kind of weird collector impulse. I like to have them, so that they'll be on hand when I'm finally ready to enjoy them. In 2017.

I like eating out. Both kinds.

Slowly learning to cook more things. Even something simple like pumpkin soup can be very rewarding. I need to get back into drawing but I keep on putting it off. I go to the independent cinema and watch foreign language and/or small release films whenever I get the chance. Socialising usually ends up as going to the pub with friends, which has improved since I discovered strawberry beer.

Well, I'm currently studying japanese, and I'm still deciding whether to get a post-graduation degree in journalism or try something else (maybe arts) after I'm done with college next year. And like most here, I'm not playing nearly as many videogames as I used to, even tough it's still a very enjoyable hobby.

Esrever wrote:I have a 'queue' of to-play games that is about as long as my arm.

It's immensely comforting to know that I'm not the only one.

gr4yJ4Y wrote:

Delphine wrote:I'm finally in a situation in which I don't feel like my every move is under a microscope.

I hope one day to achieve that...

Move the fuck away. As far as you need to. Two states wasn't enough room for me, so I went for 3000 miles instead. It seems to be working.