collecting new hobbies

go home

In an effort to do something other than reading, I have decided to challenge myself to try ten new hobbies. I must try each hobby for at least 3hr, preferably over the course of multiple days. I will also evaluate the initial cost and enjoyability of each hobby. After trying all of these hobbies, we'll see which ones lasted past the 3hr mark.

Here's what I'm going to try:

  1. Drawing birds
  2. Belly dancing
  3. Embroidery
  4. Making pasta
  5. Watercolor cocktails
  6. Whittling

belly dancing

Time: 47/180min.

Cost: $0.

Enjoyability: 5/5

Difficulty: 5/5

Why? Impulsive decisions. Youtube recommended a video and I thought "why not." The workout was so much fun that I decided why the hell not do more.

Videos I followed along with:

drawing birds

Time: 55/180min.

Cost: $0.

Enjoyability: 3/5

Difficulty: 3/5

Why? I like seeing birds.

I started out by referencing the second "how to draw birds" book I found online. This book, by James Manning, was aimed at children (perfect) and showed how to recreate some straightforward doodles. After 20 minutes, I decided I had grown up and was ready to draw some real birds. I started by following this chickadee tutorial. My result might not be a close match to a chickadee, but I know it's a chickadee, and that's what matters. I enjoyed working with just pencil and paper, no additional colors. This made it easier to focus on the drawing. The tutorial's approach wasn't to focus on how to draw a perfect chickadee; the imperfect approach also helped me enjoy the process. I realized---as obvious as it may seem---I could go copy pictures. I'm sure my library has some books about birds which I could reference. I think that copying her approach and having a picture beside me, instead of pulled up on a computer, could be of use.

More videos I've referenced:

pasta making

Time: .

Cost: .

Enjoyability: /5

Difficulty: /5

Why? Handmade pasta is an artform.

Potential references: basics with babish.