hobbies

Wikipedia defines hobby as an activity done for enjoyment and entertainment during one's leisure time. People have many kinds of hobbies, and anything that can be done for enjoyment can be considered a hobby.

I too, over the years, have cultivated many different hobbies. Some of them have lasted into adulthood - such as reading - and some others have lapsed into distant memories - such as matchbox collections. Regardless, I intend to keep a record of them here for pleasure - maybe this counts as a hobby too!

  1. Creative Writing

    I like writing - it helps stretch and form the imagination like kneading dough and baking it into a delicious tasting item. I write stories to explore emotions, philosophy, science, fiction, society, and relations. I write poetry as a more constrained form to express some core emotion or feeling. Writing them takes time, and is infrequent. I'm trying to keep track of ideas these days instead so I can hopefully turn some of them into creative pieces one day.

  2. Books

    I'm a bibliophile - a person who loves books and loves reading. Also known more colloquially as a bookworm. I like to read science fiction the most - a genre that kick-started my imagination and love of reading. Jules Verne will forever be my first love in reading, and an inspiration in imagining. These days I try to read a more variety of genres - social, drama, crime, noir, historical fiction. While this kind of reading is more tied to pleasure, I'm also trying to read more non-fiction as an educational exercise.

    I keep a record of books that I've read or want to read. I'm also trying to maintain lists of books for suggestion and recommendation to others.

  3. Movies & TV-Shows

    Movies are perhaps the greatest form of fictional entertainment we have created. And I say that because watching a movie requires nothing - no literacy, no knowledge. We are born ready to watch. Well, it does require vision. And then not all movies are enjoyable to everyone. Yet, the pull of a movie is unparalleled in our society. It is short, concise, complete (mostly).

    TV Shows are a longer format, and therefore have the freedom to provide more depth and variety in offerings. They also are a continuous affair and can afford to be slow and build the world and characters a lot more.

  4. Food

    Apart from being essential to survive, food can be a great source of pleasure. The taste buds used to indicate whether something is more preferable and desirable to the body are also useful as a source of enjoyment - similar to other bodily functions. The term foodgasm refers to an intense feeling of pleasure derived from tasting something - similar to an orgasm. I enjoy eating different kinds of cheese (trying to eat them all!), trying out teas and coffee varieties, and gouging on pizzas and world cuisines.

  5. Music

    The auditory pleasures are yet unexplained - why do we love music? Why do we like certain songs and tunes? Regardless, the process of discovering what we like in terms of music is a joy in itself. I try to listen to a variety of musical genres - from classical to hard rock, but try to stay away from the extremes. My musical inclinations depend mostly on what I'm doing at the time - programming will invite more electronic and repetitive music, chores will invite EDM or Pop, writing a paper will require classical or non-lyrical ambient sounds. I'm currently using Spotify to stream music.

  6. Previous Hobbies (in reverse chronological order)