Do you have any hobbies that your friends just don't get?

Playing disc golf. Not only do my friends not get it, most people don't.

I row, nice sleek shells, not big clunkers. (I just bought an erg (rowing machine), which to rowers is basically an implement of pain, and none would really know why you'd want one in your home, I just want to get back in shape to race).

I cook quite a bit with my girlfriend (Salmon baked in Olive oil, lemon juice, basil, pepper, salt, garlic (35-45 min at 375), last night). I get most of my recipes online, but I usually modify them. Sometimes I'll come up with an original. I also like to bake bread. They usually taste good, but the appearance is something to be desired.

What I really want to get into, but don't think I have the time or space right now is welding. I'd love to build some little sculptures, or even something practical. Along with this, I usually have lots of ideas for little inventions, but never have the skills to implement them, perhaps being able to fabricate some of them would be nice.

Flyfishing, camping, and Freemasonry.

Of course, I now have to add wet shaving, but even weirder to my friends is the fact that I use razors that are 53 and over 70 years old.

My brother asked why I couldn't buy new...

Politics--SOMEbody has to keep an eye on those folks in Washington!

It's vintage fountain pen restoration and collecting for me. My friends think I'm nuts. I don't dare tell them about DE shaving and my desires to use a straight...


Cheers,
Tom

Vintage hawaiian shirts and classic cocktails

Mix tapes and cds.

From the age of 8 or 9, I've been compelled to make my own mixes. Started with tapes from childhood through the time I got my first cd burner (2001).

I really can't count how many mix tapes I've made over the years. The funny thing is, I still have most of them. I guess I've always thought that I knew better than the artists how to sequence songs. Most of the time I think I do pretty well, some combinations have lasted so well though the years that I've used them over and over. I used to also love to make mixes for people. You spend upwards of 3 hours putting a tape together that you may never see again just hoping to make someone's life a little brighter. Then you think, in many cases, it's going right in their top desk drawer..

There just was something about sitting down with a stack of vinyl and my tape deck..

Once I got going on cds, I was pretty obsessed for a few years (better fades, more control - with a tape, it was more of a one-shot deal, which had its own charm too)..

Marriage and kids have slowed down this hobby considerably, though I do find time to make a mix here and there... sadly most of my vinyl sits in a closet and most of my cds are in the attic. happily, I still have my mixes for the car..

blades said:

The sport of "freediving" or more correctly Apnea, see how far you can go underwater with lungs only.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-diving

and yes apneasts do practise on land,

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I know this is silly. But, I felt it was a great personal accomplishment.

I took swimming lessons from a young age, so I've always been good in the water, can tread for long periods of time, can even swim in a non-elegant manner.. but.. I always had to hold my nose underwater.

Never could figure out how to swim underwater without holding my nose.

We swim at the local public pool, which happily is down the street from our house. Summer of '07 I finally taught myself how to swim for short lengths underwater, but didn't really push it too much. This past summer ('08), I started pushing myself and was finally able to swim across the pool (side-to-side) underwater and also, to surface dive in the 12' end and touch the bottom. All without holding my nose. Never imagined I would be able to do that.. but I finally did at the age of 38!

This summer, I'm going to teach myself to dive properly.. better late than never!

I've a couple of hobbies --

1. Horses -- Wife bought #3 and #4 while I've been in Iraq. The friends, mostly military guys who have small yards don't get that one at all; especially after I tell them the costs of:
a. Vet Bills
b. Farrier
c. Grain
d. Hay
e. 4 Horse Trailer

2. Homebrewing -- Oh, the friends all LIKE that I do this and love to sample my wares but none of them have the patience to do it themselves. I actually spend time with my kids when I brew up a new batch.

michael.scheller said:

I've a couple of hobbies --

1. Horses -- Wife bought #3 and #4 while I've been in Iraq. The friends, mostly military guys who have small yards don't get that one at all; especially after I tell them the costs of:
a. Vet Bills
b. Farrier
c. Grain
d. Hay
e. 4 Horse Trailer

2. Homebrewing -- Oh, the friends all LIKE that I do this and love to sample my wares but none of them have the patience to do it themselves. I actually spend time with my kids when I brew up a new batch.

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I'm curious, what is the cost of keeping a horse or horses? How much land do they usually need?

For me I like to make my own wine and mead, many think just because it's homemade it won't be very good- I'm out to prove them wrong! I also enjoy making cheese, although I just started that one.

A few hobbies of mine...

1. Collecting Morrissey memorabilia
2. Long rides on my Vespa GTV
3. Fashion Photography
4. Fantasy sports
5. Ice skating

I'm into reading and collecting books, MMA, sea kayaking, traveling, cooking and crossfit training. I played the piano for a long time, but took an equally long time off--now, along with getting into shaving, I'm starting to play again.

olps said:

I'm curious, what is the cost of keeping a horse or horses? How much land do they usually need?

For me I like to make my own wine and mead, many think just because it's homemade it won't be very good- I'm out to prove them wrong! I also enjoy making cheese, although I just started that one.

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http://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_management/cost_of_keeping_a_horse.htm

Your questions are difficult to answer because of some many variations... but I don't pay quite what the author above does because I get my hay a little cheaper, do my own worming, do not shoe all of my horses year round, etc.

The land question is difficult also because it matters where you live and whether or not you'll have a barn or stalls to put the horse in also. But there is another Cherry Hill book entitled Horse Keeping on a Small Acreage that suggests that you can keep a horse on 1 1/2 acres pretty successfully.

http://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_books/Horsekeeping_on_a_Small_Acreage.htm

michael.scheller said:

http://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_management/cost_of_keeping_a_horse.htm

Your questions are difficult to answer because of some many variations... but I don't pay quite what the author above does because I get my hay a little cheaper, do my own worming, do not shoe all of my horses year round, etc.

The land question is difficult also because it matters where you live and whether or not you'll have a barn or stalls to put the horse in also. But there is another Cherry Hill book entitled Horse Keeping on a Small Acreage that suggests that you can keep a horse on 1 1/2 acres pretty successfully.

http://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_books/Horsekeeping_on_a_Small_Acreage.htm

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Thanks for the links, very interesting! Sounds like some work, but must be extremely rewarding.

I also forgot to mention that many of my friends don't get why I'm so happy when it snows so much here in Canada, makes for great cross-country skiing. Many of those people also much prefer down-hill...

Firearms and shooting
Disc golf (not too misunderstood, because I live in Santa Cruz, CA, but I am the only guy out there not smoking weed, which people think is weird)
Old record collecting, mostly folk and hillbilly music on 78s, plus some race music
Used to homebrew, but haven't in a while
Reading 40's and 50's pulp mysteries and (occasional) historical bodice rippers if they are set well

GB

Mainecanefan said:

Most of my friends don't understand how I can spend so much time in a record/CD store in this day and age. I Love it. I can spend hours flipping through racks. I'll pop into a shop when I walk by one while travelling. I'm constantly in search of the latest, greatest and most evil metal out there. Who the hell knows how much time I would disappear for if I get the opportunity to go to Sweden or Norway and find a good record store there. Oh the glory!!

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FINALLY someone else who likes Norwegian Black Metal.

masonjarjar said:

I know this is silly. But, I felt it was a great personal accomplishment.

I took swimming lessons from a young age, so I've always been good in the water, can tread for long periods of time, can even swim in a non-elegant manner.. but.. I always had to hold my nose underwater.

Never could figure out how to swim underwater without holding my nose.

We swim at the local public pool, which happily is down the street from our house. Summer of '07 I finally taught myself how to swim for short lengths underwater, but didn't really push it too much. This past summer ('08), I started pushing myself and was finally able to swim across the pool (side-to-side) underwater and also, to surface dive in the 12' end and touch the bottom. All without holding my nose. Never imagined I would be able to do that.. but I finally did at the age of 38!

This summer, I'm going to teach myself to dive properly.. better late than never!

Click to expand...

For your own safety please follow the rules for freediving, link below

http://www.spearfishingworld.net/News/article/sid=8.html

The three most important one's are,
1). Don't freedive alone, ever.
2). Don't practise dry or wet Apnea alone.
3). NEVER ride the elasticity of your eardrums, going to 12' without equalising is riding your eardrum, equalise at regular intervals to ensure that your eardrums remain intact and for a pain free dive. When I dive I always have one hand on my nose to frequently equalise, (approx every 2 meters), if during a dive I fail to equalise I abort the dive as the subsequent equalising will be to stressful for my eardrums and my rhythm is broken, good equalising technique is important to establish a good rhythm and a stress-less dive.
There are some freedivers that utilise advanced techniques for equalising which doesn't entail pinching their noses, these are difficult to master but they do enable one to freedive without having a hand on one's nose.


I do apologise if my advise appears condescending, but begginers should apply those few rules as a absolute bare minimum, I highly recommend a proffessional course which will help you learn the correct procedures and commit the appropriate techniques to muscle memory.

I completed my freediving course with the nice folks below.
http://www.freedivers.net/

SlagleRock said:

This one! No one understands it. Except the rest of the crazies here on the B&B of course!

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+1

So True!

My hobbies are few but here they are. Saving every spare penny I earn, sparring with my cat, and spending quality time with my punching bag.

I collect crack pipes.



Seriously, Mountain biking. Jumps and stuff.

Used to do DanzanRyu JuJitsu, but haven't in a while.