Hobbies

[Giovanni Schwartz]

Dear The Less Than 100 Hour Board,

What are some hobbies that I can pick up that

1) require not a lot of starting money and
2) Don't use a computer?

I'm wasting way too much time on the internets, and I'm sick of it. But I can't think of anything else to do.

-Homebound, without a car.

[NerdGirl]

Knitting

[Fredjikrang]

Knitting.
Reading books.
Doing maths.
Cooking.
Running.
Hiking.
Writing.
Rollerblading.
Yoga.
A job.
Wood carving.
Underwater basket weaving.
Book binding.
Meditation.
Dancing.

[Marduk]

Uh, off the top of my head: read more. Play some table top RPG's. Pick up video games. Learn to cook (or cook better.) Pick up a foreign language. Study philosophy. Do some sort of hand craft. Learn more about art and artistic intent . Take up a sport.

[Unit of Energy]

An instrument.
Photography.
Cooking is always good.

[Sparklebreeze]

Stuff I've been doing that you may or may not also enjoy:
-Languages: I know you just got back to the US, so you might be all languaged-out, but I've had fun working on my Spanish, Hindi, and ASL. I've been listening to music/tv/news and reading books, as well as talking to a few people who are much more proficient than I am.
-Guitar: (I've had fun with this because my dad is an excellent guitar player, and he has been waiting for years for one of his kids to take an interest. He is patient with me and it's nice to have some father-daughter bonding time. Maybe one of your parents also has a hobby that you've never tried that they are itching to share?)
-Becoming ambidextrous: (What if you break your dominant wrist? You'll be so prepared! ...okay, it's kiiiinda pointless)
-Reading
-Working out
-Camping/hiking
-Swimming
-Cooking/baking

[Katya]

Third vote for knitting!
Origami
Reading
Geocaching (but you do need a portable GPS-enabled device)
Stargazing
Hiking
Sheet music is cheap if you have access to an instrument (and pianos aren't too hard to find, at least)

[Whistler]

I have taken to cloud collecting. The cloud collector's handbook is available at the cloud appreciation society (online) and you can buy it from amazon for about $10. It has a scoring system for the clouds you find!

I've also been more interested in jigsaw puzzles recently. Really nice wooden ones are really expensive, but you can get the cheap cardboard ones at DI, and sometimes they even have all the pieces. Puzzles do require table space though, which can be precious in some student housing situations.

[Yarjka]

Acrylic Painting. There's something very satisfying about purchasing brushes, canvases, and paints at the art store. It makes you feel super creative, even if you're not a very good artist.

[krebscout]

Painting is not a cheap hobby to take up, though. Heavy initial investment.

Pilates.

[Giovanni Schwartz]

My snap reactions to all of these suggestions. May I restate that I don't have a car, so that takes a lot of them out. For now, anyways.

Knitting--Is knitting something that you can get started on by yourself at home? Or is it better to have someone teach you? Any recommendations for places to buy knitting things (online or in real life)?
Reading books.--I've probably read about 15 books since I got home... 4 weeks ago.
Doing maths.--I suppose... Although I never really did understand calculus. And I don't see a way to get access to these things without a computer.
Cooking.--Mmm... Who do I cook for, though?
Running.--That's great, in the morning... But after about 9:00 here, it's too blazing hot to even consider, unless you want to die.
Hiking.--I don't have a car.
Writing.--I would love to. Any suggestions on how to get started?
Rollerblading.--I tried that. But I had no coordination. So I never really did figure it out.
Yoga.--Maybe. How do you start?
A job.--Ha. Ha.
Wood carving.--Where do I get supplies? Does it matter that I'm not visually artsy at all?
Underwater basket weaving.--Same. Where do I get supplies?
Book binding.--Again, where do I get supplies?
Meditation.--Umm... I think I'm too A.D.D.
Dancing.--Eesh... I don't have the coordination for that.
Play some table top RPG's.--I don't have the friends for that.
Pick up video games.--That's specifically what I'm trying to avoid...
Learn to cook (or cook better.)--For whom do I cook?
Pick up a foreign language.--I like languages. How do I start, without a computer? Any recommendations?
Study philosophy.--Mm... Not really my thing.
Do some sort of hand craft.--For example?
Learn more about art and artistic intent.--:p
Take up a sport.--I can't really do that by myself, can I?
An instrument.--Like what? I've already got the piano, organ, string bass, and accordion down fairly well. What's next? And where can I get one cheap?
Photography.--What do people take pictures of?
Cooking is always good.--Indeed. Who do we cook for?
-Languages--Like I said, it's fun. And I've got a knack for it. But how do I get started at home without going on the computer?
-Guitar--That goes under instruments, I think. But I never really liked the guitar that much. I think we've got one, though.
-Becoming ambidextrous--Just a little more practice and I think I could count.
-Reading--Read too much already.
-Working out--Where? How do you do that at home on a low budget?
-Camping/hiking--How do I get there?
-Swimming--Eh... I can swim. Never really appreciated it as a form of exercise.
-Cooking/baking--For whom do I cook? Any suggestions for recipes to get started?
Third vote for knitting!--Same questions apply.
Origami--Any suggestions on origami sites that I could learn from?
Reading--I read too much, again.
Geocaching (but you do need a portable GPS-enabled device)--Indeed.
Stargazing--But I'm mostly only bored during the day.
Hiking--How do I get there?
Sheet music--Ooo... Do you have any favorites?
cloud collecting--Not quite sure what to make of this. What do you find appealing about it? (I mean that in genuinely curious, not as in "I'm trying to sound superior)
Acrylic Paints--Any recommendations on brands? Krebscout says it's expensive.
Pilates--Same. How do you get started?

Like I said, visual arts are kind of a no-go. Because I just fail. And I don't have a car right now. And am mostly bored alone at home by myself.

[Unit of Energy]

I would suggest that to take up cooking you first learn to cook a favorite dish that you don't yet know how to. A favorite food from the mission or a favorite dish from child hood. From there go on to an ingredient you would like to use better. For me right now I'm practicing my use of yeast, as I've been afraid of it since my loaf of bread that came out super dense.
As for who to cook for, yourself at first, then your family. There really doesn't need to be any event or person in particular to cook for, and as your skills improve you can impress your friends and neighbors (and girls).

[Zedability]

For knitting, just go to Walmart and ask one of the people there where the knitting needles and yarn are. Then ask someone who works in that sales area what she'd recommend for a beginner, although I learned on HUGE 12mm needles and it worked out fine for me.

I googled "how to knit" and found this site, which has free videos.

[Whistler]

I don't know why cloud collecting is so fun... um, you get points for things you can spot, in nature! Now, every time I go outside, I look at the clouds (Utah usually has a nice variety). It's not something I do uninterrupted for long stretches, but rather, it's something I do whenever I look at the sky every day. http://cloudappreciationsociety.org/collecting/

If you have any kind of camera, even a crappy kind, you can take pictures and try to collect all the cloud types! It's like Pokemon in real life, without all the emotional baggage of cock-fighting with fantasy animals! There's something empowering in being able to look at a cloud and say "that's a cumulus, and since it's longer than it is wide, it's a cumulus congestus, which means it's probably full of rain." (see http://cloudappreciationsociety.org/col ... ce-clarke/). Those high-up wispy clouds? Cirrus, which probably have ice crystals in them. Once you get to know the basic cloud types, you can look out for rarer clouds. I'm still looking out for an incus myself.

Cloud collecting is something you can do from your back window or backyard, or while walking or driving anywhere where clouds are in the sky. It's something I'll be able to do when I'm old or when I have lots of kids. It's something to talk about when you're in a conversation with someone you don't know. Clouds are all around us and can tell us about the wind and weather. I'm just nerding out now...

I think it's hard for us to guess a hobby you'll like without knowing more of your interests. I noticed that you feel kind of stuck at home--do you know your neighborhood pretty well? When I lived south of campus I would go for walks and it was fun to look at the different houses. If you're near Provo, there's historic walks you can go on (go to the Provo library for a pamphlet if they still have them). You can also work out at home by doing callisthenics (push-ups, sit-ups, yoga, etc. If you really are interested in yoga there's some great youtube videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B-_aQ5vS9E&feature=plcp; I know you need a computer at first but after a while you can memorize the poses). Walking around your neighborhood can also help you get to know the needs of your surroundings better, like if your neighbors need babysitting, lawn-mowing, weed-pulling, whatever (if you're interested in that as something to do).

[C is for]

Oh Gio remember that time you were going to compose Fragmentary Blue for me? You could always get back to that.

As far as writing goes, you may want to spend a little time on the computer collecting prompts or whatnot, then unplug and go to it. It depends on what kind of writing you want to do, too. Personal essays, short stories, majorly plotted novels.

Here I even found you a writing prompts site. No promises on the quality of the prompts. Sometimes you just have to pick one and force yourself to work on it.

Oh and speaking of writing, something that I had to do for my Creative Writing class back in the day was right when I woke up I had to write 4 pages of whatever came to mind. I have been meaning to get back to it, but I have to wake up so early for work that I don't want to wake up 10 min earlier to write some stupid pages.

[Fredjikrang]

As for who to cook for. Make some friends and invite them over! Or for your family, members of the ward, old homeless ladies! The possibilities are endless!

And as for how to get to a hike. I agree that it is hard without a car (hence many of my frustrations this summer) but if you make a friend that likes to hike (and has a car) it is a lot easier.

[Katya]

Gio, where are you physically located? (I.e., what city or area of what state?)

[UffishThought]

I've been looking at http://writingprompts.tumblr.com/ lately, speaking of writing prompts. Again, not all good, but some are great.

I've always half-wanted to learn to refinish old furniture--just go around to yard sales and pick something up and make it look good. I don't know how spendy that hobby would be, though.

I like gardening, and it can be pretty cheap. You're late in the season, but there are plants for now, too. It's not terribly dramatic or time consuming, but it's very satisfying and one of the most rejuvenating hobbies, I think.

Everyone likes to be cooked for. Set up a dinner group!

Speaking of which, friends aren't technically a hobby, but they're a good way to get away from too much internet and not enough else. Set up a movie night or a dinner group or a games night or book club or whatever.

Even if you can't go on hikes, walks are fun.

Maybe you should get a book of solitaire games and learn them all. Or learn card tricks!Or juggling! Or magic!

I used to cut pictures and words out of magazines and sticky tack them to my wall. It was a fun way to eat up a few hours, served to decorate my apartment, and took a surprisingly huge amount of time.

I've been making blackout poems lately, where you take a page from a book or newspaper or whatever, and black out everything but a few words to make a poem. My pen pal and I have been sending them back and forth and it's been a hoot. Oh, and pen pals are great, too. Getting mail is so fun, and writing letters is enjoyable, too. I've got two this summer, and I love it.

[Giovanni Schwartz]

Gio, where are you physically located? (I.e., what city or area of what state?)

Oh yeah. I'm in Mesa, AZ.

[Marduk]

Personally, I'd focus on cooking just for yourself until you can achieve some mastery of it. As for how to start, I'd pick a simple dish (something like rice or potatoes) and find as many different ways as you can, online, or cookbooks, or just throwing random things in there, and see how the taste changes. Try different cooking methods. For example, with rice, this Sunday I made a dish that I'd never even heard of, let alone seen a recipe before (although I'm sure there are a lot out there) and was quite happy with how it turned out, simply because I've tried the things I added, and the methods of cooking, enough to know what was good and what wasn't. (for the curious, it was a lemon basil rice pilaf.)

So cook a cup of rice for dinner. Steam it. Do a pilaf. Add cilantro. Add basil. Add pepper. Add tomato sauce. Add bell peppers and onions. Add peas and carrots. Do dozens of different things to experiment with how it changes the flavor. After you do that, try it with chicken breast. Pan fry it. Bake it. Bread it. Experiment with pan sauces and glazes. Once you start experimenting, you can predict how different things will combine, or will combine with different flavors. Once you start doing that, you won't ever need a recipe again (I cook, on average, about twice a week, and I use some sort of recipe, usually tweaked, only maybe once every six months.)