Hobbies Deb Eleanor Does Not Have

Eleanor BrownI’ve tried to be a hobby kind of person.  I really have.  But ultimately I think I’m just not cut out for it.  I envy people who do have hobbies, and I love to hear about them – listening to people talk about something that brings them joy and peace makes me tremendously happy.  It’s just the actual doing that I’m not so good at.  For example…

Scrapbooking:  My mother is really into genealogy and family history, so I’ve done a couple of scrapbooks for her.  She’s too nice to mention they’re hideously ugly.  I’m not a naturally patient person, and I have zero visual artistic talent, so my scrapbook pages tend to be (a) rushed and (b) unattractive.  I am, however, excellent at buying scrapbooking supplies, and at fantasizing that I enjoy and am good at it, so I am fully prepared with enough paper and geegaws to make at least three more albums, which I anticipate will be finished in approximately 2030.  Or maybe never.  Yeah, never’s good.  Anyone want some scrapbooking supplies?

Yoga Lion PoseYoga: I really like the way I feel after a yoga class.  Not so much during the class itself.  I’m just going to go ahead and say what you’re all thinking.  Yoga?  Is not fun.  It hurts.  It is hard.  When I am in some yoga-like contortion, I am not focusing on my breathing and being one with the Universe, I am wondering how much longer that sadistic instructor is going to make me stay in a position someone had to INVENT because the human body does not move naturally in that way.  (That should be our first hint.)  On the plus side, my yoga pants are really excellent for sitting on the couch and reading – they stretch in all the right ways.

Collecting: I’ve tried collecting a handful of things over the years – salt and pepper shakers, coins, ex-boyfriends – but they always seem to escape the kennels I am not good with things.  I hit a certain point where I wonder why I have all this *stuff* that’s not serving any useful purpose.  Don’t get me wrong, I like a good pile of clutter sitting on the kitchen table as much as the next gal, but that’s typically really useful things.  Like, you know, junk mail and homeless USB cables.  So while I will sit for hours and listen to you talk about your Eritrean stamp collection, and I will actually genuinely dig learning about it, odds are that I won’t start one myself.

There are hobbies I have that I pick up and put down periodically – geocaching, guitar, brushing up on my French – but I don’t think of them as hobbies.  They’re just things I do that make me happy.  Which, I guess, is the definition of a hobby.

What hobbies have you tried that just didn’t work out for you?

14 Replies to “Hobbies Deb Eleanor Does Not Have”

  1. Good morning!

    I’m laughing – my Mom started a needlepoint pillow of the school shield when my sister was in high school. Ten years later, the 12 stitches were in place, lonely, never to meet their fellow stitches. We still tease her about that pillow. What on earth is Geocaching?

    DEB KIM

  2. Oh I have a friend who’s REALLY into Geocaching. He and his four kids travel all over with a digital compass and go to certain coordinates you find online. The coordinates lead to a weatherproof box. When you find it, there’s some kind of little toy or gewgaw inside that you get to keep, and in return you put a little toy or gewgaw there for the next guy. My daughter and I went with them once, searching for something in the middle of a hilly, forrested park in Delaware, and the whole process was tremendously cool… but it’d be far too time-intensive for me to pick up as a hobby of my own.

    Love the post, Eleanor! My yoga pants also are AWESOME for lounging/eating/watching TV, and my yoga mat earns its keep as a fabulous dog bed.

  3. I’m one of those who buys things for hobbies but will never ever get round to using everything. I have lots of scrapbooking stuff – I’ve done one page so far; I also have card-making stuff and cross-stitch things but these last two I do actually do every now and again. But like you I tend to do them in cycles. Currently I’m in a cross-stitch one and loving it – just wish it wasn’t quite so time consuming!

  4. I share your wish to be good at scrapbooking (and your total lack of desire to actually DO it). I love admiring my mom’s scrapbooks, but have never attempted it myself.

    Now yoga, on the other hand…I do love that.

    I’m really not much of a hobbyist (which means I have no idea what to blog about when my turn comes on Friday!)

    Tawna

  5. I love to knit, but really haven’t done it since my son was born. I found an unfinished baby sweater in my closet the other day and thought briefly about picking it up again. But I have to finish a book, and that takes precedence…

    I made my character in POSED FOR MURDER absolutely hate yoga. I don’t hate it–just had a bad experience with prenatal yoga, and hot yoga sounds like hell to me.

    Welcome to the ball, Eleanor!

  6. Geocaching is way fun, and doesn’t have to be time-consuming. J.C. and I like to do it when we travel – it’s a fun way to see places that you wouldn’t usually as a tourist. It’s also a great way to get to know new areas around where you live.

    Kathy – I am with you. I just have to change what I do all the time, which is why I will never be any good at any one particular activity.

    Bethany – ME TOO. Seriously, I am glad to know it’s not just me. I do think it’s genetic, as my mother has enough fabric to make a quilt for the whole planet. I tried cross-stich once, but again with the lack of patience. You have my respect on that one.

    Tawna – Does your mother want about fifty tons of scrapbooking equipment? Because I can hook her up. I’m not much of a hobbyist either…as you can tell. Maybe we can pass this off as some form of genius?

  7. So we’re both yoga fans! Love that! Wish I could get into scrapbooking. I’m afraid of it. I have a zillion things I want to put in a scrapbook for my boys, but the thought of creating one sounds more daunting than writing a book. I think I’ll stick with writing books. 🙂 Fun to learn a little more about you. xo

  8. Wait, so I see that your yoga thing is a love-hate–yes, this is indeed true of me. I like it best when it’s DONE. Ever tried hot yoga? It nearly killed me. True story. 🙂

  9. I never stuck with learning Japanese, crocheting, knitting, gardening, canine agility (Winston has a bad back), or Irish step dancing.

    But I did learn to sew (which has become more of a lifestyle choice than a hobby).

    And, hey, I stuck with writing! That paid off.

  10. @Sarah – I really do love the feeling at the end of a yoga class. There’s a t-shirt I’ve seen that says, “I’m just here for the savasana”, which is pretty much my take on it. I go through periods where the pain of the class is worth it to get to that relief at the end, and periods where I just can’t be bothered. (I’m in one of those latter periods right now, but my back is telling me it would like to be going to yoga again. Perhaps I will listen to it.) And NO on hot yoga. You’ll see why when you read my book. 🙂

    @Katie – Irish step dancing looks so COOL, though. I think my boobs are too big for it, but I’m with ya on trying and failing. Sewing is another thing I’ve failed at. You are my new hero.

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