I collect your souvenirs every day The pages you toss out The ones you save

 

I decided to make a list of what I consider my hobbies, and maybe try to do them more. This is a grounding exercise for myself.

Writing.

I have written professionally off and on, and I have to say that writing only for myself is such a much better experience. I write everything from reviews of things, to photo dumps and trip reports, to academic essays. I don't care if dozens or no one reads them, I write for myself and strive to become a better and more coherent writer every day. Blogging has been part of my life since...2003? I love blogging. I love reading blogs. 

Learning languages.

Unrelated to work-related language learning (for opera), I use the Duolingo app to learn languages for fun. Dutch is for future Efteling adventures and Spanish is for practical reasons. I should at this point in my life already know how to speak Spanish, and I do not. Duolingo is actually the only game-related or game-adjacent app that is on my phone.

Sewing.

It's something I enjoy, and mostly only do hand sewing. I am absolutely terrible at it, but it hasn't stopped me so far. I have a decent fabric stash and want to eventually make things by myself without anyone else's help. This will most likely not happen, but I am at least going to try!

Using my museum and zoo membership passes.

I don't do this enough, but I do my best to try to get my money's worth out of them.

Going to museums in general.

Whenever I travel, I always try to make it a point to go to the zoos, the natural history museums, and the aquariums. I haven't gone to many museums in the last couple of years because of Covid, but I really, deeply love museums. The only art museum I really like is the Legion of  Honor in San Francisco.

Planning trips.

I am a great trip planner. I have taken myself by myself all over creation, all without being able to drive. If you want a good time on a trip, tag along with me. I am planning trips next year for Monterey with my friend Emily (hi, Emily!) and Atlanta.

Taking photos on trips or outings for the sake of taking photos, not for Instagram.

I have a Flickr account for thousands of photos that I never share anywhere but there. I don't claim to be a good photographer, I just like taking photos because I want to look back one day on all of the places that I have been. Sometimes the photos end up here in trip reports.

Listening to music for the pleasure of listening to music, particularly analog music.

I have to listen to a lot of music as a job, so I like to make it a point to listen to music simply to listen to music. No listening to things that I have to learn. No listening to music that I have to work on. No listening to pick things out of to try to emulate or techniques I like and want to use in the future. Just listening for listening's sake. I like to listen for listening's sake with analog media, like tapes or records. Just sitting on the floor reverently in front of the stereo and doing nothing else but listening for the sheer joy of listening. I don't get to do this one as often as I'd like.

Collecting those Disney trading pins.

But never trading them, they are my treasures. They are my children, you cannot fucking have them.

Collecting shoes and purses.

And wearing all of them. I really like custom Sven clogs. They are having a sale and I am daydreaming about a new pair already. I really love shoes.

Collecting vintage clothes, toys, and Disneyana.

I absolutely love collecting shit and either making cute little displays of them or framing them and putting them on my walls. I absolutely love framing shit. I really find it therapeutic, satisfying, and aesthetically pleasing. I love love love thrifting and antique mall crawling in general, and I haven't gone in a very long time. Mostly because of Covid, partially because of cost.

I am a wacky girl with wacky interests, what can I say?