I’ve mentioned previously on this blog that I view myself as a sort of Jack of All Trades, a generalist with breadth and some depth. Part and parcel of this view of myself is a wide swathe of amateur interests, and I use the term amateur decidedly: the best way to describe it is I dabble in a lot of things.
I dabble in writing (as evidenced by this blog) and in photography, as I mentioned last week. (Speaking of writing, if you haven’t seen my albeit sophomoric short stories, do check them out). I have a surface-level interest in astronomy, stemming from the vestiges of my childhood dreams of becoming an astronaut.
I also like to dip my toes into history, especially about the late 19th to early 20th centuries, particularly the Second World War; I bought two of the three volumes of the masterful Third Reich Trilogy by historian Richard J. Evans – I’ve yet to finish the second volume, and I’ll get my hands on the third volume in the future. I’ve also in my library several books by Ambeth Ocampo, anthologies of his column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
On the other hand, my knowledge of sports is lacking, I think: I know enough about professional basketball – both my country’s professional league, the PBA, and the American NBA – to at least follow conversations about the teams and the players, but I don’t have skin in the game: I don’t follow any particular team, or player, and I admittedly have little interest in doing so. I also know enough about baseball to follow a game and enjoy it, but I don’t have enough interest to actually watch an entire season. I could list down all the various sports I don’t watch, but that’d be meaningless: suffice it to say, sports isn’t my thing.
Which, if I’m honest, isn’t too bad. With the exception of random strangers making small talk about a sporting event, it really hasn’t been a big deal.
Anyway, all of this is to say I’ve been contemplating expanding my list of hobbies. I was in the school band back in high school, playing the clarinet; maybe I should pick it up again, although practicing it would be difficult, seeing my apartment’s walls aren’t exactly soundproof.
I’ll figure out the mechanics and logistics somehow.
PS: The sport of cricket still confuses me.
Previously: Photography