Tag Archives: hobbies

Old Dog, New Tricks

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I’m an Old (™). This is a fact. I’m what the internet affectionately calls an “elder millennial.” I have had teens and 20-somethings treat me like I should, in fact, be crawling into my own grave of my own volition by now. And somehow, I find myself getting into tabletop gaming for the first time in my life, at my age?

I have been a nerd, or a geek, or whatever my whole life. I have at least dabbled in most nerdy pursuits at some point or another. But I never got into tabletop gaming (whether it be card games, or co-op board games, or RPGs) as a kid/teenager, when most nerds are getting into that kind of thing. It wasn’t that I avoided them on purpose. I was just never really exposed to it at any point in K-12. My mom was not a gamer of any kind. My younger brother was a gamer, but only video games and Pokémon cards (which I dabbled in a bit, for his benefit, but didn’t really play). Being a military brat, I didn’t have many friends and didn’t keep any for very long, and none of them were tabletop gamers of any kind. So, I just didn’t really know anything about them.

Even in college, when some people might get into it if they missed out on it the first time around, I managed to accidentally avoid it by virtue of not living on campus and getting the full “college experience.” My best friend did live on a college campus, and so dabbled in a few things. Through her, I played my one and only RPG campaign one summer between semesters (and it wasn’t even D&D, it was the much simpler Mage series of RPGs by White Wolf).

Now, somehow, through a twist of brain-weirdness, and because of my abominable habit of picking up new habits the way some people catch a cold, I find myself getting into several varieties of tabletop gaming for the first time ever. I have picked up a couple board games (and I don’t mean your more traditional family board games like Clue or Monopoly). I started with one that seemed accessible and easy to learn for a newbie (and also appealed to me as a Disney nerd): Villainous. Then I grabbed Azul, because it had such great reviews on gaming sites. I also bought one of the Hunt a Killer murder mystery games: Mystery at Magnolia Gardens. And now I’m considering the much more massive (and expensive) game Descent: Legends of the Dark by Fantasy Flight Games. I’ve been considering this one after doing a lot of research on games I play on solo mode. I’ve dragged my mother, and once my brother, into playing Villainous with me. And my mom really enjoyed the Mystery of Magnolia Gardens game, but mostly I’m on my own for this new stage in my nerd development, lol!

In addition, I bought a game (also by Fantasy Flight Games) called Legacy of Dragonholt. It’s a bit like a cross between a full RPG (such as D&D) and a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book on steroids. I have managed to drag my mother into doing this one with me as well, lol! We do a couple hours on the weekends. It’s not as flexible as I would like (and as I would no doubt get from a full RPG game), but it is entertaining and it’s a good stepping stone into other, bigger things.

I have ALSO started buying Magic the Gathering cards for the first time in my life! And this bad habit I can entirely blame on Twitter. Particularly, the artists I follow on Twitter. Several artists I love and follow on social media started sharing the pieces they painted for one of the new MtG expansions: Streets of New Capenna, and I was in raptures! It’s a mix of magic and 1920s Jazz Age aesthetics! I am obsessed with 1920s history/style right now! It was made specifically for ME. How could I resist?

I am trying (with middling success) to teach myself how to actually play Magic the Gathering. I even downloaded the MtG: Arena app to play that way, since I have no one to play with IRL. But so far the intricacies of the rules and the various card functions is proving rather opaque to me. So… *shrug*

This has all happened in just the last three or four months. Will it STICK long term? I don’t know. I’m ADHD. Jumping from hyperfixation to hyperfixation is just part of my mental makeup. But maybe. If I can figure out what the hell I’m actually DOING? And if I can find actual people IRL to play any of these things with? Then maybe.

If you are an expert in any of these things, and care to offer sage advice, I am all ears. If you are brand new to the world of tabletop gaming and want to muddle through these things with me in a blind-leading-the-blind sort of scenario, please also chime in! If you want to just point and laugh at The Old (™) muddling her way through all of this, feel free. I am well aware how silly I look, and I’m at peace with it.

So, What Have We Been Up To?

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Bonus post this week! I didn’t want to skip a book-focused post for Saturday, but I also wanted to just chat with you all for sec, so… extra post it is! And I’m here to talk about what we have all be up to lately. On one hand, it feels like none of us have been up to much of anything since the pandemic started. On the other hand, it feels like everything is so crazy and stressful that surely we’ve all be doing SOMETHING or another, right?

So I’d love to hear what everyone has been up to the lately. I mentioned in my first post coming back that I’ve been reading quite a bit, I’ve been writing (a lot), and I’ve been working like crazy. And, of course, all the hobbies keep piling up. I collect hobbies almost as much as I collect books, apparently.

I’m still working on cross-stitch, a new crafting hobby I started at the beginning of hte pandemic in March 2020. I was really proud when I finished this pattern of the Disneyland Castle:

I kept up with the cross-stitch habit pretty consistently in 2020 and the first half of 2021, but it started to fall apart in the second half of last year. BUT! I have started on another pattern, and I’ve bought far more patterns than I will possibly be able to manage this year. Hopefully I can get back into the habit and it’ll be fun to see how far I get.

I’m trying to relearn how to draw and paint. I took a couple art courses a lifetime ago when I was in community college (mostly in pencil drawing), and I’ve never had any actually training in painting. I was never a great artist even though I love art. I’m… okay, I guess. Still, I’ve decided this is the year I just say “fuck it” and just start making art when I feel like it, and the skill will hopefully come as I go along. Here’s a couple of the pencil drawings I’ve done recently:

And, my very first attempts at acrylic painting EVER, which I did last month! –

Last August, I flew to Omaha to visit my best friend. It was a bit of a risk, of course, though when I bought the plane tickets it had been looking like things were finally starting to quiet down a bit (boy, what a false alarm THAT turned out to be). But I hadn’t seen my best friend since 2018 and I was desperate to see her. And we were very careful and I managed to avoid catching covid, thank goodness.

In other news, I have applied for the Clarion West Summer Writer’s Workshop. I’ve been wanting to do this for ages, and never felt ready, either in terms of skill or in terms of the necessary free time and financial support. I don’t know that any of those three categories are really ready this year, either, but I decided it was time to finally TRY. Most people don’t get accepted to Clarion West on the first attempt, so I’m not holding my breath. But I figured, if I can’t get accepted until my third or fourth (or whatever) application attempt, that still means I have to START APPLYING eventually. So. I did. I should be hearing about acceptance/rejection (let’s be real, I’m just waiting for the confirmed rejection) by the end of March.

In addition, I’m hoping to write a couple short stories this year and start shopping those out to lit magazines. I have just finished second revisions of my novella, and I’m thinking about finding a few beta readers to see what more needs to be done with it before I start thinking about querying for an agent.

The long and the short of it is that I’m DONE WAITING. It’s time to gain some forward momentum SOMEHOW.

So how about you, dear readers? What have you been doing during all the craziness of the last couple years? Just surviving is more than enough, of course! I applaud everyone who has gotten through the last two years with even a modicum of sanity left. But if you’ve been keeping yourselves busy with anything interest or fun, I’d love to hear about it! Or if you’ve been doing nothing but working and watching Netflix, I’d love to hear about that too! (My own tv-viewing habits are sporadic and idiosyncratic, so feel free to tell me what good things you’re watching!)

Cross-Stitch Mania

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A few months ago, after years of saying I eventually would, I finally bought a little kit to teach myself how to cross-stitch. What with the quarantine and all, it seemed like the perfect time to try my hand at a new hobby. I even shared my first couple endeavors here on the blog. But then I kind of stopped talking about it.

Well, let me tell you, folks! I am hooked!

I have been trying increasingly difficult patterns. I have moved on from pre-made kits and have started downloading patterns from digital shops online and buying whole skeins of embroidery floss. I have quite a collection already! Approximately 80 colors and counting!

I have become so obsessed that I have been thinking about subscriber to a bloody cross-stitch magazine (who is this person I have become!?) and I found a wonderful blog that offers free geek-themed cross-stitch patterns here at Cross Stitch Quest. They are wonderful! 😍

I am currently working on Sleeping Beauty’s castle from Disneyland (I have mentioned before that I’m a huge Disney nerd!)— from this Etsy shop: Awesome Pattern Studio — and I will soon be starting a secret project for a Christmas present.

There is something delightful about doing cross-stitch. I have always liked working with my hands, I have an appreciation for fine detail work. I also love art, but I’m not a particularly good artist, so I feel like this is a bit like painting for me. The designs are pre-set, of course (though I’m already making plans to try making my own patterns), but still… The image comes together through my handiwork. And the motions are fine and repetitive, almost mindless, a little like some people say kitting or crochet is. So it can also be very meditative and therapeutic. And on top of all that, you have lovely creations you can frame or hang up, or make into a pillow case, or give as gifts!

So, yes, I just really love cross-stitch, ok? 😁

Midnight Musing

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How many random new hobbies can one person pick up before it becomes silly and possibly stupid?

…asking for a friend…

Me. I’m asking for me.

In the last few months (and frankly, even BEFORE the whole COVID quarantine nonsense got started – like even as far back as a year ago) I have started re-picking up old half-started hobbies I had tried out as a kid, or dropped because of grad school, and picking up brand new hobbies that I had always wanted to try.

These new and renewed hobbies include:
1) puzzles (I am slightly addicted)
2) drawing (I have always wanted to be an artist but never had the talent or the patience to keep practicing)
3) cross-stitch (as mentioned before)
4) junk journaling
5) making miniatures
6) stamp collecting (I tried briefly as a kid because my dad was a bit of a philatelist, but it didn’t last, and I just randomly started buying bundles of stamps again a couple months ago because I totally have loads of surplus cash lying around… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

Some other random hobbies I have thought about picking up:
1) I have always wanted to learn how to do paper quilling
2) making zines (as mentioned in my previous post)
3) sewing/making cosplay (I have always wanted to and I just recently started planning a cosplay outfit for the first time ever!)

And all of this is on top of my reading and writing habits I’ve been trying to reinvigorate the last 6 months or so…. (And on top of my day job…)

I just wish most of these hobbies didn’t cost quite so much money! Why must most hobbies be so damn expensive???

Ok, back to your regularly scheduled program. (I’m almost done with Charmed Life and will hopefully post a review later this week!)