I’ve been hearing a lot about this German insult “Hobbyloses Verhalten”, or “Bist du hobbylos”, for calling people “hobbyless”. Well, not wanting to be insulted with that, I guess I wanna put it out there that I have hobbies with an asterisk.
I’m gonna be so real with you though, I don’t think I know what a “hobby” is. Like, at what point does something you do becomes a hobby, and at what point does the hobby just becomes a lifestyle. I like to say that my hobby includes my weekly video games, and playing MtG with my friends. But the game we have energy for as a group has mostly been slow-paced social game, and MtG group happens roughly about 4-5 times a year. On the other hand, I can’t seem to stop going to my CrossFit classes. Between my rugby practices, and games which are about 7 hours a week; plus CrossFit, and now a little bit of Hyrox, which I spend about 6 and a half hour a week on. Altogether, that’s about 13 and a half hours a week not including all the extra stuff that needs to happen around it. These two hobbies together are practically my part-time job. And the way I prioritize them, they’re my lifestyle, and less hobbies now. They’re not always fun, and some times feel like work or obligations. The feeling of rewards always come, maybe later and less frequent that what people think a hobby should be. And because they’re both so physical, I feel like I’m missing an outlet for my creativity, and that mental challenge. The closest thing I do right now is this block puzzle game on Youtube Playables.
Not to say I regret how I spend my time. CrossFit had been a good place for me to make friends after moving to a new city. Rugby had also given me opportunity to travel the world, and playing a team sport for the first time. I do miss having time and energy to play big games, MtG and strategy boardgames with friends. I need to manage the balances between my different hobbies better. What a privilege thing to be able to say. But if someone is asking me what my hobbies are now, I would struggle to answer. Some of them feel all too consuming, and some feel too infrequent. I always say, “I sorta have hobbies with an asterisk”. But hey, it’s a good way to keep the conversation going.