From 4/26/02's F5:

1. What are your hobbies? 

I like Ayn Rand's insightful words on hobbies. I work intense, non-stop workdays and these recreational activities get me out of the hurly-burly of work, bringing me joy, peace, and serenity:  

• Reading -- I always carry a book with me.  
• Leaving footprints -- or butt-prints -- on the sands of time by writing. 
• Listening to classical and Hawaiian music. 
• Bathing.  
• Taking leisurely walks. 

These hobbies thoroughly delight me: 

• Dancing the hula. 
• Going to the movies with my sweetheart. 
• Adventuresome dining.  
• Eating sushi. 
• Biking.
• Being outdoors and adopting the pace of nature, as well as learning her secrets.

These challenge and stimulate my mind and get my creative juices flowing:

• Learning. My favorite toy/tool for learning is the Internet for getting info and news updates, staying in touch with family and friends, and listening to music.  
• Making websites for family, friends, and the online public as gifts from my heart.
• Reading or telling stories to children. 

Some people bounce from hobby to hobby like a traversing pinball.  In the main, mine are longstanding ones.  I've dropped a few along the way: sewing, crocheting, knitting, crafts, and swimming. 

"Never hurry; 
take plenty of exercise; 
always be cheerful, 
and take the sleep you need, 
and you may expect to be well." 
~ James F Clarke (1810-1888)

2. Do you collect anything? If so, what? 

What I most love to collect are: memories from great experiences, smiles and hugs. 

Preferring to travel through this life lightly, I don't like to collect things. There is nothing that I hold on to with clenched fists.  But truth be told,  I do have sizeable collections of cherished gifts --  teddy bears, dolphins, and angels -- given to me by family, clients and friends. 

Zen Bear from Jillary

I have a profound weakness for books.  I can't seem to leave a bookstore without at least one book.  And since bookstores are one of two of my most favorite places to frequent, I have books. Lots of them.  Shelves, overflowing with them.  Stacks and stacks of them. 

No small number have traveled with me from Hawai`i, O`ahu, Indiana, back to Hawai`i, then to California. Many are like dear old friends and only death will us part.

My second favorite places to frequent are libraries.  And now I am blessed to have the world's most advanced and beautiful library close by.

"There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness." 
~ Dave Barry

3. Is there a hobby you're interested in, but just don't have the time/money to do?

More traveling. But right now I am totally smitten with O and Freddy B (our dogs) and am not quite willing yet to leave them at home for extended periods. 

And one of them is definitely not quite ready to be left home alone. Today, I came home from a storytelling outing to find that O had somehow leapt from my (swiveling) chair to the kitchen's island -- two feet away and she is a little dog -- to devour a plate of food.

Gardening.  My Grandmother Satsuma, who helped to raise me, was a productive, green-thumbed gardener; she infused me with a latent love for growing and nurturing plants,  which is slowly blossoming. I'd like to start a hydroponic garden.

In the meantime, I'll tend to this garden.

"When I go into my garden with a spade, and dig a bed, I feel such an exhilaration and health that I discover that I have been defrauding myself all this time in letting others do for me what I should have done with my own hands."
     - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

4. Have you ever turned a hobby into a moneymaking opportunity? 

I like helping people and being of service to them.  I  made it a living, following this maxim:

Risk more than others think is safe.
Care more than others think is wise.
Dream more than others think is practical.
Expect more than others think is possible.
~  Cadet Maxim, USMA, West Point, NY

In college, I put my sewing to work and made some spending money with it.  

5. Besides web-related stuff (burbs, rings, etc.), what clubs do you belong to? 

A Hawaiian civic  club; a social club called `Da Hawaii Club and Friends of the Library.  

I was a member of Optimists International, a public service club for several years. (I love their creed)  I dropped out due to time and work demands. Also, their early morning meetings were way too early for a night owl/morning sleepy-head like me.  I remain an everyday optimist, however.

These days, I do my public service on the web, as well as a freelance storyteller at schools and an educator, giving talks.

My favorite childhood "club" was the Girl Scouts, Troop 30, Pahoa, Hawaii.

Thought to ponder:
Never be afraid to try something new.  
Remember that amateurs built  the Ark.  
Professionals built the Titanic.

past    the present    future

who | what | archives | comments | photos