As part of my soul searching I have been asking myself, what do you like to do? More or less, what are your hobbies. In the past, this would have been simple - sports. Any sport, anywhere, any time. And it wasn't just playing, it was watching and following too. I remember back in the summer of 1983 being able to quote the number of strikeouts Jack Morris had for the season as of that day. But it wasn't jus baseball. I would jump from sport to sport with the same fervor. But slowly this died down. Part of it was lack of time - being married with three children and a full time job can do that. Part of it was the pointlessness of it all - every season is the same and there is no intrinsic value in following sports other than entertainment and part of it is the strikes and lockouts that have plagued pro sports in the past two decades. Now don't get me wrong, I still follow the local teams and like to watch an occasional game, but most of my watching is done in short spurts to catch up on the score while doing stuff around the house. I'm not complaining, just illustrating a point.
So, with the loss of my sports obsession, what do I like to do now. I would say there are five things I would list as hobbies - fishing, playing piano, learning Spanish, running and cooking. Of these, the only two I do much of are running and cooking.
I'm not sure why I like cooking so much. Maybe it it the process of doing everything. I like it best when I am chopping my own vegetables, getting everything together and cooking the meal. Sometimes, due to time constraints, my wife will cut up the veggies for me. While I appreciate her help I don't feel as connected to the food. I like to take the long process. Today, I am making my own chicken stock for use in a gumbo I will make tomorrow. Usually I use a paste mixed with water to make the stock and it turns out fine. But this takes the association with the food to the next level. I have to commit two hours of my morning to making something that usually takes five minutes. I am hoping the difference will be noticeable. Even if it isn't I am happy because I am cutting out the shortcut. I had planned on making enough to freeze for future use, but the recipe I am making tomorrow will use up all of it. And that is okay. It will be an excuse to make more. I think I will try to do more cooking in the future. It is a better use of my time than surfing the web.
-- Maddog
So, with the loss of my sports obsession, what do I like to do now. I would say there are five things I would list as hobbies - fishing, playing piano, learning Spanish, running and cooking. Of these, the only two I do much of are running and cooking.
I'm not sure why I like cooking so much. Maybe it it the process of doing everything. I like it best when I am chopping my own vegetables, getting everything together and cooking the meal. Sometimes, due to time constraints, my wife will cut up the veggies for me. While I appreciate her help I don't feel as connected to the food. I like to take the long process. Today, I am making my own chicken stock for use in a gumbo I will make tomorrow. Usually I use a paste mixed with water to make the stock and it turns out fine. But this takes the association with the food to the next level. I have to commit two hours of my morning to making something that usually takes five minutes. I am hoping the difference will be noticeable. Even if it isn't I am happy because I am cutting out the shortcut. I had planned on making enough to freeze for future use, but the recipe I am making tomorrow will use up all of it. And that is okay. It will be an excuse to make more. I think I will try to do more cooking in the future. It is a better use of my time than surfing the web.
-- Maddog
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