Winter's coming. And I don't know what to do to occupy my time. I'll need something to take my mind away from the collapsing world.
I'll be wrapping up my table saw and tools for hibernation pretty soon. Yard work is almost over and that's not much fun anyway.
I can't sing or do exotic dance or write music - I got no talent. There's a piano six feet from me and I can't play a note.
I can't draw or paint - I got no talent.
I thought of model making. I've done that. I built model airplanes in two eras of my life, but there's a problem. After they are built, what are you to do with them? Wives don't care for dive bombers hanging from thread from the living room ceiling.
I thought of building model ships. Good ship models run $300 to $900 and the challenging ones are wooden ships and that takes experience and talent. I might spring for an expensive wooden model and give it a try. It takes about 6 months to a year to build one and it certainly would occupy time. But what does one do with a three foot long ship after its finished? It would probably end up in the shed.
I thought of trying calligraphy. Another art form. I'm not an artist.
I'm not a writer, that's out.
I have my telescope, but sitting in the freezing night by yourself is no fun. Not to mention frostbite.
You see the problem, don't you? I can't do my woodworking. What is the hobby I can get into that can be done in my den, is interesting, and can be done by a no talent guy?
I refuse to sew, quilt, or knit. My feminine side hasn't erupted THAT much.
I guess I could get a hot shot microscope and look for creepy-crawlies in my blood.
beyondtheveil posted on Oct 06, 2008
| views: 364
Comments
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MissMimi said on Oct 06, 2008....
Well, there goes my offer of quilting lessons. ;)What makes you happy, beyond? What would make you excited to get out of bed in the morning? Any kind of volunteer work? An animal shelter? How about piano lessons?I can sympathize with having a lot of time to fill. -
uniquely-ironic said on Oct 06, 2008....
I say you find a dance studio and take some pole dancing classes so you can surprise the wife some evening ;) (I'm only kinda kidding)Reading? Take some piano lessons, I'd give them to you if you were closer. How about origami? You could build the models and donate them to boys and girls club or some charity that does fund raisers.I got it!! Learn blacksmithing! You'd have the fire to keep you warm and you could use tools. -
silver_phoenix said on Oct 06, 2008....
beyond- haha you're funny. you apparently got talent. keep on denyin' but it's there, you know it. stop being so humble! :-) you could go all CSI and get a microscope...but how about you keep writing!?!?! you can write, that's for sure. thanks for cheering me up! -
mobil said on Oct 06, 2008....
Get a no talent friend and play cribbage.Volunteer at a rest home, hospital, food bank, rescue mission. Lots of places looking for help beyond, it makes you feel good too. -
beyondtheveil said on Oct 06, 2008....
mimi- The only thing that gets me excited out of bed in the morning is coffee. Problem is I can't drink it all day. Come to think of it, my wife could give me piano lessons.
unique- Blacksmith is an idea, I'd love to make swords. But I've seen the area this takes up. My shop isn't big enough for it and my other crap. I do have a friend who makes knives. He could teach me knife making.
phoenix- I'll keep writing here, but I've checked all over my body and haven't found an ounce of talent. If I get a microscope, I could look for it that way.
mobil- Yea, I could be a candy stripe girl. Don't know how I'd look in a pink and white dress. There is a book store run by the library close by that is totally run by volunteers. I've donated books there many times. Good idea.
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Mamie said on Oct 06, 2008....
definitely give of your time...no talent needed...go to volunteermatch.org...there are about a bazillion things you can do! Good luck!! -
gingersoul said on Oct 06, 2008....
BeyBey....movies....watching movie is one of my favorite hobbies...it seems a waste of time for some but its not..
First, you have to know what you are watching and choose carefully. Its not just a watch-any-movie hobby...
.
Do some research first, learn about the art directors and their techniques and then watch the movie.
I found a very satisfying hobby...cheap and easily shared with others (maybe you wife might like some movie too).
And then you can use your (great) talent as blogger and review the movie for us. I enjoyed very much the post of Lenny (Lfbo) when he used to review the movies he had watched....he stopped doing it...so i think we need an another Sc movie critique..
What about biking? Or photography?
And then, like Mobil and Mamie said, there is so much volunteering to do out there....
Plus, Molly would certainly love your hobby as dog walker too...lol...
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silver_phoenix said on Oct 06, 2008....
beyond- i bet ya got some little guys in those cells that are talented at something! haha -
moonriver said on Oct 06, 2008....
beyond -- i question the very premise of this blog. you? a no-talent guy? oh come on now, my friend... the others have made very good suggestions. try them all, why not?
but i see you're looking for something that can be done in the den, requires some physical exertion, and has some material output -- somewhat like the winter substitute for your larger-scale project.
why not small-scale wood carving? try to do facsimiles of indian woodcrafts -- not too messy, can be done indoors, and eminently marketable too. if you could do model ships, you certainly could do hopi figurines. i think it's right up your alley... :-)
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SlickNick said on Oct 06, 2008....
Be a total dork like me and play World of Warcraft. -
CayenneMan said on Oct 06, 2008....
Hello beyondtheveil, I think I know how you feel. I used to enjoy my telescope alot, until that night I was set up in the yard viewing saturn when suddenly I saw a big eye looking at me from the other side. I don't know if it was a reflection of my own eye or what. I never figured it out but my telescope went back up in the attic right quick ! During the winter months I make alot of fishing lures, mostly shad darts and buck tails. At first I thought it would be boring but now I make them every year. I've bought most of my equiptment at flea markets and yard sales. I have molds electric ladles many hooks of various sizes, plenty of dyed squirrel tails and many tails from various animals. I have powder and laquer paints of all kinds of colors. You get the idea . It's fun I like it alot. I make them from start to finish. Nobody's shad darts or buck tails catch more fish. I make the best :0) But that's me. This year I plan on doing some wood working of my own. I bought a rotary tool and I plan on making a nice chess board including the chess pieces. While I'm waiting for the paint to dry on my lures I can be working on my chess set. My wife does her own things, more then anything she reads and likes to talk on the phone. One year I made a master piece probably worth alot of money. I liked it alot but I gave it away. It was a castle made out of nothing more then tooth picks and elmers glue. You should have seen this thing it was great and fun to build. I don't know if it still exists. There just has to be something you can do between pole dancing lessons . uniquely-ironic said she was kidding but I don't know ? I started a saltwater aquarium project many months ago. I have'nt added any fish but the vegetation and coral are growing. I'm trying to make the perfect atmosphere for the fish . I'm having a little trouble with saltwater related diseases but so far I've managed to keep things in order. An aquarium would give you something to do but I would suggest a fresh water system. They're a hell of alot easier to manage. Well I'm sorry to keep rambling on like this but I was hoping to raise you're spirits and give you some ideas. Take care and good luck.
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RollingC said on Oct 06, 2008....
There's plenty of things to keep you busy if you put your mind to it.Voluntering sounds very fulfilling. I'm sure that you can find something.:^)Rc -
RollingC said on Oct 06, 2008....
There's plenty of things to keep you busy if you put your mind to it.Voluntering sounds very fulfilling. I'm sure that you can find something.:^)Rc -
beyondtheveil said on Oct 06, 2008....
mamie- That's a possibility, but the winter is long, I need something else.
ginsoul- Since we get movies from netflix I could do a little of that. I wrote a review a couple weeks ago and deleted it. Photography was a possibility. I found a camera and lens I was interested in and even pm'd hotaka to talk about it. Good option.
phoenix- Maybe if I watch them long enough they'll give me ideas.
moon- Honest, earlier today wood carving crossed my mind since I do woodworking. Its something I haven't tried but probably should. I haven't because its an artistic undertaking and I don't trust my artistic talents. I could practice on ivory soap and see how it goes.
slick- You know, if I was a gamer there wouldn't be a problem from what I've seen.
cayenne- You are one busy guy. I know a guy who makes flies for fly fishing, but I don't fish. I contemplated making a chessboard this summer from exotic wood. Tools are no problem. If I actually could carve figures like moon suggested, this could be an interesting couple of projects. You mentioned castles. I've built three large castles that are jewelry boxes, but that's almost all outside work.
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beyondtheveil said on Oct 06, 2008....
rolling- There are a lot of choices to consider. I've been thinking about this for a long time. I walked hobby stores, searched the net. I really need something that captures my interest, is fulfilling and occupies my time. There are a number of good ideas in these comments. -
moonriver said on Oct 06, 2008....
beyond -- try it, my friend. not on soap, but on soft woods with fine grain, so that you immediately have a feel of what you can and cannot do. start with simple designs like small totem poles or kachina dolls. you'd be surprised at what you can do.almost all woodworking craftsmen i know (especially since you said you did some ship modeling) find it easy to shift to woodcarving because the same spatial-imaging and dexterity skills are used.
i'll tell you a story. many years ago, i was attending a very long conference in a guerrilla camp in a heavily forested mountain frequented by native woodcarvers who occasionally chopped down certain types of soft woods for their work. i picked up a 6-in piece of sawn-off branch about the same thickness as my wrist. using only a swiss knife, and whittling away for maybe 2 weeks, i soon surprised the local woodcarvers (and myself) by coming up with a credible rendition of a native rice god statue.
i had absolutely no experience in woodcarving before this. having gained confidence from there, i went on to do other indigenous woodcarving genre while spending time in guerrilla camps. i still keep them in a safe place... :-)
i suspect you have a hidden woodcarver's talent in you, my friend. try it... :-)
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SlickNick said on Oct 07, 2008....
Who knows maybe you are a gamer and you just don't know it yet. They have a 14 day free trial. Maybe you could jump on and see what its about. It's not like it costs anything for the free trial. Maybe you need to release your inner gamer. You'd have to join my guild though cause I need people, lol! Geez look at me I'm starting to sound like I'm selling crack. World of Warcrack that is... -
pickersplock said on Oct 07, 2008....
Finger painting?Extreme cleaning?Filing?Potato printing?Bird feeding?Stenciling? -
beyondtheveil said on Oct 07, 2008....
moon- They sell chunks of balsa at my hobby shop. It wouldn't hurt to give it a try.
slick- Actually, all I would have to do is walk into my son's room. He's set up.
pickers- Ok. What is potato printing? A couple of those others I already do.
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travelr712 said on Oct 07, 2008....
it's a shame wives don't appreciate the artistic value of hanging WW2 airplane models huh? -
SlickNick said on Oct 07, 2008....
Hahaha! There you go man, now you don't have an excuse. And you'd always have your son to go to for help. Maybe you could bond with him playing the game or something. -
beyondtheveil said on Oct 07, 2008....
trav- I once told her that she had plants hanging from the ceiling. Would you be surprised to know she saw no point whatsoever in continuing that conversation?
slick- What if I got addicted? Then I just have another problem. We bond enough arguing about who gets the last piece of cake.
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SlickNick said on Oct 07, 2008....
True, Lord knows I'm addicted. You could be addicted to worse things though. And at least its social. But to each his own. Just trying to help. -
diabolicdame said on Oct 07, 2008....
Do what I do.. surf on your laptop, watch movies, sleep, eat, talk on the phone, read a few books and thats it. Yup. Trust me I never leave my den if I don't have to. hehehehehe.. and you? no talent guy? Get Outta here!!!!! :-P -
beyondtheveil said on Oct 07, 2008....
slick- Years ago my wife and I were gamers while dating and after being married for a while. We reminisce about that often. Now we just play games.
diabolic- Speaking of dens, this afternoon I cleared everything off the dining table I have in there preparing for the first contest to try and find talent. Even though I've talked against model building, I'm thinking of building a British Spitfire. I'll worry about where to put the stupid thing later.
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travelr712 said on Oct 07, 2008....
not surprised a bit btv, women are like that, ya know? :-P -
queenparanoia said on Oct 07, 2008....
dude try helping aournd the house...lol... your wife would love that. or learn how too cook!!! ohhhh your wife would love that too!!! ;-)but why not try something productive like learn a new language? that would be cool... ;-)
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beyondtheveil said on Oct 08, 2008....
queenie- I do help around the house and I've been doing the cooking for over a year. I haven't made one single person sick yet (haven't killed anyone either).
I don't know if I want to get productive - that sounds like work.
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pickersplock said on Oct 08, 2008....
Well, first you would get a big sheet of paper and a potato.Then you would do some pretty tricky carving and make a star or whatever on half of the potato.Then you would break out the paint, if you already finger paint, you're all set!Then you would stamp stamp stamp with the painted potato!Haha!It would probably work with a rutabega too. -
travelr712 said on Oct 08, 2008....
hey, i got it! a no talent guy does stuff that doesn't take any talent! :-P -
beyondtheveil said on Oct 08, 2008....
pickers- Ok, I get it now, a cheap printing press.
A rutawhatta? I looked up rutabaga and it said 'from the mustard family, a cultivar of the rape plant'. I'll stick with the potato.
trav- You're a big help. Thar's what I've been doin' all my life.
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