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Hobbies

Hobbies? Hmmm, I haven't had much time for hobbies, and most of my "hobbies" are work related, but here's what I do when I take a break from work, especially when my hands, wrists and arms get tired from typing...

I read a lot. Books from the bookstore, but moreso just Google internet, especially Wikipedia, mousing around. I read at night before going to sleep.

Maybe this doesn't really qualify as a hobby, but I enjoy people-watching, such as at shopping malls where I enjoy a tea or coffee at the kiosks, or at pubs though I rarely drink alcohol. I like just watching diverse kinds of people and imagining their lives and personalities.

Likewise, I enjoy exploring. When I drive somewhere, I like to take a different route, especially if I'm not pressed for time or on a tight schedule. Map reading comes easy to me, whether it be hiking with topographic maps or driving with road maps. However, I usually just glance at a map in advance, then don't look at it again, just keeping my orientation of north-south-east-west and heading in the right direction. I enjoy just getting lost, too. There are lots of places to sit and do people-watching and community-viewing, such as outdoor street food kiosks here in Thailand.

I take cheap flights out to adjacent countries a few times per year for short breaks of a few days at a time. This is actually necessary, not an option. My visa to Thailand requires that I either (1) get a longterm visa by doing a lot of paperwork, keeping a lot of money in the bank, visiting immigration, and/or paying a lawyer, or else (2) exit and re-enter every 3 months. It's easier and actually cheaper to do the latter. I don't keep money lying around in my personal bank account (required for longterm "type-O" visa based on marriage), because I re-invest it in my business. Extending my "type-B" business visa requires considerable paperwork and expense. Also, I like the excuse to pull me out of my box every 3 months for a break. All I need to do is step over the border and back, but I may as well stay there and look around a little while there. I've already done all the cheap bus/train border runs, so I fly to other countries, which usually costs around $200 round trip for airfare, and hotels are available for $10 to $20 per night, so travel is not too expensive a hobby. I don't go see the tourist attractions. I just watch the people and do ordinary things in ordinary places. These are very enjoyed times.

I enjoy walking, and never get tired. (Notably, I ran and often raced marathons as a teenager, so I seem to have a natural endurance.) I can lose myself for a long time on walks.

Since I've finally got a decent camera, I enjoy taking photos around Bangkok, though I'm always thinking about the work or website applications of the photos. However, I don't take many photos while on vacation. I don't like stopping from enjoying things to take a photo. When I travel with other people, I don't take many photos, and I don't like people who always want to take photos rather than just enjoy things. I will take an occasional snap, but nothing special. I also don't like it when people ask me to smile for a photo. I like to just be me, and have photos of how I normally am, not forced but just relaxed. (It is conventional in American culture to ask people to smile.)

I don't watch much TV, but when I do, I watch selected programs on Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, History Channel, CNN and BBC (especially when cooking), and occasionally channel flip thru various foreign soaps -- Thai, Chinese, Japanese, French, Australian, music videos. Foreign news, too, when I can devote my visual attention to it since I can't understand the languages. I don't watch many movies at all, either on TV or at the theatre. They really bore me. I also can't bear to watch violence and it irritates me, as do crass mass-market sexy music videos. Most of TV is trash in my opinion, and I quickly lose interest and look for alternative entertainment. I really don't understand why many popular shows are so popular.

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