Howard Roark Laughed.

Day Seven: A Hobby That You Have

Since I suppose that gossiping and gin and tonics would not be an appropriate hobby to discuss here, I will find something else to write about.

Well, there's always reading. If you were to walk into my bedroom right now, you would find a biography of Alexander Hamilton, Beloved by Toni Morrison, and a collection of Pablo Neruda's poetry and my bedside table, all with pencils serving as bookmarks. I am reading all of these, and more. Schindler's List was put back on the shelf yesterday (I'll get back to it one day). I am always rereading Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead and various Shakespeare plays. Basically, I read. A lot.

I also really enjoy painting. Now, I know you must be asking yourself, "Paint? Really?" And to respond, I am not claiming that I am good at it. But I love it.

Is blogging a hobby? Eh, I imagine I don't get around to actually doing it enough to consider it a hobby. But writing. Oh, writing. I love to write. Nothing super important and nothing for anyone but myself, but I love to write. And while some of what I write is cringe-inducing when read again years later, I have the privilege of reliving moments and remembering who I was all those years ago. It's depressing and amazing and thought provoking.

And there's always gossip and gin and tonics.

Other updates:
This week, I have decided to attempt to be vegan. This is decision has drawn a plethora of "what the hell are you thinking," "cheese is awesome", and "meat is delicious. Have you lost your mind?" Allow me to explain. I am not doing this permanently. It's simply something I thought I would see if I could do and I'm using this as sort of a detox period to kick off a healthier lifestyle in general. This week has been relatively successful. I started Monday. Well, maybe "started" is not the right word. I was going to start Monday, but Brandi and I went to watch a trial on Monday and went to lunch with the DA's office for lunch that day. Their pick for lunch? Mexican. Vegan at the mexican restaurant? Nearly impossible. So I guess we can say I started after lunch on Monday. But the rest of the week, I have managed to stick to a non-animal product diet. Right down to the Hot Garlic with tofu I had for dinner tonight at Thai Heaven. I'm not sure how much longer this will last, but I will admit that I am most likely taking a day off tomorrow. We are having a Derby party at the apartment, complete with Hot Browns, bourbon cupcakes, and black-eyed pea salad. Not a vegan day, to say the least.


Because I talked about reading as one of my hobbies, here's a quote from my favorite book:

“I often think that he’s the only one of us who’s achieved immortality. I don’t mean in the sense of fame and I don’t mean that he won’t die some day. But he’s living it. I think he is what the conception really means. You know how people long to be eternal. But they die with every day that passes. When you meet them, they’re not what you met last. In any given hour, they kill some part of themselves. They change, they deny, they contradict–and they call it growth. At the end there’s nothing left, nothing unrevered or unbetrayed; as if there had never been any entity, only a succession of adjectives fading in and out on an unformed mass. How do they expect a permanence which they have never held for a single moment? But Howard–one can imagine him existing forever.”
-Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead