Just One Hobby

So I’ve mentioned that I’ve been lusting after this camera for a few weeks. The truth is, I’ve been thinking about it for over two months. I was talking to a friend over chat two days ago and telling him that I was going to buy the camera. He said, “It’s nice that you have a hobby.” THe sentence struck me as funny but I couldn’t say why until later.

I recently discovered that I’ve taken over 11,500 pictures with my previous camera which I bought a little less than two years ago. That number doesn’t include the aiptek and casio shots. I don’t know if that’s a big number or average for someone who takes pictures. To me, it translates to a lot of time. If I assume a minute per picture, which is generous considering how long it takes for me to turn the camera on, to arrange the shot and to wait for the image to be written to the car, that number translates to 191 hours spent taking pictures in the last two years. This, in a timeframe, where major upheaval was going on and I didn’t even update my site nearly as regularly as I used to. To be fair, I also had a honeymoon and a cross-country trip both of which are major occasions for photography. But I am getting off topic. The point is, I spend enough time and take enough pictures that I think photography could definitely be considered a hobby. But then, I started thinking about other hobbies I have.

I spend hours and hours writing, coding for, and putting book excerpts and photographs on this site that I think it easily qualifies as a hobby, especially since until this year, my job didn’t even have to do with web technologies. I spend at least ten to twenty hours a week reading books. Does that count as a hobby? Is reading a hobby? What about writing? Does the fact that I wrote parts of two novels and am working on a third make writing a hobby for me? What if I’ve also written over 25 short stories? But what if I’ve never been published? How about knitting? I’ve knit seven scarves and am in the process of making another one. I know that’s an easy one. Knitting is a hobby.

Even though I spend ten to twenty hours doing it, I am clever enough to know watching TV doesn’t qualify as a hobby. That’s just wasting time. Which is why I try to couple it with one of the above. While I watch TV, I code my site, I type up an excerpt, I eat, I post my pictures, I reply to email. So we’ll skip TV, email and chats which are other big occupiers of my time.

What I’ve been wondering since my friend’s comment is whether I have too many hobbies or not. I suppose hobby by definition means I do something for fun/enjoyment and not for monetary gain. Thus, how much I excel at my hobby doesn’t truly matter as long as I get enjoyment out of it. The fact is, that’s not good enough for me. I strive to learn new patterns for knitting. I want to be much much better at photography. I want to read more books. I want to write better. I want to have a publishable book. I would be lying if I said otherwise.

All these “wants” have one thing in common: they require time. Time after my priorities like Jake, family, friends, work and sleep. When you subtract all those from the 24-hours I am given, I am not left with much daily. A serious undertaking of any one of the hobbies I enjoy would take a big chunk of time, let alone tackling all of them. I know this. And I know it will limit my ability to excel in any particular one. Am I willing to give up my dream of being published so I can have a large photography collection? So I can read 20 more books a year? So I can maintain this site?

The answer is, “No.” But at the same time, would I give up reading completely? Would I agree to not take pictures anymore? Would I stop knitting altogether? Would I shut down the site? The answer to each of those is a decided, “No”, as well. I enjoy every one of those activities and I don’t want to give them up.

So what do I do?