Browsing Tag

hobby

Father Time

I guess time will catch up with us at any stage, I knew it would come eventually. Just a matter of, when?

I always knew that since being diagnosed with chronic illness things would eventually catch up and I’d slow down.

Cricket has always been a game that I’ve loved, and also hated. It taught me a lot, patience and pain, it’s like a cruel mistress. It’ll teach you about all the things you shouldn’t have done, every mistake and slip.

After finishing a season of cricket in 2018, I figured I was done but might try one more year. Summer 2018 rolled around and I started training, only to hurt my back and missed the majority of the first half of the season, I filled in one game to field and help the guys out. I had the taste for it again, while the days were long, hot and very tiring. Most of the time you’d be let down in some form, but other times you can end up with victory.

It wasn’t until I played a game shortly in the second half of the season, where I filled in as captain when I realised I’d be calling time on playing cricket ever again. While we won the game, the first for the guys in the season, hard fought and earned, and it was my first and only win ever as a captain. Standing in the outfield on a hot day, my body was calling it time, and we were both to an agreement that any games would no longer happen. Either from an illness, repeated injuries or lack of desire to play the game.

I still enjoy watching it, especially the long format.

November 9, 2020 by

Writely writerer

I think everyone spends a lot of time looking for the perfect writing tool, suiting their needs. Something that’s fast, functional, distraction-free and you can use it anywhere. WordPress is free and great for blogs, I can type into a post anywhere I want. But I do find the clutter surrounding the text box a bit distracting. Despite it having a full-screen mode it’s still not quite what I’m after.

Some people still stick to trusty old Microsoft Word, but to be honest. Word doesn’t feel like a good writing tool, for just putting text into something it’s a heavy program with a lot of clutter.

I had a look around at free apps and web-based software for it, tried a few but none really seemed to fit. I recently upgraded my desktop PC’s internal drive to something faster and larger storage. But I ended up having to reinstall windows, which is well overdue given the bugs I have with it on a regular basis, and crap everywhere across several drives. But while reinstalling I was asked to reactivate the Grammarly extension in Google Chrome, which when logging into their website reminded me that they have an app for Windows and Mac that is very basic and clutter-free. For writing stuff in, it’s ticking the boxes. I’ve installed it on my desktop PC, and my laptop, and I’ll try it out on the Mac soon enough.

Hopefully, I can use some of my time creatively and just writing about general bullshit that I don’t want to go online or have anyone read. I’d say we’re all going to have more time up our sleeves during the pandemic and needing hobbies to keep us busy.

April 10, 2020 by

Quarantime-alone

There’s quite a lot of noise on social media at the moment about people being in isolation because of COVID19. Some seem to glorify staying home like it’s a new trend, the extroverts are starting to crawl up walls like Spider-Man because they can’t go out given restaurants, cafes, pubs, bars and any non-essential business has had to close to keep the infection rate down.

For the introverts, it’s heaven. We never really went out that much and when we do, no ones around anyway. Need a trip into Rundle Mall? No problems, not a soul in sight. It’s like watching one of those zombie apocalypse movies with empty streets. But I can’t go down to the pub, have a cold pint, and wait for it to blow over. Because it’s closed.

There’s a lot of panic and paranoia. Most likely fuelled by how the media spins their news, creating more panic than there needs to be. In turn, creates uncertainty for a society that is anxious and tense a lot of the time. The fires, floods and almost World War 3 probably weren’t a good way to kick off a year either, it would have already had everyone highly strung.

I’ve decided to cease the opportunity of the quiet time and get as much done as I can on my various lists. I’ve replaced my shower head in the bathroom, I think I’ve spend close to two years looking at it spraying in all the wrong directions. Half an hour and $25 later, it’s fixed. I’ve put seals around the doors to keep the cold breezy air out in hope I won’t need to use my heating as much and keep my power bills down. Not because I’m tight, but $10 spent on foam strips and 20 minutes around the house might save me a lot over a year.

There’s also opportunity to read some more books, write in your blog more, take up a new hobby or revisit one. Get things done around the house you’ve been putting off, making something new or get creative in the kitchen, more family time with board games or movie nights. Life will slow down, people will live a slower pace for a while and they should embrace it. It’s like they look at isolation as punishment rather than as an opportunity to be doing something else.

April 5, 2020 by