Christmas Cake

I Tried A New Hobby Every Month in 2019

I’m big on resolutions. Partly because I like to reinvent myself but mostly because I love making lists. Every New Year I craft my own personalised steps to becoming a better Marian. My master plan that will magically unlock the door to my happily-ever-after. And like all other good New Year Resolution-ees, I completely forget about said list a week into January and thus never actually achieve my goals.

Except – wait for it! – … my 2019 resolutions!

It is fair to say that last year’s resolutions might have been vague and open to interpretation but that’s probably why they were successful. Like dieting, restricting yourself to only fruit and veg, zero sugar and a strict workout regime is obviously going to fail (speaking from experience). A generic “be more healthy” approach is much more achievable. 

For 2019, the only resolution I had was to try new things. It was my first full year as a college graduate, living away from home and working a full time job so you could say I was already trying a lot of new things. But I actively looked for new activities and hobbies to try. Each month gaining a new class and new friends along the way.

Yoga

I admit I was a not a newbie Yogi when I started 2019. I had attended yoga classes before through work. They were always convenient classes that I aimlessly sun-salutated in because I thought yoga would make me cool and sophisticated. I was more intrigued by the image of me being a yogi than doing the yoga itself. But in 2019 I was older and wiser and knew how silly that sounded so I enrolled myself in evening yoga classes for simply pure enjoyment. It took a few weeks before I “enjoyed” myself but when it finally felt more like a hobby than a chore I knew that this was an activity for me. I continued Yoga for majority of the year but have taken a break for the winter months. I hope to get back into a regular routine come spring.

Hiking

Bright blue, spotlessly clean, never worn hiking boots were sitting in my wardrobe for years. They shamed me every time I saw them. “Notions” they jeered. It is known I am not the athletic type. But how hard can walking up hill be? Turns out it is quite hard but not as awful as I would have guessed. I started with a few local trails with my friends. Nothing too ambitious, yet we still managed to get lost on one of them. I then did my first “proper” hike on Moylussa mountain with a group from work. The view from the top was spectacular and on a sunny day I’d say it would be unreal. I have done very little hiking since but am pretty happy with myself for at least seeing what it was all about.

Audio Books

I’m a long time book reader. Physical books that is. I like to hold the book in my hands, turn the pages, smell the paper. It’s an all round sensory experience except hearing. Quietness is an important element to reading. So giving up on all the other sense to absorb a book through my ears completely flips my definition of reading books. Last March I read, I mean I listened to, the Tattooist of Auschwist. It was surprisingly addictive and I had consumed its entirety within a day. Audio books are perfect for car journeys but not so good when you need to concentrate while working. I’m currently listening to Michelle Obama’s Becoming and Sapians, a history of humankind. I will say thought that audio books are seriously expensive! I should also note that retuning audible books to get back your credits actually costs the author!

Tinder

I embraced singlehood in 2019 with a sigh of relief and a gulp of apprehension. I’m a very independent person and to be honest hate being tied down. But I hate meeting new people. As an introvert, dating fills me with dread. Things might be so much easier if I were a chatty, confident, funny person but all my appealing qualities take a few weeks to peel back. I’m like an onion. I’ve got layers. Anyhoo, I went on one date. Disaster. And so I quickly deleted my Tinder and vowed a life to the nunnery. Amen.

Basketball

They say your height equates to basketball talent. Let me tell you that this is LIES! I’m 5 foot 8 which is pretty tall for a woman, but my hand-eye coordination required for basketball is zero. I suppose playing games with majority being male didn’t boost my chances but that didn’t stop me having fun. Weekly basketball games was an enjoyable way of exercising and socialising with colleagues. I shot some hoops for the summer months but retired my inner Michael Jordan for the winter time.

Gym

This was probably the hardest activity for me. Not because it iss exercise but because of the stigma and stereotype surrounding this. Fitness is a trend like fashion. It’s not just about the exercise, it’s all about how you look, both the clothes and what’s underneath. I believed you had to be fit to go to a gym. And to get fit you need to first go to the gym. You can see my dilemma here. After much deliberation I decided to at least see what it was all about. I chose a small gym within walking distance that was void of anyone I knew. In the end my worries and prohibitions were silly because everyone in there was oblivious to everyone else. In the end, I only went there for a few weeks. Forcing myself to cycle on a static bike in a sweaty box room is not my idea of fun!

Salsa and Bachata Dancing

This – THIS – was so much fun! Dancing just brings out the happiness in everyone. Endorphins are real, I’m telling you! We’re all guilty of dancing behind closed doors. I mean, how else can you clean your room without bopping to ABBA’s Dancing Queen? Then there’s that other type of dancing when you’re in a night club, tipsy enough to let go of your own embarrassment but still aware of how awkward it is to dance to terrible songs surrounded by sweaty strangers. Ew. Learning Bachata and Salsa was taking the best bits from both these experiences and mashing them together to make a thrilling 2 hours of non-stop swaying. Hips don’t lie, you know.

Cake Decorating

Cake decorating has been one of my dreams since childhood. Forget unicorns and palaces, all I want is cake. I bake all the time. Just ask my family, they are sick of trying out my new recipes. Especially when they are the guinea pigs to new experimental ingredients. Nine times out of ten it’s a fail. My favourite part of baking is the decorating. I love planning and designing cakes but the execution is where I’ve always lacked. I did a 10-week cake decorating course for beginners which was a great experience but also very basic and definitely not worth the price. I can’t wait to create some more cakes in the future. One of the things I like to do is take a book I have read and imagine it in cake form! Sounds ridiculous but it’s so much fun. You can expect a post in the future.

Unicorn Cake

Happy New Year to everyone. What’s something new you are going to try in 2020?

Always, M

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