Serial obsessions

Yes.  Likewise with piano-playing.  I took it up forty years ago, in spite of having no real talent or aptitude.  Even today, I can't play pieces through without making mistakes, and my technical ability is limited. 

As a child and young teen, it was snooker and Sherlock Holmes.  I still maintain interests in these things to this day.  But then, they were all-absorbing.  I had posters of Holmes on my bedroom wall.  I had a pipe and deerstalker at 12.  From that age until I was about 18, I played snooker almost every day - whether on a home-made table, or in a club.  I was good, too.  I had a good eye.  But almost overnight, it seemed to fizzle out.  And I haven't played since.

For a long time, my main spare time occupation was digital image editing, using PhotoShop or (mostly) Gimp.  I was good at that, too.  I used it to create memes and collages, as well as original artwork.  I had one of my memes used as a backdrop to a news item on RTE.  It was all self-taught, and I seemed to have a real talent for it.  But then, about a year ago, I lost interest in that, too.  Haven't done anything since.

My abiding interest, though - and one that I've had since I was around 7 - is writing.  I've always done it.  I've written loads of things over the years: poems, plays, film scripts, stories, a few novels, articles.  Most of that stuff has never seen the light of day.  Sometimes, it's felt like a burden around my neck because I don't find it easy - having to sit down and create substance from nothing.  But it's the one thing I can never give up.  It's the one thing that I can lose myself in - and when I'm lost in it, nothing else matters.  It's my sanctuary, refuge, shelter from the storm.

My obbessions, can vary form time to time, but main obsession is with past always wanting know what yesterday was like and it even gets to point where I would want to time travel and experience it in real life. this leads me on something I had for ages but never had the confidence on carrying out fulling, Is always have obsession to see what it feels like to be other peoples shoes and Have tried some things along the way but would to try more, 

I have done card making, designing fantasy hotels, gardening, photography and travelling all day on local buses 

I'm currently creating a datebase of Greater Manchester Bus Routes past and present and trying to make my own bus network because I getting highly annoyed at how run down are bus services are getting. 

I quite like seeing everyone esles hobbys and obbessions 

This sounds so much like my partner! He gets obsessively interested in something buys all the gear does it for a while and moves on! His next grand plan is hydro dipping (oh dear is all I can say) 

Just wish he'd get rid of some of the stuff ...

What's on your horizon now? What's the next thing?

I loved E&MM back in the day. I eventually got a job and had enough spare cash for a Trancendent 2000 or the E&MM Spectrum - exactly coinciding with thme dropping them from the range. I ended up buying an Octave Kitten instead.

Back in the day, I built my own studio gear when that stuff used to be crazy expensive. I built loads of those Maplin 75W (later 150W) amplifiers. Now it's all peanuts.

I just got a digital effects rack-mount for £12 and a rack-mount EMU sampler for £40 - both in immaculate condition.

I didn't ever get my CEng but did get a PhD and did engineering as a career. But always on the periphery, coming up with novel ways of doing things - sometimes saving the company months of effort, sometimes spending it :-).

I get / got bored with electronics too because you can buy stuff cheaper - and I remember reading Everyday Electronics back in the 70s &80s and noticing that they had a set of almost pointless projects used in rotation; a 12v-240v inverter so you could have an electric shave in your car, a "lights on" reminder for the car, and usually some kind of audio project or musical doorbell :-).

As you and I have discussed before, sometimes I get bored of *everything* :-). Hey ho, at least spring is on the way..........

I have lots of complex passtimes that come & go. I clear the decks too - but I sell at a profit the things I can replace again - which funds the next hobby. I'm currently doing large model boats - the one I'm building right now only owes me £60 and will sell for hundreds.

Before that, it was electro music - still got all that gear but I paid practically nothing for any of it - and it's worth lots when I sell it.

I've reached a level in hi-fi where I paid practically nothing for what I have and to better it would cost thousands - so that's static right now.

I've done many, many cars over the years but I don't do any miles any more so an expensive one is just a waste - old banger is fine at the moment.

I used to do electronics - I went right to the top - I'm a CEng - and I've done it for so long that I'm bored with it. And anything I might want I can buy for a fraction of what it would cost me to build.

I've done diving but there's nowhere local to dive that isn't filthy or freezing cold - so that's all gone.

I often regret selling stuff too - but then when I replace it, I soon remember why I sold it - only to regret it again and so buy another - rinse & repeat.

I've had 4x Yamaha DJX, 4x Vauxhall Omegas, 4x Roland XP10 etc, etc.

I fancy getting a bike licence - might do a direct access thing.