what am i interested in?

about 6 months ago i was evaluated by a group of co-workers (anonymously, so the info was straightforward ad very helpful). one of the items had people rate me on the statement, “has hobbies or interests outside of work.” i scored high. when that came back i shared with the leadership team at ys that i felt that i did have those in nashville, but in the midst of a cross country move, settling into a new neighborhood, getting kids in school, traveling 7 out of 10 weeks during one fall stretch and having michele’s parents move in with us, i didn’t feel i had those so far in san diego, though i must have duped the raters convincingly.

i told michele a few days ago that i was feeling a big gap in that area, particularly with the amount of hours i’ve been putting in at work and trying to be more intentional about time with the kids, which is another topic entirely. she asked what hobbies i thought i had in nashville, and i wasn’t sure what to say. so many of them were social hobbies as much as anything: browsing the bins at grimey’s record shop or talking about anything at all at the 12 south taproom was another, and i worked out quite regularly, which i haven’t done at all in san diego. i have myriad interests, though i haven’t spent focused time on anything in the last year, and i’m seeing the result of that in several ways. my intellectual curiosity is still there, but not acted out in any social way. in nashville we were blessed to have an amazingly large network of friends, and i could count on fairly regular social interaction with people i knew and who knew me, not to mention new friendships that popped up regularly.

so i’m re-examining those things. i must work out again or i’ll get back to my maximum density years of my late 20s. and while this is sure to counter balance those efforts, i’ve been thinking regularly about doing some more home brewing, which is fun to do solo and in a small group. i’m sure michele is thrilled by the memory of the scent of a brew kit in action, but the windows will be open, and i’ll look forward to unveiling something. i’ve mentioned it to a couple friends and it looks like we might have our own little club here in la mesa. stay tuned for the brew of the month.