I love my hobbies!

I work hard, but I also play hard!

Usually during the week, you will find me in the office or on a computer somewhere...but on the weekends...I really get away.

I am always a sucker for obsessive balance...if there is such a thing...when I am into something, I am totally immersed, but I like to round myself out with a few hobbies on the premise of mind body and soul.

this past week I got some 'balance'....

Mind
I play a game called 'Magic: The Gathering" whenever I am with friends. Now..this game is pretty stigmatized with the likes of Dungeons & Dragons, and other role playing games, because of its fantasy nature and the active use of your imagination...and I guess there is a cultish following of fanatics that do nothing but collect these cards and play every single day! But D&D cannot boast a world professional tour and worldwide intergenerational appeal. Magic is more like chess but with another dimension, randomness. also the game was created out of the graduate work towards a PhD in combinatory mathematics at UPenn by Richard Garfield.

I like statistics and probability and the way the game works. In Magic, you have to make a deck that consists of at least 60 cards...from literally thousands of cards available. In that deck, you can only have 4 copies of any single card, except for the currency of the game(mana)...and most decks that are good have a strategy. There are five colors, each having certain strengths and weaknesses...and you can only play on 'mana' a turn.....and in order to play any other cards, you have to 'tap' or pay mana that you have on the board. Well, I just realized that I could write a book on explaining this game....so for brevity...here is a link to check out: http://www.wizards.com/magic/playmagic/

Ultimately, its just fun for hours of strategy and fun problem solving...and this past weekend I got to really play a lot with some friends. The cool thing is once you make a deck...you can play that same deck for hours, the cards are worth money(virtually no loss of value on the secondary market), and you can play a quick 5 minute game to a 3 hour one as well. There is even an open source online playing tool on sourceforge at http://sourceforge.net/projects/mindless (its called mindless automation)

Body & Soul
Surfing pretty much is my food for body and soul. Since the age of 13 I have surfed...from the beaches of Hawaii to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Lately I haven't been able to surf as much as I would like, but the love and passion remain.

This past weekend I got to surf after a long hiatus...and it was very replenishing. Not only does it keep you in shape with all the paddling, push-ups...and trunk-twisting carves, but in the downtime, you, or at least I, get to reflect on life, love, passion, meaning, and nature. I have brushed against dolphins, sharks, and turtles...and they all were nice. Well, there was one shark incident tht shook me up, but it was a great White and it was swimming towards me. Also, its so freakin humbling.

This past weekend the waves were a nice 3'-4' and fairly clean lines....with sun, friends, and food :D

I hope after all the hustle of college starting again, I can kick back and enjoy my hobbies!