I might need to start working more than part time

Well, yeah, partly because more money would be fabulous. I could actually pay my rent, utilities, and student loan bill at the same time. But that's neither here nor there today.

I've realized that I do some seriously random things in my absurdly abundant spare time. And I've also discovered that sometimes, when I tell people about them, I get some really strange looks. Prepare your strange looks.

Actually this one isn't all that weird. In fact, it's kind of cool. Just extremely random. Out of the blue.

I live a strange life. It's basically split between science and art. Which don't tend to go together. Like at all. All of my hobbies revolve around one or the other. I like to draw. I like music. I like calligraphy. I like reading and writing. I like painting. I like sculpting and building things. I like making movies. I love theater. I miss it a lot. I build things from wood. Sometimes I even delve into crafty stuff. (I'm not actually good at most of those things, but I like them.)

I also like rocks. Crystals and gems especially. I like pictures of lava and star charts. I like mixing acids and bases together. I like learning how things work by taking them apart and putting them back together. I like using tools. I like inventing stupid things like ways to turn off my light without getting out of bed. I like looking at stuff through magnifying glasses. I like exploding and burning things. I like knowing all sorts of unimportant information about animals.

*shrug* Don't ask me. I don't get it either.

I can think of very few things that I do that don't fall into one of the two categories. And some of them are just things I have to do. Like cleaning.

I've explored science quite thoroughly. That is not to say that I know everything there is to know. Quite the contrary. But I've tried my hand at just about everything that I have even a remote interest in. Between high school and BYU I've taken classes in Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Physical Science, Astronomy, Geology, Anthropology, Paleontology, and even Ornithology a little. I've even taken the how to teach science to little kids class.

Anyway, the point is that I feel well rounded enough to continue to Wikipedia myself along at my own pace. I can't think of any science field I am interested in that I haven't explored at least a tiny bit. And I continue to dabble as the opportunities arise.

The art is a different matter. I'd say I'm relatively eclectic there as well, but there are a few of things that I've never tried my hand at. I've written short stories, long stories, and poems. I've been in plays. I've drawn pictures. I've done calligraphy. I've done woodworking. I've sculpted in paper mache, clay, wax, resin, stone, and bronze.

I fail at painting though. And music is where I'm the most deficient. I play the flute, but that's it. I don't sing in groups of less than four. I don't play the piano even though I took lessons for years. I don't write songs. And I most certainly do not dance in view of any sort of audience.

On a whim, I made a goal for myself. A somewhat random one. It is as follows:

In order to improve myself whilst in possession of nearly unlimited free time, I will make a foray into hitherto untried artistic pursuits, as well as creating at least one thing in each art category that I currently have access to.

While that unfortunately excludes my ability to cast bronze or chisel alabaster, I'm at least pleased to say that I have experienced them.

The pursuit that will definitely be the biggest deal, the hardest to accomplish, and is yet the most common in society, is the writing of a song. I tried once when I was like ten. It was then that I realized how much went into a song. Music is seriously complicated. So I got about a measure into it and never tried again.

This time I will try on my guitar instead of a piano, which I think will yield better results. But who knows. It might be cool. And it might be a load of rubbish. We'll never know until it's been attempted.

I also want to make some real drawings. I've done a few for a drawing class that actually turned out way better than I expected. And I doodle all the time. I've got hundreds of doodles. So I want to just pick some kind of drawing project, and actually finish it. With these things I am the master of unfinished projects.

I want to attempt a painting. My most successful painting to date involved splattering a sheet of heavy paper with loads of different water colors, and then attempting to find a picture in the random mess that resulted. It actually turned out pretty awesome. I still have it. I'll post some pics later. I'm usually hopeless with colors, though. So painting usually doesn't end up so great for me.

I want to take a few cool pictures of something. I've been dying for a great sunset to capture, but I've seen exactly one superb one my entire time in Utah, and I was walking home from work, so I didn't have a camera with me. Plus the stupid power lines are always in the way here anyway. I'll find something, though.

I also want to make a new calligraphy project. I haven't really done much with my pens since I finished my class, other than playing around with my pointed nib during conference last year. So I want to un-rusty myself in that regard.

There are a few other things I want to do. But I don't feel like listing them all right now. It's a bit late, and I really should be sleeping.