The life of the Type A.

[rratfox]

I'm as Type A personality as it comes. I look down on myself, am constantly trying to push through various projects, and am rarely satisfied with things. However, I've discovered that when my brain latches onto something as the "new project", I really do run it to the end of the rails. For example...

• I decided to learn to juggle. I could handle seven balls or five clubs and joined the International Jugglers Association.
• I started piano lessons. A year later I did the Maple Leaf Rag at my recital.
• I was overweight and decided to drop weight. I went from 240 to 145 in ten months.
• I decided to be a bodybuilder. I began writing for bodybuilding websites and earned money doing so.
• I decided to be a powerlifter. I got up to 270, bought $1100 worth of equipment.
• I decided to get some tattoos. I spent $1500 on 30+ hours worth of work.
• I wanted to put some audio in my car. I spent $1400 and spent days researching/drafting so I could hand-build a subwoofer enclosure and do all the necessary wiring.
• I got into "good beer". I got a job at an import bar and have a collection of 300+ unique bottles.
• I wanted to try Linux. I use Arch Linux with a beta version of the kernel I compiled, plus a host of config files I wrote.
• I decided to play Rock Band drums. I bought an ION set, a rock pedal, and played until I was top 300 in the world.
• I decided to play REAL drums. I bought a kit and then spent more money upgrading it all.
• I'm considering recording, and finally making a band (sort of). I'm now researching mics and hardware in more than just a "boy that'd be neat" kind of way.

I write this (partial) list not to say "boy aren't I fucking awesome", but because whenever I get my mind on something, I go absolutely nuts with it. I dive in head first and spend all of my free time on it. I don't casually do anything. If I set my brain on something, I work on it until I'm ragged. I become obsessed. For some of that stuff, I was practicing for hours a day EVERY day. When I juggled, I'd spend 6-8 hours per day in my front yard practicing. I did it for an entire summer. Since I bought my drum kit I've put in at least two hours a day.

It's probably why I love LOST. The show is so dense that I can sink in and do all the researching and analyzing my heart desires (I have about 1000+ posts logged on a LOST message board).

The point is, though, it's really tiring sometimes. I don't have hobbies. I'm not wired to have hobbies. If I do something in my free time, it's just as much "work" as actual work is.