Agitated

The other day on NPR, I was listening to an interview of Exene Cervenka, of the band X. She said something about herself which fit me to a tee as well. She described herself as being very agitated person that has to be doing something every minute. One thing I can't deny about myself is that I am the kind of person that has to be doing something constantly. While others can sit and relax, I can't. My good friend "A" described her vacation as a perfect time to sit and read a book. I'm the kind of person that usually has 5 books going at once. I read in the bathroom, while eating dinner, while blow drying my hair, while trying to fall asleep. I am never just reading one book at a time. When I go on vacation, I bring at least 10 books, because I am never committed to one book.

I'm very agitated, like Exene, who now lives on a farm in Missouri. It gives her lots of stuff to do. Instead, I tend to take on a lot of hobbies:

Playing the guitar - At age 38, I had the burning desire to learn how to play the guitar before I was 40. So I finally did it. I found a great guitar teacher - Alex Johnson, who owns the Ann Arbor Music Center and I learned how to play. I don't play great, but I can play, which is great. If I just spent more time practicing....

The monastic life - I borrowed "The Cloister Walk" by Kathleen Norris from my kids piano teacher, and that got me started. The whole idea of checking out of the real world is appealing to me at times, that is for sure. Haven't yet read any Thomas Merton, but it's inevitable.

Cooking contests - Before I had kids, I loved to enter in cooking contests. Developing recipes is something I think is really fun. This got me started into reading cookbooks all the time, which I still do. Recent cooking contest that captured my attention? Best Lost Supper Recipe Contest from Cooks Country magazine.

More to come....