Typical Manc. Got a season ticket, go to gigs, still smoke, take drugs, drink far too much etc (ended up in a bush Sunday night, think I went garden hopping for some reason, lost a pair of £80 sunglasses, ripped the fuck outta my clothes on fences n nettles, and my arms are full of scratches n grazes)
Basically I regularly make a nuisance of myself and live to regret it. Better than dying and not bein able to regret it though.
If you're not a Manc, you're a wank!
Oh, and I'm into chess. Play in the local chess club, became a board member (lol) last year and joined our district board as well. Play in tournaments. Miss more gals though, only female player in the club, for some reason the girls in the youth club don't bother sticking to it which is a shame. Thinking of doing a course in chess judging, so that I can join tournaments as a referee. Play on the chess.com app if anyone here fancy a game some time.
I was Chess captain for 4 years (3 years, officially) in HS and I still play on my phone daily; I ADORE chess and came 8th in Ontario, my last year of High School. We too, only ever had 1 or 2 chicks in the club, but for the first 3 years of HS, there was a chick (and a snotty guy) from a rival school that came first in second, every year. Dreading that we needed to play them once more, they didn't show up that year and I came 2nd in municipals! Then 3rd in regionals and 8th in Ontario, to cap off what was by far, my best year for Chess.
I may take you up on that game
As an extension, I love Shogi as well and I've gotten fairly good at it, but not nearly as good as I am in chess (still can't win in Yakuza titles, but I make it pretty far into the match with my important pieces still intact and attacking).
I'm into cars. I like just about anything from the 80's and 90's, even certain minivans or incredibly bare bones "eco-boxes." I've owned two 1993 Mazda RX-7's and I still have the second one. Awesome car, but it's only for the mechanically inclined (unless you've got really deep pockets).
Skyline R33 GTR is my favourite car of all-time and when I finally accrue enough funds, I will import it.
RX7s are awesome; is the '93 model the 3rd generation of the type? The cool-looking one? I like the second gen myself, but it doesn't look as fast and sleek as the third gen.
Aaanyways, aside from chess, my hobbies are (not in order of most popular/time spent):
- Tropical Fish: I used to have an 86 Gallon tank with Central/South American Cichlids; my biggest Green Terror was 10 inches and looked absolutely staggering, at his best. I could pet him and feed him by hand. Shattered when he died.
Haven't kept a tank in almost 5 years, though when my fiancée and I get out own place after marriage, may start it up again.
- Baseball: My first true love of the sporting world, I am a massive Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves fan (have been practically my entire life) and a fairly large Yakult Swallows and Hanshin Tigers fan. I've attended over 300 games in my life and I am at my happiest, around a baseball field.
- Formula 1: My second true love of the sporting world. Have lost touch with it a bit in the past few years, but still am an avid Sauber fan (how many Italian-Canadians can/would say that? lol). Benetton was my first team, but since their merger with Renault, that was the end of that.
- Video Games: Don't need to elaborate on that lol.
- Travel: Travelling is a passion of most, but even just going into Toronto (I live just north of it) is enough travel for me, as I love to immerse myself and learn, learn, learn, experience and engage. Headed to Italy for my honeymoon in 2 weeks!
- Film: Being that I took a bunch of critical-thinking cinema courses in University, going to the theater (cinema for you non-North Americans!) is a great pastime of myself and my fiancée; yes, we will pay 40 dollars just to see a film at the theater, with the ridiculously high concessions and all that :$
Reading: Not as much as I used to, but I LOVE a good book :). I've always liked historical things (autobiographies by sportsmen, topping the list), with the odd novel thrown in (The Dirty Dozen, Silence, are among my favourites).
Writing: I write quite a bit (as this post can attest lol), mainly of the review variety. As my gaming has ramped down, so have my game reviews, but I am still writing good chunks of text for Trip Advisor. I'm seriously thinking about writing a screenplay or two (or three), just to satisfy my writing bug, even though I have no clue on where to begin in terms of format, as I've never written a screenplay in my life; I have an idea for an original story, an adaptation of the game Combat Cars for the Genesis (seriously; I think I could get something good out of that barebones title :)) and since I was a kid, I've always thought that Final Fight would make for amazing film (even though that story is basically Streets of Fire lol).
Fishing: Saving one of the three best for last. I try to go fishing as much as possible and it is the only place other than a baseball field, where I am at my happiest. Went out this past weekend and it was slow, but this year has been a good year:
Sorry for typing so much, lol :$