INTERESTS AND HOBBIES

So what do I do in my spare time??

Interests

1. Science fiction (im a mad starwars fanatic) also many other sci fi things i find cool ie Star trek, Battletech,b5 etc
   
2. Wargaming: perhaps this is my most enjoyed hobby. Ive been collecting and painting minatures for around 5 to 6 years now (geez its been that long?) I particually like playing wargames like Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer , Battletech, Silent Death, Bloodbowl (just to name a few). If you look in the art gallery on my page u can see some examples of what i mean by minautures and painting.
3. Computer games: Ah yes the most cliched of the list... well if you find it cliche then tough! Yes i particularly like playing lots of computer games..not as much as i used to but i still do sometimes..Some of my favorite title are games such as Command and Conquer, Red Alert 2, Civilization I & II, Diablo, Half life and Counterstrike.
4. Electronics: sometimes when im ultra bored i tend to enjoy taking electronic equipment apart or attempting to repair it. Of course when i get something to work it can be a rewarding experience.

So what activities do i do when im not at TAFE or working?? Heres a few things....

1. Karate. One day i was bumming around in the lounge room watching TV when all of the sudden there a was a knock on my door. I opened the door and there was this man that was on a recruiting drive seeking out new students for karate. He asked me if i was interested, at first i thought 'naaa bugger it!' but then again at the time i was coming to the end of my Hockey season and i needed to keep fit and also i remembered i did karate for a brief amount of time when i was younger. So i thought "why not" i signed myself up and started doing karate. Ive been doing karate for around 6 months now, ive learnt a few things here and there and im currently a low ranked yellow belt. The style of karate i do is called GKR (Go Kan Ryu) which in japanese stands for something i fergot now but it has something to do with power, hand and mind. It is a more conventional discipline of karate compared to some of the other karate styles out there, has less moves which makes it more simple but when the moves are combined into movements (or Katas) they can become nasty. Overall i enjoy it very much and ill keep doing it for years to come.
2. Hockey.A few years ago i was an unfit (well i still am!) person looking for a sport to play, now i wasnt very good a sports at school and the only game i really enjoyed playing was soccer. Untill one day my friend told me that they had lost a goalkeeper in their hockey team and were looking for a new goalie to take over so i decided to volunteer for the position to give it a go. That day i played my first hockey game as a goalie was a good day, we won the game and somehow i had the knack for this role in the team, my hand to eye cooridination was good and i was fast so the team decided to adopt me into their ranks and so i became a goalie for my club the St Bedes Old Collegians Hockey Club. Ive been playing for just over 3 years now in that time ive played in the metro league ( local league) and in the State league (the tricky stuff). Mind you last year we finished 3rd in our division as in compared to last the year before in the state league. Perhaps it could be said that the first day of playing hockey was the first day Hockus was created.
3. Music.My music days began long long ago in Year 7 at high school. We had music classes and every now and then a teacher would turn up and demonstrate different instruments and music. When i heard the Trumpet i was captivated by it. Soon after i began lessons in learning the trumpet, I enjoyed it very much for several years to come but then i became bored with it and i decided to learn a new insturment which turned out to be the Bass Guitar. I learned to play this instrument off other musicians and basically by practicing on my own at home and ever since that day 5 years ago ive been playing the bass guitar for various bands and the trumpet (thou not often anymore) at other bands too. I joined the chelsea concert band way back in 1994 as a trumpet player, i played the trumpet with the band for 3-4 years then one day i mentioned to our conductor that i played bass guitar as well. He then suggested i try out playing bass as at the time we were lacking a bass section in the band. So from then on i slowly started playing bass permanently in the band from then on and i stil am playing currently to this day, Many things have occoured in that time and one of them is that i have become a part of the band comittee and the store manager for the band. I enjoy this band alot as it has a relaxed atmosphere compared to some other bands i have participated with. Currently I am the bass player in a small cover band called 'ASL' and we hope to be peforming very soon at a pub near you.
4. Minature Painting.I was always fascinated by scale models ever since i was a kid. When i was young i used to make scale model aircraft and model cars, i enjoyed this alot for lots of years but slowly i started getting bored in making model aircraft and painting the models as well. One day a good friend of mine introduced me to a dodgy game at the time called 'Warhammer' a game that consisted of having regimental battles on a table top with minatures. At first i scoffed at that hobby because it involved getting lots and lots figures and slogging it out on a model battlefield which at that time was a hassle and a bother. But eventually he kept naggin me to try the game out and so i did. I liked it. And i started liking the minatures as well because this meant that hobby didnt only have to consist of just battles. So i started collecting and painting minatures (which was around 6 years ago). at first my models were coming out really dodgy and crap looking, but time and patience i became good at painting, soon people started asking me to paint their figures and so i got real good then. I still collect and paint minatures to this day and I find it a rewarding and relaxing hobby. Some figures that i have painted appear in the art gallery so go look and enjoy.