Hello world. My name is Rain. I have several other Neocities websites, but I keep wanting to make new ones. They're like bonsai trees to me; they take a long time to prune and tend to, and eventually you hit a point where you're carefully maintaining a delicate and perhaps overwrought shape. When I hit that point, I become engulfed in a persistent desire to strike out again and create a new website. This is one of those times. My biggest hope is that people out there come to care at least a little about my thoughts, ideas and opinions, put out here on the internet for all to observe.
I envy people who have intense and clearcut interests. My mum loves to garden. Her garden is full of gorgeous greens and yellows, bursting out from every side. This summer we were inundated with figs, pears, apples and strawberries, more than we could possibly eat. Cherry tomatoes overflowed from their vines until we had no choice but to leave them to rot and feed the next season's harvest. Alternately, my dad loves electronics. He has created all manner of sensor, robot and circuit, from a parking sensor to a handmade arcade cabinet. His office is full of capacitors and transistors and usually smells at least a little bit like soldering. My little brother loves to play video games. My big sister loves to play Dungeons and Dragons. Unfortunately it's hard to look at yourself and find a coherent picture. When I look at my hobbies and interests I see an overgrown and muddled patch of Earth where plenty grows but without any sense of direction or purpose. Projects are started and then invariably never finished, leaving a trail of half-created ideas.
On the other hand, it's quite enjoyable not knowing what I like best. I flit between passions like a moth to an array of candles. Currently I'm getting quite into collages. A non-comprehensive overview of my biggest interests would be:
- Movies. I volunteer at a movie rental store and I've watched a hell of a lot of films. Japanese cinema has a special place in my heart, but I'll watch pretty much anything from anywhere, any time.
- Art. An incredibly broad term, but I don't know how to whittle it down any less. I draw, write, embroider, collage, and am falteringly trying to learn how to play guitar (which isn't going very well). I studied graphic design and hated it, but I think my heart was in the right place regarding what I like to do - create.
- Music. I'm no good at making it but I love to listen to music, and find it helps me focus. There's a special kind of joy in listening to something I already love, and noticing some instrument or aspect I had previously overlooked.
- Cooking. I'm not the best but I feel incredibly proud when I get things right. I mostly make asian rice dishes, but I have been known to make an excellent pasta.
- Plastic model building. Please don't ask me how much this has cost me; it is far and away my most expensive hobby.
- Information studies - another broad term, but that's the name of the postgraduate diploma I'm doing at the moment, so I really can't think of a more comprehensive description. The storage and access of information is sometimes far more intriguing than the information itself.
- Japanese - the language and the culture. Yes, I'm a weeaboo. I'm sorry for my sins.
None of these interests are life-alteringly strong. I am truly jealous of people who have always known they wanted to be a poet or a doctor. I have never had any idea what I wanted to be, and I still don't know. I'm just me.