Give me something to do this summer

June 17, 2005 4:53 PM

Give me something to do this summer!

So summer's here, and I have a small job, but nothing that majorly takes up my time. I work out, hike/run, hang out with friends, the usual, but I still have blocks of time (usually 3-5 hours) during the day where there's nothing I have to do.

I'm already planning to read & keep practicing guitar, but aside from that, my main activities are computer things (programming, reading MeFi & /., etc).

I'm primarily looking for things to do that are outside and would get me sweating a bit, so I can feel like I did something that day, although if there was something computer-related that would be *useful,* that would work as well. My main block with programming at the moment is that nothing I write has any purpose for anyone but me.

posted by devilsbrigade to sports, hobbies, & recreation (23 comments total)

Pick an area of your town (the larger the area the more exercise) and walk/run around picking up garbage? Exercise for you and benefits to your community.
posted by stefnet at 5:04 PM on June 17, 2005

Spend an hour every day practicing a new language.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:07 PM on June 17, 2005

Join one of those books on tape rental clubs that are similar to netflix, and listen to the language tapes while you're outside.

You have to tell us more about yourself, however. Assuming your profile is accurate, you're in Corvallis, Oregon. I miss Davinci days.

It would be cool (in my little fantasy world) to do something physical/material and accretive (is that a word?) like build a stone wall, or make a sculpture entirely out of found objects, so at the end of the Summer you've got this massive *thing*

Or you can put in my fence and yard for me, I'm only 16 hours from there.

On second thought: go to Europe!
posted by mecran01 at 5:34 PM on June 17, 2005

Language isn't a bad idea; the trick would be finding someone to practice with. I like the wall out of found objects; might see if there's anything going on like that for DaVinci days this year.

For the walking ideas... I go on hikes pretty frequently, but walking around in town isn't something I like doing at all.

About myself... 17, male, physically fairly strong, I run, I bike, I program, I party... and I went to Europe last year (cost is a bit prohibitive for two years in a row ;))

Building something would be great; the service-oriented programs here that actually do anything physical are full 'jobs' though (40 hours a week). I'm looking for something where I don't have anyone breathing down my back, just working because I enjoy it when I have the time. I'd do something in my backyard, but my parents don't want to screw up an ordinarily very nice yard, and I feel kind of weird going up to neighbors/friends' parents & asking if I can build something for them...
posted by devilsbrigade at 5:50 PM on June 17, 2005

Build my website about really cool research?

Take (push) disabled (handicapable) people on walks once a week.

Competitive but casual sports -- get in four games a week of volleyball, ultimate, soccer, softball, etc. - social sweating

Find an outdoor climbing wall.

Build small rockets or radio airplanes.
posted by Rumple at 5:57 PM on June 17, 2005

I'm sure that you've heard of the summer of code, right? Even if you don't apply, the various foundations have a lot of useful project ideas for people who want some quick projects to work on. But then you'd be stuck inside, and Oregon summers are mighty nice.
posted by cmonkey at 6:23 PM on June 17, 2005

Travel. Do it.
posted by Decani at 6:30 PM on June 17, 2005

Train up to it, and then bike up or down the coast somewhere far, like Vancouver or San Francisco. Walk the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island.
posted by ori at 6:33 PM on June 17, 2005

Maybe you could find a blind person with a tandem bike who's looking for a cycling partner.
posted by Quietgal at 6:47 PM on June 17, 2005

get a lover.

if, somehow, i got back into time, and were in your position, i'd just lie in the middle of a field, on my back, staring at the sky, for hour after hour, soaking up all that time, letting it sink deep into my pores, hiding it in every wrinkle of my skin, deep inside each bone, knowing that in not so many years there'd be no time at all, just years and years of busy, stretched out in front of me....
posted by andrew cooke at 6:52 PM on June 17, 2005

I just recently picked up swimming. Join a gym or swim outside. I had forgotten how fun and great of a workout swimming is for you.
posted by huy_le at 7:01 PM on June 17, 2005

swimming is kind of like my suggestion- It's not out of doors, but it will make you sweat: take up a martial art. I've been taking Tae Kwon Do for a while and heartily recommend it.
posted by Doohickie at 7:22 PM on June 17, 2005

Andrew Cooke has it. Enjoy your youth slowly, 'cos it sure won't last.
posted by cmonkey at 7:28 PM on June 17, 2005

How about Habitat for Humanity?
posted by amberglow at 7:34 PM on June 17, 2005

years ago when i was looking for a new hobby and something to get me more active/outside, I started geocaching (www.geocaching.com). It was great because it led me to awesome parks in my college town i would have never otherwise seen. I eventually bought a hybrid bike to ride on a trail (also to do a few caches further away), soon bought a mountain bike to do a few more technical trails (that the crappy bike i first got couldn't handle). this got me really liking being outside and active, I soon started running and swimming.. signed up for a triathlon.. and 3 years later i've done a marathon and 2 ironman distance triathlons...

never know where a new hobby will lead you :)
posted by joshgray at 7:39 PM on June 17, 2005

Rock climbing keeps me busy during the summer. If Corvalis is close to Smith Rocks you'll have tons of places to climb. You'll be sweating and using your brain to get through cruxes. It may also help you learn how to focus to get past obstacles, both physical and mental. And you can read books between burns so you can keep up on your reading.
posted by trbrts at 10:32 PM on June 17, 2005

Outdoors, "useful", meet some great people and get to muck about with horses. http://www.equitopia.peak.org/
posted by Catch at 10:59 PM on June 17, 2005

Get a serious tan.
posted by nicwolff at 11:22 PM on June 17, 2005

Lying in a field does sound oddly appealing ;)

I'll definitely look at rock climbing; I only know of an indoor wall, but Smith Rock isn't *too* far away.

Geocaching sounds interesting, but other than that I don't have a reason to get a GPS unit... hard to justify the cost.
posted by devilsbrigade at 1:06 AM on June 18, 2005

I just bought a motorcycle. It's going to keep me pretty busy this summer, and it's a lot more physical than you'd think. If that's not your thing, explore the parts of your city or surrounding area on bicycle. Photoblog it.

Martial arts can be fun too, and have the advantage of being all sweaty and physical in an air-conditioned dojo. What about starting up karate or tae kwon do or something? It's goals-driven enough that you'll be able to watch milestones pass, and that'll give you something to do when you get bored in the winter, too.
posted by mendel at 9:41 AM on June 18, 2005

Wikipedia could always use help.

Then again, that's probably not going to have a lot of personal fulfillment to it.
posted by WCityMike at 6:15 PM on June 18, 2005

amberglow: Now why did *I* think of that? (That's me in the second column, second row, in the NASA t-shirt).
posted by Doohickie at 8:22 PM on June 18, 2005

Take an improv class.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 10:15 PM on June 18, 2005