What I'm into these days

Holy cow has it really been seven years since I last posted? Let’s fix that.

It’s hard to believe that I’m currently in the midst of my eighth year at the WTA. Wild how time flies, especially when you’re having fun and/or stuck in a soul-crushing pandemic.

Thanks (?) to the aforementioned pandemic, I’ve doubled down on my indoor-kid tendencies. If it’s something I can do quietly at my desk while listening to or watching low-stakes anime or documentaries, I’ll do it.

One thing I’ve realized about myself through all these dorky ways to spend time is that I really take a lot of pleasure and satisfaction in figuring out how things work and why. It’s not about the finished product at all; that’s just the byproduct. I just like marveling at someone else’s ingenuity.

I’ve cooled on board games for a bit, but that was always my fascination with those. I didn’t actually like playing them with other people or competing, I just liked figuring out the game mechanisms by myself. That’s definitely the through line for my hobbies. And, frankly, probably my obsession with tennis as well.

So here’s what’s been keeping me occupied when I’m not watching a yellow fuzzy ball. I’m going to try to blog about more about this stuff next year.

Mechanical keyboards

In Cincinnati, I was talking to someone about different keyboard layouts and hacks that could improve efficiency and typing accuracy and a friend overhead us hypothesizing.

“This must be what it’s like to be a tennis player talking about racquet weights and string tension.”

Indeed.

It was only a matter of time until I got into the custom mechanical keyboard hobby. I like tinkering around with different builds in search of my “endgame” board, and I like the challenge of building boards for my friends. I’ve been spending most of my energy on hacking budget keyboards, but after two years, it’s time I leveled up and started playing with mid to premium boards.

I greatly enjoy Hipyo Tech’s keyboard videos because he’s funny and makes the hobby feel accessible. Shoutout to Keybored, Switch and Click, Taeha Types, Andy Nguyen, and Alex Otos as well.

I love building narratives into my keyboards. My most recent build is on a cheap Feker IK75 ($80), with Banana Milk switches, and Soju keycaps. Why Banana Milk and Soju keycaps? Because I bought the Soju keycaps when I was in the throws of my Hospital Playlist rewatch during this past US Open swing (spoiler alert - in honor of Ik-jun’s soju-fuelled confession) and when I sat down to build the board, I was watching Reply 1988, which has a very cute scene involving banana milk. Anyway, I threw that all together and was SHOCKED how good this keyboard feels and sounds. Just like Ik-jun and Song-hwa, it was meant to be.

Legos

Having kids around the house will get you back into Legos quickly, so I have my two nieces to thank for this one.

Two kits I have massive rave reviews for: The Typewriter and the Super Mario Question Mark Block. The former is for adults only due to its complexity, the latter is just a unique and relatively easy build that yields a great display item at the end.

I’ve built a few of the automobile-related ones - the Fiat and the London Bus, namely - and, eh, not entirely my favorite experiences. The bus really hammered home how important it is for me that a kit isn’t a redundant build. If I never have to see another red brick it will be too soon.

On deck for the off-season: the A-Frame Cabin, Treehouse, and The Office set. Oh! And this Disney camera kit. Much love to one of my favorite Twitch streamers, Jang, who’s soothing vibes have kept me same over the last year.

Gunpla

So the thing about having Legos as your hobby: cost. A $200-300 dollar kit really only takes you maybe four to eight hours to build. That is an absurd price-to-entertainment ratio. I ain’t made of cash. In addition, contrary to what Iga Swiatek might have you believe, Legos are not a travel-friendly hobby for us mere mortals.

With that in mind, I switched over to building Gundams and I’ve loved it. It was super easy to get into, and it solved all my Lego issues. One High-Grade kit (one step up from the basic entry level kits) usually costs under $20 and it can take as long as you want it to take. When I take them to tournaments, I usually need 2-to 3 evenings to finish a kit. Real Grades and Master Grades  ($40-60) can take a week.

This was a good introduction to the hobby:

Of course, as with most hobbies, now that I’m completely sucked in and have become more ambitious about my models - painting! dioramas! custom detailing! - it’s costing a lot more. And, as I’m dipping my toe into painting, I’m starting to look into building plastic model cars.

Whatever. All hobbies are a form of crack dealing. We all know this.

Anime and K-dramas

As most know by now, I always have a second screen going with…something. It’s even more important when I’m doing all this solo hobbying.

Here’s what I love with all my heart and rewatch all the time:

• Anime (All on Crunchyroll or Netflix and dubbed)

  • Kaguya-Sama: Love is War

  • Jujutsu Kaisen

  • Spy x Family

  • Lycoris Recoil

  • Demon Slayer

  • My Hero Academia

  • Attack on Titan

  • Haikyuu (sadly, it’s only subbed on Crunchyroll. Hopefully they can get the rights of the awesome dub at some point)

  • Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

  • Mob Psycho 100

  • Horimiya

  • Laid Back Camp

  • Death Note

  • Monster (sub only, but you can see the dub on YouTube)

  • Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

• K-dramas (all subbed on Netflix)

  • Hospital Playlist

  • My Mister

  • Crash Landing on You

  • WWW:Search

  • Thirty Nine

What have y’all been super into lately? Let me know in the comments. With luck, you might end up as my new crack dealer.