[OrwinClayhammer]

I haven’t seen this type of thread and I’m curious if I’m the only oddball here that likes to read mythology and ancient manuscripts for fun, and get lost in Wikipedia for hours reading about the etymology of names in mythology.

Anyone else have an oddball hobby like that you could never figure out how to turn into a career? I also like reading about numbers and their qualitative meanings relative to cultures and people. I also have strange fascinations with symbols and dreams.

If anything…just list some of your hobbies so I can get a glimpse into your life and not feel like such a creep.

Thanks…IT will help us study.

I passed reg with an 88 so don’t tell me to be an archaeologist or that I’m in the wrong field….everyone knows that accountants can be well read or have asbergian tendencies. It’s not a hindrance to be a nerd fig.

[Maaneet]

I love reading Mythological stuff.. 😉 I love watching mytho shows and when I am watching those, I've found myself looking for more info online or in books. I also get into these spells when I feel like I “should” be a book worm and start reading…I've killed Wiki pages before looking for mythological info or info on historical event…or anything that interest me at that time! 😛

@G3… since you read historical fiction, do you have any suggestions for me? I also hate shopping, unless it's for something I really need to get…

FAR - 81 (2/13), Expired. 🙁 Retake 79 (11/14)
AUD - 63 (10/13), 71 (2/14), 69 (7/14), 81 (10/14) Finally!!!
BEC - 77 (2/14)
REG - 78 (5/14)

[Maaneet]

I love reading Mythological stuff.. 😉 I love watching mytho shows and when I am watching those, I've found myself looking for more info online or in books. I also get into these spells when I feel like I “should” be a book worm and start reading…I've killed Wiki pages before looking for mythological info or info on historical event…or anything that interest me at that time! 😛

@G3… since you read historical fiction, do you have any suggestions for me? I also hate shopping, unless it's for something I really need to get…

FAR - 81 (2/13), Expired. 🙁 Retake 79 (11/14)
AUD - 63 (10/13), 71 (2/14), 69 (7/14), 81 (10/14) Finally!!!
BEC - 77 (2/14)
REG - 78 (5/14)

[G3]

@Maaneet

I read and write historical fiction – I especially like the regency and victorian periods up to the 1940s.

For Regency era Barbara Metzger is a fav, for 1930s and 40s I love a good Agatha Christie mystery. For 19th century to early 20th century I like and Linda Ford. Also L.M. Montgomery has some detailed short story collection that not many people are aware about. 🙂

You can find these reasonably priced at used books stores – Half Price Books is a great place to get lost in for an afternoon 🙂

3XBEC:75 * 4XREG:82 * 4XFAR:76 * 7XAUD:77

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” Theodore Roosevelt

[G3]

@Maaneet

I read and write historical fiction – I especially like the regency and victorian periods up to the 1940s.

For Regency era Barbara Metzger is a fav, for 1930s and 40s I love a good Agatha Christie mystery. For 19th century to early 20th century I like and Linda Ford. Also L.M. Montgomery has some detailed short story collection that not many people are aware about. 🙂

You can find these reasonably priced at used books stores – Half Price Books is a great place to get lost in for an afternoon 🙂

3XBEC:75 * 4XREG:82 * 4XFAR:76 * 7XAUD:77

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” Theodore Roosevelt

[Anonymous]

Triathlons – particularly long distance ones where I can zone out for 4-10 hours!

[Anonymous]

Triathlons – particularly long distance ones where I can zone out for 4-10 hours!

[MintsRGood]

I drink a lot of wine and craft beer, does that count? 😉

REG: 75 DONE 🙂
AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
-Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
-The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
-You better work, b***h!
-Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

[MintsRGood]

I drink a lot of wine and craft beer, does that count? 😉

REG: 75 DONE 🙂
AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
-Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
-The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
-You better work, b***h!
-Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

[san4596]

My hobbies that are currently on hold due to the exam:

1) Running (5Ks, was working up to longer distance runs)

2) Golf (Oh do I miss being outside for hours chasing a little white ball)

3) Weight Lifting

Mints – It definitly counts!

CPA EXAM: DONE!!!!
Ethics Course: Passed
Application Mailed: 3/16/15
Professional Conduct Exam: 97
Certification Date: 4/2/15!!!

[san4596]

My hobbies that are currently on hold due to the exam:

1) Running (5Ks, was working up to longer distance runs)

2) Golf (Oh do I miss being outside for hours chasing a little white ball)

3) Weight Lifting

Mints – It definitly counts!

CPA EXAM: DONE!!!!
Ethics Course: Passed
Application Mailed: 3/16/15
Professional Conduct Exam: 97
Certification Date: 4/2/15!!!

[Anonymous]

Playing drums/ piano….

I still play when I have time besides for studying.

When I am done with the exam, I will be joining the band!

Being an accountant and being a drummer is very similar.

You rarely get a spotlight, but when something goes really wrong, you are the first one they point their fingers at. haha.

[Anonymous]

Playing drums/ piano….

I still play when I have time besides for studying.

When I am done with the exam, I will be joining the band!

Being an accountant and being a drummer is very similar.

You rarely get a spotlight, but when something goes really wrong, you are the first one they point their fingers at. haha.

[Matt]

@beat_counter: Nice username!

Unlike a lot of other people here, until recently I've pretty much spent 90% of my time on hobbies and only 10% of my time on accounting/career/education. Nowadays, I'm naturally trying to inverse this ratio, but nonetheless I've accumulated quite a myriad of hobbies, each of which I've pursued quite zealously:

Languages––Not only do I love learning languages, I love learning ABOUT languages––i.e., linguistic taxonomy/evolution and linguistic demography (e.g., __ million people speak ____ language in ____ part of the world). There are about two dozen languages that I've been “following” over the past few years, and about a dozen that I've been following closely that I'd really like to actually learn to proficiency, but naturally learning just one foreign language is a lifetime endeavor and I probably don't have time to learn even one to proficiency given the whole “CPA” thing. *sigh*

Listening to music––Perhaps this is too common to qualify as a “hobby”, but I really do take this quite “seriously”; my iTunes library clocks in at about 300GB of 3.5K albums by 1.5K artists, spanning several centuries and from pretty much every part of the world (which is to be expected given my hobby mentioned above).

Playing music––I love playing piano, but I've never spent enough time at it to become good. I love playing guitar and have probably spent thousands of hours playing it, but I unfortunately haven't had much time to play it over the past 5-6 years. I have an entire library of guitar and piano sheet music I'd like to master one day, but the reality is that I'll probably never have the time to learn 99.9% of it. *sigh*

Writing/recording music––Naturally, this completes the holy trinity of music-related activity. I've spent probably thousands of hours writing music, although a lot of that has been revision and consolidation, and so I only have about an hour's worth of music that I consider to be truly “professional-grade”. I suck at singing, so all of my more recent music is instrumental. Most of the more recent stuff is scored in standard notation and recorded via Finale (a sampling software that's great when you can't afford thousands of dollars of high-end instruments and recording equipment).

Geography––This might seem a little left-field, but I love memorizing different countries, their capitals, their sub-administrative divisions (e.g., provinces of China and states of India), their locations on a world map, and even their populations and ballpark Gross Domestic Products. To me, this goes hand-in-hand with having a fascination in languages.

Global current events––To some, this might just sound like “reading the news”, but I truly am fixated on following this stuff at a far higher level of detail than my time should allow for. If I spent as much time reading CPA review material as I've spent reading about global current events, I would have passed the CPA exam years ago! The thing that sucks is that if I ignore global current events for even but a month, I'm already woefully out of the loop. I also love following financial news concerning emerging markets (e.g., “BRICS” and the “Next 11”).

Nutrition––Nutrition might not seem like a “hobby”, but I've spent enough time reading about nutrition and memorizing nutrition facts to put my prior Pokémon enthusiast-self to shame (disclaimer: That was elementary school, not recently!).

History––Be it ancient Mesopotamian civilizations or anything that occurred anywhere in the world since then, I pretty much love reading anything that could be considered “history”. Heck, I'm also fascinated with the happenings of the world prior to the emergence of humans. Unfortunately, there will never be enough time to read about all the history that has ever occurred. *sigh*

Exercising––This might seem a little less “cerebral” than the hobbies mentioned above, but not the way I do it! I love studying how human musculature and protein synthesis work and brainstorming a meticulously-researched, self-correcting weight training program that sufficiently works the entire body in a scientifically synergistic and efficient way. No cardio though––it's all about the anaerobics! 🙂 The great thing about exercising is that, done correctly, it takes very little time! It's a perfect complement to CPA exam studying unlike all the other time-consuming hobbies listed above.

Well, that was a hell of a lot longer than I was expecting. I guess another hobby of mine is writing long Internet posts. No wonder I haven't passed the CPA exam yet…

AUD: 88
BEC: 79
REG: 81
FAR: 72 » 74 » 88

Study method: 100% watching videos, including solving problems covered therein; no books, paper, or pencils

[Matt]

@beat_counter: Nice username!

Unlike a lot of other people here, until recently I've pretty much spent 90% of my time on hobbies and only 10% of my time on accounting/career/education. Nowadays, I'm naturally trying to inverse this ratio, but nonetheless I've accumulated quite a myriad of hobbies, each of which I've pursued quite zealously:

Languages––Not only do I love learning languages, I love learning ABOUT languages––i.e., linguistic taxonomy/evolution and linguistic demography (e.g., __ million people speak ____ language in ____ part of the world). There are about two dozen languages that I've been “following” over the past few years, and about a dozen that I've been following closely that I'd really like to actually learn to proficiency, but naturally learning just one foreign language is a lifetime endeavor and I probably don't have time to learn even one to proficiency given the whole “CPA” thing. *sigh*

Listening to music––Perhaps this is too common to qualify as a “hobby”, but I really do take this quite “seriously”; my iTunes library clocks in at about 300GB of 3.5K albums by 1.5K artists, spanning several centuries and from pretty much every part of the world (which is to be expected given my hobby mentioned above).

Playing music––I love playing piano, but I've never spent enough time at it to become good. I love playing guitar and have probably spent thousands of hours playing it, but I unfortunately haven't had much time to play it over the past 5-6 years. I have an entire library of guitar and piano sheet music I'd like to master one day, but the reality is that I'll probably never have the time to learn 99.9% of it. *sigh*

Writing/recording music––Naturally, this completes the holy trinity of music-related activity. I've spent probably thousands of hours writing music, although a lot of that has been revision and consolidation, and so I only have about an hour's worth of music that I consider to be truly “professional-grade”. I suck at singing, so all of my more recent music is instrumental. Most of the more recent stuff is scored in standard notation and recorded via Finale (a sampling software that's great when you can't afford thousands of dollars of high-end instruments and recording equipment).

Geography––This might seem a little left-field, but I love memorizing different countries, their capitals, their sub-administrative divisions (e.g., provinces of China and states of India), their locations on a world map, and even their populations and ballpark Gross Domestic Products. To me, this goes hand-in-hand with having a fascination in languages.

Global current events––To some, this might just sound like “reading the news”, but I truly am fixated on following this stuff at a far higher level of detail than my time should allow for. If I spent as much time reading CPA review material as I've spent reading about global current events, I would have passed the CPA exam years ago! The thing that sucks is that if I ignore global current events for even but a month, I'm already woefully out of the loop. I also love following financial news concerning emerging markets (e.g., “BRICS” and the “Next 11”).

Nutrition––Nutrition might not seem like a “hobby”, but I've spent enough time reading about nutrition and memorizing nutrition facts to put my prior Pokémon enthusiast-self to shame (disclaimer: That was elementary school, not recently!).

History––Be it ancient Mesopotamian civilizations or anything that occurred anywhere in the world since then, I pretty much love reading anything that could be considered “history”. Heck, I'm also fascinated with the happenings of the world prior to the emergence of humans. Unfortunately, there will never be enough time to read about all the history that has ever occurred. *sigh*

Exercising––This might seem a little less “cerebral” than the hobbies mentioned above, but not the way I do it! I love studying how human musculature and protein synthesis work and brainstorming a meticulously-researched, self-correcting weight training program that sufficiently works the entire body in a scientifically synergistic and efficient way. No cardio though––it's all about the anaerobics! 🙂 The great thing about exercising is that, done correctly, it takes very little time! It's a perfect complement to CPA exam studying unlike all the other time-consuming hobbies listed above.

Well, that was a hell of a lot longer than I was expecting. I guess another hobby of mine is writing long Internet posts. No wonder I haven't passed the CPA exam yet…

AUD: 88
BEC: 79
REG: 81
FAR: 72 » 74 » 88

Study method: 100% watching videos, including solving problems covered therein; no books, paper, or pencils

[OrwinClayhammer]

Truly, All excellent posts…from staring at butts in the gym to actually lifting weights in the gym to writing and reading music to looking up mythology.

In all of you I see my own hobbies. I feel truly blessed to be among you all because it just demonstrated how deep and versatile accountants are and really does shatter the stereotype.

I feel great partaking in this fraternity/sorority of humorous yet able and competent people.

I would add somethings a long the lines of weightlifting.

I was an arduous lifter once but realized like all good solid things one must build their muscles from the base up like a pyramid. Therefore, not only must the lower body be exceptionally stronger than the upper body but so too must the muscles around the spine relative to the more external ones.

Punching power after all does not improve on your bench press but on your planking time – I box very frequently.

So lift weights but I would say if you want strength that carries on into your life do negative pull ups, slow spartan style push-ups, planks, and 40 minutes of Cardio at least 3 times a week. The only weightlifting I would do would be high rep squats and dead lifts with lots and lots of stretching – I'm probably much older here – but this sort of work out builds a body like a true G. You'll end up feeling and looking like a pro-athlete as opposed to a bodybuilder, but to each their own.

Secondly, to Yawn, touche on the inversion of your situation. You are on the right track if I may say so as humbly as possible. You remind me of a younger me. For a while I was roaming the seas around Greece, but alas, I have found my way to Ithaca, thanks to Athena(my feminine side of yoga practice and breathing meditations) – and a value system or echelon of ritual which will allow me to pass the exam, as I have passed one part thus far. Brother, keep on trekking!

Finally, I would like to say that I too wish to start a band or be in one when I'm finished. Perhaps we will all meet in a band making Valhalla after this exam, not a literal Valhalla, but like a train station or something by coincidence.

Now I must continue studying, but I can't wait to share the news with my friend that I am not the only one who must nip his treasures in the bud.

Stand steady Spartans and continue to march forward! (I am a real Spartan…my family is from Sparta, you are all now officially Spartans too)

As for historical fiction…I really liked the Devil in the White City…as I am from Chicago. It's about John Holmes the serial killer.

@beat_counter And to the Drummer number one above! Drumming is the most important part of any band that has a drummer. He keeps the time…so yeah, that is just like being an accountant who moderates the rhythm of a corporations transactions. Your name is too dope and you make accounting cooler than Jack White.

[Author]

Replies