I'm not working on engineering/programming related stuff right now, but I did start the year with a resolution to write some more music - been playing guitar fo

I'm not working on engineering/programming related stuff right now, but I did start the year with a resolution to write some more music - been playing guitar for nearly 20 years now, but most of my playing is just looping a few chords and noodling over it. Which is fun! But I would like to actually get some songs done. Not for any particular reason, just seems fun. I try to just sort of follow my interests in my free time instead of optimizing it or trying to find some "side hustle." Sometimes I'll be fiddling around with programming related stuff, sometimes its music, sometimes I get into a game for a while. Last summer it was (kind of out of left field for me) fishing - just bought a rod and some tackle and started going out. If there's any antidote for "the hustle" it's fishing - sure, you can spend 1000s on gear if you want, but at the end of the day, you're going to go sit out in nature for a while and some days you just won't get a single bite. The first few times that happened, it bugged me, until I realized that sitting by the water for a couple of hours is a great use of time regardless of whether I see a single fish. Another thing I like about fishing is it's just active enough that it keeps my mind busy - instead of sitting there worrying about the budget or whatever, I', just thinking "maybe I should try reeling a bit differently" or "maybe I should move down the bank a bit" or "maybe I'll tie on that new lure". It's like perfectly tuned to keep me pleasantly distracted while not being stressful or high-pressure in the least. My oldest son asked for a kayak this Christmas, and I found a pretty good deal on a pair of fishing-style kayaks from a local guy who was getting rid of his. I'm very much looking forward to trying some kayak fishing this summer, there's so many good looking spots that weren't really accessible from the shore. Speaking of kids, that's also a great way to pull myself away from the drive to constantly be doing something new and "productive". They keep me busy and while there's times I wish for a little more free time, overall they're a blast. My oldest and middle child are now old enough to game with me - we spent a lot of time over the Christmas break playing through the new Mario game, Mindustry, and even a bit of Fortnite (that's their thing, not mine, but it's something to do).