Most of these seem to be easy means to rather shallow ends, to me at least. Paying my sixteen-year-old nephew to do these things for me would be easier, and jus

Most of these seem to be easy means to rather shallow ends, to me at least. Paying my sixteen-year-old nephew to do these things for me would be easier, and just as satisfying. The only activity on this list I actually enjoyed was learning how to pick a lock. Not as a means for breaking and entering, but as a skill and an end in itself. To me, it is all about learning to create something, preferably with a certain artistic value. Over the last few years, I have: * Designed and built a clock (out of wood, steel and ropes). * Designed, printed and bound a few notebooks and diaries, and two books. * Improved my writing skills; both fiction and non-fiction. Wrote several short stories and started a working on a book. * Bought a fountain pen, re-learned proper penmanship and developed a personal script. * Learned how to run correctly and started running barefoot (I run 50 miles per week now). * Borrowed my uncle's SLR camera, learned a lot about photography. * Wrote, recorded and edited a short movie with some friends. * Studied music theory and started playing the piano, albeit with to much ambition. I'm just not able to express myself through classical music. These days, I prefer to play blues on my guitar, or jazz standards (1930s-1940s) or stride piano when the mood is right.