I don’t know about you, but I sit and stare at a computer screen a LOT during the day. My day job at the University has me in meetings or working on my computer a lot. My freelancing has me meeting people or working on my computer a lot. Needless to say, I do a lot of sitting and screen staring. I think many of us in the game industry (and in IT as my day job), spend much of our day looking at monitors, phones, and tablets. Our jobs tend to be very mental and screen intensive.

I thought I would share a little bit about myself outside of my freelancing work and gaming hobby. What is that you ask, “How do I have time to do things other than work, freelancing, and gaming?” Well, that is a good question. I guess I prioritize finding the time to keep a life balance. I find I need to have outlets that do not involve my work and freelancing. For me, one of those outlets has become gardening.

“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.”
— Alfred Austin

The past few years, I have really gotten into my gardening, this year doing some dramatic expansion to it all. I thought it might interest you to see another side of me. Gardening relaxes me. Don’t get me wrong, it is a lot of work, but it is that physical labor that relaxes me. My mind can step away from all the information and meetings and my eyes focus on something other than screens of various sizes. Gardening lets me use my hands to be creative and my body to be outdoors enjoying the sun, the breeze and the aromas of the soil and plants. The added benefit of all this labor are fresh fruits and vegetables I can use in my cooking, which is another side project hobby we will discuss sometime in the future. My landscaping and gardening this year has also had another impetus, and that is making my backyard more friendly for my wife. Her Multiple Sclerosis has been progressing again which impacts her mobility. So along with the expanded garden I have increased the size of our patio and built a fire pit that is accessible to her. So gardening has become a relaxing physical activity for me and one that I can do as a gift for my wife. She loves the outdoors and fresh veggies and fruits as much as I do.

What hobbies do you have outside of your day job and/or freelancing? Do you garden as well? Or perhaps are you a woodworker, painter, kayaker, biker, or what? I would love to hear about your side project hobbies.

Side Project: Gardening

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