Are you a hobbier?

For my new job, I had to write a short paragraph about myself that they could run in the paper, introducing me along with the other new hires.

The HR woman gave me a handout with a few examples to give me an idea of what to write. They were all pretty straight forward - So-and-so comes to us from the Other Publication where she was an ad exec, blah blah blah. Here she will be doing this and this.

But then there was a line that included the person's hobbies: "When she's not working, she can be found jogging and buying produce at the roadside stands." (Not kidding, that was really one.) Or: "So-and-so, a mother or two, enjoys painting and kayaking."

Well, I was stumped. All of a sudden, I couldn't think about any hobbies I had. What do I do in my free time? I couldn't feasibly write "In her spare time, Sara can be found lounging around her hot ass apartment, sweating and drinking moderately-priced domestic beers." I just didn't seem appropriate.

Do I really have any hobbies? I tried knitting, and dropped it after a couple months. I don't play on any sports teams, I am not an avid cyclist or the likes, and I don't coach little league. I have friends who rock climb regularly; my boyfriend designs computer programs in his spare time; another friend trains for triathlons.

Is my life totally void of hobbies? Is it true that some people are just hobbiers, and tend to pour themselves into some extracurricular activity, when others are happy doing, well, nothing?

But then, talking it over with some friends, we began to debate just how you define a hobby, versus, say, a pastime. I mean, I love to read. But does that constitute a hobby, or is it just a pastime? Watching television is arguably similar - but I wouldn't give it hobby status.

So we determined a hobby must be something that you do regularly, that you are interested in enough to network with other people about or read trade journals on or join a club for. For example, I am often asking people for good books to read, and I have always wanted to join a book club (now I wish I had, so that I could have included that on my new job bio.)

Pastimes are less involved, like watching TV, hanging out with friends, playing Scrabble.

Either way, I am unsatisfied with my lack of legitimate hobbies. Nothing seems to have a level of frequency - such as traveling, tubing, hiking - to constitute a hobby, and others have a level of ridiculousness when claimed as a hobby - dancing, blogging, drinking beer.

Perhaps it's time for me to pick one and stick with it, and then join a club or network of sometime to further legitimize it. I am taking suggestions.