Robert Manners

The Friday Five

Here we are back in survey-land! The mega-vast survey from last week will probably drop off the page after this entry. I am probably going to put it up as it's own page in my AOL space, and keep on adding to it. Or maybe not. It's so hard to tell what I might do next.



For example, I've been researching getting my own personal domain and webspace. I mean, I love getting the freebies, or at least the cheapies from Blogger and AOL and uigui (my grandfather told me when I was five years old that there's no such thing as 'free,' and subsequent experience has failed to prove him wrong), but it would be nice to have more control over my content and services. I mean, the uigui comment system is very nice, but to have a more reliable system I have to have access to my own FTP space, which I don't have outside of AOL. And then my AOL pages are censored by AOL, for fear that someone under the age of eighteen might see a (gasp) penis, or read a naughty word. So though I don't really want to post porn or even straight-forward erotica, it sort of galls me that a bunch of busybodies can delete any graphics or page titles they consider 'risque.'



Well, anyway, I have narrowed my choices down to three web-hosting companies, and all I have to do is make up my mind what I want and how much I'm willing to pay. I mean, it comes down to a year's worth of webhosting and domain name registration or two new Suzanne Somers bracelets. Which do I want more? Then, of course, if I do get my own domain, I'll want to do a major redesign of my whole homepage network, which I don't really have the time or expertise to undertake. 'Tis a puzzlement.



Oh, well...advice from the peanut gallery is most welcome; if the comments aren't working (uigui is running out of bandwidth...the price of 'free'), send me an email.



On to this week's survey:



1. What are your hobbies? Well, I consider my collecting a sort of hobby, but that's covered in the next question. I guess my writing is sort of a hobby. Does porn-surfing count? Shopping? How about complaining? I think that drag is probably my only real hobby...it's what I spend most of my money, time, and attention on, and I don't get paid for it (tips and door-percentages are nice, but don't even make a dent in the expenditures), so it must be a hobby.



2. Do you collect anything? If so, what? Jewelry! Costume jewelry! I started off with vintage rhinestones, then focused on colored vintage rhinestones, then on clear vintage rhinestones, never really abandoning one for the other; more recently I'm getting into collecting new cubic zirconium pieces. Also, whenever I travel, I always bring back a refrigerator magnet, playing cards, and coffee cups from each place, which makes up another collection. I used to think I collected books, but I realized that I mostly just consume them.



3. Is there a hobby you're interested in, but just don't have the time/money to do? When I was a kid, I always wanted a dollhouse. I think if I had the money, I could get into collecting miniatures, but I don't know if it's because that's the only thing I really wanted to do in childhood that I never did get to do, or if I really am still interested in them. I would really like to take up photography, but have never had the impetus to spend the time or money and get started on it.



4. Have you ever turned a hobby into a moneymaking opportunity? ...I don't quite understand...make money? What ever do you mean? The only thing I know how to do well is spend money.



5. Besides web-related stuff (burbs, rings, etc.), what clubs do you belong to? Does AA count as a club? Probably not. I do work with Living Sober, which is an AA-related service organization. Other than that, no, no clubs. I was never much of a joiner, anyway.



And speaking of joining, here's a hobby I wish I had the time and money to undertake: