Time to unwind

Whenever possible I like to make some free time especially during the weekends for some serious rest and relaxation. It’s really not possible for me to get some R&R during the weekdays as my work schedule is just too hectic unless I plan it out a few days in advance. I guess everyone has their own way in which they unwind and not everyone uses the same method. The most commonly used methods which I use to relax during my free time are: Reading, music, movies, surfing the net, etc.
Reading is one of my favorite past times since childhood. During my younger days, it used to be fantasy books. My fascination for Elves, Trolls, Dwarves, Dragons, Hobbits, etc have continued to fascinate me till these days. One of my favorite books during my childhood was the Hobbit series which I still like till today. Later on I moved on to science fiction/horror genre. The writers whose books/novels which I was constantly reading and fascinated by during this period were Mario Puzo (The Godfather & The Godfather Returns), Douglas Adams (The Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy), Most Stephen King novels (Cujo, Salems Lot, Everything Eventual, The Dark Tower series, Duma Key, Skeleton Crew), Ray Bradbury (Farenheit 451,Martian Chronicles), Clive Barker (Cabal, The Great & Secret Show, The Essential Clive Barker, The books Of Blood series), etc. These days it’s just about anything that catches my eye. At one time, I had a really large book collection. I had to trim it down to manageable level once my bedroom started filling up and the books started piling up in the hallway. It really saddened me to see a lot of these books go but it seemed like there was no other choice. Reading still is one of my favorite past times today as it has the ability to transport me to another world where my imagination can run wild.

Music is another one of my hobbies which really helps me to relax and unwind after a long, hard and sometimes very stressful days especially when I am totally exhausted and I want to just sit there and unwind. Music is not just something I listen to every so often but it is a passion for me. Just like my reading habit, my music preferences have changed over a period of time. I think I started listening to anything that was playing on the radio and I don’t think I had any favorite one. The Top 40/Top 100 music seemed to be popular during the 80’s period. One radio station or another used to have at least one segment dedicated to it. Sometime during the early 1980’s one of my high school buddies introduced me to hard rock/metal music genre and there was no turning back for me. I think I started out listening to Jimmy Hendrix, ZZ Top, Eric Clapton, Doors, etc and over a period of time I discovered other groups which I discovered suited my music tastes. The only thing which has remained constant is my dislike for country music. Nothing personal but I simply cannot bear to listen to it for some reason. I distinctly remember that when I was growing up and if I needed to head off to head off to some distant part of Ohio, I sometimes used to run into certain areas/pockets where the radio stations used to play only country music. In these cases, I used to frantically such for any other station even if it was a Top 40 one.

Movies have been one of my favorite past times for a really long time and I guess this particular category is the only one which has more or less remained constant over many decades. I have always liked the action, science fiction, horror. The only book/movie craze which I couldn’t understand and didn’t like very much was the Harry Potter series. Everyone it seems had gone overboard on this character and the Potter craze it seems has fizzled out as quickly as it had started. The earliest movies which I remember watching were: Gone with the Wind, Godfather, Splash and Pretty Women. In the years that passed by I watched many movies since I am a movie buff. The ones which I still like to this day are: Beetle Juice, Omen series, The Godfather series, Aliens/Matrix/Terminator series, Indiana Jones series, and the Back to the Future series. The movies which I have seen recently are: X-Men Origins Wolverine, Terminator 4 Salvation, Punisher - War Zone, Batman Begins, and Batman- The Dark Knight. All the movies which I have watched recently were really well made and action packed but I do feel that the Wolverine and the Batman series have deviated from the original character story line a bit. This is not to say that I didn’t enjoy them but the movie makers should have followed the original comic character story line more closely in order to give a more true depiction. I especially like to watch the movies during the weekends when I have a few hours to spare. Sometimes I like to go back to my movie collection and watch something from the 80’s era if something worthwhile is not coming on one of the movie channel or no new movie releases have been announced.

Surfing the net it seems helps me to divert my mind from the daily grind since it is a great entertainment device if used correctly. It not only helps me to interact with my buddies who are spread out through the world but also keeps me up to date on the news front. I guess the net is the only true interactive medium where one can get what they what and in a way they want it. All one needs to know is how to use the search engine and know what to look for. I especially like visiting YouTube to watch video of my favorite groups or watch movie trailers of movies which are about to be released. But most of the time I am found on sites like Multiply and Facebook where I am either posting something or playing a really addictive games and this helps me to destress myself.