Do You Have a Rainy Day Passion?

[Alex in Virginia]

If the weather is decent, I like to spend my free time hiking, biking, fishing or driving country roads. But on rainy, wet or snowy days that’s not an option for me. At such times, I like watching DVD movies and I love reading history books. But my real rainy day passion is playing computer strategy war games.*

Those games can so completely suck me in that I can forget to stop to eat. Sometimes I’ll even find myself still playing when the sun comes up the next day.

Does one of your fun-time activities pull you in like that? Have you got a rainy day passion of your own that you would like to share?

Alex in Virginia


*I’m not talking about shoot-them-up fantasy games where you guide a character around the computer screen blasting away at anything that moves. I’m talking about grand-scale historical games where you command whole armies and navies as they really were in battles and campaigns as they really started to happen. (I say “started to happen” because then your command decisions change history!)

 

[Ronstar]

My outdoor activities are similar to yours, but I don't fish much. On nasty days, I do some woodworking, play with my camera, surf online, and watch tv

 

[Donzo]

I love rainy/snowy days. We get a hot fire going in the wood stove, cook chili on top of the stove (or a stew/soup) and read our favorite magazines, books and websites. It only rains here in the fall/winter and it is a great excuse to stay in jamis all day Retirement is the bomb!!

 

[robnplunder]

I love to watch the rain coming down so I do a little bit of that. The rest of time, I try to catch up with any household chores. I recently got into Netflix and will likely surf and watch what it has to offer.

 

[Marita40]

Lots of indoor days coming soon in MN. I like to prepare some slow-cooking food (soup, chili, casserole) so that it smells wonderful and heats up the house. As it is cooking I like to snuggle under an afghan with the two cats and read. Favorites these days are non-fiction: history, true crime, etc. I also like to have chocolate and wine (or a hot toddy) on hand.

 

[Alex in Virginia]

I love rainy/snowy days. We get a hot fire going in the wood stove, cook chili on top of the stove (or a stew/soup) and read our favorite magazines, books and websites. It only rains here in the fall/winter and it is a great excuse to stay in jamis all day Retirement is the bomb!!

Reading one of my military or ancient history books will keep me interested for about 4 hours max before I get edgy and start looking for something else to do. But playing one of my strategy war games has the opposite effect. The longer I play, the more I get involved in it. Many is the night when the urge to do "one more turn" of the game has -- one turn at a time -- kept me awake playing all night.

What (if anything) can have that effect -- while having fun, of course -- on you?

Alex in Virginia

 

[misty57]

On cold, dreary, rainy days I like to turn on the fire and read a book, play gin with DH, do a jigsaw puzzle, watch movies, or surf the web.

 

[Jager]

I'm an inveterate reader - of both books and internet forums. That's my primary pastime on rainy days.

What computer strategy games do you like, Alex?

 

[Alex in Virginia]

I'm an inveterate reader - of both books and internet forums. That's my primary pastime on rainy days.

What computer strategy games do you like, Alex?

I have been playing the same 4 games for the last 10 years or more, and I've yet to tire of them -- probably because each of these games includes as many as 20 separate scenarios, each replicating a different real historical battle.

War In The Pacific: For example, think of being in supreme command of all the actual Allied ground, sea and air forces on December 6, 1941 and going forward from there for the next year to try and stop the Japanese juggernaut. Or put yourself in command of that juggernaut.

Civil War Generals: For example, think of being in command of the actual Army of Northern Virginia on July 1, 1863 as it approaches the sleepy Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg and starts encountering signs of federal troop movements.

The Great Battles of Hannibal: For example, think of being in command of the actual Roman legions at Cannae in 216 B.C. as you face Carthage’s Iberians, Gauls and war elephants.

Vikings: For this one, let your fantasy fly (yep, this one is fantasy but played on a historically accurate world tableau within a historically accurate politico-cultural context) and think of being a 16-year-old newly ascended one-town Norwegian jarl in 800 A.D. as you embark on a years-long struggle to unite Norway into a single kingdom and then go on to forge Norway, Sweden and Denmark into a Scandinavian Empire.

What can I say. Adventure, suspense, excitement, drama. To me, this is FUN STUFF!


Alex in Virginia

 

[Calico]

Reading
Beading
British detective shows on Netflix.

I can lose myself in any of the above on a rainy day.

 

[Dawg52]

Old movies and surfing the net.

 

[Telly]

A rainy day passion?

Yup, Rainy Day Women #12 & 35.

shhhhh... don't tell nobody

 

[Lcountz]

Gordon Lightfoot....."Rainy Day People"...From......get ready ...1975!!!!

Take a listen.

 

[Alex in Virginia]

Reading
Beading
British detective shows on Netflix.

I can lose myself in any of the above on a rainy day.

As I said at the start of this thread, I like movie watching and I love reading. I'm not surprised that a lot of the folks replying have mentioned both of those activities. But I was really hoping to see more interactive activities brought into the discussion.

My wife beads, so I know that beading qualifies as interactive. And I know that doing it requires focus, concentration and creative decision-making -- which are all a big part of the mental challenge I find in playing my strategy war games.

How many fighter planes do I send out with my U.S. Enterprise dive bombers and how many do I hold back to fly combat air patrol over the taskforce? Do I dig in my troops at Little Round Top or are they now too tired and demoralized to withstand another Confederate attack? Have I loaded enough food on my longships to feed my Viking warriors until we reach England? Loads of questions. Lots of decisions. And then comes the suspense and the excitement of seeing the game turn play itself out and learning whether those decisions worked or not.

Like you said, I can lose myself in that.

Alex in Virginia

 

[NW-Bound]

It rained so infrequently here, so if I have a rain passion it would wither and die in between rainy days.

So, all my passions, if any, are of all-weather types.

 

[seraphim]

Reading, guitar playing, studying on the internet. If the rains not too bad can still go out for walks. If all else fails, jump in the truck camper and go somewhere it's not raing.

 

[Alex in Virginia]

It rained so infrequently here, so if I have a rain passion it would wither and die in between rainy days.

So, all my passions, if any, are of all-weather types.

Okay... and what are those passions?

So far, we've got reading, movie watching, beading, playing card games, cooking good-smelling stuff that takes long to cook, guitar-playing, internet surfing, and catching up on chores (which I for one cannot believe). And, of course, my beloved strategy war gaming (that no one seems too curious about).

Can you add a rainy day (or not) passion of your own?

Alex in Virginia

 

[Snow White]

Reading
Beading
British detective shows on Netflix.

I can lose myself in any of the above on a rainy day.

Calico...what do you do with the jewelry items that you make? I too "bead" but am struggling to justify it as I don't have an interest in selling. There is only so much jewelry that I can wear or give as gifts. Fortunately I have quite a stash of beads and supplies so I am at least not buying more stuff

 

[Birchwood]

Reading, scanning books from the library,
Going to financial websites.. reading about investments & retirement articles.
Going to the gym, and if weather is real nasty, use the basement Treadmill and Elliptical.
Finally on long winter days, I turn on the old MSFT flight simulator, I like to fly a 737 jet, from say, Boston Logan to NY La Guardia, or from Amsterdam to
London, or LA to San Diego.

 

[W2R]

1. Animal Crossing. This has got to be #1, for me! Love this game and this would be my top answer to the question. I don't like war games if they are very realistic so (while I don't mind slaying a few orcs from time to time) I haven't bought anything like Call of Duty. I prefer very low stress games.

2. Podcasts on a variety of topics, often while playing computer solitaire.
3. Reading.
4. Browsing on Amazon.
5. Playing with my Excel (financial) spreadsheet, FIRECalc, etc.
6. Exploring the world via the internet. Google streetview, for example.

 

[Sea Kayaker]

I've been working outside my entire career, in all sorts of miserable weather, so poor weather really doesn't deter me much.

I will put on a wetsuit top and jump in my kayak and frolic in 3' waves during a northwest winter storm. This is fun for me - especially when I know there is a roaring fire going back in the cabin and perhaps some fiery adult beverages.

 

[NW-Bound]

Okay... and what are those passions?

So far, we've got reading, movie watching, beading, playing card games, cooking good-smelling stuff that takes long to cook, guitar-playing, internet surfing, and catching up on chores (which I for one cannot believe). And, of course, my beloved strategy war gaming (that no one seems too curious about).

Can you add a rainy day (or not) passion of your own?

Alex in Virginia

Mine is just the usual stuff like other people. I can also go to my electronic bench, and fire up my scopes, spectrum analyzers, signal generators and play with some circuits. I have done that less and less though.

Now, I spend more time on the Web looking for dishes that I can make and expand my culinary skills.

 

[LinCella]

Most definitely snug in bed with the dogs and a good book!

 

[FIREd]

Finally on long winter days, I turn on the old MSFT flight simulator, I like to fly a 737 jet, from say, Boston Logan to NY La Guardia, or from Amsterdam to
London, or LA to San Diego.

I do the same! I have a pretty sweet setup and my favorite jet is the A330. Last winter I did a round-the-world trip on my simulator keeping each leg under 2 hours when possible.

 

[HFWR]

Definite INTJ with ADD, so I dabble in lots of things: playing guitar/writing songs, woodworking, photography, bicycling, napping...