COLUMN
FIND A NEW HOBBY
Chris Parker, Comedian fb.com/itschrisparker | @chrisparker11
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our lives in unforeseen ways. We hear tales of ’ve always relished any opportunity to perform. My fourth birthday party, which grannies teaching us how to knit and weird uncles teaching us how to binge drink. I was obviously a dress-up, was broken never thought my new hobby would arrive up into two acts. Act One starred me as in my life during a global pandemic. Yet here Batman, then dying halfway through the we are (again). Needle felting is the tedious, party, leaving to have a costume change, useless craft of stabbing unspun wool and returning for Act Two dressed as an enough times that it begins to mat and shift angel. While my juvenile audience was more its shape. You may have seen needle felting interested in the exploded Cheerios that my creations used as Christmas ornaments, and mum was serving, that didn’t get in the way of my enjoyment of it. It was never about the well, honestly, I’ve only ever seen them used crowd; my passion for drama originated from as Christmas ornaments. It is easily the most unhelpful of all the crafts in this world. But an authentic desire to perform. To perform brought me joy, and it was my hobby. Well, a as the proverbial saying goes, “You don’t get to choose what hobby you like; the hobby very loud, in your face hobby. chooses you”. Cut to 15 years later, and I am studying Since taking up the hobby of needle at Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School, chasing felting, I’ve created a crown, which was my dream of becoming a professional actor purchased off me for the permanent and facing the bleak reality that I might collection at Te Papa, a little Dorothy from be spending the rest of my life working as The Wizard of Oz, a dinosaur for my nephew, Santa at Harvey Norman on Moorhouse Ave and thousands of little woodland animals (that’s a story for another column). While there should have been a part of me that was which I made during my live comedy felting shows. And there lies my latest overjoyed that I was getting to do the thing dilemma. Once again, I’ve found myself I loved for the rest of my life and be paid (in commodifying the only thing that brings Prezzy Cards and petrol vouchers) for that, me joy in the world and turning it into my there was a small part of me that mourned profession. For the last year, I’ve toured the the loss of my hobby. Acting became my country, performing live felting to sell-out job, the thing I complained about at the weekends to my friends. It had lost the joyful crowds. And like any job, I’ve found myself complaining about it at the weekends to my sparkle and pleasure one gets from their hobby. So, the quest for a new hobby began. friends and looking for time off from it as it’s not sparking joy. Much like a millennial joining Tiktok, So, I guess I’m saying I’m in the market for starting a new hobby in your 30s feels clumsy a new hobby. Should I try aqua jogging? and cringeworthy. Hobbies usually arrive in
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