I have simply too many hobbies to perform any of them very admirably, but I'm pleased to say that that fact's never much daunted or bothered me. I principally occupy myself with music—listening, attending, and performing—and rock climbing—primarily bouldering. My other pursuits include reading, biking, and trying new restaurants.
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Music
During the day, I find myself containing my emotions under social pressures and expectations. But at the keyboard,
I can express those feelings that may otherwise be repressed: great joy, terrible sadness, immense passion. Piano
offers me an escape from the bustle of daiily life, as sports or parties may for others. And I am more grateful for
that than I can say.
- "From the Performer", 2016 Recital
I have given solo piano recitals in 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022, as well as nearly one hundred performances of solo and chamber music in joint concerts. My favorite composers to play are Bach, Beethoven, and Schubert.
My lifetime concert attendance
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Climbing
There is no hobby I've fallen for so immediately and thoroughly as climbing. As a naturally unathletic child, scraping along in high school thanks to my occasional biking, starting to climb felt for me much like the first time I ever wore glasses: a moment of realization, "So that's what the big fuss is about."
I began climbing in the spring of 2018. Within six months, I had sent V6; in just over a year, V8. The pandemic forced me outdoors, where I pushed my grade on rock from V3 to V8 in the span of a spring and summer. Today, I enthusiastically climb on rock and plastic; I am currently working on Chossuary, V9/10.
A program to tally MountainProject tick list V-pts (my total: 335)
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More
Though my reading volume has wavered, my ardor for (and my purchase of) books have not faltered since I learned to love literature in high school. I mostly read contemporary American literature, classic Western fiction, and The New Yorker, to which I've subscribed since 2015.
My previous several years of reading