Being an academic is so weird, because you're too busy 9 months out of the year to do anything but maintain basic life functions, and then, in the summer, there's plenty to do but there is time to discover an enthralling hobby (if you're not having to move to another state for the 10th time to stay employed). I can think back through my whole career and name what I got into each summer: food gardening, learning Mandarin, World Cup soccer, singing in a band, getting tattoos, making fresh pasta...