Games
I wish I could say I do something interesting in my spare time. But I can't. I used to play games in my spare time. But nowadays I don't really play games anymore. When I do play games, I don't play First Person Shooter (FPS) or Real Time Strategy (RTS) games. FPS games give me headaches, and most often than not, RTS games quickly descend to a contest of who-can-click-the-fastest. I rather prefer old games such as the first three of the X-COM series, Master of Orion (MOO) series, and Master of Magic (MOM).
The latest game I bought was back at the end of last year, called UFO: Aftermath. It's not a bad game. Pretty much in a similar vein as X-COM, but I haven't really played it that much. In fact, I haven't touched it since early January.
Books
I do enjoy reading books in my spare time. But, unfortunately, this means I can only read them on the train on my way to and from uni. To be honest, 40 minutes of total travel time doesn't translate to too many pages, especially when you're tired after a long day. I do have plenty of books, though. I have one bag (literally) full of books-that-I-have-to-read-but-haven't-got-the-time-to. I mainly read popular science books and sci-fi, but my collection also includes science textbooks, computer books, Far Side Galleries, and some language books.
The bulk of my books were bought from Reader's Feast and various other bookshops around Melbourne. I have to mention Angus & Robertson because a friend of mine is working there, and I'd be in trouble if I didn't mention it.
If I have to choose from my collection of books, which one I enjoy the most, I'd have to say the Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle. Actually, this was the thing that made me interested in forensic science in the first place. I now even own a forensic textbook (Charles Swanson's Criminal Investigations, 7th edition, McGraw–Hill). So, no. I didn't become interested in forensics because of CSI.
I also enjoy Douglas Adams' works: Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Dirk Gently novels, and the sadly unfinished Salmon of Doubt). However, the highlight of Salmon of Doubt is not the novel itself (it's rather all over the place, I must say), but all the little pieces of writing that Adams wrote, including his earliest published letter to a magazine! The earth-bound Adams' Hitchiker's Guide can be found on the BBC's H2G2 website.
Of course, I have to mention J.R.R. Tolkien's fantastic The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. This one is a proper trilogy, and is completely unlike the Hitchhiker's Guide, which is a trilogy of five. It took me several months to read, but it's well worth the effort.
Music
Perhaps the only thing I do regularly all the time (well, at least whenever I use the computer at home) is listening to music. The artists that I really like are The Corrs, Crowded House, and Bachelor Girl. But, I also listen to all sorts of music. I own CDs of Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, Jon Bon Jovi, Vanessa Carlton, Dido, Enya, Neil Finn (he's the former Crowded House frontman), M2M, Laura Pausini, R.E.M., Roxette, Savage Garden, The Superjesus, Taxiride, Shania Twain, and U2.
The first CD I ever bought was Bachelor Girl's Waiting For The Day, a full week before I even got my CD player. I guess you can say that I got my CD player because of the album. The reason was their song, Permission To Shine. Sure I heard of their other songs on radio/TV, but that particular song was the one that made me buy the album. I thoroughly enjoyed that album.
I think a bad habit of mine is to hear a good song (may not be universally "good", but at least, "good" for me), and then go and get the whole album without knowing what the rest of the album would be like. The two times I remember doing that were The Corrs' Breathless, resulting in me buying In Blue, and Laura Pausini's Surrender, resulting in the aquisition of From The Inside. Well, I actually got a good recommendation for the latter one. I enjoyed those two albums as well. Ironically, my favourite songs from those two albums are not the songs that I mentioned. Anyway, in the case of The Corrs, that album was the one which made me a fan. I proceeded to obtain all their studio albums, some of their singles, and some of their DVDs.
As for Crowded House, I was introduced to it by a friend. I was hooked immediately. My favourite song is Don't Dream It's Over. Well, it's probably my favourite song ever, actually.
Movies/TV Series
Another favourite pastime of mine. Going to the movies gives me the chance to relax and just forget about work. Finding someone to go with me, however, usually proved harder than to do. Anyway, my favourite actor will have to be Denzel Washington. The first movie I watch with him in it was Crimson Tide. I reckon it was great. So I began watching his other movies.
I own several movies on DVD (all region 4). They are: The Animatrix, Chicken Run, Finding Nemo, Ice Age, The Matrix, The Matrix: Reloaded, The Matrix: Revolutions, and Wallace & Gromit.
As for TV, I only follow a small number of series currently shown on the telly, namely 24, Alias, Angel, Charmed, CSI, CSI: Miami, and ER. But if I miss any of them for any reason, I wouldn't fuss about it.
The only TV series I have on DVD is Spooks. It's a British drama series about MI5. It's absolutely one of the best series I've ever watched. The ABC is going to show Series 3 later this year. Can't wait for it!
Sports
The only sport that I follow is Formula 1. I actually stopped following it around the time when Ayrton Senna died. I started following it again when I started uni in 1998. I go for the Williams team. My favourite driver is Juan Pablo Montoya. I had been following his progress in the CART series, and when he left CART, I stopped watching it.
It's now confirmed that Montoya will go to McLaren next season. I think it'll be exciting because he will partner Kimi Räikkönen, my second favourite driver.
Of course, I also follow Mark Webber. He's done very very well in both Minardi and Jaguar. I've never met him in person, but he's said to be one of the nicest guys in Formula 1. There has been talk about him moving to Williams, but I don't know if it's true or it's going to happen at all. It'd be great if it were true, though.