The Case for Having a Hobby Invalid Link Removed
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Having a Hobby
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
On a podcast I was listening to they were talking about how people appreciate complemets more for their skill at their hobbies than for what they do for a living. Like tell a dentist he's amazing at dentistry and he won't care much but tell him the cabinet he built is beautiful and he'll be so flattered.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
I think that is because people take up hobbies based upon the things for which they have a genuine interest. I would bet if we asked the TB membership whether they were more passionate about bass playing or their job/profession, and which they would prefer to do everyday, the vast majority of us would rather be a full time musician.
But then being a musician becomes the job/profession...so we'd need a new hobby...and it'd all become a vicious unhappy circle!
Not me. My full time job is an Auto Mechanic and my hobbies revolve around that.... if it's mechanical and full of grease, I'm in.
If I never played another gig, that's fine...... you'll have an easier time getting a Bass out of my hands than you will a wrench.
My day job and my hobbies are related too. In fact, I've used hobbies to develop skills that I've applied to advancing my career. I know it sounds kinda geeky, but right now I'm studying Machine Learning at home for fun, even though I have no present use for it at my day job.
I am incapable of having a hobby for long. Once i get any competence at it, I start trying to make it earn. Never full time and never push it, just make it pay for itself. I'm retired from any regular job but I've got a pile of hobbies I work at pretty steady. There are always a few projects in rotation.
I used to go backpacking a lot in Junior High & Sr High school--so when we did aptitude tests to see what courses we should take or what we should consider for a career/job/etc so we can work towards that in terms of what we take now & where we go for post secondary I kept getting responses like Forest/Park Ranger and conservationist, etc.
I never got a high score for music--but that was nearer & dearer to me than backpacking
Backpacking was a hobby--something I did to get away from i all and for fun--hat kind of thing--I had no intention of it being a job--but music was a goal I had.
Why did I get a low score for music stuff?
Because they grouped it together with dance, choreography, singing, instruments I had no interest in, etc.
in fact little of the choices related to bass or guitar playing.
So I just ignored the tests.
then when I was 17 my Dad gave me a choice so I could focus more on school--give up backpacking (Via scouting) or guitar/bass lessons.
In one way I was tempted to keep up with the scouting & still go backpacking & just learn guitar & bass on my own--but I had unfinished business & things to learn & opportunities to play in bands--so I chose that option
I went backpacking once more--for a class in high school, had fun, but never really had much chance to do it after that--and now it hold little interest for me.
So I made the right choice at that time--and yes it would be nice if I made my living playing music--so I could spend more time doing it--but then I'd probably take up backpacking again.
I never got a high score for music--but that was nearer & dearer to me than backpacking
Backpacking was a hobby--something I did to get away from i all and for fun--hat kind of thing--I had no intention of it being a job--but music was a goal I had.
Why did I get a low score for music stuff?
Because they grouped it together with dance, choreography, singing, instruments I had no interest in, etc.
in fact little of the choices related to bass or guitar playing.
So I just ignored the tests.
then when I was 17 my Dad gave me a choice so I could focus more on school--give up backpacking (Via scouting) or guitar/bass lessons.
In one way I was tempted to keep up with the scouting & still go backpacking & just learn guitar & bass on my own--but I had unfinished business & things to learn & opportunities to play in bands--so I chose that option
I went backpacking once more--for a class in high school, had fun, but never really had much chance to do it after that--and now it hold little interest for me.
So I made the right choice at that time--and yes it would be nice if I made my living playing music--so I could spend more time doing it--but then I'd probably take up backpacking again.
Interesting point. My doctor is also a guitar player and a master luthier. He once mentioned that he built acoustic guitars as a hobby and I asked him if he had any pictures. He showed me some of his guitars and they are truly beautiful works of art.
On my next annual checkup, he remembered that I was appreciative and he actually brought a couple of his guitars to his clinic to show them off to me. We started talking about music and even jammed together for about 30 minutes.
He retired from practice last year. My new doctor is a lot less fun.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Coming soon from Mike N enterprises - the Grease-o-Caster - 4 strings, 12 zerks, plugs into an amp that runs on nitromethane and shoots flames 12 feet in the air when you hit an open E.
I'd be happy to have those zerk fitting in my knees..... 35 years of concrete shop floors and I'm pretty much bone on bone.
I used to have a hobby. It cost me thousands, ended up not working and causing me hate/grief/hostility/weakness/ and I can't stop.
Hobbies are healthy.
Any pastime, interest or method of improving oneself that doesn't involve a glowing screen is a good thing. And yes, I know TalkBass is an exception.
We need more people with real hobbies. The younger generation doesn't exactly wow me these days.
Any pastime, interest or method of improving oneself that doesn't involve a glowing screen is a good thing. And yes, I know TalkBass is an exception.
We need more people with real hobbies. The younger generation doesn't exactly wow me these days.
- Mar 13, 2008
- 18,908
- 142,347
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist Mike Lull T Bass pickups, The Bass Shop, Seattle WA.
Ho scale model trains, I really enjoy building accurate models of equipment used in the mid '70s, it involves some research as well as model work. Of course there's building a layout too, it's all a very rewarding way to spend some time.
I.E. this boxcar was built to haul 100 tons of tires, assigned to Firestone's Lake Charles plant in 1967.
I.E. this boxcar was built to haul 100 tons of tires, assigned to Firestone's Lake Charles plant in 1967.
Cool. How much of your own painting and relic-ing goes into something like that?
I had uncles that had elaborate model train setups in their basements, I was never allowed anywhere near them, but as I aged I realized how cool it was for them to have this very cool little world all to themselves.
