Comments on: Finding Joy in the Work Again

By: Brian D. Buckley

Brian D. Buckley — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 10:01:15 +0000

I’m glad your writing is making you happy. Keep it up.

By: Alex Caswell

Alex Caswell — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 01:28:43 +0000

I still love the art of writing, although I do share your frustration at not knowing whether or not my novel is any good. However, I think the answer just lies in practice and work, and thinking outside the box. I do enjoy the work. As for school . . . well, I wish I only got an hour of homework a day. Instead, It’s more like 3. Guess that’s what I get for taking I.B. (Short for I be crazy for doing this), one of the most advanced programs in the country. Oh well. I do find finishing math problems oddly satisfying, and most of the other homework I can usually find some joy in. So things work out all right, I guess. Still, I am incessantly irritated by my video game habit-it seems to repeatedly irritate me.

By: Evlora/Shannon

Evlora/Shannon — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 23:59:10 +0000

Not really. Most of the outside-of-school things costed money, and music is… music. It’s my thing. But the sports season’s fairly short- and I’ll be more sensible next time sign-ups come around.

…I hope.

By: Brian D. Buckley

Brian D. Buckley — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 23:27:23 +0000

Believe me, I know the feeling. Chasing too many goals at once can make all of them more frustrating. Is there anything you can cut?

By: Brian D. Buckley

Brian D. Buckley — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 23:26:24 +0000

I think so too. Looking forward to seeing the end result of your latest project!

By: Brian D. Buckley

Brian D. Buckley — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 23:25:42 +0000

60+ hour weeks would be stressful no matter what kind of work it was. The wiring project sounds cool though. Hope you have more time for personal projects in future, and thanks for commenting!

By: Evlora/Shannon

Evlora/Shannon — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 15:12:54 +0000

It’s awesome that you’re enjoying that- how many people enjoy their hobbies that much? Not many, I’d think. Certainly not me, as much as I’m pouring all my energy into what I’m doing.

I’m at school (yay) and I’m doing a ton of fun extracurriculars, but it’s getting to be a bit much. Getting up early to be at band, and having 1-2 hours of field hockey, cross-country running, or piano lessons after school every day is tiring. Plus there’s the insane amounts of homework they’re giving us. About an hour’s worth a day. Oh, and tournaments, races, and other related stuff almost every weekend.

Normally things I enjoy… but not in these quantities. Oh well. *shoulders backpack* Off to school for me!

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 13:37:42 +0000

I totally agree with you that for me there is something intrinsically better about doing something that you can see and feel progress being made on than something that is abstract. I think that comes from having a job where much of the work done is abstract.
I am working on finding projects that I enjoy doing. This has been a long road for me but I think I am finally in a place where I have some ‘hobbies’ that I really enjoy.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 12:49:41 +0000

What a fantastic question Brian. Unfortunately for me, my answer depends on the hour… Since February, I’ve had more weeks of 60+ hours at work than not. While I enjoy what I’m doing for my employment a great deal, I have a lot of frustration with some things going on. Between the hours and stress of work, I haven’t been able to do any personal projects since last fall.

My last personal project was to rewire the lights in my Xterra since I didn’t like how they worked. The fog lights would only come on while the low beams were on. I couldn’t have them on with just the parking lights (or the high beams, but that was less important). The roof mounted off road lights would only come on with the high beams which discounted the ability to have near and far lighting at the same time for some unknown reason. It also happens that with most modern cars, things as simple as fog lights aren’t controlled by simple relays anymore so I had neat project to work on. I spent two weeks reading wiring diagrams, electronic control schematics and breadboarding various solutions. It was a hell of a lot of fun… Wish I had time for more of that right now.