Too Many Irons in the Fire

colcolt · Oct 7, 2012

I have this pipe hobby. Then, I have a reloading hobby for four pistol calibers to include casting bullets for those four. Now, I've gotten interested, thanks to a thread here recently that spurred my interest, in old tube radio repair. I had that hobby some 20 years ago and now I've become interested again and now have one old 1926 Atwater Kent battery powered radio and a 1929 model with transformer coming s0on to work on. This last one is a time consuming hobby.
Sometimes I feel I'm neglecting my Corgi(dog) by spending time at the computer or at the work bench although he patiently sits or lays by me always. Not that he's needing anything but you feel guilty spending time on any of the above. It's comforting just to know he's within arms reach but still I have those guilt feelings of not spending the time with him I do on the hobbies. So, today I took him to Arbys for our Sunday roast beef sandwich-a ritual we've acquired in the past month and it felt good just being out with him.
Do you even feel like that about you dog, wife, kids, girl friend, etc?

jsiddle · Oct 7, 2012

Do you even feel like that about you dog, wife, kids, girl friend, etc?

Might sound weird, but I feel that way about my hedgehog...
Lately its been alot better, I have taken him out to cruise around and have fun, but I used to not really give him too much attention.

sinister · Oct 7, 2012

I as well am into quite a few things. Cars, surfing, standup paddleboarding (SUP), skateboarding, RC helicopters, computer graphics....
Ive gotten my kids into SUP, and now my wife, so at least we can all share that hobby. The kids do like to skate up and down the street or hitch a ride on one of my longboards...the wife actually has a board and occasionally joins in. We are cat people and have 3 of them. They are more than content with the occasional itch and scratch or hoping up and either sitting on us or next to us on the couch or bed which is usually they get the most love and attention. I like dogs too...when they are owned by other people

In fact, my cat is sitting in my lap right now typing this.

mick · Oct 7, 2012

No, not really, because I always put my family first. My "me" time is usually when my son is in bed. Hopefully when he gets older, like sinister said, we can find some shared hobbies and then do things together. One reason I have taken up pipe smoking is exactly that it requires little to no time outside of actually smoking, which I usually do when my family is pre-occupied with other things.

piperl12 · Oct 7, 2012

I can totally understand where you are coming from. I have waited fifteen years to grow my hunting buddy up to an age he can come with me. Had our first hunt this year, and we shoot trap together each Sunday. I was one of those idiots that was in the free and clear and would have been able to retire at 60 if I hadn't decided to start the kid thing over again. So now I have one 15, one 13 and one 6 and 4. My problem is less about hobbies taking up time and feeling jealous its more about spreading my time among four kids so different in age. Although my loyal Retriever might disagree and say I don't spend enough time with him. Ask my wife and kids and they say i treat him as well as I do them. Can't win! What pistol calibers are you re-loading? I purchased a 45-70 goverment Marlin lever action guide gun last fall for bear hunting and I'm thinking I might have to start re-loading myself. Hard to buy ammo for those things up here.

fshu2 · Oct 7, 2012

i have many hobbies and when i get back to an old one it feels like thats the one i should have been doing the whole time, until i pick up the next one.

photoman13 · Oct 7, 2012

I understand what you are saying. I don't have a pet but I try to balance it against spending time with my girlfriend. She knows it makes me happy and in the end we have a good relationship because we can do things on our own too. I need to take a picture of my old radio. I love that thing.

colcolt · Oct 7, 2012

I have no wife or kids to give time to so, Bubba, my dog, is my constant companion and friend and only family. I use to get chided at work for doing too much for him like fixing him a NY strip steak once or twice a month, he gets boiled or grilled chicken breast mixed with his kibble along with pieces of cooked sweet potato and/or unsalted green beans. When I cook grilled salmon, he gets part. These are typical meals. The boy eats good.
To those who say, "he's just a dog", he's much more than that to me. At any rate, I have a little saying that "Kids are for people that can't have dogs".

I have to have something more than pipes to occupy my mind.
I'd love to see some pics of that radio. Which brand is it? This is my Philco Model 20 I restored about 22 years ago.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x220/ColColt/Misc%20Stuff/_DEF4610.jpg[/IMG
piper- I once had a Remington Rolling block in 45-70...rough on the shoulder with that brass, crescent shaped butt plate!! I have the 44 Magnum, 357, 38 Special and 45 ACP. I couldn't shoot all those without reloading at the price of factory ammo today.

mick · Oct 7, 2012

Colcolt, it sounds like he already has a good life. Dogs are pack animals and very communal. You're already way ahead by giving him so much love, care and affection. I've had pets the whole time I was growing up and they are definitely less needy of the kind of attention you talked about in your opening post than kids and a wife are. I'm sure there's no place Bubba would rather be than next to you at your workbench!

photoman13 · Oct 7, 2012

I showed my girlfriend your dog when you posted birthday pics and she just melted. I will have to get back to you on the radio because it is at my parents house because I haven't found room for it yet up in knoxville. I will give her a call and see if she can't send me a picture.

msandoval858 · Oct 7, 2012

My hobbies are pretty much only something I get to enjoy when family time allows. I generally smoke 1 or 2 bowls a day when I have the chance and that's usually on the road to and from work, sometimes in the evenings. My wife and I are both pistol shooters but that's been inconsistent for both of us as well. I don't think I've fired a round in almost 3 months.
I enjoy photography as a hobby but I start doing a bit of side gig work doing product photography for extra money. Unfortunately, when a hobby becomes another job, it's not as fun anymore.
These days, my main hobby seems to be hanging out with my two year old daughter. If watching episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Dora the Explorer could be considered a hobby... I'm damn near a pro :roll:

mick · Oct 7, 2012

These days, my main hobby seems to be hanging out with my two year old daughter. If watching episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Dora the Explorer could be considered a hobby... I'm damn near a pro :roll:

Swiper no swiping! Swiper no swiping! Swiper no swiping!
Is there a club we can join? Hello, my name's Mick, and I've been forced to watch 549 hours of Dora.

colcolt · Oct 7, 2012

I showed my girlfriend your dog when you posted birthday pics and she just melted.

Bubba is a real sweetheart. He's never given me a moments problem and has never chewed up shoes, remote, curtains, don't pee on the carpet, doesn't have any aggressive issues with food, humans or other dogs. He's about as perfect as I'll ever have...and, he's good looking to boot!!

I enjoy photography as a hobby but I start doing a bit of side gig work doing product photography for extra money. Unfortunately, when a hobby becomes another job, it's not as fun anymore.

I can identify with that. Photography was a big hobby with me since 1975 when I got my first Nikon Fn. I use to do weddings, portraits and family reunions using a large Pentax 6x7 to supplement my income. If anyone thinks weddings aren't a big job, try photographing a Catholic wedding. It went on for hours and then the reception went on and on and on. Now, all I have to photograph is Bubba since I quit the wedding and portrait business in 1998...too much work.

piperl12 · Oct 7, 2012

Not to hijack the thread but do you guys ever find you start singing the theme songs at work? I get weird looks, especially the blues clues song. LOL

sinister · Oct 7, 2012

Is there a club we can join? Hello, my name's Mick, and I've been forced to watch 549 hours of Dora.

Im more of a SpongeBob, Adventure Time and Regular Show (which actually is hilarious) guy myself. Oh, and bubble guppies. I cringe when I hear that show come on....but my youngest (4) absolutely loves it.
As far as pets go, our cats are part of our family and treated as such. They all have their own personalities and show unconditional love no matter what. Pets are shown to relieve stress.

msandoval858 · Oct 7, 2012

Not to hijack the thread but do you guys ever find you start singing the theme songs at work? I get weird looks, especially the blues clues song. LOL

My coworker and I have sons that are the same age and were in the same class for awhile. We exchange many a kids show reference or quote from time to time. A few years back when my son was in the Wonder Pets phase, that provided plenty of influence around the office :lol:

ghost · Oct 7, 2012

I often stay up late at night playing music, and the wife doesn't seem to mind too much. I think after all the years together she knows there are times, like now, where I hit a dry spell and can't write squat so I hang around a lot. We both work a lot, and have different schedules, so I'm used to fitting in shop time or music time when she's out. I had a temp job last year that had me travelling for almost two months straight, that was tough but we made it through.
A big issue however, is that I have several hobbies and she has none. Nothing she tries seems to click whereas when I get into something I go all out.

colcolt · Oct 7, 2012

Most women I've known didn't have any hobbies. I don't claim to understand that. Maybe I was all they needed. :twisted:

ghost · Oct 7, 2012

I also learned to stop making suggestions for hobbies too. She hates that.

photoman13 · Oct 7, 2012

My girlfriend said she is going to have to stake out all the Arby's in the Knoxville area.

Here is my radio. It is a motorola. Sorry the picture is terrible but my mom's phone camera is terrible.

Too Many Irons in the Fire

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