My hobby dilemma (aka The Hobby Doktor: Help! My life is broken!)

[scott]

I haven't been around the forum much in a long time, which a couple of people have been kind enough to notice and/or ask about.

 

FWIW, I think the reason I haven't been around (not that I think it's any tragedy to the forum in general, but maybe of interest), besides the usual problems of limited time and other demands, is that I feel like a poser talking about this stuff when I've done so little with our layout, especially after making such a big deal on her about starting it. But I do miss "hanging out" with people on here, and I'm still interested in train travel, Japan, etc.

 

A year or so ago, though, I realized that I was trying to keep up with too many hobbies and activities (photography, modelling, fiddling with guitars, doing stuff outdoors, etc., etc.) than I could fit in while be employed full time and being a parent. So I had lots of unfinished projects of various types that could have been moved along in a few  hours' time, but that had sat unattended for months. Very frustrating.

 

Eventually I decided that I had to pick what was most important and stick with it. And, for me, that has to be photography. It's the one thing I've done under my own power, without anybody else pushing me, for most of my life, and the one thing I feel reasonably competent at (which helps avoid that frustration factor). And so I've focused (sorry) on that, but haven't entirely dropped the other activities.

 

The other thing that makes it hard for me to get modelling work done, besides the time it takes (which competes with other family activities, basic domestic chores and maintenance, etc.), is that when I have time, usually on weekends, I can't stand to stay indoors, especially in the basement, if the weather is good. I'm stuck indoors all day during the week, which is bad enough.

 

All this wouldn't be such a big deal if I was just interested and didn't have a layout, or even if we had a completed layout. Either way it could be a casual interest to be indulged in when time permitted. But it's aggravating to have spent hundreds of dollars on materials and models and to have an unfinished, little-used layout in the basement. (OTOH, it's fairly easy to ignore it when it's in the back of the basement...)

 

So I'm stuck wondering what to do about it. Do I:

 

• Just leave the layout where it is and hope I/we get to it eventually? (And will that happen before Anders, who's 10 now, gets to be a teenager and loses interest?)
• Try to find time to just bang through "finishing" it? (This seems unlikely to work, especially given the backlog of work to be done on our house)
• Tear it down and give up? (Unpleasant to contemplate, probably upsetting to all of us, including my wife Robyn, who has put the least time into it)
• Pull it apart and make a smaller, "finishable" layout? (Even this takes time, and I don't really care for roundy-rounds--I like to have some distance for the trains to run through, which is why the layout is the size it is.)

I dunno what to do, and so far it's been hard to make a good decision.

 

For those of you who don't know who the heck I am and/or have come along while I've been away, here's a photoset about our layout:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/certhia/sets/72157615571704207/

[scott]

Weird--I didn't realize that link would become a slideshow.

[cteno4]

Scott,

 

no worries being a poster child, someone has to do it! Good of you to bring this up as its a common thing in life for many of us im sure. 

 

Unless you need the space i think tearing out what is there may be a bit of a waste. you never know in the next year or two you may have a swing of interests and be a shame to have to start all over. perhaps just do what is necessary to keep things protected, maybe some plastic film covers? 

 

sounds like making a little roundy roundy is not your style and time is at a premium right now, so not much out of that. i would say if you were to skip to a v2.0 maybe thing about a modular system thats longer and thinner modules, maybe like 3' x 1' so you could do long runs of them, but have a more reasonable area to scenic and easy to put away if you need the room. also you could work on a lot of the stuff for the layout up in the house or even outside in nice weather with modules. basement would just be storage and good space to set up for long run. you could do an interesting point to point that would be fun switching perhaps.

 

any hope of a few days work to just get things running mostly and cleaned up so you could just run trains now and then, maybe as a family thing? maybe that will get everyone in synch with time/interest, etc to get back to doing some more work on things. I think a lot of the time with more than one person involved like this its some of everyone getting into synch even if you are all interested. 

 

might weigh in the value to your son at doing projects like this with him and him learning a lot from working on it with you. it can be hard to do that with other projects around the house.

 

In any case i would never look at this as a failure. you had a great time getting what you had on the layout there. thats a big process that many never get as far as you did. im sure it was great time with your son and he learned a lot in the process.

 

I wouldn't give up, just take a little longer view. also when your son hits teen age years there may be less to do with him at that point (hey boring adults competing with girls?!) and you may want something to go tinker on.

 

your other hobby interests may change over the years. i was big big into photography for years, but now ive fallen way way back on it, that will probably cycle in the future at some point along with trains and other hobbies.

 

so dont angst over this, let it chill, dont think its something you need force right now.

 

best wishes

 

jeff

[ianlaw]

Scott,

 

Don't worry about joining in here. Read the posts carefully. I think most people here spend more time thinking and talking about models than actually building. Just check out the personal project forum and look at the time frame of posts.

You have come a long way with the layout (further than most people with such a large project), so I second Jeff's thoughts. Clean it up so you can run trains and protect it. And play with it each Christmas and start building again in 5-10 years time. No problem.

 

Your "problems" are the reason I went for a small z-gauge layout in the living room. It's hard to find time to change into your dirty clothes and go down into the (cold) basement. Now if it's sitting next to your desk you can look at it and play when you want and do just the smallest thing when you feel like it and have a few spare minutes.

Last evening I made one 8cm long crash barrier with a snippet of paper and glued it in place (I spent 5 minutes).

 

As you've invested into N-gauge this is not a real option for you, but you could (again like Jeff said) make a small shelf layout in the living room, maybe just to show off  or run a small EMU. Keeps you interested and any buildings you make for this could later always find a place on your real layout.

[CaptOblivious]

Scott, I can totally relate, as I am in a similar situation. But don't worry about feeling like a poser! Were I you, I would go for the more easily finished project, as that can give you the same sense of satisfaction without demanding so much of your limited time.

[scott]

I wouldn't give up, just take a little longer view. also when your son hits teen age years there may be less to do with him at that point (hey boring adults competing with girls?!) and you may want something to go tinker on.

 

That's a good point. I'd probably regret having dumped all the stuff at that point.

 

your other hobby interests may change over the years. i was big big into photography for years, but now ive fallen way way back on it, that will probably cycle in the future at some point along with trains and other hobbies.

 

I go through cycles, too, and Robyn says she can always spot which "big thing" I'm on at any given time. But photography is different--I don't even really think of it as a "hobby" anymore--more like "unpaid self-employment." :-)  I've always done it, and I intend to stick with it long-term. Lately I've been working on finding some volunteer "jobs" to do with conservation organizations--I enjoy having an assignment, but I can't afford to "go pro." Besides, it's really hard to get paid for what you actually want to do.

 

so dont angst over this, let it chill, dont think its something you need force right now.

 

Good thoughts; thanks.

 

 I second Jeff's thoughts. Clean it up so you can run trains and protect it. And play with it each Christmas and start building again in 5-10 years time. No problem.

 

Again, that sounds like wise long-term thinking.

 

Your "problems" are the reason I went for a small z-gauge layout in the living room. It's hard to find time to change into your dirty clothes and go down into the (cold) basement

 

Or, in our case, the stiflingly hot and humid basement, at least for half the year. :-P

 

As you've invested into N-gauge this is not a real option for you, but you could (again like Jeff said) make a small shelf layout in the living room, maybe just to show off  or run a small EMU. Keeps you interested and any buildings you make for this could later always find a place on your real layout.

 

That's a tempting idea--we certainly have enough spare Unitrack sitting around to make that work. And that's a good point about being to re-use buildings, etc.

 

Scott, I can totally relate, as I am in a similar situation. But don't worry about feeling like a poser! Were I you, I would go for the more easily finished project, as that can give you the same sense of satisfaction without demanding so much of your limited time.

 

It's worth considering, despite my need for spee, er, distance. :-)  Maybe a station scene, a loop of track, and some lichen. Hmm.

[cteno4]

modules, module, modules! 

 

sharing of buildings is a good point. ive been working more lately on making little scenes and stuff right around a building as i still dont have a permanent layout myself and all my stuff shuffles between the club layout and ttrak. sort of the idea of what barry did with his movable feast http://www.japanrailmodelers.org/pages/modelingjapan/tempoary.html mixed with ulrich's modules http://www.japanrailmodelers.org/pages/modelingjapan/minimodules.html

 

im starting to thing of going to a medium sized modular, maybe single track system so i have something a bit more permanent to play with before going to the full layout which i think will be a couple of years off for me.

 

modules will let you tinker upstairs easily when you have a little bit of time and may be something easy to turn into a regular short time period activity for you and the family.

 

make some long thin ones with only a thin bit of scenery to get you more run space!

 

display them on a set of wall shelves when not in use.

 

cheers,

 

jeff

 

ps good on you to approach some non profits about doing photography. im always asking some of the nps i work with for more photos for website stuff. i keep asking that if they have anyone that wants to volunteer that has any ability with a camera to get them to go out and shoot projects, issues, etc that we are putting content on up on the websites. nice to have an assignment like you say and apply your special skills to make a difference with an org.

[Krackel Hopper]

I agree with most everyone else, don't trash it..

 

Just curious - Is the track on your layout functional?  I know it was at one point, and then you changed some stuff (moved/removed a tunnel if I remember?) and I do not recall if you got the track back down to run trains again?

 

Sometimes we get so worked up about the "need" for a layout, we forget the importance of the trains.  I don't have a layout (yet) and it's frustrating, but occasionally getting a few hours to setup and run a couple trains on my Kato V11 on the floor helps remind me why I have the trains in the first place.

[JR 500系]

Hi Scott!

 

Thanks for sharing your dilema with us. I do think many of us feel this way, esp when a little one comes along. Having siad that, i do second most of what the other members say. Dont trash it! Your layout is great! And it would be a TOTAL shame to give it up entirely, and worse still, come back to it again only to start from scratch again. That happened to me and Lego once. I gave away, and i do mean, GIVE away, ALL my Lego amounting to ALMOST 10kg worth (about 95% given by my cousins who were filthy rich) when i was a child during the 'Toys-must-go' stage. When i cycled back to Lego, i banged my head so hard knowing so much of the Lego i had given away were so vintage, not to forget, bearing VERY high re-sale value. It's something i totally regret, but back then i didnt consider much, or rather wasn't given much time nor option to consider as it was a Mum's command...

 

Thing is, now that i have again cycled out of Lego (again), i learnt that trains were my ultimate interest, together with anything Japan. This hobby combines both! I do believe your photography hobby bears the same feeling to my N scale hobby, like almost finding the answer after years of searching for what we really want. This time, i kept ALL my Lego trains as i do know for now certain i LOVE trains...

 

I do hope sharing what i have been through can help you the least bit about not giving up your layout totally. It would be a great waste, unless of course, you really really needed the space. At least you guys have a BASEMENT to hold them, i live in a shoe-box apartment and my layout took almost half of my limited living room space. I dont regret though, as the amount of interest and topics that generated when visitors come is priceless...

 

Hobby train is indeed a time-consuming hobby, and esp bad when you have so much more commitments to attend to. However, i realise after taking up this hobby, i was self-taught alot about patience and the sweetness that comes when you spent so much time and effort and seeing the fruits of your hard work. This could be a very good lesson for your son, to learn in life perservence pays off.

 

Hoped my thoughts helped you Scott and do take care! Cheers! 

[Vato]

I haven't been around the forum much in a long time, which a couple of people have been kind enough to notice and/or ask about.

 

FWIW, I think the reason I haven't been around (not that I think it's any tragedy to the forum in general, but maybe of interest), besides the usual problems of limited time and other demands, is that I feel like a poser talking about this stuff when I've done so little with our layout, especially after making such a big deal on her about starting it. But I do miss "hanging out" with people on here, and I'm still interested in train travel, Japan, etc.

 

A year or so ago, though, I realized that I was trying to keep up with too many hobbies and activities (photography, modelling, fiddling with guitars, doing stuff outdoors, etc., etc.) than I could fit in while be employed full time and being a parent. So I had lots of unfinished projects of various types that could have been moved along in a few  hours' time, but that had sat unattended for months. Very frustrating.

 

Eventually I decided that I had to pick what was most important and stick with it. And, for me, that has to be photography. It's the one thing I've done under my own power, without anybody else pushing me, for most of my life, and the one thing I feel reasonably competent at (which helps avoid that frustration factor). And so I've focused (sorry) on that, but haven't entirely dropped the other activities.

 

The other thing that makes it hard for me to get modelling work done, besides the time it takes (which competes with other family activities, basic domestic chores and maintenance, etc.), is that when I have time, usually on weekends, I can't stand to stay indoors, especially in the basement, if the weather is good. I'm stuck indoors all day during the week, which is bad enough.

 

All this wouldn't be such a big deal if I was just interested and didn't have a layout, or even if we had a completed layout. Either way it could be a casual interest to be indulged in when time permitted. But it's aggravating to have spent hundreds of dollars on materials and models and to have an unfinished, little-used layout in the basement. (OTOH, it's fairly easy to ignore it when it's in the back of the basement...)

 

So I'm stuck wondering what to do about it. Do I:

 

• Just leave the layout where it is and hope I/we get to it eventually? (And will that happen before Anders, who's 10 now, gets to be a teenager and loses interest?)
• Try to find time to just bang through "finishing" it? (This seems unlikely to work, especially given the backlog of work to be done on our house)
• Tear it down and give up? (Unpleasant to contemplate, probably upsetting to all of us, including my wife Robyn, who has put the least time into it)
• Pull it apart and make a smaller, "finishable" layout? (Even this takes time, and I don't really care for roundy-rounds--I like to have some distance for the trains to run through, which is why the layout is the size it is.)

I dunno what to do, and so far it's been hard to make a good decision.

 

For those of you who don't know who the heck I am and/or have come along while I've been away, here's a photoset about our layout:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/certhia/sets/72157615571704207/

Hi Scott

 

Try to find time and finish it

[Densha]

I think everyone can relate to "too much things to do and too less time for it". I see you're already pretty far with the layout, it would be a waste to tear it down at this stage. If you can't find time to build at the moment, maybe you can just click the Unitrack together and run some trains once in a while. Maybe you will find time to continue working on it someday, and you don't have start all over again. If you don't need the space for other things in the basement I'd say do that. And perhaps Anders is one of those that will continue to like trains even later, I did so too.

[scott]

Just curious - Is the track on your layout functional?  I know it was at one point, and then you changed some stuff (moved/removed a tunnel if I remember?) and I do not recall if you got the track back down to run trains again?

 

Sometimes we get so worked up about the "need" for a layout, we forget the importance of the trains.  I don't have a layout (yet) and it's frustrating, but occasionally getting a few hours to setup and run a couple trains on my Kato V11 on the floor helps remind me why I have the trains in the first place.

 

The two outer loops are functional--I need to move one power lead, but either way they work. The ptp line is still under construction, but I've re-designed it so many times that it may never be finished. :)

 

Hi Scott!

 

Thanks for sharing your dilema with us. I do think many of us feel this way, esp when a little one comes along. Having siad that, i do second most of what the other members say. Dont trash it! Your layout is great! And it would be a TOTAL shame to give it up entirely, and worse still, come back to it again only to start from scratch again. That happened to me and Lego once. I gave away, and i do mean, GIVE away, ALL my Lego amounting to ALMOST 10kg worth

 

Ouch! Yeah, that hurts--good reminder for us never to do that with Anders's supply of Legos.

 

Hoped my thoughts helped you Scott and do take care! Cheers! 

 

Definitely -- thank you!

 

I think everyone can relate to "too much things to do and too less time for it". I see you're already pretty far with the layout, it would be a waste to tear it down at this stage. If you can't find time to build at the moment, maybe you can just click the Unitrack together and run some trains once in a while. Maybe you will find time to continue working on it someday, and you don't have start all over again. If you don't need the space for other things in the basement I'd say do that. And perhaps Anders is one of those that will continue to like trains even later, I did so too.

 

Well, that would be good--I hope he continues to enjoy them.