Does your job interfere

[Davey-T]

Making me feel guilty now 

I've been "retired" for a few years, though I still pitch in with a day here and there when they're desperate.

Soon as I've got some spare cash I spend it on astro' gear, always got a long wish list.

I managed for years with just an alt / az 90mm refactor, not that it got much use as I had to get up before I went to bed and work 8 days a week to keep my family in the manner they were accustomed to and if they think I'm taking out one of Michael Parkinsons insurance policys to pay for my funereal they'll be dissapointed  

Dave

[SilverAstro]

On 09/04/2016 at 11:28, SilverAstro said:

Even the armchair by the fireside becomes more difficult to get out of !

Excuse me quoting myself   What makes it difficult getting out of the comfortable chair is when the 'object' has been there for a few million years and will be some more, and you've already seen it, and it'll still be there "tomorrow" - when it might be warmer/clearer/etc

However what makes it much easier is something happening, a nova / comet / favorable Variable Star or Asteroid or somfink OR a new bigger better telescope with which to see an old favourite better ! Now let me see what I can do about that > > >

PS.  For all youse that have to get up early, why not get up (say)3hours early to do some astro with bright fresh rested eyes ,, having gone to bed 3hr earlier than usual ie. a phase shift in time  ( strict instructions to the family to keep the TV vol. down )

 

[Beulah]

27 minutes ago, SilverAstro said:

PS.  For all youse that have to get up early, why not get up (say)3hours early to do some astro with bright fresh rested eyes ,, having gone to bed 3hr earlier than usual ie. a phase shift in time  ( strict instructions to the family to keep the TV vol. down )

 

I've done some fabulous comet hunting at 5am before the long commute to work - gives me a bit of a buzz during the hard day's slog... 

[Lorne]

I work a 3 shift cycle which has its pros and cons.... my nightshift week is inevitably clear, backshift week I can go straight out to our groups dark site at 10.30pm - OK as the nights get lighter but not so in the dark of winter, and on earlyshift I can make the most of the early winter darkness but have to pack up and head home by 10pm, I missed a Northern Lights show doing this,  I was home and tucked up in bed whilst the rest of the group was OOHing, AAHing and WOWing at the Aurora!! 

[Linda]

I have had some sessions from 4 or 5 o'clock to see a planet or a comet. Can't say I am refreshed then, but a comets is a good argument for getting up early. Sometimes I go back to bed after an hour.

[baggywrinkle]

My job takes me overseas a lot and usually when I am away there is some astronomical event and the skies are clear!

[Alkaid]

Yes, I'm an 8.30 - 5.00 guy, living in a city. Lunar and planetary is ok. I used to do a long drive to darker skies, even on a weekday, but now being totally honest I haven't done this for about a year. Only DSO time I get is when I am on holiday (and then its overload if clear, every night a late one and I get told off for being tired next day).

 

[Jim78154]

On 8 April 2016 at 20:15, Peco4321 said:

Hi all

Apart from all the lucky so and so's who are retired, does anyone's job ruin this hobby?  I'm a 5 day a week office type in the logistics industry starting either 07:00 or 08:30 depending on shift and need to be wrapped up observing by midnight to 01:00 really or I'm a zombie. 

Hiw do you all fit this weird hobby around your working life?  

Peter

Lucky? LUCKY?! I'm not retired because I'm "lucky". I'm retired because I worked for it for 45 years. I EARNED IT! Now when I was working the only time that my job didn't interfere with my astronomy was payday.

[Grotemobile]

5 minutes ago, Jim78154 said:

Lucky? LUCKY?! I'm not retired because I'm "lucky". I'm retired because I worked for it for 45 *&%$ing years. I EARNED IT! Now when I was working the only time that my job didn't interfere with my astronomy was payday.

I am the same as U . I was a bus driver in Brighton. Done 47 years with the company. Decided it time for me. I live on my own. Brilliant life now.

Taken a bit of getting used to . It always used to be work, & time off. Now it is just time off.  Yes..

[ollypenrice]

Work, I'm happy to say, IS  astronomy for me so there is no conflict. However, being up all night on a regular basis has knocked seven bells out of some other aspects of my life. I used to be a half decent cyclist, for instance, so if this were a cycling forum I'd be saying 'work has wrecked my cycling...'

We love to complain - but, no, I have no grounds whatever for real complaining. Quite the opposite, I'm very happy as things stand. (Sometimes the full moon does come as a slght relief though...)

Olly

[jam1e1]

before had a little one used to be up later and do sessions when I could....now not knowing if going to be woken up early / during the night, also balancing job where at times have to work late too, try to manage one good night every fortnight where weather allows.

Ideally would like to more, but need sleep too!

[Uranium235]

Im  a 9-5 worker, but im kinda hardcore when it comes to imaging

Its its clear and the sky is good, im out there! Summer is a little more difficult since it doesnt get dark until quite late, and I do have a cutoff time of about 1am if I need to take my little one to the childminder the next day. But I just suck it up and drink loads of coffee its the price you pay for the hobby/obsession.

[saac]

Does it ever, no astronomising (that's not a real word) on a school night, and only at the weekend if the weather is good - ok I'm a woose of an astronomer

 

Jim

[JamesF]

I'm effectively self-employed.  In theory that gives me a fair bit of flexibility, but like many other self-employed people my boss is an absolute slave-driver   Work comes and goes and when the money's there you feel pretty much compelled to take it to squirrel away against a rainy day so I don't get out as much as I'd like.  On the other hand I can get away with late starts as long as it doesn't get too silly.

Nor does it help that both my children are into competitive swimming.  Not only is the training massively time-consuming, but competitions often start at stupid o'clock in the morning and when I've spent all day since 8am or earlier sitting on a bench in a sauna of a swimming arena, observing is one of the last things I feel like doing.  I really don't have a problem with that though.  They swim to a high standard and when they're willing to put in the work I feel they deserve the opportunity to achieve what they can.

Actually there's another swimming-related reason too.  My children swimming has got me back into it, though as a child I was never coached nor swam in competitions.  I just enjoyed swimming.  I'm currently doing about 10km a week (about 400 lengths of a "standard" pool, if you like), which certainly leaves you feeling tired at the end of the day

James

[scarp15]

Similar set of circumstances James with self-employed lifestyle and in my case a daughter who has recently started the D of E and as part of this, is required to do a 10K run each week. That involves myself, so we have joined the Sat morning park run, which is 5K, however we get to jog the other 2.5K to the meeting point and then 2.5K back home. The recent spell of good sunny weather and nice night time conditions has struck a good balance, a great incentive and motivator to get outside with the refractor for a couple of hours a time in-between work and family.

 

[Starlord19]

I try not to let work interfere with my outside interests as much as possible. We are only here once and I don't want to miss any opportunity to indulge my passions just because of work. For instance, last night i was out till 1am looking at the moon and Jupiter then got up again at 4am to look at mars and saturn and was still at work for 8! I was flippin tired dont get me wrong but it was worth it. I know that wouldn't be possible if I were self employed or a doctor but  my office job is not exactly stressful. 

[JamesF]

38 minutes ago, Starlord19 said:

I try not to let work interfere with my outside interests as much as possible. We are only here once and I don't want to miss any opportunity to indulge my passions just because of work. For instance, last night i was out till 1am looking at the moon and Jupiter then got up again at 4am to look at mars and saturn and was still at work for 8! I was flippin tired dont get me wrong but it was worth it. I know that wouldn't be possible if I were self employed or a doctor but  my office job is not exactly stressful. 

Once upon a time I could have done that.  For years I have been looking forward to a time when (as people kept telling me) I didn't need so much sleep as I got older.  Now I've got older I've discovered they were completely wrong.  I needed far less sleep in my mid-twenties than I do now I'm twice that age

James

[Dazzyt66]

I am lucky enough to be able to only work 3 days ('semi retired' at 49), but I work away from home for those 3 days so that is a limiting factor. Over the winter my Thu-Sun nights gave me more chances to get out but since Jan there seems to be a cosmic plot that clear nights occur Mon-Wed ?

[parallaxerr]

Yup, work sure gets in the way for me! I work 8am-4.30pm Mon-Fri and struggle like the proverbial if I don't get 8hrs sleep. I miss the shift pattern I used to work when serving Her Majesty, 2days, 2nights, 4off, that was cushty. I'm a development engineer now and am on my feet all day or in meetings discussing deeply technical issues so I find I need to be well rested to keep up (at 37 years of age)...

It wasn't too bad up until last year when I could leave my gear setup but have moved house and don't have the same luxury anymore. Setup takes longer and involves lugging the gear up two tiers of the garden plus it's not dark until bed time now anyway...

Throw in an 11 month old that needs carting around, to and from childcare, before and after work and I find my time is very limited. When I eventually get down time I just want to sit down in a quiet, dark room!!!

Still, I have my gear and I enjoy tinkering with it when I can. Fortunately, due to it being relatively portable it's coming with us on holidays to West Wales and France this year where I hope to put it to good use

[JamesF]

11 minutes ago, parallaxerr said:

Throw in an 11 month old that needs carting around, to and from childcare, before and after work and I find my time is very limited. When I eventually get down time I just want to sit down in a quiet, dark room!!!

Just wait until they get old enough to get into activities outside school.  Then they *really* start to eat your time

James

[parallaxerr]

1 hour ago, JamesF said:

Just wait until they get old enough to get into activities outside school.  Then they *really* start to eat your time

James

Where's the dislike button!?!?!?

[Stub Mandrel]

6 hours ago, JamesF said:

Just wait until they get old enough to get into activities outside school.  Then they *really* start to eat your time

James

Self employed, and have all the same problems as you James. Plus my wife says I spend too much time 'playing astronomy' instead of looking for contracts

[Moonshane]

Since getting into solar i can get a fix for an hour each day when sunny. Even if I get just an hour or so planetary observing that helps.

Don't pressurise yourself. Space will always be there to enjoy.

[gtis]

Retirement 2 .5 years and counting I work from7.15am to 4.00pm

monday to Thursday Friday 7.45to 2.00 pm and Saturday 6.00am to 12.00 pm

on my feet all day as a player welder and I really have to push myself to get 

the scope out last night I saw the moon Saturn Mars and Jupiter 

all before 1.00am and up for work 

[baldeliftman]

Retirement is way off I looked at the sky last night it was clear as a bell but had to be up at 5.00 for work, three hours driving, days work ,three hours back,so I left going out instead went to bed early ,when I got home today the sky was clear again so got all the stuff out ready for a nights viewing because no work tomorrow ,and the sky clouded and its snowing now .