Monday 14 February 2011

Life can really screw with your hobbies - part 3


Well I returned to work today after almost three weeks off with a back injury. First memo on my desk from senior management is regarding redundancies, apparently we need to shed 50-60 staff. No compulsory redundancies yet natural wastage and an attractive voluntary scheme are on offer first. No new staff are to be taken on the rest of us are just going to have work harder and longer to cover the shortfall (and be grateful that we still have a job too).

I have to admit I toyed with the idea of taking voluntary in my lunch break and going into the figure painting business. But even after 15 years employment the numbers don't stack up. On top of which one thing that working for Games Workshop in my mis-spent youth taught me is that the quickest way to fall out of love with your hobby is to turn it into a job. As I can't afford to leave/lose my job I can look forward to sleepless nights wondering if I'll end up on the money saving hit list Ho-hum.

Of more concern to my hobby though is an immediate ban on overtime I used to put in a few hours a month to bring in another £50-100 a month most of which goes on toys. That's gone now so the hobby budget has just taken a big hit.

Thinking about at work today though I've decided that I can turn this into a positive. Last week in a fit of boredom I decided to have a good go through the wargames room. It was rather worrying that I had a round 12 unfinished armies and projects. Some are within a whisker of being finished others have a lot to do. I've decided to try and devote one month to each army and project to get it finished. what hobby budget I do have I need to use to finish things rather than start new ones. It's a plan I don't now if it will work but it's worth a try.

First off for February is to finish of my Mantic dwarf army shouldn't be too hard as its 3/4s done anyway...........

4 comments:

  1. Woooow I cannot imagine the stress that you are under. Keep strong my friend! We in the hobby circle lend you mental might! That might not be much but it is something :D

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  2. I too am sorry to hear about what is going on at your job, especially for those who will lose their employment.
    I think keeping a budget and focusing on what you already own is a great way to keep expenses in check. I have also, in leaner years, done the "sell finished work to buy new stuff" economic model.

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  3. Sounds pretty bad at work. Sorry to hear about the cut backs, both in job terms and in gaming projects.

    Still, I think you've got a really good plan to keep up the painting and gaming.

    Let me know if there's anything I can help you with or if you need any opposition for your lost projects.

    I'm sure I can find some interesting things in the leadpile, either that would be happy to have a new home or wheeled out against some of your chaps.

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  4. Thanks for the comments guys, I musn't grumble too much I still have a job (at the moment).

    I saw a piece on the news tonight that some 30 odd British army Sargeant Majors (each with 22 years service) were fired by E-mail by the MOD now that really sucks.

    ebay will be my friend for a while I think. In fact I've made £100 today selling off all the assorted AK-47 bits that didn't fit my two main AK armies. So that will go to finishing off some other projects.

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