Friday OT #2 - Hey, You've Got To Hide Your Love Away

[Angie]

Do you have any side/recreational activities or talents you really enjoy doing, to the point where maybe you could have made a career out of it in different circumstances?

For example, I really, really love travel planning, and do a pretty intricate job of it. I've had several friends just tell me to plan their vacation for them, and let me go. I also really enjoy interior design, but can see that it might be difficult to make really personal decisions for someone else.

What are yours?

 

[CYdTracked]

I don't know about making a career out of it because it is a time consuming occupation and would be fast paced and stressful at time but I am a pretty decent cook. Especially enjoy smoking meats when I have time and friends and family really enjoy when they can get some of my BBQ. I watch a lot of the food channel shows and am amazed how some of those chefs can make a full gourmet meal from scratch in 30 minutes when some of the more complicated things I may try to make it maybe takes me 30 minutes just to prep it before I even get it in the oven, stove top, or grill!

 

[cyclones500]

Bracketology.

 

[Gonzo]

Cooking. It's my therapy, and I'm pretty good.

 

[Angie]

I don't know about making a career out of it because it is a time consuming occupation and would be fast paced and stressful at time but I am a pretty decent cook. Especially enjoy smoking meats when I have time and friends and family really enjoy when they can get some of my BBQ. I watch a lot of the food channel shows and am amazed how some of those chefs can make a full gourmet meal from scratch in 30 minutes when some of the more complicated things I may try to make it maybe takes me 30 minutes just to prep it before I even get it in the oven, stove top, or grill!

I can't cook at all, and that isn't an embellishment, so this always amazes me. @Mr Janny is a fantastic cook - he can just eat something once or see it online, and he'll make it himself based off of some idea he has of things like "flavor profile" and such. People always ask him for recipes, but he doesn't have one because he never makes things the same way twice.

He's the reason I will never again fit in my wedding dress.

 

[SCNCY]

I don't know about making a career out of it because it is a time consuming occupation and would be fast paced and stressful at time but I am a pretty decent cook. Especially enjoy smoking meats when I have time and friends and family really enjoy when they can get some of my BBQ. I watch a lot of the food channel shows and am amazed how some of those chefs can make a full gourmet meal from scratch in 30 minutes when some of the more complicated things I may try to make it maybe takes me 30 minutes just to prep it before I even get it in the oven, stove top, or grill!

Similar to me. When I was in high school, I thought about the culinary arts. But when I thought about it, I didn't really want to work the hours (I did work in food service in high school at the former Arthur Anderson Center in St. Charles, IL), so I knew what to expect. Additionally, I wanted to work more normal hours, which doesn't happen in hospitality. So I thought to myself, get a degree in finance to make money, and enjoy cooking at home every night. And that has worked out.

But I have vaguely though about maybe moonlighting as a cook somewhere.

 

[carvers4math]

Math tutor. Parent asked me to help their kid to stay eligible for wrestling who was failing algebra. Did it for free. He had an A at the end of the year and took Geometry and Algebra II as well. Still have calls from guidance counselor to help kids. I never charge them anything. She always asked my kids to tutor others and when youngest went off to college, she started asking me to help.

 

[mj4cy]

Do you have any side/recreational activities or talents you really enjoy doing, to the point where maybe you could have made a career out of it in different circumstances?

For example, I really, really love travel planning, and do a pretty intricate job of it. I've had several friends just tell me to plan their vacation for them, and let me go. I also really enjoy interior design, but can see that it might be difficult to make really personal decisions for someone else.

What are yours?

It's useless and not really a talent, but I know the population of most major cities in the US as well as many of their skyscrapers/heights ect.

 

[Angie]

Math tutor. Parent asked me to help their kid to stay eligible for wrestling who was failing algebra. Did it for free. He had an A at the end of the year and took Geometry and Algebra II as well. Still have calls from guidance counselor to help kids. I never charge them anything. She always asked my kids to tutor others and when youngest went off to college, she started asking me to help.

I may beg you to let me hire you some day if our kids need math help! Even the stuff I DO remember (which is not much) - I don't think I'm a great teacher. My sixth grader was supposed to do a story problem last week and needed help with equations for the surface area and volume of a cube. I thought I was explaining it well by showing her how the formulas worked in a photo, and how the two were different... but she finally just said, "can we please just put the answer down and be done?" Getting kids to HEAR you is a big talent!

 

[Entropy]

Work in wilderness recreational settings for the federal gov.

I’ve spent a couple of summers doing trail work and have worked on/helped plan a couple of big projects. I really enjoy my time in the woods and find it to be a very relaxing place.

This is some of the work I did in the Quetico 8 years ago. Top left was when we started, bottom left was in progress, and right was after 1 year.

 

[Gonzo]

I don't know about making a career out of it because it is a time consuming occupation and would be fast paced and stressful at time but I am a pretty decent cook. Especially enjoy smoking meats when I have time and friends and family really enjoy when they can get some of my BBQ. I watch a lot of the food channel shows and am amazed how some of those chefs can make a full gourmet meal from scratch in 30 minutes when some of the more complicated things I may try to make it maybe takes me 30 minutes just to prep it before I even get it in the oven, stove top, or grill!

We should open a place. I love making big breakfasts for the fam and for friends when they come into town and stay with us. We could call it 'Wake and Bake' and have it be a diner style place that focuses on breakfasts that feature smoked meats... brisket omelettes, pulled pork huevos rancheros, back rib breakfast burritos. You do the smoking, I'll make the dishes.

I actually do a fair bit of smoking as well and really do like using leftover meats in breakfast dishes. Good stuff.

 

[CYCLNST8]

I think I would have been a great rock music producer. In the limited experience I have had with recording and writing songs, I love developing ideas with other musicians and could work on that stuff endlessly.

I'd be pretty useless at country and hip hop. Sorry, @Angie

 

[BuffettClone]

I may beg you to let me hire you some day if our kids need math help! Even the stuff I DO remember (which is not much) - I don't think I'm a great teacher. My sixth grader was supposed to do a story problem last week and needed help with equations for the surface area and volume of a cube. I thought I was explaining it well by showing her how the formulas worked in a photo, and how the two were different... but she finally just said, "can we please just put the answer down and be done?" Getting kids to HEAR you is a big talent!

That's how my son is when he asks for "help" on his homework. I try to teach him how to get the answer himself, but he just says, "I've already tried, can you just tell me the answer?"

 

[BuffettClone]

We should open a place. I love making big breakfasts for the fam and for friends when they come into town and stay with us. We could call it 'Wake and Bake' and have it be a diner style place that focuses on breakfasts that feature smoked meats... brisket omelettes, pulled pork huevos rancheros, back rib breakfast burritos. You do the smoking, I'll make the dishes.

I actually do a fair bit of smoking as well and really do like using leftover meats in breakfast dishes. Good stuff.

You're seriously making me hungry, and I skipped breakfast today...

 

[RLD4ISU]

I like interior design, but like you, I'm not sure how well I'd do figuring out others' styles.

But...if I could get paid to help people get their homes ready to go on the market, I'd do that in a heartbeat. I'm amazed how many people leave junk on their countertops and think decorating the house in their style will help sell it.

If I had the cash flow & a good construction team, I'd like to remodel and sell houses.

 

[ISUcyclones11]

I taught myself some basic web design when i was young, feel that i could have pretty good at it if I had stuck with it.

 

[Angie]

I think I would have been a great rock music producer. In the limited experience I have had with recording and writing songs, I love developing ideas with other musicians and could work on that stuff endlessly.

I'd be pretty useless at country and hip hop. Sorry, @Angie

I am useless with country, but I'd be willing to give opinions on any rock and hip hop!

 

[carvers4math]

I may beg you to let me hire you some day if our kids need math help! Even the stuff I DO remember (which is not much) - I don't think I'm a great teacher. My sixth grader was supposed to do a story problem last week and needed help with equations for the surface area and volume of a cube. I thought I was explaining it well by showing her how the formulas worked in a photo, and how the two were different... but she finally just said, "can we please just put the answer down and be done?" Getting kids to HEAR you is a big talent!

One thing I learned with my own kids was they all learn differently.

Was trying to help a kid actually in Calculus and I don’t remember anything past Calculus I, and not much of that. Figured if we got stuck I could consult one of my sons. This kid was struggling with rate change problems, so we pulled up some Khan Academy videos, and you could see the light bulb turn on in his head.

That site is a gold mine. So many topics explained so much more clearly than I could ever do.

 

[Angie]

That's how my son is when he asks for "help" on his homework. I try to teach him how to get the answer himself, but he just says, "I've already tried, can you just tell me the answer?"

It's infuriating! I was really, really trying to help - giving different examples that illustrated the equations, drawing several photos, etc. I think all she heard was "blah blah blah!"

I like interior design, but like you, I'm not sure how well I'd do figuring out others' styles.

But...if I could get paid to help people get their homes ready to go on the market, I'd do that in a heartbeat. I'm amazed how many people leave junk on their countertops and think decorating the house in their style will help sell it.

If I had the cash flow & a good construction team, I'd like to remodel and sell houses.

I agree - I don't think I'd be great at the farmhouse thing right now, for example. I have always loved mid-century modern, and decorated my first apt back in my early 20s with it waaaay before it became a trend again, and our new house is a mix between mid-century modern and what could perhaps be called "elegant macabre" (framed butterflies, etc.). That's not going to be a style many want.

I think it would definitely also be fun to be a realtor. I love house hunting, and have my own little weighted rubric that we used for our last two house hunts. Again, though, it's sometimes hard to put aside some of my own biases based off of experience - like, how do you not tell a young pregnant couple that they are going to desperately want the place that has a good mudroom in five years, even if it's at the expense of a tiny square of main bedroom space?

 

[Angie]

One thing I learned with my own kids was they all learn differently.

Was trying to help a kid actually in Calculus and I don’t remember anything past Calculus I, and not much of that. Figured if we got stuck I could consult one of my sons. This kid was struggling with rate change problems, so we pulled up some Khan Academy videos, and you could see the light bulb turn on in his head.

That site is a gold mine. So many topics explained so much more clearly than I could ever do.

I downloaded a couple of Khan apps for our children when the pandemic first started and school stopped! I had to work at the same time they were using it so I didn't get to see quite as much of it as I'd like, but I think they use it in school!