Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Well ain't that a kick in the...

Choose where you want to be kicked.

Well, a bit of bad news my friends. My see sawing Creatine Kinase levels have shot back up after only two days of weight lifting, so it's off to a specialist for me.

I'm trying to ignore my own mortality, as one is wont to do in this sort of situation, and focus on the hobby as best I can. I've only recently picked backup to reading the blogs, as I couldn't seem to manage it during the challenge.

I have to say that reading about Salute has been enjoyable, and I hope to be caught up with you all soon.

The big question I am asking myself today is, what exactly is the hold up for me in the hobby? Why do I find it difficult to sit down and paint, model or play games? I think part of the problem is that I have shifted back and forth about my stated aims. I'll only game with completed figures turned into gaming with paper counters, then back to fully painted figures. Then when I couldn't  manage that it was mostly painted figures. Now I am just waiting on figures I need to fight the next battle in Talomir and I'm just going to cut them off the sprue and throw them on the table.

I also think that there is a tad bit of guilt in the fact that my family, aside from my son, doesn't really share my hobby interest. So hobby time tends to be "don't bug me" time.

Well enough of the pity party, lets look at what we do have.

My son wrote down some rules for his own game using the Lord of the Rings RISK board and pieces. It doesn't totally make sense to me, but we had fun rolling the dice.

I've started reading Machinas, the wasteland racing game and I need to finish working on the Dungeon Crawl play test.

The other thing is to just sit down and paint, I haven't picked up a brush in almost a month and I need to get back to it.

I also need to get myself sorted for a giveaway. I've surpassed 100K views and 300 posts but was still tied up in the challenge so I missed doing it. I would like for it to be a tad grander than in the past but I'm not sure what I want to do. I can't decide if giving up unpainted figures or actually painting them up as part of the prize is better.


13 comments:

  1. Painting time is hard to come by for most of us! As for the giveaway painted or unpainted is good for me!

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    1. Hi Ray, thanks. I'll get it sorted after Easter.

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  2. I haven't been able to paint miniatures in nearly a year; RL tends to get in the way, especially when one's painting table has to be cleaned long before a meal is to be contemplated. On the other hand, I have gotten in a lot of gaming, in addition to writing rules for my campaign, and this week my lads and I made three game table tops. As long as you are doing SOMETHING in the hobby, you are active in it. Just because plans change and goals aren't met doesn't mean anything, those happen even for the most important parts of our lives. Just roll with it and have fun.

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    1. God to hear from you Justin. Yeah, just need to keep it in perspective. I think I tend to focus on all the things I haven't done.

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  3. Don't forget it's your hobby and and the reason you do it in the first place - escapism, to enjoy playing or painting and to have fun. If you don't fancy painting - just play. If you do feel in the mood to paint then take full advantage of it. Reading some blogs I sometimes get the impression that their own hobby has become a chore to them which seems odd. As you mention, there is enough worries in 'real life', not to enjoy your own hobby would be a great pity.

    Regards,
    Matt

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    1. Hi Matt, you're totally right. I will begin enjoying the hobby immediately ;).

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  4. Don't pressure yourself for painting. Take some time and your mojo will come back again. ;-)

    And for the giveaway:
    Always nice, but first of all many congrats for the posts and the visits!

    Cheers
    Stefan

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    1. Hi Monty, thanks. I want to say that it's due to all my hard work, but I think it's just random hits from people looking for porn.

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  5. Family time is important, but it's a rare family where everyone shares exactly the same set of interests! I try to find hobby time in small bursts whenever possible. Even 10 minutes before I leave for work can be used, if only to undercoat some figures.

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    1. Hi Hugh, you're right. I do need to get back at a daily chipping away at the lead and plastic pile.

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  6. Thanks Andrew, right now I'm trying to enjoy the time spent with my son in his activities. I try to do stuff with my daughter but she prefers to argue about things.

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  7. I don't really have much to add to the sound advice given above, but I've shared your current feelings about the hobby before. Nowadays I just repeat to myself "I will not be stressed out by my leisure time" and do whatever I want. Sometimes that means just stepping away from it all for a bit :-)

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    1. Hi Red Dog, thanks for commenting. Good advice. I just do what I can.

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