what is your main job.

[Disgirl]

I am self employed as a potter and doll maker. Not to mention all the other work I do which doesn't bring in any $$$!
Barb

[yeaboyt]

Budget Analyst for the City of San Diego. It gets really stressful after a long day at work so it's relaxing to be able to sit and stare at my aquariums.

[ChloroPhil]

I used to be a K-12 music teacher but am now an environmental/wetland scientist who focuses on plant-soil-water interactions. My main area of interest is the use of aquatic and terrestrial plants to control nutrient inputs into ponds and lakes and thereby improve water quality and health of the eco-hydrosystem.

I worked for a private consulting firm for a year and a half, ending this past September and am soon going to start working for the Army Corps of Engineers as a research contractor. The project I've been hired to work on is developing a substrate mixture suitable for growing large crops of submerged aquatic plants in a nursery environment for use in large-scale habitat restoration projects. Once this project is finished the plan/hope is to continue working at the research facility while pursuing a PhD.

According to my wife I have too many hobbies and she's probably right. My main passion is keeping aquatic plants, planted tanks, and advocating for the aquatic gardening hobby. When I'm not up to my elbows in an aquarium I enjoy spending time with our three cats, play computer games, tabletop roleplaying games, and am a voracious reader of aquarium discussion forums. Every once in a while I pull out the old guitar and pretend I know how to play it and on rare occasion have been known to actually get out of the house.

Unlike most folks here I'm not completely obsessed with discus. I obsess about planted tanks. I do see lushly planted discus displays as one of the last frontiers of the aquatic gardening hobby though. I'm very interested in learning as much as possible about blending the two interests with the goal of successfully keeping show-quality discus in an equally show-quality planted display. Even though I've seen many planted discus aquariums in the past, I know of relatively few people who've actually had truly stunning fish in a densely planted, competition-quality planted tank. The ultimate goal would be the successful breeding of discus and raising the brood to a high standard in a planted aquarium with a minimum of algae and reduction in plant health.

~Phil

[Larry Bugg]

UPS for 31 years as a supervisor. Reached retirement age one year ago. At 56 I still feel very young so I will probably work another 3 or 4 years before retiring to the fish room. My father-in-law has 120 acers about 60 miles SE of Atlanta (Monticello, Ga). The plan is to build a house there when I retire. Biggest decision right now is if the fish room will be a part of the house or a separate building.

[ChloroPhil]

I vote separate building so you have a place to hide from the wife and kids.

[decula]

Yet Another 50+ IT Guy working at a state hospital for kiddos with developmental
disabilities. Met wife at work. We are both enjoying the aquariums that
seem to be multiplying faster than the fish.

Really enjoy Linux (cut teeth on Slackware), ran a local ISP for 9+ years with
Linux servers and routers. Appreciate the security side of this internet stuff we
all should have had as kids.

[erikc]

Never posted here either .... hmmm, where to start.

Trained as an architect, got bored and studied structural engineering, now working as an HVAC engineer in Paris.

The type of projects I work are kind of on the large scale : 1 000 000 m2 and bigger. I started off doing social housing and just worked up the scale.

I have been keeping discus (and other cichlids ) for on and off for about 20 years. I am also a keen gardener but that's another story ....

[Billy Vu]

Hi Everybody,

I'm a full time "Market Data Analyst" at a directing marketing firm in Bethel, CT. I collect government data, mainly names and addresses of various categories, and turn into mailing lists. I'm also pursuing my MA in Economics at the New School (yes it's called the "New" School) in NYC at night. I also do a bit of accounting work. If all goes well and I maintain a 3.5 GPA I will be pursueing my PhD next year. I have been keeping discus for about 3 years, but have been in the aquarium hobby off and on about 20 years. I hope to become an Economics Professor one day.

All the best,
Billy

[theblondskeleton]

Wow, it really is interesting to see what kind of people this hobby attracts.

I'm a rare breed, I have to say. I was a professional stage actor for a long time before deciding it wasn't as fun as it once was. My grandfather was in law enforcement, as well as my father and younger brother, so in the family tradition of public service I became a teacher. I now teach and direct high school drama and language arts in Vancouver, WA. Current project is The Wizard of Oz.

As an actor, I have worked in just about every field you can imagine - from harvesting super blue-green algae to selling vacuums to fabricating paddles and oars to telemarketing to bar tending to wedding singer to pizza delivery to law clerk to gas station manager to antiques retail and furniture moving and yes - the old actor standby: foodservice (waiting tables). Oh, I also did the bookkeeping for my mom's business when I was a kid.

My hobbies include music (vocal, guitar, and piano), writing, interior design, building scale models of historic warships (current project is HMS Victory), reading, keeping planted aquaria, my new addiction: discus, and just about anything complex enough to hold my attention while my wife watches Dancing With the Stars.

Jeezy Creezy. I sound like a severe case of Multiple Personality Disorder.

[Eddie]

just about anything complex enough to hold my attention while my wife watches Dancing With the Stars.

What is it with that show, so many people are hooked! LOL I recently had cable TV installed for the wife as I NEVER watch daytime TV, never have. I'll watch movies but thats it.

Eddie

[David Rose]

I am self employed as a potter and doll maker. Not to mention all the other work I do which doesn't bring in any $$$!
Barb

So when are you starting your sideline of making breeding cones Barb?

[joanr]

I've had several careers spanning the past 25 years. Started working for my family on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City in their 3 Fine Jewelry Stores as a teen. Got my cert in Gemology from the Institute and quickly got bored. Slaved as a Flight Attendant for Eastern Airlines for 3 years. Then moved to the Ozarks, Hot Springs, Ark and managed a McDonalds....that was fun. After that got my first computer in '89 and it's been IT ever since with a sprinkling of odd jobs such as dog groomer, handler, Afghan Hound Judge, Medical Assistant, full time Mom of three. Between all that I learned web design and accounting and worked for an electronics firm for 7 years wearing many hats. Now I'm working for a Trading Company sourcing Industrial Supplies to the Middle East, PWUC, SWC, Sabic and other huge Saudi Companies. This is by far the strangest work I've ever done. So kids, stay in school and DO NOT drop out of College!!!

[phatdave]

My wife and I make our money on Iron and Steel.........She irons and I steal ...

Truck Driver!

[mlw]

Esthetician and part time freelance Make up Artist.
www.s-tet-x.com

My other hobby is creating miniature landscapes using Lemax porcelain houses.
[IMG][/IMG]



I combine some model train scenery techniques with some miniature dollhouse techniques with inspiration from nature to come up with my vignettes and villages.

Oh and I can COOK. Like, throw down, slap your mamma good, kind of cook. My mother was a cook worked in nursing homes restaurants private homes. I was really thin, almost sickly looking as a kid and she thought the only way I would get a husband is if I could cook. Well, turns out I grew up quite curvy. So, needless to say, my husband is a very happy man.

[JaredP]

I work for a company that builds high peformance vehicles and does international parts sales. I head up all peformance installations and fabrication, as well as oversee the general maitence side and make sure they represent our name well.

One of our big cars right now is the Nissan GTR. A blog site reported that I was the first in the world to take apart one of the cars transmissions. And we did it only for research purposes. (people find that hard to believe. Car had 400 miles on it, and we paid $82,000 for it !).