What Do You All Do to Support Your Habit?

[ninjammin]

Originally Posted by NJD022588

I'm still in school so my money comes from my summer jobs. I'm currently employed by BAE Systems. I worked there last summer and will again this upcoming summer. The Manassas, VA location makes electronics for space, which mainly consists of computers/chips for satellites that need to be designed and made for the high levels of radiation.

Alot of products for NASA are made there, most notably being the computers that are currently controlling both Mars rovers.

I'm 23 and only about 6 months out of college. Graduated from Southern Miss with a bachelor's in Geography.

I use BAE software every day at work. (Socet Set) It's the devil. Anyway, I'm a geospatial analyst. I basically make 3D maps out of satellite imagery. Dept. of defense stuff that keeps the lights on....OK I'll admit that Socet is not the devil. It just doesn't play well with Arcmap.

Originally Posted by KJohnson21

I'm a computer admin/programmer. This year I celebrated my 25th anniversary with my employer, Northrop Grumman. I work at Los Angeles AFB.

I also work for Northrop Grumman as of a couple of months ago. We (3001 inc.) just got bought out by them.

[KJohnson21]

Originally Posted by ninjammin

I also work for Northrop Grumman as of a couple of months ago. We (3001 inc.) just got bought out by them.

They're very good at that sort of thing. NG is not the original company that hired me. I was hired by a company that was bought by a company that was bought by a NG. Sort of a tongue twister.

[Sailariel]

Felix, Do they still only serve beer in "Auto Clubs" ? I thought that was a quaint custom. Spent two weeks in Melbourne for R&R in 1969. Absolutely loved Australia! Bummer about your job. Seems like incompetent management is the rule rather than the exception these days. I ascribe it to the cesspit model of management--all the big chunks rise to the top.

[sprale]

Educational publishing, Mac IT. Sure beats loading lumber...







And I ride every day.

[BlueTyke]

Adminstrative Assistant to a VP of my company. It was the best job I could take. I eventually am going to take some classes and hopefully become an Executive Assistant.

Yeah yeah I am a pencil pusher but... I have the best hobbies! Motorcycling, Scuba Diving, and crafts, lots and lots of crafts! I am known as Triple A... Adventursome Adminstrative Assistant...

[ak_907_ak]

Used to be an Aircraft Mechanic for small general aviation propplanes.
Now I'm a Loadmaster for Polar Air Cargo's 747-400, but I'm trying to get into the IBEW...

[Syphen]

Originally Posted by Alex Allmayer Beck

I am an old guy (67) Got a BA in 1966 in English Lit. Joined the Army in 1967 to avoid the draft, and went Airborne, Ranger, Medic. Served in Vietnam as a Combat Medic with the 173Rd Airborne Brigade 69-70. Bought into a motorcycle dealership in 71--We had Norton, Benelli, and Jawa/CZ. Also went back to college and got a masters degree in Social Work. Worked for the state as a Psychiatric Social Worker till I retired in 1991. Wife and I bought a sailboat and went cruising till 2004. We lived on the boat full time and logged over 80,000 nautical miles. We cruised the Great Lakes, East Coast, Florida, Bahamas, and the Caribbean. In 2004 I was diagnosed with cancer secondary to Agent Orange exposure. I am currently in remission. We moved ashore and bought a house--added an in-law apartment and bike shop. I got into bicycles after I got the cancer--riding a super light road racer on the back roads of scenic Maine helps clear the mind. I also got heavily into bicycle mechanics. Last June, I decided to get back into motorcycles (we have several members of our bicycle club who also ride sportbikes) Anyway, gives me someone to ride with. My wife is terrified of motorcycles because her first husband bought a bike and then proceeded to pop wheelies with her on the back on her first ride. She should have divorced the jerk right then and there. We still have the boat and sail together when we are not caring for her 86 year old father.

Thats a lot of sailing! Its a great thing to get into. What type of boat is it? I own an international 14 and a hobie 16 (oh and a sunfish but it doesn't count.) I also crew frequently on a Tanzer 26 during my yatch clubs weekly races.


Myself, I am 23 and went to college for Electrical Engineering. I ended up working for some local electric utilities on the lines which lead me to being a Electrical Transmission Operator for a major Canadian Transmistter and distributer. Get to play with 44kV up to 500kV every day. Good times.

I started riding when I was 14 or so on dirt bikes. Bought my first bike when I was in college. A 1991 CBR600F2. I rode it for a couple years and bought a 2000 CBR600F4. I met the most amazing girl ever, sold the F2.. got a nice ring and next thing I know, we have a ninja250R and a cbr250rr. Both 600's are gone lol.

[aloh]

I'm a student, but I used to have a job over the summer. I worked for a company called Cyber-Rain. They made intelligent irrigation controllers that checked for weather reports to manage your irrigation levels. I did almost everything except management and sales. I built, assembled, programmed, tested, packaged, shipped, and even did some tech support. It was lots of work, but boy I loved that job. I used some of the money I made to buy my ninja!

[Sailariel]

Syphen, The sailboat is a 1987 Island Packet 31 (overall length 38")

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Alex Allmayer Beck

Syphen, The sailboat is a 1987 Island Packet 31 (overall length 38")

I do hope you mean 38'.

[Broom]

i'm an interactive art director for social network development company. i get to design and oversee the development of websites and projects for microsoft, ea sports, xbox, etc.

pretty cool gig. we've got xbox rooms, a pool table, beer, snacks, and no dress code

[G250RSC]

I just turned 39 and working. I graduated from Clemson University with a BS in computers. Now I work for the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) as an electronics tech. I maintain the RADAR and ILS systems for our airport. I have also been in the Air Guard for 19 years.

I compete in Triathlons and Ironman Compititions all over the world. Saddly I have more money in my time trial bike than my ninjette!!

[grandmaster]

I just turned 19 in September and I am currently attending Dixie State College. Since it is a very small college town, jobs are hard to come by. I have applied at 14 places and called, never even recieved a call back. I have hookups in the area, and I am certified in Auto Body Collision Repair and Refinishing. Just to give you an idea of how hard jobs are to come by. So to support my habbit I give plasma. Two times a week for a month straight will give you 200 bucks. I guess it doesn't really support my habit as it does all my bills (cellphone, gas, food, insurance on bike and jeep) but every little bit helps. If you would like to make a donation to me please pm me for details ha ha

[kazam58]

I feel outdone by all of you. lol. I'm still in high school, but I am proud to say that every penny that has been spent on my little ninja and any support equipment has been solely my own. I worked over the last two summers at a mail-order hobby shop for model trains, Tony's Train Exchange, doing soldering, repairs and other kinds of fun stuff. I also build Radio Control Cars for anyone that doesn't want to build it themselves at home for some spare cash. Originally, i would've used all the money to buy a car (after all, what on earth should I be saving for at my age?), but my parents actually wouldn't let me buy one because my dad already had more cars then we could fit in the garage (an '02 Subaru wrx, BMW 330i, Peugeot 405 Mi16, a Nissan van, and a Lancia Integrale Delta HF 16v <- i'll be surprised if anyone knows that car). So I decided to hell with it, i'll spend it on something, and I've always loved motorcycles. I had been watching motogp for a little and i've always been obsessed with anything that moves. Well, lucky for me, the ninja fit in the garage Now I'm broke.
It's nice to see so many engineers and tech savvy people here though. next fall i'll be heading off to school either to study mech. eng. or electrical, not quite sure which yet....

[Broom]

sounds like you're on the right track, kazam

i'd do mechanical if i was you. i always wanted to do mechanical engineering. i tried to go back to school to do it a few years ago, but engineering isn't exactly you can do part time or at night. kind of a full time thing and thats not something i can do right now.

[Ninjabunny]

I'm a middle school teacher for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and also teach math and science.

I'm impressed by what an accomplished group you all are.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Ninjabunny

I'm impressed by what an accomplished group you all are.

... and you think your job is not???

[G250RSC]

Originally Posted by Ninjabunny

I'm a middle school teacher for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and also teach math and science.

I'm impressed by what an accomplished group you all are.

Hey what this world needs is more great teachers....thanks for what you do!

[NICUNinja]

I am a Registered Nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Was tired of the abuse from working with adults for 12 years so I trained to work with the wee ones. They don't yell, complain or grab as much, plus they are easier to lift at 500grams vs. 300lbs.

[G250RSC]

Originally Posted by NICUNinja

I am a Registered Nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Was tired of the abuse from working with adults for 12 years so I trained to work with the wee ones. They don't yell, complain or grab as much, plus they are easier to lift at 500grams vs. 300lbs.

Awsome job!! Very familiar with the NICU cus my wife and I just had twins born early so they had to spend time in that unit. Has to be a rewarding job!

[Viper-Byte]

Me, I am working on an IT technical helpdesk (1st level) I have been doing this for 18 months and am getting bored of it (more procedural stuff than technical, even though it is a technical HD ) I am now looking for a new job, also in IT (computing) that will be more technical and challenging for me as it is what I like and there is loads of money in it

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Viper-Byte

there is loads of money in it

Money isn't everything. Impossible to grasp until you experience it, though. What you're really looking for is enough to allow you to do whatever you choose to do. Sounds way too zen-like in print, and I apologize for that, but it'll likely become clearer in time. Find something you like. If it happens to be lucrative, that's just a bonus.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Alex

Money isn't everything. Impossible to grasp until you experience it, though.

true, but until you experience it, you need to stay hungry enough to achieve it. I say let the boy aim high and burn himself out while he's still young and can stand it... he'll have many years down the line to pull back the reins and learn a balanced life, if he so chooses. He may not and learn to love living just for the money.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by kkim

He may not and learn to love living just for the money.

You're right, the world needs those Gordon Gecko's to keep the financial markets humming!

Heck, money is what allows us to have our fun, no getting around that. It's just if the pursuit of it itself gets in the way of that fun, there's probably a better way that can be pursued....

[Viper-Byte]

Originally Posted by Alex

Money isn't everything. Impossible to grasp until you experience it, though. What you're really looking for is enough to allow you to do whatever you choose to do. Sounds way too zen-like in print, and I apologize for that, but it'll likely become clearer in time. Find something you like. If it happens to be lucrative, that's just a bonus.

Don't you worry about that, I know exactly what I want to do (which is what I like, I am not purley in it for the money...) and I know how I am to get there.

Originally Posted by kkim

true, but until you experience it, you need to stay hungry enough to achieve it. I say let the boy aim high and burn himself out while he's still young and can stand it... he'll have many years down the line to pull back the reins and learn a balanced life, if he so chooses. He may not and learn to love living just for the money.

I am not going to burn myself out, I do not work anymore than anyone else I know, infact, I know others that work 60+ hours a week, I will not be doing this unless it is something I really love doing. I only work a 40 hour week with an occasional 4 hour Saturday and that is enough for me.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Viper-Byte

I am not going to burn myself out, I do not work anymore than anyone else I know, infact, I know others that work 60+ hours a week, I will not be doing this unless it is something I really love doing. I only work a 40 hour week with an occasional 4 hour Saturday and that is enough for me.

ah... youth!

[VeX]

Man! What a sham! I was thinking, "Hey, I can donate plasma once a month?" so I looked into it AND... The San Diego Blood Bank does NOT pay people for donating anything!

That and all the sperm banks are 'full'

[DopplerShift]

Originally Posted by kkim

In the New Members section, we read about people's backgrounds and history, but I was curious as to what you all do for a living?

We seem to have a very diverse group here and wondered maybe if some of us are in fields related to one another and could possibly help other forum members through networking.

So....

I'm the site manager for a radiotelescope on Kauai doing a series of experiments for NASA. I've been at this location, doing this job, since 1977.

The site itself is located within a state park in a pristine native forest reserve at the top of a mountain. Not far off is Mt. Waialeale, the wettest spot on earth with an average annual rainfall of over 450 inches of rain per year.

The road to get to work is a winding mountain road who's route is said to have been laid out by olden day pack mules used to haul supplies up and down the mountain before there were any roads. Needless to say, it winds and switches back on itself... a perfect 13 mile road to flick the 250R on my commute.

I hope you guys/gals won't be shy and will share what it is you do to support your motorcycle riding habit.

That is an AWESOME job. Wish I could work on something like that in Hawaii.

[grandmaster]

Originally Posted by VeX

Man! What a sham! I was thinking, "Hey, I can donate plasma once a month?" so I looked into it AND... The San Diego Blood Bank does NOT pay people for donating anything!

That and all the sperm banks are 'full'

Well its not the same as giving blood, your right though. No where in St. George gives money for blood donation, just plasma. Plus when you donate plasma you dont get the side effects you get when giving blood (hot, dizzy, all the good stuff.) I am sure there is a place somewhere in San Diego that does it, I go through Biolife Plasma Center, get online and check it out, they mught have a location there www.biolifeplasma.com

dont know if this is near you, but you might want to check it out as well. http://www.sdbiohealth.com/intro.htm

[Ninjabunny]

I've sold me plasma here in Gainesville. Here at least, it's really not worth it. The ads say YOU CAN EARN $120 A MONTH but they give you $40 the first time you do it and $20 for each additional time. Plus because Gainesville has a lot of homeless the place is always full. It takes 6 hours to do it. Imagine how annoyed I was when I realized I was getting $20 and not $40 the last time I was there.

[BlueTyke]

Hah! California and Maryland are both not on the list for Biolife Plasma Center. West Virginia is though...

[kkim]

Total noob here... what's the diff between plasma and blood? are there differences in how they extract it?

[BlueTyke]

All I know is it takes a lot more equipment to extract the plasma... They hook you up to a machine and it filters your blood in, extracts the plasma that is in your blood, and then puts the un-plasmad blood back into your system... I have seen it done at Red Cross Donation Stations but never done it myself.

From Wikipedia

Blood plasma is the liquid component of blood, in which the blood cells are suspended. It makes up about 55% of total blood volume. It is composed of mostly water (90% by volume), and contains dissolved proteins, glucose, clotting factors, mineral ions, hormones and carbon dioxide (plasma being the main medium for excretory product transportation). Blood plasma is prepared simply by spinning a tube of fresh blood in a centrifuge until the blood cells fall to the bottom of the tube. The blood plasma is then poured or drawn off. Blood serum is blood plasma without fibrinogen or the other clotting factors.[1]

[Gregular]

I'm an airfield lighting controls engineer in the Control Tower at Heathrow. Its a really cool job with a wide range of stuff to do from fixing 12Amp series lighting circuits that have no circuit protection on at all to driving around the manouvering area ducking in and out of the planes to configuring plc's for the remote control of all the approach and airfield lighting circuits.
But for me the best bit has just gotta be the small group of guys I work with. The days fly by
Suckiest bit of the job is the journey.... in a car, the journey can take 25 minutes at like 2 in the morning, 1 hour normal times, leaving at 5pm - I'm looking at 3-4hrs

[grandmaster]

Originally Posted by kkim

Total noob here... what's the diff between plasma and blood? are there differences in how they extract it?

BlueTyke covered most of it. Plasma is just a mixture of water and protein used to make medicines. It can be frozen for up to a year as well The process is pretty simple, the machine that you are hooked up to goes through cycles, and the amount of plasma you donate is done by weight, anyone about 170 lbs donates 880ml. So they put the needle in your arm and it takes your blood, it goes into a cylindar that spins about 60mph ( i was told) it then separtes your plasma which goes into one bottle, and your blood which goes in another. When the blood gets full it shuts down the machine and puts the blood back into you (through the same needle). When the process is complete they put a saline solution into you that is equivalent to what you lost so you don't get the same side effect as giving blood. And boom your done, I honestly can't complain, 25 bucks an hour is good money for me.

Originally Posted by Ninjabunny

I've sold me plasma here in Gainesville. Here at least, it's really not worth it. The ads say YOU CAN EARN $120 A MONTH but they give you $40 the first time you do it and $20 for each additional time. Plus because Gainesville has a lot of homeless the place is always full. It takes 6 hours to do it. Imagine how annoyed I was when I realized I was getting $20 and not $40 the last time I was there.

Yeah, maybe not worth it there...In St. George I am in and out within the hour. It helps when you have big veins, and if you drink a lot of water. You are right, biolife does it the same, $40 the first time then 20 after that, but its different. You get $20 the first time, and $30 the second time if you go back within a 7 day period, so it is basically 200 bucks a month. If you refer people you get an additional $10 for each refural after there second donation. It works out great for me...since it is so hard to find a job here.

[Sound Wave]

i am an ultrasound tech (which explains my screen name) and i am also an x-ray tech. contrary to popular belief, ultrasound techs don't necessarily scan pregnant women all day. actually, if i scan a pregnant woman, it is usually because she came in through the ER and is having pelvic pain or vaginal bleeding and we need to check if it is an ectopic pregnancy or if the fetus is threatened in any way. i don't get to do those cute "baby pictures" or tell them if it is a boy or girl kind of thing.

mostly, i scan the abdomen for stuff like tumors, kidney stones, gall stones, obstructions, aortic aneurysms.... i also do a lot of vaginal scans on women with "women problems".... also thyroids, and testicles.... other stuff too. i used to scan breasts before also. some of the women patients joke with me that i must love my job because i actually get paid to play with their breasts or stick things up their vagina. glad i always have a female chaperon with me. i know those jokes are in fun, but they freak me out. everybody is "sue-happy".

actually, doing all those female exams are no big deal to me. some guys would think it is a cool job, but i do so many of them, that i am kind of numb to it. besides, my attention is focused on trying to find any pathology. whenever a female refuses me doing the exam because "i am a guy", i actually don't mind it because then it is time for a 45 minute soda break.

[randomwalk101]

graduated last year and now practicing medicine in a local hospital...that means i'm currently paying off my mountain of debts/loans....
I want to retire now and change my profession to porn star..any hookup? hahahah

[TnNinjaGirl]

Mechanic. Restore old British Cars and do maintanence on some newer stuff. European mostly. My favorite are the BMW's. Ironically, BMW is about as far away from a British car as you can get. Unless you count the new Mini...

[kkim]

Interesting. I've owned both BMW and MINI cars... you'll have lots of work for you in the future.

Welcome to the forum.

[TnNinjaGirl]

I'd love to get into Ferraris. Something about them fascinates me. Never driven one before though. Also, there's more bearaucracy in working on exotics than the skill required to actually work on the car. Where I come from we fix cars, not replace parts until it starts working again. I digress though... Thanks for inviting me to the forums, I've been having a great time so far. Hope everyone else is too!!