Ok, tell me how I can get a job like that.   

The recipe is simple:
Spend 20 years as a freelancer struggling with money and family matters, and then register with a headhunter company on the net. At least that's what I did, and I was sort of lucky.
 

I build high performance computing clusters for scientific and military applications.
Doesn't that sound fun boys and girls?
Is there any wonder why I am a drummer after working with computers all day?
I mean...I have to hit something eventually right?

 

~RHS

I work in the Insurance industry and have an hour commute. My wife works and has 1 1/2 hours commute. I have been the one to take the kids to and from daycare for the last couple years, so when I get home it has been hard to practice. Unfortuately it is never a daily thing. I'm trying more and more to try and do something daily. Using the practice pad while watching tv. etc. I make to set up my kit after a gig quickly so that once its up I'm more likely to jump on for a while.

Another left brain/right brain thing. Engineer by day. Handling schedule is always a chore. Fortunately, I have a fairly flexible employer (me) and wonderful wife and only one more kid in the nest. When I got back into drumming one of the best decision I made was to get an Roland Vdrum.  Most of my practicing has been after 10 or 11PM when I'm not needed anymore.  After a long day, it's not the best time for practice but it's better than nothing and I'm not a morning person. 

Hey, I just got asked to play at a couples weekend retreat up in the Redwoods tonight.  I get to bring the wife and we're being treated to a candle lit dinner.  Can't get much better than this for merging drumming with family schedules   Now I've got to find a someone to pick my kid up from soccer practice........ DONE.  Cool, all why sitting at in my recliner.... 

Former OR nurse, left that for the full-time mom gig. Now that my son is in school I spend my time working the farm--animal chores, growing our food (meat and veg, even now w/ a greenhouse), mending fences and shelters, cleaning poop (horse/rabbit/chicken/etc), various sundry farm chores as well as the household stuff. I like it. I stay plenty busy, but still have time for fun (usually a hr of practice/day while no one is home and I can bang away as loud as I want), no boss, no schedule. I'm at home w/ my son when I need to be, and our evenings and weekends aren't clotted w/ laundry and grocery shopping.  Good thing, since I now have band practice 3 nites a week!
 Tonight we had rabbit pizza, w/ our own rabbit and fresh-made whole wheat crust (with honey from our bees to put on the crust ends), and a salad w/ lettuce and spinach from the g-house. Yum! That makes it worthwhile!

robyn

For the last two and a half years I've been working as a painter. Since the beginning of December I've been working on my own. It's fun, but it's not always steady work so you have to be careful with the budget. I'm teaching myself electronics now though so I can hopefully get a job with that at some point. I eventually want to build my own audio fx, but I have a ways to go.

I worked as a screen printer for a year and a half prior to painting. Before that I was a cook for ten years. The last few years I have been trying to find my place I guess. Trying to see what really makes me happy. Printing was very fun but little pay. Painting can be fun, but isn't always steady. I may be getting into some A/V work on the side soon.

I tend to have a sound that is music to my ears and offensive to others. That is the sound of a quiet, highly tuned motorcycle. I am on a racing board of directors that we have brought about many changes across the country as to what is noise and what isn't tolerated on the streets and at the racetracks of Minnesota. We use the decible as our means of measuring what's alloweable in the AMA with both the factories building new bikes plus aftermarket products used on bikes to control sound. This is something that came about because of years of research that myself and our board came about with guidelines to follow. Because we are so involved the AMA picked up on what we've been doing here has started to induct those standards into their rules. We have been a huge force to make change happen in both the racing communities and what the laws now allow on the streets. There was a time when bikes didn't need a muffler or a certain limit to meet for sound levels that was acceptible to our neighbors ears. It's taken us years and we're winning the war on what you hear now days. I know it doesn't sound like much, but I'm one of the guys who has made those changes come about over many years. I now know that industry has picked up on how we've done it and decible meters has became a U.S. used standard because of the examples we've set.    It all started with a few gripes about noisy motorcycles. It's only taken us 30 years. All bikes are tested before they are allowed to race on any Minnesota tracks. When you see motocross on TV I'm one of the guys who helped develop the rules they race by. It's a love I've been involved with for many years. I receive no pay for my efforts, it's all volunteer work. When I hear highly tuned motorcycles it's music to my ears. I know many of the riders you see on TV. Been on their amature circuit for many years. They had to race by many of the rules I've helped to develop. Wouldn't you know it, those changes came about because of a drummer.

Oh I like this, I wish I could live quite a natural life in the country with vegs and animals.
And as for others, it's interesting that so many of us are stuck to computer screens.
 

Its my mothers job that prevents me from playing...she is a midwife and works nights so is in bed for 3 days of the week. So I have to pick my times to practise and have lessons.