Leaving the hobby

From: Ernest <ernestls_at_attbi.com>
Date: Sun May 18 11:19:00 2003

> -----Original Message-----
> From: cctalk-admin_at_classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-admin_at_classiccmp.org]On
> Behalf Of Zane H. Healy
> Sent: Friday, May 16, 2003 5:46 PM
> To: cctalk_at_classiccmp.org
> Subject: Re: Leaving the hobby

> The question is, how many people have taken the time to consider how
> unhealthy the Classic Computer hobby actually is. Personally I
> have serious admiration for people like Jeffrey Sharp who just get out of
it.

I certainly have. I don't think that collecting ordinary things, by nature,
is unhealthy but I was becoming TOO obsessed with it, and that's not a good
thing. Fortunately for me, (in an awful sort of way)the economy hit my
pocket book pretty hard, and I was forced to curtail my collecting habit. I
was unemployed for nearly 6 months, and that goes a long way towards helping
a person discover the true priorities in his life.

Another positive that came out of an otherwise rough time was that I had the
time and focus to "clean house" in many ways. I got rid of a lot of stuff,
and not just old computer junk. I cleaned out my book, music, and movie
collections. I donated a bunch of old clothes and furniture. I even had the
carpet steam cleaned. I pretty much touched every item in my home, and asked
myself if I really needed (or wanted) to keep it. If I didn't, I got rid of
it. It was a very healthy and liberating experience for me.

As for my computer collection, I got rid of almost all of it. Again, I
picked up each item and asked myself two questions:

1. Do I really need this?
2. Can I easily replace it if I want it again later?

Most of the stuff only required about two seconds of consideration, and out
it went. Some items required more thought but just about everything is gone
now, and the truth is, I really am OK without it. LOL. The only things that
I decided to keep were a Morrow MD3 (and all of it's documentation,) a
Valiant Turtle Robot, an Amstrad PC1512, and all of my Apple II clones. The
best part is that I was able to find new homes for almost all of it, and I
was even able to make a little money in the process.

I feel great about my computer collecting hobby now. I have fewer annoying
projects to get around to. My collection is neat and organized. I have space
to live in again, and my hobby is so focused now that I won't need to worry
about it getting out of hand again. I only collect Apple II clones.
Received on Sun May 18 2003 - 11:19:00 BST