The things we do for ....uhh love?

[iago]

Hmm, the longest I ever drove for a stupid reason was 5 hours each way (10 hour roundtrip) in my friend's car on vacation to do a job interview I didn't even know I was getting till I was on vacation. But everything worked out perfectly, and my job interview just happened to be while I was in the province in question. Too bad I didn't get the job. :)

[trust]

I sincerely don't mean this in a negative way, but what's the point in chasing a storm? Where I'm from, storms come to us...

[CrAz3D]

Although, my buddy drove 6 hrs (4 hrs back, eek) to find some girl he saw at AllState band....sad

Did he find her?

Well, after going to her old house (she had moved, he didnt know) he went to a basketball game she happened to not be attending.  Her friend called her and was was irked.  This was the beginning of a lot of downhill for that friend of mine.  He's a lot better now, though.

The girl dates my room mate now & the stalker buddy of ours comes over frequently...it was pretty funny when that first started

[Ender]

I sincerely don't mean this in a negative way, but what's the point in chasing a storm? Where I'm from, storms come to us...

Haven't you ever seen the movie Twister?

[Sidoh]

I sincerely don't mean this in a negative way, but what's the point in chasing a storm? Where I'm from, storms come to us...

Some people study weather professionally.  Like I said, zorm is studying meteorology, so I suppose he is one of those people.

[zorm]

I sincerely don't mean this in a negative way, but what's the point in chasing a storm? Where I'm from, storms come to us...

Where you're from there aren't storms worth bothering with.

In general the point is to have fun and see something cool. Something which we happen to spend most of our time learning about in class and attempting to understand both conceptually and quantitatively.

In addition some people do it as part of research projects to better understand the weather. For example NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory(which currently employs me) held a large research project in the 1990s to better understand tornadoes. In 2009 they plan to repeat the experiment.

I saw myself in the background of like 3 frames on the Discovery channel show but they didn't air any of the interview stuff they did.

[trust]

I sincerely don't mean this in a negative way, but what's the point in chasing a storm? Where I'm from, storms come to us...

Haven't you ever seen the movie Twister?

Yes, but that's their job.

In any case, it sounds cool but I don't think I'd enjoy it because of the rain and whatnot.

[Sidoh]

Yes, but that's their job.

In any case, it sounds cool but I don't think I'd enjoy it because of the rain and whatnot.

I guess I don't know how to relate it to you, but I can easily sympathize with what he's doing.

I often find myself doing things related to my fields of study that are totally external of what's required of me in my classes.  I do extra problems, take on extra projects or use things we don't learn in class because I find the nature of it all interesting.

I think what zorm does is an equivalent of those things--simply put, going above and beyond because he likes what he's studying.

[iago]

Yeah, I agree. I don't think someone can be happy unless their job is something they'd do for free. Personally, I work because I love what I do, not because I get paid for it.

[dark_drake]

Pft... I'll love my job because I'll get paid so much to do it. :D

[Rule]

Yeah, I agree. I don't think someone can be happy unless their job is something they'd do for free.

Just making money can make people happy...

[iago]

Yeah, I agree. I don't think someone can be happy unless their job is something they'd do for free.

Just making money can make people happy...

I don't know, working a shitty job that you hate and making money most definitely wouldn't make me happy. Do I really want to spend about 1/3 of my time (1/2 of my waking time) somewhere miserable? I don't know about that..

[Sidoh]

I don't know, working a shitty job that you hate and making money most definitely wouldn't make me happy. Do I really want to spend about 1/3 of my time (1/2 of my waking time) somewhere miserable? I don't know about that..

I guess he said "some people" for a reason! :)

Personally, I think it's a matter of optimization.  I'd work at a job where I was reasonably less happy if the pay was significantly higher.  Happiness definitely isn't the only thing I'd consider when looking for a job.

[Rule]

Yeah, I agree. I don't think someone can be happy unless their job is something they'd do for free.

Just making money can make people happy...

I don't know, working a shitty job that you hate and making money most definitely wouldn't make me happy. Do I really want to spend about 1/3 of my time (1/2 of my waking time) somewhere miserable? I don't know about that..

That's how you feel, but you made a statement about people in general.  I know that I, and most people (probably you included), wouldn't mind doing something not enjoyable for half of their time, if it meant earning billions of dollars.  Money is freedom.  And if you're going to be idealistic about this, think about the difference you could make in other people's lives with that money -- is that not worth the partial misery you would go through in obtaining it?  Also note that doing a job you don't enjoy in exchange for large quantities of money allows you to later on do absolutely whatever you want -- whatever you enjoy most -- without the worry of an employer and his/her needs, interests, and demands.

[iago]

That's tough to say. Money isn't something that's especially important to me, and if I was making billions of dollars then some person or people are losing billions of dollars because of me, so even if I act like Microsoft and be humanitarian with some of the money, it's really a matter of taking from some to give to others (or give back to them). I guess in Microsoft's case, it's "take from the rich, keep most of it, give some to the poor"

The thing is, I know some people who make a lot of money and hate their job, and their life is basically a depression. I know others who make less and who love their job, and they live a happy life. I really think that working a stressful or terrible job is going to cause problems for somebody, even if it provides enough for them to live comfortably.

I have a lot of respect for artists and people who do what they love, despite it not being financially beneficial. I consider myself lucky that I can be paid decently for what I love doing. It's win-win!