Would you rather PT 2

[Marcus Diaz]

When I retire, I'll have nothing but time........I hope

Non of this sentence is guaranteed. Imagine living option 2 hoping for this to happen, limiting your chasing throughout the years, when an injury or even death happens. All those years you could've chased...

 

[Shane Adams]

Imagine living option 2 hoping for this to happen, limiting your chasing throughout the years, when an injury or even death happens. All those years you could've chased...

That's exactly why I've dedicated my life to #1. Even without chasing, I was pretty much aloof professionally. There was simply nothing career-wise that ever stoked my interest to the point where I was willing to sacrifice and gamble my present time away working towards something I could not guarantee would happen, even with the hard work/time put in (college degree). It always made more sense for me to find employment that simply supported me, and do as much with that as I could to chase my dream. I can't fathom accepting, before a season even starts, that I'm going to miss great events because they won't fall on the days I need them to. I'd rather take setups/chases as they come, roll the dice, and hope I see something. Waiting for a vacation that may or may not bring fruition while watching slamdunk chase ops go down the tubes because it's a Wednesday just doesn't work for me. But I'm not wired like most folks. I don't need financial security or creature comforts/luxuries if I can't chase tornadoes. Life for me is about what makes me happy, not how much stuff I can acquire. I'll never have a career, and hence, I'll never be able to retire, and that's fine. Because I will always be able to chase the events I want as they come down the pike, until I am out of money for the season. And that's inevitable every year anyway.

The responsible and pragmatic always say "they'll always be more tornadoes." Of course there will, but I won't always be here to chase them. I live life like a fuse, and once it's lit, it just keeps going. There are no guarantees in anything beyond the moment, and I don't want to die having given up my dream so I can be responsible so "one day" I can chase all I want. I don't have that kind of luck. I'll keep the hammer down, doing the daily grind, and taking whatever comes down the pike. I don't know any other way.

 

[S Kalka]

This thread reminds me of a Dalai Lama quote; "Man sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. Then he is so anxious about the future that he doesn't enjoy the present: the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived". I chose option #2 29 years ago, long before I started chasing. As todd9052 stated, at this point it doesn't make any sense to change, although, if I were 25 again, I'm not sure I would make the same choices.

 

[Marc R. O'Leary]

I'm just glad I'm able to live option 1.5 currently.

 

[Skip Talbot]

I'm torn, but would go with #1 because I like the freedom it allows.

It's #2 without a doubt if that scheduled time off is April - June, even if that time off is unpaid. It's still a very attractive option if it's one month off and I get to pick when it is with some notice of a few weeks.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Skip brought up a good point. I'd consider a #2 option if I got 3 months during peak season off every year, even if it meant having to miss some of the off-season outbreaks. I have yet to come across an opportunity like that though. Most people I know of that enjoy that type of arrangement have been at their current job for a long time and have earned the privilege.

I have turned down some decent full-time (#2) job offers over the years. In a recent one, I was offered decent flexibility to chase, but it would have required me to move back to the eastern US. Others have been in the Midwest, but would have offered minimal or less flexibility. As long as I'm single, I see no reason to tie myself down to anything for any reason.

I agree with Shane in that you do whatever makes you happy, whether others approve or not. There are no guarantees that we'll live to retirement age, or that we'll be in good enough health at that point to have the ability. I believe that as long as you can take care of yourself and your family if you have one (so that you don't need to rely on others or public assistance either now or later in life), you should be able to do whatever you want.

 

[Bill Hark]

I am basically option #2 with some flexibility. As a self-employed physician, I make my own hours, but I have to answer to my patients. I have to set aside a couple of weeks each year and hope something happens. I can shift by a day to catch a big day or not go out if the pattern really sucks. Rescheduling patients really pisses them off and I don't like to do that. A moderate risk is not a family emergency.

Financially, chasing is a big drain. If I do not work, I don't get paid, and I still have to pay out money for mortgage, insurance, staff etc. Basically, I pay for chasing. It hasn't been difficult so far, but with decreasing pay, increasing cost of living (two young kids), I may have to rethink my number of days off.

Bill Hark