so, this has come up a lot in recent conversations. Some have taken note of my pic, others see me all the time at kite events and think I never work, most people believe I don't sleep (generally true). The overall arching issue is what I do to keep me kiting, job-wise. What do you do? What would you do if it meant you could fly more? odd - now I want a Klondike bar.

Anyways, I.... well... here are my current jobs and a lot of them overlap time wise. During any given month I have three or more jobs.

Writer for a magazine and 'hand-publisher' for a small publishing company year round.
Administration for Training Department at local Fire Department
Midnight Cookie Baker (meaning I cook from 9:30 pm - 3 am) 8 months out of the year.
Nude/artistic/paint/pin-up model 7 months out of the year
Social Director for Veterans Affairs at nearby University. 8 months out of the year.
Lighthouse keeper 4 months out of the year.
Ski Instructor 4 months out of the year.

when those four months at the lighthouse roll around (trip starting in a few days) I am so excited to have a chance to sit down and read, have no electronics around me other then my radio and the light, and have a chance to catch up on all of my writing. sigh.... if only it was a good place to kite. Sadly the best I have been able to do there is flying a rev on 20 or 40 foot lines. Really no space for powerkites.

So yeah.. I am interested to know what you guys do to pay for the kiting addiction

flash

+1 many hours at work, never sleeping = redbull is my best friend.

Really dont have a good follow-up to that post. (sitting here dumbfounded for the most part)

I work as a network engineer for Lockheed Martin in the Washington DC area providing router/switch/firewall support. Only really kite on my days off and weekends. However, I do put in lots of extra hours so I can take extra days off for more kiting...

I work 40+ hours a week as a BMW parts specialist, I used to turn wrenches on cars but got the #@%$#!s of working on junk all the time. Thats how I ended up in a parts department, where it pays to know both sides of the counter. My passion is on two wheels and I turn wrenches on motorcycles on the side and hope to have my own shop in a few years. Motorcycles take up most of my life and kites are my hobby

I work too much and kite too little and often think it would be nice to scale back work responsibilities so I could kite and enjoy life more but then I look across the table at the mouths I need to feed and think of college bills someday and I'm just thankful I have a good job. I'd love to kite more but don't see that in the cards any time soon.

Lighthouse keeper in CO :puzzled: It must be tough navigating those big ships all the way in land, past the mountains and across the plains.

I'm a highschool science teacher, and a professional skateboarding instructor which I've done since 2004. I work a couple other random jobs like taste testing for those packaged meals from time to time lol.

i panhandle on the streets of nyc to pay for my kiting

I pay for my kiting by working as an Operations Supervisor for the OKC branch of the USA's largest chemical distributor(3rd largest worldwide). My job usually consists of 45-50 hours a week, and I'm on call 24-7 for after hours customer needs.

i am a futurist and talent monger for this planet ...and others.

you guys are crafty!

Freelance assassin.

Quote:

Originally posted by Maven454 Freelance assassin.

Kidding, of course. Software/Systems Integration Engineer.

I start work at 6 a.m. so I can poach a session in the late afternoon as often as possible .

i am a waiter... i am going to school to learn how to use financial markets to make money from anywhere... then i can kite all the time :bouncing:

I work for Verizon Wireless...


No I can't hear you now...

Quote:

Originally posted by flash Nude/artistic/paint/pin-up model 7 months out of the year

Sigh.... life is short.... death lasts forever...

• Hopefully during the warmer 7 months.
  
• Your forum nick now takes on a different meaning.
  
• Conservatively, 3/5 male PKF members hit the zoom key on your avatar.
  
• The collective PKF restraint humbles and awes me. Me? Weaned by leapords, raised by wolves... no social graces to speak of.
  

I read bedtime stories to computers. When they are bad, I remove them from the network and put them in a dark room. When they are good, I make sure they get more memory. When they are scared of new software and hardware, I talk soothingly to them and sleep on the floor (loses it's charm after the first hour or two) keeping them company the first couple of nights.

Somewhere along the way, anything that plugs into the wall or has passing knowledge of a screwdriver has fallen under my dominion (oooohh downsizing, twice the job for half the pay).

Try unsuccessfully not to have evil thoughts about people that forget to bring common sense to the workplace.

The eclectic timestamps on my posts are partially due to my job, but given the general insomnia and lack of sleep, I must have been very wicked in a former life and hopefully enjoyed it greatly. Waking up on the train, and needing a second to suss out whether I am headed for home or work is par for the course.

Unpaid: Midnight scratcher for the wee furry felines. Climbing apparatus and sleeping platform for same. Juggler of a myriad collection of objects thrown from high shelves as the demon spawn makes it known he is bored or I am too slow to eat my dinner. Teething ring for restless felines. Protector of the canine troll princess from ninja assassin squirrels (yes, this position comes with interesting armor and a cape with a lining that goes swish swish). Retriever of sofa obscured pet toys (bought and conscripted). Fixer of squeaky toys.

In exchange for the above unpaid duties, there is an open offer (highly recommended and hinted at) to taste all my food for me to make sure it is safe.

ATB,
Sam

P.S. You have some cool gigs.

lol sam... you always have a hilarious way to say things. I always enjoy reading your posts .

I'm a network engineer to provide living $$.... I'm full time college and my wife is full time grad school. How do you provide dough to kite? I sell stuff... no, not salesman kinda things... I walk around the house or sit there thinking of all my things and what I could get for them if i sold them on craigslist.

One thing i did do for my current kite was bought a broken TV on craigslist, fixed it, and sold it for more :D. Doesn't really pay off always but it's what i try to do .

Full time tech support for a major online retailer. I quit my membership at a climbing gym to justify buying more kites, figuring that the annual cost would balance out. It has... mostly.

Air traffic controller....

Quote:

Originally posted by indigo_wolf I read bedtime stories to computers........

From the sounds of it, you could read a bedtime story to me! wow... ok.. that somehow sounded dirty.

Quote:

Originally posted by B-Roc Lighthouse keeper in CO :puzzled: It must be tough navigating those big ships all the way in land, past the mountains and across the plains.

I get that all the time. I am a lighthouse keeper in Washington State just south of Vancouver BC. If you know the San Juan Islands.. .well.. Patos and Stuart Island. My family homesteaded Orcas and some of them still live there.

and ps.... being a ninja-assassin... not cool, because pirates are better. j/k

I buy kites and have them shipped to the house with my wife's name on them, along with the roses, jewelry, tickets for Caribbean cruises, and what ever else she wants. I also bought her a trailer to carry all the bugs, boards, kites and accessories.
We, uh I mean I, am taking the trailer to the beach next weekend to play with her, uh, I mean my kites. She lets me play with her stuff.
My wife is the best!!!!!

Gotta love reading some of those posts. Very entertaining, alas, my life is drab. I go to school full time and work full time at a lovely dead end job with a conglomeration of failures. However, UPS has shown interest, and I would love to have a set Monday through Friday schedule which would allow for kiting and such on the weekends! As it stands currently I save all my pennies and hope that I can get another kite, which I am in the process of doing currently (woo hoo).

Although I cannot make my words purr like Sam, I too am constantly haunted by the shadows of a kitty walking into the room. They are always watching, judging, waiting. Waiting until I am asleep to call on me for affectionate embrace and face nuzzles.

I am going to school to get my business degree so that I can open my own outdoor-based business. The number of kite shops in the area is dismal and may be a niche that I someday fill. The addiction is growing as I approach my third kite. I don't know what would stop me from pursuing this, dare I say, POWERFUL diversion from looking horizontally to the fabric in the sky.

I write training materials and procedures for Kimberly-Clark Corp full time and part time, I write Radio and TV commercials and do voice-overs for the same though not as much as I used to so the quiver is a bit stagnant...

Oh, and I'm a nude model for blind sculpters... I describe my body to them while they rummage around for the clay.
To help them out, I roll the clay into a snake for them....

hahahahahha one thing is for sure, everyone has a good sense of humor.

Quote:

Oh, and I'm a nude model for blind sculpters... I describe my body to them while they rummage around for the clay. To help them out, I roll the clay into a snake for them....

hahaha i got kicked out of art school for tracing......

Engineers up in here? [urlhttp://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=12890[/url]

I'm a computer engineer by trade but at the end of the day I'm a cog in a large company that makes other cogs :karate:

Really pirates? I go back and fourth all the time but tend towards ninjas for their stealth over brute force, arr. Of course, the ninja must be sea-worthy. And have a kite.

Warehouse manager for a concrete construction supply business by day... may get into making custom concrete counter-tops too... good money in that stuff!

.... by the rest of the time

pirates > ninjas

Where's the damn zoom key!!!!!

..right click, view image...

Quote:

Originally posted by HardRock Where's the damn zoom key!!!!!

I just spit coffee..... luckily I wasn't fully facing the monitor.

ATB,
Sam

Hey drew where are your buccaneers hopefully under your buccan hat