Mocked by friends?!?

[stdreb27]

So, I just found out today, that all my friends make fun of me for my hobby. And well frequenting fish forums. Amy (my pre-wife) told her roommate what swf.com was and how much time I spend on it, and she laughed at me for about 10 minutes solid. I guess that is why I spend so much time here, at least people here understand. But do you get mocked for your hobby and that you spend time on the internet talking to strangers about fish?

 

[nietzsche]

Originally Posted by stdreb27
So, I just found out today, that all my friends make fun of me for my hobby. And well frequenting fish forums. Amy (my pre-wife) told her roommate what swf.com was and how much time I spend on it, and she laughed at me for about 10 minutes solid. I guess that is why I spend so much time here, at least people here understand. But do you get mocked for your hobby and that you spend time on the internet talking to strangers about fish?
yep. friends make fun of me about it. nothing to stress over. i have a friend whos into it too, but he doesnt spend that much time on the forums and doesnt create usernames. i dont really talk about my hobby to people; people wouldnt understand

 

[ruaround]

a few of em do... but some have tanks and are always askin me questions... so its all good... but i poke fun at some of the forums some of my friends frequent... i mean cmon lovemybus.com!!! get real!!!

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by ruaround
a few of em do... but some have tanks and are always askin me questions... so its all good... but i poke fun at some of the forums some of my friends frequent... i mean cmon lovemybus.com!!! get real!!!
lol ooo now there is a cult following, I used to work at an autopart store and there was a vw man there, he was bad. And it never ended, my bug this or that.
No one understands my fishtanks, not even my friends with tanks.

 

[ruaround]

Originally Posted by stdreb27
lol ooo now there is a cult following, I used to work at an autopart store and there was a vw man there, he was bad. And it never ended, my bug this or that.
No one understands my fishtanks, not even my friends with tanks.
i tried to count how many times i said "really" or "thats cool" to my buddy that frequents that site in a conversation about his bus... i stopped after 30... lol... they go on and on about their VWs...
i guess if youre not into the hobby it seems a little goofy... i always enjoy the look on peoples faces when you tll em how much $$$ youve dropped into the hobby...

 

[renogaw]

i just don't let them know how much time i spend on line, and they are jealous of how nice my tank is because "saltwater is SOOOO hard to do"

 

[beth]

You have a skill that few have, and none of them laughing certainly don't have, so don't worry about it. Likely all those ladys' boyfriends and husbands hobby is drinking beer in front of the TV, so you have 1 up on all of them.

 

[renogaw]

I was thinking about this on my way in.
if your wife to be laughs about you for a hobby and going to a forum to better your understanding of, and helping others with, keeping live animals happy and healthy, you need to set her straight. or dump her... imagine how much nagging your life is going to go through... and laughing for 10 mins straight... can we say immature?

 

[jasonmarc]

Yeah - I would think we all get picked on for it when we talk at any depth about it... nature of the beast... Between this and breeding/showing dogs ("you have HOW MANY dogs in your house??!!?? - you know it's bad when you say "only 8, why?") I can't win for losing...

Don't really think it's immaturity though - it's just human nature to pick on ones you love.....
Jason

 

[earlybird]

People fear what they don't know. Mockery is the biggest form of flattery. And all those other cliches.

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by Beth
You have a skill that few have, and none of them laughing certainly don't have, so don't worry about it. Likely all those ladys' boyfriends and husbands hobby is drinking beer in front of the TV, so you have 1 up on all of them.

Haha, that's an awesome point there (the part about their husbands drinking beer in front of the tv ... well, all of it is, really)!
I have a co-worker who likened it to his hobby: motorcycles. A new motorcycle costs about what a new large (180+) tank setup costs, and a used one is about comparable. New parts that he regularly peruses run around the same as something like a calc-reactor, and the time he puts into his bike is about how much I put into my tanks. He also spends time on forums related to his type of motorcycle; now granted, we're programmers, so we spend all day online anyway...
So really, if anyone says anything, just point out that it's just like any other hobby that requires money ... and time ... oh and commitment ... and a little passion ... oh yeah, and an internet connection ... and money (have to put that one in twice).

 

[reefkprz]

with all my tanks amnd exotic animals as well as regular domestics (we are pushing about 50 pets or so) people dont have time to make fun they are amazed and the fact we can take care of them all. when they ask how we find the time I explain how much time you save unpluigging your television. I havent watched TV in many years. (I watch movies but I never watch any regular tv or cable tv) tvs suck the time right out of your life. people tell me they only got to watch two of their shows because their other half had to watch one of theirs.... so you spent 3 hours in front of the TV.... cant learn much that way (with a few exceptions like the history channel and nature shows) 3 hours of lame prefab jokes and commercials. wow. if any of my tv watching friends were to crack jokes about my hobbies I would just crack jokes back about how much dumber they were getting for watching mass media crap. hack who really wants to watch a half hour of commercials for every half hour of program..... wow sorry for the tv rant. I guess I really dont like tv.

 

[cowfishrule]

no, very few people know that i am a reefer.

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by renogaw
I was thinking about this on my way in.
if your wife to be laughs about you for a hobby and going to a forum to better your understanding of, and helping others with, keeping live animals happy and healthy, you need to set her straight. or dump her... imagine how much nagging your life is going to go through... and laughing for 10 mins straight... can we say immature?
wow right now your post count is 6,666, its ok, she is an artist, so I ask her how f-art class is going, I'm proud of her fart work, it is endless the opportunities. I dish it out way worse than I recieve it I'm sure. I just thought it was funny. "you spend time on the internet talking to strangers about fish? hahaha" for 10 minutes straight.

 

[jrthomas40]

people understand it with me since i go to school for marine biology....but i would tell them that since they want to make fun of you the next time they come to your house to close their eyes everytime they walk by the fish tank...lol...and what the heck is a pre-wife

 

[jennythebugg]

we got made fun of , when asked if we were in a support group and he said he had all the support he needed in 'fishland' and they laughed

 

[porkchop48]

I so feel for you. I dont get picked on about the Sw tank because I only have one but I do have a frogs room set up in my house for all my darts frogs and convereted the bathroom closet to be able to raise tadpole in it easily. I cathc all kinds of heck for it. " you mean you have a room in your house call the frog room?" How many frogs do you have? How many tanks do you have? Over 100 tadpoles you must be nuts? Why dont you just cull some of the tads? Can you lick them?" why dont you put them all together?
People just dont understand. Now I am sure if I became a heroine addict or a crack head they would suggest I find some more productive to do with my time. Right now they just think Im nuts

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by jrthomas40
people understand it with me since i go to school for marine biology....but i would tell them that since they want to make fun of you the next time they come to your house to close their eyes everytime they walk by the fish tank...lol...and what the heck is a pre-wife
It was late, I can't spell fianssay So I just call her prewife.

 

[renogaw]

Originally Posted by stdreb27
It was late, I can't spell fianssay So I just call her prewife.
fiance

 

[rykna]

Originally Posted by stdreb27
So, I just found out today, that all my friends make fun of me for my hobby. And well frequenting fish forums. Amy (my pre-wife) told her roommate what swf.com was and how much time I spend on it, and she laughed at me for about 10 minutes solid. I guess that is why I spend so much time here, at least people here understand. But do you get mocked for your hobby and that you spend time on the internet talking to strangers about fish?
Heck yeah!!! My entire family thinks I'm nuts...but that's okay. My Dad loves bow hunting, so much so he learned how to make his own bows and arrows. When that wasn't enough, he learned how to nap arrow heads. He challenges himself by using only natural material that would have been used 100's of years ago, such as making the bow string from squirrel guts. I think it's a really neat hobby, but many people turn green when you talk about it. So let 'em laugh...their loss. Here's an even dimmer view of our society:
You know that show where you're asked questions, and you have 3 life lines?
Well, the question was:
"What revolves around the earth?"
a.) the Sun
b.) the Moon
c.) Mars
d.) Venus
The guy(well into his 30's) was uncertain

....so he asks the audience for help
~54% answered: a.) the SUN

Still the guy was uncertain... after several minutes he gave his final answer....
a.) the Sun...

So not only did he not know, but 54% of the audience did not know.

So the next time somebody gives you grief about your saltwater hobby. Ask them to explain how to "cycle" a tank, what is the correct salinity of a sw tank, explain the nitro/nitrate cycle of a tank, what is an amphiopod, what does a seahorse eat? etc etc...send them emails with images of "the Blue hole".
We could all ace a marine biology test...that's something that an every day "joe" can't do. So let them jeer...their loss...the wonders of the ocean are incredible, it is our hobby that allows us to take part of that