Time For Reflection

All,

Well it is now a week ago since surgery and I am out of the grasp of the NSW Health System.  This has been my first major foray involving a regional hospital and I must state that even though Goulburn Base lacks the sheer resources of Sydney hospitals...the staff here certainly do step up.  The care I have received has been above and beyond and I cannot but be in awe of the dedication they show.  On the other hand...my private health insurance v's a medicare stay bought me a daily paper and a television...what value!!!...Anyway today I received the news that the tumour ( and other iffy bits ) removed are B9 and there are no signs of lymphoma... and I live again to wreak pain and misery upon my ever suffering family and friends!!!.  The only downside to the whole kerfuffle  is the loss of hearing and loss of feeling over a fair portion of the right hand side of my face which will in all likelihood prove permanent...I was warned of nerve damage and I feel it is a small price to pay!...

Anyway...over the last week or so I have had plenty of time to contemplate the hobby and where I fit in it all.  Don't worry I have not had one of those "religious" type epiphanies....if that were the case I would probably be announcing a shift to Victorian Railways...No, I have just spent a bit of time going through the differing strands of the hobby and working out which of the strands I most enjoy and why.  The underlying factor in all of this is that I have found it very hard to get the juices flowing where the layout is concerned and obviously that would be apparent when I look back over the 90 or so postings since beginning this Blog which was initially created to allow me to chronicle the building of  what has become known as "Fish River"...and in recent times has emphasised  the lack of any real progress. 

While I understand we all find ourselves questioning our hobby involvement at some time or another...for me it has reached a stage where I do have to deal with the issue or risk some sort of mental implosion and while those close to me would proffer that this event would be a minor event based on the total mass involved, it is important for me to prioritise what I LIKE to do and those I feel somehow tasked to achieve. 

So what have I decided so far...

Firstly my dreams of a railway empire have been laid to rest for now.  The part of the layout known as Fish River will have all rail laying and pointwork finalised and scenery also completed.  A single track that circumnavigates the balance of the layout room will be laid and that will allow continuous running.  It will be nice to just sit and watch a train or two traversing the Fish River environs and not having to worry about said trains falling of the limited world I have in place now.

Secondly I will spend more time on the Laser Rail Bits range.  Apart from being a semi commercial venture, I absolutely live for the limited time I spend on kit development presently.  The joy I get from birthing an idea to ready for market is second to none and it requires more time to achieve the goals I have set myself.  I am frustrated with the present speed of kit development and this must change...

Thirdly ( Gee all this firstly and secondly stuff is starting to sound like K Rudd ) I plan to restructure the main business to focus more on the type of work that reflects time input v/s dollars.  While this may seem conceited...it is certainly not intended to be.  The business has grown steadily and we have worked hard over the last 20 years or so and I feel that it is time that the business become more tailored around our lives and not the other way around.

Lastly, I am thoroughly enjoying the creation of mini scenes or mini dioramas. It brings together many disciplines of the hobby into one single focus and I would love to explore this facet some more and hopefully discover some added skills and hone existing ones. The resultant scenes will either be stockpiled and end up as part of the layout in the future or will be sold if so desired...either way they are very fulfilling and in most cases gives me the ability to construct and place in context some of our kit products. 

The end result of all of these changes will hopefully provide a more balanced life and isn't that what we all try and achieve from being involved in a hobby in the first place???

Have a Great Week!!!