I'm gonna have to start hangin out with you guys/gals

[archiver]

Posted by Ernie P at 1/25/2001 5:36 PM EST


Engineer on team #548, RoboStangs, from Northville High School and Robert Bosch.



Hi (slight dejected tone :( )
I'm gonna start hangin out with you guys/gals, cause my family (read as wife and 2 young children) is really starting to get tired of all the time I spend working on the FIRST program in addition to my real job. Any advise on how to acheive ......how do I say ....... "balance" .

May your words of powerful intelligence augment my cumbersome ignorance.
Thanx, Ernie P

[archiver]

Posted by Veronica at 1/25/2001 6:54 PM EST


Student on team #27, Team Rush, from Osmtech and Textron.


In Reply to: I'm gonna have to start hangin out with you guys/gals
Posted by Ernie P on 1/25/2001 5:36 PM EST:



: Get your wife involved!!! Our head coach and one of our head engineers are married. she was into it first i believe and got him into it now they both work on it they also have three small childeren (read 5 maybe 6 and under) infact she just had a baby last feb mid build season!!! if they can pull it off u can too! just an optimistic thought! Hope it all works out and wish u and ur team the best of luck
V
(who is waaay too happy right now lol)

Hi (slight dejected tone :( )
: I'm gonna start hangin out with you guys/gals, cause my family (read as wife and 2 young children) is really starting to get tired of all the time I spend working on the FIRST program in addition to my real job. Any advise on how to acheive ......how do I say ....... "balance" .

: May your words of powerful intelligence augment my cumbersome ignorance.
: Thanx, Ernie P

[archiver]

Posted by Matt Leese at 1/25/2001 8:32 PM EST


Other on team #73, Tigerbolt, from Edison Technical HS and Alstom & Rochester Institute of Technology.


In Reply to: I'm gonna have to start hangin out with you guys/gals
Posted by Ernie P on 1/25/2001 5:36 PM EST:



Well, as far as young children go, on my old team there was one engineer who would bring his son in on weekends. Little John was around one the first year and the next year he was about two. He was the best behaved child I'd seen in awhile. And hey, what's wrong with starting a kid young on FIRST? ;)

Matt

[archiver]

Posted by Anton Abaya at 1/25/2001 10:25 PM EST


Coach on team #419, Rambots, from UMass Boston / BC High and NONE AT THE MOMENT! :(.


In Reply to: I'm gonna have to start hangin out with you guys/gals
Posted by Ernie P on 1/25/2001 5:36 PM EST:



i'd suggest the perfect balance is either to quit FIRST or to get them involved! there's sooo much to doooooo and not enough people. get the wife to make some team cookies and give her credit for it. give the children a task or two to make a robot part...any small item is enough to please some empty hands.... :)

it's one thing to tell them how exciting it is. it's another thing to get them addicted :)

-anton

[archiver]

Posted by Jason Iannuzzi at 1/26/2001 2:57 PM EST


Engineer on team #11, Marauders, from Mt. Olive HS. and BASF, Rame Hart, CCM.


In Reply to: I'm gonna have to start hangin out with you guys/gals
Posted by Ernie P on 1/25/2001 5:36 PM EST:



My wife knew what she was getting into before we got hitched. Now, when January starts to roll around, she tells her friends "well, I'll see Jason again sometime in February."

It's hard balancing work+FIRST+home, but the key is just that, balance. You don't have to be building the robot everyday, you'll burnout and your family will resent it. Take at least 1 or 2 days off a week and spend that time as QUALITY time with them. Also, don't spend all of your family time talking about the robot. If all of your time is spent talking about "robot this, and robot that" you're too busy talking and not busy enough listening.

ewwww...i sounded like a shrink.

:)

It's halfway over already!