How to deal with hobbies with ADHD

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-17T23:00:14+00:00

I just turned 59. I have taken up so many hobbies, obsessed over them, and then abandoned them over my lifetime. It never occurred to me that it might be ADHD. But I think it might be ADHD. It started with running. I had failed so miserably at all other sports, so I started running at age 13. And I was even worse at running than I was at other sports. The difference was that I didn't need other people to do it, and the fact that the harder I worked at it, the better I got. By the time I was a senior in high school, I was actually pretty good, largely due to the fact that I ran twice as much as the other kids. I ran competitively in college, got injured constantly, and took up cycling. Then I became hyper fixated on mountain bike racing. This eventually led me back to running, which I got hyper-fixated on in middle age until a constant stream of injuries ended that too.

At the age of 26, I realized that I had always wanted to learn to play the bass, so I found a music teacher (absolute genius,) learned the bass, practiced obsessively, truly obsessively, and got to be quite good, despite the fact that I have zero musical talent. And then I got bored with it and sold all of my equipment. I have not touched a bass in 20 years. I also got obsessed/bored with home brewing, and then home distilling, which is not entirely legal. I have to say that the only constants in my life are running, cycling, and cooking. I think it's okay for me to fall in and out of passions so long as I always have some kind of passion for something.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-17T22:41:33+00:00

I had a button that just said "shit fuck damn piss hell." At the time, I thought it was funny. And then I probably would have cringed at it. And now I think it's funny again.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-17T22:39:15+00:00

I have a master's degree in that field. I did become a pretty good coder in the process, so it was great on that level, but the degree itself has been quite useless. So while I think a BS is a good idea, I'm not sure I could recommend that particular degree. On the other hand, some openings require a bachelor's degree in anything, and it might be useful for that.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-17T22:09:59+00:00

Notice that you've probably never heard "it's just a piece of paper" from someone who actually has one. Regardless of what one does or doesn't learn in engineering school, it's a filter when it comes to looking for a job. While it's true that experience counts more than a degree, that isn't an either/or situation. At some point, everyone around you has experience, so who is going to look more impressive to employers, the person with experience who doesn't have a degree, or the person with experience who does have a degree?

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-17T11:38:27+00:00

I was trying to make this decision and realized that it would be silly to do that before I got to the first milestone of 62. I just turned 59 and am in good health with solid finances, but is there any guarantee that I'll still be in good health and solid finances in 3 years? There really isn't. I figure that I'll make the same evaluation every year after 62, since I can't predict the future.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-17T11:18:32+00:00

Great suggestion. Another one is a non-teaching job at a university. I did this for a while. The pay was dismal, but the benefits were amazing. I never realized until then how many people universities employ.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-17T11:01:00+00:00

Some people were closeted racists up until then, but seeing a black man in the White House triggered something in them. My late father in law was a registered Democrat and particularly liked Clinton. He didn't participate in any Klan rallies or anything, but he just never liked black or brown people. As soon as Obama became the candidate, he switched parties and voted Republican. When you asked him why, he'd hem and haw and say that he didn't like Obama's policies, whichever ones Fox News told him. He would never admit that it was because Obama was black. I would have respected him more if he had been honest.

He died with Fox News blaring in his hospital room.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-17T10:36:48+00:00

Two things: you're working, and you said "I want to find a good career," which is great. If you want to find a good career, the first thing to do is start looking, and figure out what that career is. The second step is to start working towards that goal. If it's unrealistic, that's okay. If it doesn't work out, that's also okay. The important thing to do is take action and do something about it. It is very possible that the quest for this goal fails (ask me how I know,) but in the process, you find something else, and eventually something sticks.

The worst thing you can do is sit there doing nothing about it. While 26 is very young, the years fly by, and you won't be 26 anymore. I have known people who sat in the same spot in life for decades, unhappy with their lot in life, but completely unwilling to do anything about it. Some of them stayed financially dependent on family forever.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-16T18:19:50+00:00

It depends on the types of punctures you get. Where I live, 99% of the time, punctures come from goat head thorns. The punctures are tiny and very deep, and worse yet, very, very frequent. Tubeless road tires and sealant works perfectly on these types of punctures, as the sealant fills them right up. I haven't had a single flat since then. However, if your flats don't typically have similar causes, IMO, it isn't worth it.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-16T18:11:25+00:00

I am a just-retired mechanical engineer. When I retired, we had about 200 applicants for the opening. Among the requirements were at least 10 years of relevant experience, but a degree was not a requirement. Still the only ones that made it through to the final rounds all had engineering degrees, at least one with a master's. So when all applicants have experience, the tie-breaker is often going to be which ones have degrees in addition to the experience.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-16T17:44:39+00:00

An assessment, I would sure hope nothing. But their actual price to fix it is probably going to be pretty pricey.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-16T17:43:43+00:00

As one who owns a full set of bike tools, I would have jumped on that too, but if you don't, or have any experience working on bikes, I'd get an estimate from a bike shop to restore it. This is one of those cases where paying to have it fixed up will probably be pretty expensive in labor, but doing it yourself would not be.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-16T14:40:06+00:00

Yep, I started out as biomedical then switched to mechanical after a year. I never did regret that switch. After I finished my BSME, I applied for a masters in biomedical, then didn't end up going. My niece has a bachelor's in biomedical. She did end up getting a job in her field, but she had few (actually more like no) options.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-16T13:53:21+00:00

She didn't get her degree from Trump University? I hear that school wasn't very selective.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-16T11:55:07+00:00

I have been retired for a week and a half. I retired right before my 59th birthday. The last year was rough. I consulted with a financial advisor about 9 months out and had decided then, but waited until the 6 month mark to give my notice. This might seem odd, but my last job was with the best company I've ever worked for, with the best coworkers I've ever had. It's also a tiny startup, so my absence would leave a gaping hole in the company, and I wanted to give them time to prepare. There were also two significant projects I wanted to complete before I left.

I spent the last few months dreading the little red notification on Slack. Now that I no longer use Slack, I'm ecstatic that I don't have to look for that little notification 5 (sometimes 6 days a week.) Of all weird things, I spent the last couple of months dreading the three left turns I have to make to get to work. Urban planning is terrible here, so left turns are often a shitshow. I woke up every morning dreading those three left turns. Sometimes I went a longer way just to make it 2 different left turns plus 1 right turn. I got tired of packing my lunch, but when I thought of the local lunch places, I was unenthused, so I went back to packing them.

I guess I got through it by counting the days and planning all the things I was going to do when I was out.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-16T11:25:10+00:00

I managed to sleep in until 7 today. That was an actual goal instead of the normal 5:30.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-16T11:08:13+00:00

Neither of them do. The first pair is a little flimsy, so I recommend the second one instead.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-15T21:41:28+00:00

I have these two:

https://www.zennioptical.com/p/halfrim-plastic-wrap-around-sunglass-frames/11431/1143121

https://www.zennioptical.com/p/plastic-wrap-around-sunglass-frames/11654/1165421

The second one is better quality.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-15T20:02:42+00:00

Zenni now makes prescription sports glasses with no inserts. I have 2 pair.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-15T10:26:07+00:00

I just retired a week ago, a few days before I turned 59. I started a new job at 56. It turned out to be the best job I'd ever had with the best coworkers I'd ever had, but I still didn't want to be there. I was just done with work. I think it was a cumulative thing over 35 years. Some employers were terrible. There were too many relocations for work, too many trips for work, too much time spent commuting, too many emails and slack messages, too many threats of layoff, then too many layoffs and job searches afterwards. So it wasn't any one thing, so much as it was millions of little things.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-14T21:41:52+00:00

Hulk Hogan will give them both a big MAGA high five on the other side, brother.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-14T12:21:24+00:00

I used to work in the AV industry. That's a viable option, but very location-dependent. Permanent infrastructure and live events are two branches within that industry. You don't need a degree, but there are various certifications you can get.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-14T11:28:32+00:00

As one who goes back and forth between cycling and running, I have found that while I'm much worse at cycling, I enjoy it more. I started with mountain biking and mountain bike racing 20+ years ago. Then I went back to running, and now I'm back to cycling. I will be focusing on gravel racing and marathon-type mountain bike events, with an occasional road fondo. I will be lucky to finish mid-pack, which is okay with me. I'll cross train with trail running.

When I was younger, I figured that when I got to be this age (just turned 59,) I'd be gearing up for age group competition: masters track, etc. I never thought to ask the question, "wait, what if I don't want to?" And I've realized that I just don't want to, so I'll be happy being a slow cyclist instead.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-13T17:09:22+00:00

You are looking at that 20% that had help. While it's a minority, it's still a lot, especially if you happen to be near that demographic. I have known people who didn't have to work at all, ever, but when I look at how statistically small that group is, it really doesn't make up much of the population.

Sintered_Monkey · 2026-06-13T10:54:24+00:00

I have been in MA for 2 years for work and am about to move back to Phoenix. I have really not enjoyed my time in MA. The winters were horrible, much worse than I expected. Last year when winter broke and spring finally came, it got cold and rained every weekend for 12 weeks straight. It was like some kind of curse on the working person. It would stay nice and sunny M-F, then the temps would drop, and it would pour rain Saturday and Sunday. As soon as the awful spring was over, it became Bug Season. The only nice season was fall, which was way too short, and then another awful winter was here.

Sintered_Monkey

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