Lived Experience Forum

[Xibon]

@Acanthiza I love that you share a love of art. Miniature painting is so accessible, may I ask what you paint? I loooovvve oil paints but am also impatient so I flit between acrylics and oil frequently haha. I love running, and longer runs (10 -16 kms) have become a really good emotional regulatory tool for me. I ran my first half marathon last year. which was incredible. I would love to ear the poem you wrote if you still have it?

@Former-Member I couldn't agree more about art being a n artistic and creative outlet rather than a method to achieve success. I personally don't find joy in making art if I'm trying to 'market' it. I kind of hate the capitalist mindset that has turned all artistic pursuits into 'side hustles' or consumerist habits. I love making art, and I love the fact that art is so subjective because it is a pure distillation of the varied and incredibly diverse world we live in. Do you have any of your drawings or paintings you would comfortable sharing?

Its great to feel such a sense of community on here, wishing kindness to everyone this morning 🌻

[Acanthiza]

I'm sorry @Former-Member , it must be hard not being able to do things you loved. I hope you have been able to find new things and all the small joys in life. I'm glad your bike went to some people that will really appreciate it. I am not near Minamurra but I am in a place of extreme natural beauty... I actually feel guilty sometimes so I try to enjoy it as much as I can.

You and @Xibon are right, just doing art and not worrying about the result too much is a great thing to do. I like trying to improve though and figuring things out. Also probably some psychological problems where I need to be good at things to not be criticised (yahoo!)

Xibon I used to run several kms [edited by moderator] on the sand, I was probably fitter then! As for the poem, I should have it around if there is an appropriate place here to post such things. Also in terms of miniatures I mainly just paint warhammer haha. I am a massive nerd, even got a 3d printer and learned how to 3d model during covid to make and paint my own little guys. I don't know if I need specifics but I've been painting lizardmen... slowly. Only been able to get back into it again recently. Both depression and anxiety make it hard for me to even enjoy stuff like that sometimes.

[Former-Member]

Hey there @Acanthiza 🙂

Thank you kindly, I really appreciate it 🌺💜

After I sold my bike, which apparently is well loved by the adventure pics posted online by the new owners who shared their social media with me, I got into doing all the mechanical work on my car..oils/filters (engine, gearbox, differential), brake fluid change, engine coolant system fluid change, wheel bearings change..just not strong enough by myself and basic tools to change the shocks, so I got that done at a mechanic. I’ve put a new condenser in a few years ago, and the aircon freezes the windscreen haha (have to be careful I don’t cause it to crack!🤭). 
Nowadays, I can’t undo the bolts on the bellypan to get to the sump, so it’s all done by my mechanic now…they’re very used to deep discussions about the little nuances of making maintenance easier on my car - I’ve had the engine/gearbox out so I know it almost down to each individual bolt (I rebuilt the engine with my own two hands, occasional foot, and more often than I’d like, teeth…gotta do what’s needed when working alone and without a full workshop of the right tools🙂). 
I used to swap out the rotors/pads when they were worn, but I can’t do that these days. 
So, these days, I just drive it 😎

As far as enjoyment, not using my hands much I’ve had to think differently because how do you be a hands-on person without hands that will do the job? 🙂

I like to think instead. I think about how to fix stuff..all sorts of stuff. I have a bit of memory loss, so I do that as a hobby to try to make the cells keep working 🙌🏻☺️

[Acanthiza]

😲that is wild @Former-Member ! Rebuilding engines and all! I was pretty proud I could follow instructions enough to manage valve clearances on the bike, don't think I would be up for anything more complicated than that.

Thinking about fixing things, what a constructive hobby! There is definitely a lot of satisfaction to be had keeping things in good condition. So satisfying to finish work on something and know you did that.

[Former-Member]

Yeah @Acanthiza , valve adjustment is tricky - that was always a job I felt a bit nervous about on my sv650..I used to live on the red line with that engine so I used to make sure I had my wits about me when adjusting those valve clearances (extreme heat in the heads - especially the exhaust valves because the pipes would glow white with work - so the temp changes used to niggle me awake at night worrying about the little baby engine☺️) I had it for a year and put 89,000kms on it, and it was in great mechanical condition for its age/kms. 
My car has hydraulic lifters, so no manual valve adjustment is necessary (just listen out for noisy valves to indicate a fault/fail of the lifter). This engine is a full chain system for timing, so the tensioner takes up much of the margin of error there - this engine has an amazingly robust timing chain tensioning system! I was nicely impressed when I pulled it to bits and saw how good it was ..I used the original parts besides new guides, to minimise environmental waste (reused my pistons, too)🌺🙂

Um, don’t get me started - I’ll idle along for hours like an old tractor about engines! 🤭

It’s something helpful, I think, to think of solutions to problems..helps my brain, and also helps in other ways🌺☺️

[Xibon]

@Acanthiza running on the sand is lovely, especially the cool off in the ocean after. I think there's some spaces to post creative projects/art. I may create a thread in Social Spaces, but the 'Art for Healing' thread started by @HelloKitty1981 would also be a great space for your poem 😊 (here's a link: https://saneforums.org/t5/Social-Spaces/Art-for-Healing/m-p/1446261#M367016)

I love warhammer hahaha, you're in good company. I used to do commission painting, and I played Vampire Counts and Empire years ago in WHFB, Dark Angels in 30k/40k, and am getting back into Warhammer with The Old World with a heavily themed Vampire Counts army. I also 3d print! haha. What 3d printer do you have?

@Former-Member I gotta say I love your idling about engines! May I enquire what your daily drive is? You know far more than I think I could hope to. Does it feel fulfilling tinkering and being able o feel the improvement/result when you drive or ride? I imagine it would be very satisfying.

[Xibon]

@Acanthiza I'm so sorry I just realised you posted and tagged me in 'Lost in the Wyrd'. The poem is very elegant and beautiful, I sincerely want to commend you ❤️

[Acanthiza]

@Xibonyou are too kind. Commission painting! Sounds like you are right into it. I pootle around and take a long time to paint. Part of the great thing about oils is they don't dry out as fast haha. Oh yeah I have a mars 2 and an ender 3 but they both join the motorbike, silently judging me and gathering dust.

[Xibon]

I really love it hahaha. Commission painting did not pay well, but it was fun, and I got to paint everything from Titans to goblin BloodBowl Teams. Oils are great for their working time, but I've gotten used to using fluid artist acrylics (mainly Jo Sonja's). Flow enhancers and paint retarders can really help with working time for those creamy blends, though 😊

Brilliant! I have an Anycubic Mono X. I haven't done much FDM printing, how do you find the Ender 3?

[Acanthiza]

@XibonI actually started out with fdm because I was afraid of the resin fumes, turns out they possibly shoot out microplastics so both bad 🫤

Got it about as good as it can be for detail... still nowhere near resin. I need a dedicated nerd thread! Maybe will post some of my painted warhammer in the art thread. I am gradually clogging up all of the sane forums with my garbage.