Living with chronic illness as I do I've had periods of time off work on Sickness benefit in between holding down a job. I had to take early retirement due to ill health and now I'm supported by an Invalid's benefit. Depending on how well I am I still love to get out on one of my elderly English bicycles and with living in a small rural town like I do traffic is light most of the time. Back when I was still living in the city I had to give up riding and hang my bikes up in the garage because riding in traffic had become far too dangerous.
The weather is too cold at the moment for me to be doing much tinkering around with my bikes, so that will have to keep for warmer weather.
I like to read and now that I own a Kindle I seem to be reading more than ever. In between I have a study project or two that I like to do purely for my own interest. I've thought about picking up some papers via extra mural distance learning to complete the degree I was doing when I had to retire due to illness, but I've decided I can't be bothered as it's highly unlikely that I'll be employed by anybody ever again. Life's too short to be spending it doing exams and writing assignments.
When I was having a bad time with illness a while ago I worked on building a town and railway station in Lego as a way to keep my mind and the fine motor control in my hands working together properly. Essentially Lego is a 3D jigsaw puzzle which was exactly what I needed to aid my recovery back then. Don't ask me how much Lego and Lego clone/compatible bricks I own, but I can tell you it's a considerable amount.
Speaking of puzzles I build and rebuild my own computers up from parts too. I get all my parts very cheaply from computer recyclers and while my machines can look a bit on the 'rat tech' side of things they are very reliable and the price is definitely right.
Sometimes when the mood is on me I'll do some handcraft work or even a little model making. When I was younger I used to build intricate models in brass, but my eyesight isn't good enough for that now. Unfortunately I no longer own any of these models as I had to sell them off as a way to pay the bills during the long stand down period before I could apply for the Invalids benefit.
I don't watch TV and don't even own a working example of a television set, but I do like to watch good movies on my computer. Recently I've started to watch a few of the better kinds of television series on my computer as well which I enjoy doing when I'm not so well.
Writing is something I've always done for as long as I can remember and it was my safety valve back when I was still working as a social worker. In the era of the
e.book getting published is easier than it was in the days of the printed book so I'm considering looking at my writing more seriously again.
I did used to potter about in my garden, but I haven't done that for the past couple of years due to not being well. I was a fairly terrible gardener anyway so no doubt my plants and shrubs are much relieved that I'm leaving them alone to get on with it.
Taking up HourGlass2B's point I am very much aware that society functions on many people doing fairly boring and tedious jobs, - and these days more often than not for minimum wages too. How long such a state of inequality will continue before the wheels fall off who can say.
I suppose I'm lucky in a way. My small 1930's cottage might not be much to look at, but it is mine free and clear. Being not especially interested in shiny consumer status symbols and not believing in usury means that I live very cheaply indeed. I'd rather not be ill, but I am and I doubly count myself lucky that New Zealand still does provide on-going support for folk like me who can't maintain regular employment.
