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I'm kind of at this point. I'm 52, I have a child, I am not working on things I want to work on, and the place I work for is going in a direction that's taking my job further away from things I want to work on.

So recently I thought, fuck it, I'll go back to fixing tractors.

The money's okay, and people are *really really grateful* when you drive out to the middle of their field at 11pm to weld some irreplaceable broken part back together.

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Not fixing tractors myself, but there's something really satisfying about working with your hands and being outside with a desk job. Once I hit my forties my back and eyesight started deteriorating and I could tell I felt much better on the weekends from being more physically active.

I haven't made the move yet, but I used to do it.

Growing up and living in a rural area fosters The Hacker Nature like nothing else. If you don't open up the broken thing and repair it, then guess what? It will remain broken until you do, and right now it's sunny and there's a breeze. If you leave it just now, you'll just have to walk home, and walk back out to it tomorrow, when it will be raining and you'll get bitten by midges, and it'll all be a much more miserable experience.

Not so fun in January and 140mph winds when you're trying to stick weld a broken barn door hinge.

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