School/work hours

[Ayn]

I don't know how many classes you're taking (sounds like a full time load, or close to it), but from the perspective of someone that does teach, your course load, combined with your work load, seems like you are doing more than enough. There's a lot of good here posted about time management, threshold, rigor of the program, etc. that makes the situation vary between people.

Most of the time, what I hear from my students that live at home (as well as a few family members) is that their parents, unless they have had experience in higher education (being in a similar field, teaching, or whatever), tend to have no perception of how much (or how little) work goes in from the school side: So attempting to butt heads with them and produce a logical argument might backfire against them.

But yeah, the barbed answer is that between the time you spend at work and the time spend just sitting in class (without factoring in studying/homework), you're exceeding the equivalent of a 40 hour work week.

The even more barbed answer could be "K, BRB, selling drugs and getting womenz pregnant"

[Timwakefield]

I work Full-time and go to school Full-time. It's all about time management.

I did this for two years and it sucked ballsack. Caused a major rift in my social life for a long time. Stay in school, kids. Don't fuck off when you're 18 and then have to finish a B.S./M.S. when you're 26-28.

[Keria]

From what I can tell, it's not that you don't do work around the house/school/etc, its that in their opinion, you play games too much. You could be working 80 hours a week, but if you play games when you're home, their opinion of you will continue. The only real way to break the cycle would be to just stay away from games COMPLETELY for about a month. And I mean cold fucking turkey. Watch tv, read a book, fap, ANYTHING but play a game. This would also mean staying away from your PC for general internet crap since they'll auto-assume you're playing a game if you're on your PC. Spending more free time in the living room would also help. Then slowly just work a bit of gaming back into the mix. If all of this fails, then moving out is your only option. Either that or giving them money every month to keep them off your ass.

Nah this is balls. I quit gaming completely for 2 months while unemployed (because no internet kekeke, the company fucked up somewhere and we had no service). I paid for the whole house's net but no fucks were given except to whine about no internet. The bitching would just be about too much reading/not going out enough. It was the same when I was at full time art school and doing 20-30 hours in a shop as well. Stress nearly killed me but the real problem was "too much games"...

You just need to move out, the overreaction when you said you were is either a) controlling dick behaviour, so you can never win anyway, or b) misplaced guilt because they feel bad about asking you to leave.

[Fhloston]

Fuck that noise. Get the fuck out, asap. I was lucky when I was single. Lived w/grandma, played Xl or WoW all the time or worked, and no one bothered me. Honestly, I gamed a lot more then before I got married.

Anyway, enjoy gaming while you can, cuz when you settle down and start going out with the Mrs/GF or have kids, you'll notice your playtime decrease day by day.... I only game on the weekends, but miss the old FFXI days sometimes

[Artifact]

Monday-Friday.
Wake up: 5:30AM.
LA Fitness: 5:45AM-7:15AM
Work: 7:45AM-Whenever. Work day ends at 5PM obviously, but in construction, and on salary --- anything can happen. Got home from work yesterday at 9:30PM. Nobody likes 13.5 hour work days, but it's part of the game.
If I get out of work at 5PM, I will play basketball until around 7:30PM depending on how many people are playing.
When I get home, I eat --- but I pretty much have lunch/dinner ready --- cook every Sunday / Wednesday for the week.
Then I play Final Fantasy XIV until I'm tired. Usually around 11:30PM, but if my free company is trying to beat something I can be persuaded until 1AM.
------

You probably are being lazy. Does that mean you aren't being productive? No. You are committing to work and school and that is it. In college, I was an athlete, so working was out of the question. However, when I was not on the field or in the classroom --- I was being a college kid. Eat, drink, play basketball and video games. It is all perspective.

What it comes down too, is what do you want?
I want to be fit as fuck for no reason. So I spend too much time in the gym as a hobby, cause clearly I did not make it as a professional.
I want to be a businessman, so I am the 24 year old puppet. I do whatever is needed, whether that is pouring concrete for seven hours, or putting together a presentation all night for my boss.
I want to keep my few friends close to me. So when they hit me up to grab dinner, or go see a movie -- I push my healthy dish aside, tell my ffxiv dudes to kick rocks because having healthy relationships is just as important to me.
I want to be a badass FFXIV player. My closest friends do not know I play, but I spend at least 20+ hours a week even if it is the busiest week I ever had.


My roommate is an underwriter and a VERY casual exerciser. I say he works 7:15AM-3:30PM. Works out max 30 minutes 3 times a week. After that, he eats like a slob --- plays random games with no point of progress (addictinggames.com). He goes to sleep earlier than me, and wakes up later than me -- 7 nights a week.

I use this as an example of me naturally thinking that he is lazy. But is he? Probably not. He works 40 hours a week, has a decent job and is willing to go out and hang with friends at any time.


At the end of the day, it is all what you want. I think he is crazy for sitting on the couch watching random documentaries, random youtube videos and playing pointless time-passing games. He thinks I am crazy for rather being at the gym than hang out with him, eat plain chicken and sweet potatoes and spend my nights playing "dungeons and dragons."

[Stromgarde]

You're asking the wrong question. Just move out of your parents' place; it's a pretty safe bet whatever money you're socking away is not worth the pain in the ass that is living with your parents in your 30's.

[Omnipotent]

I moved out when I was 19 and used my student loans to help pay for my apartment with my friend. After he graduated when I was a junior in college, I took a little more loans to move in solo, which allowed maximum fucking potential and gaming or whatever I wanted to do by myself with my gf. I took a significant hit with the added loans, but holy hell was it worth it. I had a loving and caring supporting CATHOLIC family. If I ever wanted to develop a relationship with my girlfriend intimately and actually have a late night social life, I had to move out. I've been out of the house since 19 and it still to this day was the best decision yet. Not to mention, when you actually DO go visit your parents, they throw food down your throat and you don't mind the bull shit for a couple hours. Do it, and don't look back.

[Genosync]

I did this for two years and it sucked ballsack. Caused a major rift in my social life for a long time. Stay in school, kids. Don't fuck off when you're 18 and then have to finish a B.S./M.S. when you're 26-28.

This, a million times over. I'm not going to be done for another two years. I work full-time, take 15 hours a semester, and got married last year. The combination of stress and commitment is fucking insane.

But on topic, move the hell out. It won't stop otherwise.

[Aksannyi]

It sounds less about how much work/school work you should be doing and more about their low opinion of your gaming lifestyle.

I work full time out of necessity and I go to college full time. It's hard, I'm tired as hell and cranky because I don't get a whole lot of sleep. I work on my schoolwork during my lunch hour, I'd stay up until 1AM working on assignments only to get back up at 5AM to finish them and submit them. It sucks, but I have an end goal in mind.

While part of me wishes I could live with my mother (which is impossible since she's in PA and I'm in FL) because it would be easier on my wallet and I would work less hours, I'm really glad that I can do this on my own.

If you think you can make it work and if you don't feel overtaxed (and even if you do, because sometimes you just have to push through it), I don't see why you shouldn't consider moving out, and if you spend your spare time gaming or interwebbing, then who honestly gives a fuck.

[Delayed]

My parents were the same. I was taking 10-12 hours a week classes and working 6 days a week, but because time spent at home was gaming-- I got considered lazy.
Once I moved out the bitching changed to not coming over enough, not spending my money properly because I moved into apts of my choice and not theirs.
Your situation sounds like mine-- moving out is the best decision for what you can do, especially if you can afford to do it.

[NynJa]

not spending my money properly because I moved into apts of my choice and not theirs.

This has actually come up. They want me to move somewhere closer. Yet in calgary, finding a place for 417 a month is completely unheard of. It is non existent. Considering my potential paycheck at 7 shifts per paycheck would be around 625$, monthly 1250$, thats 800$ a month for everything else. It might sound like a lot, but theres food, internet, gas, ffxi subs, and all of a sudden that 800$ remaining is gone. If I moved somewhere where I'd need 900 on rent alone, I'm gonna be living on ramen noodles!