Dart Den

Ere's one for you guys to ponder.

why do my American friends say they are WORKING with ..... some folks use the term here too,but it has always implied that this is a job to me,something about money being important,not an enrichment of our lives with some amazing animals.Sure we spend a lot of time caring for them,we look out for them we are custodians,but we do it because they bring us joy,not for bucks:they are our hobby.Sure there are some businesses out there,I understand that is their job and they go and work.But why does the guy with a few frogs like us for example call their hobby work. Look, I do some graft no doubt,we both get our heads down to make things happen that need to happen,it is a responsibility anyone takes on board when they decide to keep any livestock,I'm just singularly loath to call it work . I also realise that the word might imply some seriousness about how a keeper is going about things.
Having a hobby involving animals even if one wants to really push at fixing them breeding programmes and such is surely something different than work. I'm not really being pedantic here,I just kinda feel something is being lost,tis that what interests me : are we losing something when we describe doing something that we adore,that we choose, as work

Thanks for any and all replies
take care ya'll

Stu

I'll take a crack at Translating this Stu...

When 'we' say we are 'working with' a particular species, we mean the science and husbandry thing of it primarily and not the $$ . At least this is how I perceive it.

Working = managing the bloodline, caring for the frogs and breeding.

I agree. I think it's more of just a phrase or expression for handling them and not meant to sound like clocking in a time card for a job. I can see where the confusion would come from though. Example: "Smoking a fag." means two totally different things depending on which side of the ocean you are on lol

I thought we said "working with xxxx species of frogs" because saying "playing with xxxx species of frogs" makes us sound even crazier :-)

Hey guy's, thankyou for your replies my apologies for the slowness of mine. Chuck(buddy I hope your well) we'll all except we are nuts :lol: Surely we thrive on that,cause it's cool let's face it we want to pop a rainforest in a glass box,that's bonkers and breed stunning frogs init.But there's an irony to the fact that we get there and enjoy the challenge. Ha mate playing with frogs is exactly the kind of term I'd use 8)

Phil, (you too kiddo hope your good) I hear ya mate,but I was digging for more than just the cross Atlantic divide and our differing interpretations of my countries language,said by the most inept user here,what I'm after is fundamentally in the last line of my post...Are we loosing something......

Josh same thing really not the language differences(smoking a fag made me laugh though 8) ) but the loss of something?
thanks guys

Stu

Ha! Thought the same myself many a time Stu. I understand the implications of 'working with' (i.e. some degree of organisation (or should I say organization?), direction, part of a bigger picture etc.) but it does sound to me like you're entering into some kind of voluntary contractual arrangement with the frogs! I don't want my frogs forming a union over night, so I think I'll stick with 'keeping' for now.... Thanks for asking the question though, made me chuckle!

I'm sometimes amazed by how much I change the way I speak in the US to avoid confused looks to be honest. Two nations divided by a common language and all that ;-)

Nick

DrNick Wrote:Ha! Thought the same myself many a time Stu. I understand the implications of 'working with' (i.e. some degree of organisation (or should I say organization?), direction, part of a bigger picture etc.) but it does sound to me like you're entering into some kind of voluntary contractual arrangement with the frogs! I don't want my frogs forming a union over night, so I think I'll stick with 'keeping' for now.... Thanks for asking the question though, made me chuckle!

I'm sometimes amazed by how much I change the way I speak in the US to avoid confused looks to be honest. Two nations divided by a common language and all that ;-)

Nick

Hey Nick,
Well from what i've heard today, from my frogs I haven't entered into a voluntary agreement at all,they want us to sign paperwork now :roll: and apparently I'm putting in too many hours,with the springtails and not enough with them hock:


Being totally honest Nick,i'm now of the view,if someone has understood one of my post's i've won,that applies over here too,not just with our mates in the states(how could I not rhyme that). I'm not really capable of changing the way I write either,unfortunately. All I can say is thank god for digital cameras,I'd be stuffed otherwise. :lol:

Back to topic: my favourite words are" custodians of," to me it implies a seriousness of care for our animals,without implying much else.
cheers

Stu