Quote:
Originally Posted by
Bun17 
For me, it's not about space, but about the money."
This has been a problem for me as well. When my wife asks if we (since when you are married it is the two of you) really need to buy that part I just tell her it is going to help me get my design work done faster, which means more time to spend with her and our daughter. This is obviously stretching the truth a bit, but she's not so nieve as to believe such a claim at face value. What it does mean is that I have to save money in advance for such things in my own personal account. That way I'm not robbing our shared (bill paying) account. She's more than happy to let me hang onto $20-50 a check which gives me a $600-1200 anual budget for parts and software. She does something simmilar with her checks, and thus can feel no guilt about buying herself things when she wants as well. If I get a big contract, then she doesn't mind me re-investing some extra cash in my rig as well, so I get to go overbudget when times are good.
With regards to the mess, I have learned to pear down my equimpent as much as possible and keep it in neat bins down in the basement or in a cabinet upstairs (for more commonly needed items). In short, away form my desk which itself stays looking pristine most of the time. If I want to do a teardown, or silly benching I wait untill she goes to bed. I brew a pot of coffee and stay up till the wee hours, only cleaning things up before heading to bed myself. When I need to do a build, I always have my daughter help out by handing me the screwdriver or sitting with me as I set up software etc. By involving her the mess becomes irrelevant. This is of couse jumping the gun a bit for the OP's circumstance, but I'm sure talking to the GF/fiance (that's a great thing, but a big step) as you go through it and having her help by handing you components or reading the front pannel jumper chart for you will work just as well. Think of it as building a couch from Ikea (another rite of passage for any relationship).
To get right to the heart of this, it's not the mess that she is worried about, it's the time you spend working on your rig. My wife actually refers to my rig as my "other woman". When she complains about the mess it is because she feels like it's a sign you don't respect her enough to give her an overt indicater of your respect. Find other ways (flowers are great, or any other appropriate romantic gesture) to let her know you value her, and she will let it go. Things like that don't come naturally to me, but that doesn't stop me from doing it anyway. Compromise, tell her you're doing the best you can but it's a messy hobby. Then actually do it! "Look honey, I put sleaving on the power supply cables, doesn't that look a lot better?" No matter what, don't get into an it's me or the computer situation. You want them both, right?
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