Imagining a different life

For years John has talked about opening up a coffee shop when we leave Gainesville and move to Cool Town, USA. Roasting coffee has always been a hobby of his and he thought he'd really enjoy the change of pace from his current profession (he's a software engineer). But last night, out of the blue, he said he might not want to do that after all. That the idea of being a software engineer was born out of his hobby of writing code, something he really enjoyed, and that now it had turned into a Job. A Job that is not always fun, that is really demanding, and that is starting to suck his will to live. And he wondered aloud if the same thing would happen with coffee, should he open a coffee shop. And it really made me think, I have to say. I love what I do, I love being an historian. But don't we all have those moments when we dream of a different life? I know I do, sometimes, when I'm staring down a stack of midterms seemingly a mile high. Or contemplating a blank screen, with nary an idea of what to write. What about you? If you could do something else, would you? If you had an opportunity to take a hobby you loved and turn it into a career, would you? Or would you pass, knowing that it might turn sour?