This UK banker quit his £80,000 ($158,584) a year job to pursue his lifelong dream of moving out to the country and becoming a carpenter. The only problem is that weeks after leaving his job and starting a shop, a red, itchy rash developed and his eyes would constantly tear. After seeing a doctor, he was told he had developed an allergy to wood. That sucks.

32-year-old Dan Hill from Swansea, Wales was told the allergy developed after constant exposure to the wood shavings created from his pieces of furniture.

“Mr Hill said: “I was gutted. All my friends thought I was mad giving up my city job and I felt really silly.”

Yeah, we’d feel pretty dumb too. Hill refused to give up on his dream though and insisted on becoming a carpenter’s apprentice even though he had the problem. Hill covered as much of himself with his body, using gloves, a face mask, and skin cream to minimize the wood’s effect on his body.

“He said: “I wasn’t going to give up – I had already committed myself to carpentry – so I continue working despite the allergic reaction. But it could be pretty miserable.”

Luckily, after tinkering with different types of wood while making his pieces, he discovered he is not allergic to Welsh oak wood. Before then, he had been using African hardwoods. Now that he has learned what to avoid, he has been able to focus on his business. He and his brother are now the proud owners of the successful NewRedFurniture.

Good for him. At least he was able to figure out what to avoid. It seems as if he totally lucked out on that one. One thing that came to mind while reading this, if any of our readers have $100,000+/year jobs and no longer want them, just let us know. We’ll be more than happy to take that job off your hands.

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