Please help..... *Should my long term boyfriend of 2 years pay for me?*

[Wakeup]

^^^ Now that's a whole nuther thread.

[Jazzersize]

Handicapped children? How does it compare?

To what? Being a suckerfish clinging to a big bad shark, hoping for a scrap? Or being that big bad shark, constantly on the move, constantly prowling for the next big kill?

I get to help worthy people, which is more than most can say. I get 12 paid vacation days every December in addition to government holidays, and I don't work summers. When summer comes I rent my place out to interns and I go off to see the world.

I earn enough for my needs. I won't own the Mercedes, but guess what? I've got my fixed and rotary wing pilot's license. I've gone SCUBA diving in a flooded lead mine. I'm a certified hang glider and skydiver. The rides I've taken blow any four-wheeled contraption away. And my bike? It's sweet. And I don't ride it around town. I ride it all over the goddamn continent, which to me is far from boring.

If I'm bitter it's because the human race disgusts me with few exceptions. I mean just look at this thread. $100,000 a year doesn't go far? That kind of thinking is what's wrong with this world.

[smackie9]

I don't think you have a problem with the world, I think the world finds you a problem. C_ _ t or not.

[Jazzersize]

I wouldn't have it any other way. If the world accepted me I'd know beyond a shadow of a doubt I was doing something very, very wrong with my life. You can't even begin to imagine how thankful I am that the world has a problem with me.

[IndiReloaded]

To what? Being a suckerfish clinging to a big bad shark, hoping for a scrap? Or being that big bad shark, constantly on the move, constantly prowling for the next big kill?

I get to help worthy people, which is more than most can say. I get 12 paid vacation days every December in addition to government holidays, and I don't work summers. When summer comes I rent my place out to interns and I go off to see the world.

I earn enough for my needs. I won't own the Mercedes, but guess what? I've got my fixed and rotary wing pilot's license. I've gone SCUBA diving in a flooded lead mine. I'm a certified hang glider and skydiver. The rides I've taken blow any four-wheeled contraption away. And my bike? It's sweet. And I don't ride it around town. I ride it all over the goddamn continent, which to me is far from boring.

If I'm bitter it's because the human race disgusts me with few exceptions. I mean just look at this thread. $100,000 a year doesn't go far? That kind of thinking is what's wrong with this world.

So, why be bitter? Aren't you doing exactly what you want? You have a consistency problem. But, its your problem, just saying.

FWIW, I don't bother with people who don't have some kind of goal for themselves. Neither should you, if this^ is what you truly believe. There are levels of personal development. People get where they are going in their own time and you can't make them skip stages, IMO. I used to worry about pushing shit uphill until I realized (about 10 years ago) that they don't move any faster (some dig in and slow even more) and all I get for my effort is crap.

Except for children. There is a shaping opportunity there that one doesn't have with adults. I think effort there is worth it. And the occasional person who knows what they want and have realized how to get it.

BTW, I was asking about your work now compared to what you were doing before. How's the bird?

[Jazzersize]

I'm bitter because every now and then I need sex and I'm forced to degrade myself by entertaining a female who's barely more than an ape on the evolutionary ladder.

The job's great. The kids I work with are different from the usual. Their situations bring them to terms with reality. It's hard to be complacent in their shoes. I imagine you've studied economics at some point. Cobb-Douglass, Kuhn Tucker conditions, etc. You know the kinds of insane chalkboard-filling equations you end up with, right? One of the students I work with does all that in his head. He has to. He's paraplegic. I hate to say this, but if it weren't for his situation he'd likely be materialistic and shallow, without one thought in his head, much less a sprawling equation filled with lambdas and sigmas and everything else. Life is real to him and in some ways he's better for it.

That's what pisses me off. That's why I'm bitter, moreso than the women thing. Mr. Rogers was only half right. We aren't all special, but we can be. So few people make the attempt. And having a cushy job and a fat bank account does not make you special. Anyone can do that.

Doc's great. Still cussing up a storm. I got a couple of kittens a few weeks ago. He so desperately wants to swoop down off his cage and attack them, but I'm scared they'd get the upper hand. I put the fear of God Almighty (for them, that would be me) into them whenever they get too near his cage. It'll be interesting to see if birds and cats can coexist peacefully. If they can't those kitties are out of luck.

I'm still in college, by the way. Puttering along at my own pace. Soon I think the hammer's going to come down and I'm going to actually have to decide between leaving or actually working toward a doctorate.

[KingZ]

I pursue my dreams, no matter the cost. I had the job, I had the savings. I could have bought a house and married a girl and lived everyone else's dream. And I almost did. But then I said **** that. I quit. Sold my shit. Now I work with handicapped children. I do something good for people who actually deserve it, who actually might make a difference in the future. And come the summer I travel. Motorcycle, boat, plane, foot. I spent two and a half months traveling across the US. I slept beneath open skies. I saw as much of the country as I could. And next summer I'll see Canada. And the summer after that I'm shipping a motorcycle to Africa to cross the continent. I'm not going to stop until I've seen the entire world. Until I've sailed every ocean. Climbed the world's most magnificent mountains. I won't rest until I've flown a hanglider off Mt. Machu Picchu, swam with sharks, and whatever other adventure I can concoct.

Maybe my dreams aren't yours, and that's fine, just so long as you haven't given your dreams up. And if your only dream is to get married and have kids, you know what? You're nothing but a breeder. Cattle. I don't have time for you.

I don't take anything from my parents. I earn my own way. I won't ever be rich, and that's fine. People who devote their lives to the pursuit of money never really get to enjoy their lives. I have plenty of doctors and businessmen in my family to base that judgement off of. Buying things doesn't make people happy. Consumerism is like a drug. The more you buy the more you want. It never fulfills. I have time, and that's worth more than all the world's money put together.

I have never met a woman who pursued her own dreams. Either she gave them up long ago or her one and only dream is to be swept off her feet by Prince Charming. ****ing useless.

You remind me of me a few years ago.

I was living the "good life" for a while before realizing materialism and consumerism was meaningless bullshit. I sold everything I had, to the point where all of my belongings could fit in a backpack. I traveled everywhere. I hiked all over the Middle East, tripping on acid at the top of mountains. I traveled all over Europe, staying wherever I could. Meeting people, trying various psychedelics. I'm a programmer, and I can take my work wherever I want. I totally take advantage of this.

(I'm still doing that, by the way. I'll be in Iceland at the end of the month; gonna post pictures later.)

But still, I'm "just a programmer". A lot of people wouldn't be impressed because they don't really understand what I do. Would you say that I'm not worth existing? You might.

I learned, in my little time of traveling, that my pessimistic attitude towards women and people in general wasn't helping me. I met so many people, eventually I figured out that everyone has a story to tell; something to offer. You can learn something from everyone, including the dumb broad you picked up at the bar last weekend for a quick fu​ck. While she doesn't seem like she has anything to offer at a quick glance, if you spend time and talk with people, you'll find something deeper.

My (bisexual) girlfriend now isn't some major brainiac with hairy legs and huge balls and mad skills at—whatever—but I don't care. I still learn things from her all the time. She has intelligences that I don't have.

Sounds super cheesy, but it's true. There are good things in everyone, and you really need to adjust your perspective to understand this.

[IndiReloaded]

Some of those kids are scary smart and yes, I also think its b/c their brain muscle gets a better workout than most. They are lucky to have someone as engaged as you working w/them. As for the current rant, its always been that 2% that carries the rest. Most of us don't know (or care) which group we belong to. Even fewer think about shifting b/t the populations. Unless you want to go insane, you have to find a way to filter out the noise. I gave my strategy, there are others.

Are you getting PM? I will send you a link, do watch it its rather good and might give you some more ideas.

EDIT - sent. I am finishing something right now but I will check back later. Curious about your thoughts. BTW, yes, he was rather light on solutions (something I'm working on, actually).

[IndiReloaded]

everyone[/i] has a story to tell; something to offer. You can learn something from everyone, including the dumb broad you picked up at the bar last weekend for a quick fu​ck. While she doesn't seem like she has anything to offer at a quick glance, if you spend time and talk with people, you'll find something deeper.

I agree to encourage optimism (or at least avoid pessimism). I understand what you are saying about others having something to offer, but I think Gribs point is they don't necessarily have something to offer HIM. Why should they? Some people are too similar and some are so very different. There is only the intersection where one might find value. Seek that, ignore the rest. If you want to avoid getting lost in everyone else's shit, anyway.

[Jazzersize]

Honestly? If you can look beyond the human bias, and being human that's nearly impossible, I think you'd be hard pressed to come up with much to justify the importance we place on ourselves. Most people accomplish nothing in their lives beyond reproduction. And at one time that was something worthwhile for the species. Now there is literally not enough fresh water on our planet to fully support human life. Children are born and all they know is hunger and sickness for seven years until they die. Meanwhile someone's living in LA complaining because the $100,000 a year he's pulling isn't enough to support his decadent lifestyle.

We don't need more children. We need more people willing to forgo procreation in favor of adoption. More people willing to educate the world on birth control, more people willing to battle the influence organizations like the Catholic Church have in places like Africa, more people willing to work in labs to improve life. That won't happen. So **** you people. I'll use your women as ****toys and I'll connive and cheat your men out of their money and I'll spend my life experiencing the world until I draw my last breath.

Worthless shits. The best thing that could ever happen to humanity is the cataclysmic devastation of the population. I don't care about some asshole's sob story. There are SEVEN BILLION sob stories out there, and believe me, many of those stories are much, much more tragic than the 300,000,000 or so overly dramatized stories told in the US. We have an obligation as human beings to shed our primal nature and make the tough calls that make this world a better place for all involved. With the exception of a few bright examples we have failed to meet that obligation and there is no excuse.

[KingZ]

I agree to encourage optimism (or at least avoid pessimism). I understand what you are saying about others having something to offer, but I think Gribs point is they don't necessarily have something to offer HIM. Why should they? Some people are too similar and some are so very different. There is only the intersection where one might find value. Seek that, ignore the rest. If you want to avoid getting lost in everyone else's shit, anyway.

The people that are too similar and too different are a very small slice of the pie; otherwise you're being narrow-minded.

[IndiReloaded]

The people that are too similar and too different are a very small slice of the pie; otherwise you're being narrow-minded.

I completely disagree. I'll have to explain more later. I'm not talking about the various and sundry we interact w/casually over the course of our days. Meantime, think about the number of people who have really had an impact on your thinking. I'm talking shifts, mind, not just 'hmm, [insert idea here]'. I'd be very surprised if that number was more than a few dozen.

[smackie9]

I wouldn't have it any other way. If the world accepted me I'd know beyond a shadow of a doubt I was doing something very, very wrong with my life. You can't even begin to imagine how thankful I am that the world has a problem with me.

I have a feeling someone is off their medication.......

[KingZ]

I completely disagree. I'll have to explain more later. I'm not talking about the various and sundry we interact w/casually over the course of our days. Meantime, think about the number of people who have really had an impact on your thinking. I'm talking shifts, mind, not just 'hmm, [insert idea here]'. I'd be very surprised if that number was more than a few dozen.

If you only spent time with those people, the world would be a lonely place.

Still, this is a selfish (and counter-effective) stance to take. You shouldn't be social with people in the hopes that they give you some sort of deeper paradigm shift. You should be social to learn little things; if a shift occurs, great. If not, whatever. Every person you talk to can expand your knowledge, if even a little bit. It helps you further understand people, which is an invaluable life skill. I firmly believe this.

[Sonrisa]

If you only spent time with those people, the world would be a lonely place.

Still, this is a selfish (and counter-effective) stance to take. You shouldn't be social with people in the hopes that they give you some sort of deeper paradigm shift. You should be social to learn little things; if a shift occurs, great. If not, whatever. Every person you talk to can expand your knowledge, if even a little bit. It helps you further understand people, which is an invaluable life skill. I firmly believe this.

everyone has different desires of what to get out of people. if it's intelligent conversation that you require then you should only surround yourself with the like individuals.