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

[Jazzersize]

If I want knowledge I'll pluck it from books born of great minds. What nugget of wisdom am I gong to glean from the old lady on the corner? How to use soda water to get rid of a stain? Insight in how to better live an insignificant life? I understand people well enough to get sex and money out of them. I learned it while working as head marketer for years, not by listening to what people say. People don't understand themselves. They have no clue what they want. You learn that real quick when you're trying to entice people into buying shitty products at huge markups.

Again, the human bias at work. Most people have nothing of value to offer. Nothing. Nothing. At. All. We can't stand to accept that most of us really aren't that significant in the greater scheme. Hell, that's why religion is so popular with the masses. Tell the people that their lives are important to the great invisible guy in the sky and they'll fall all over themselves worshipping and paying tithes. It's a beautiful example of marketing expertise. Snake oil to cure any ailment.

[MaidenMinx]

So many thoughts here...

First, yeah people suck! Guess what? You are a people too. You might think you're being all different etc. but, fact of the matter is you're still on the planet contributing to it's shit, regardless of what good you do for others.
You can't attack people for being consumeristic if you are willing to live because living requires consumption. Your bike burns fuel and produces pollutants and you take it all over the planet feeling high and mighty. Give up everything, and I mean everything except what you need to survive, and you can take the high and mighty path. Until then, you are just another pessimist.
Go take a look at the church of euthanasia.

Um mm... What else did I want to comment upon...? Meh can't remember...

[smackie9]

If I want knowledge I'll pluck it from books born of great minds. What nugget of wisdom am I gong to glean from the old lady on the corner? How to use soda water to get rid of a stain? Insight in how to better live an insignificant life? I understand people well enough to get sex and money out of them. I learned it while working as head marketer for years, not by listening to what people say. People don't understand themselves. They have no clue what they want. You learn that real quick when you're trying to entice people into buying shitty products at huge markups.

Again, the human bias at work. Most people have nothing of value to offer. Nothing. Nothing. At. All. We can't stand to accept that most of us really aren't that significant in the greater scheme. Hell, that's why religion is so popular with the masses. Tell the people that their lives are important to the great invisible guy in the sky and they'll fall all over themselves worshipping and paying tithes. It's a beautiful example of marketing expertise. Snake oil to cure any ailment.

So then why are you even here.......soap box syndrome?

[vashti]

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.

Which of these things are YOU doing? Because all you post about lately is indulging your hedonism (which would actually be okay with me, were it not for your total disregard of anyone else's needs). At least the religious feel some obligation to feed the poor (even if they do it with ulterior motive). What positive good are YOU doing? And what makes it more important than what anyone else is doing with their time?

[MaidenMinx]

If I want knowledge I'll pluck it from books born of great minds. What nugget of wisdom am I gong to glean from the old lady on the corner? How to use soda water to get rid of a stain? Insight in how to better live an insignificant life? I understand people well enough to get sex and money out of them. I learned it while working as head marketer for years, not by listening to what people say. People don't understand themselves. They have no clue what they want. You learn that real quick when you're trying to entice people into buying shitty products at huge markups.

Again, the human bias at work. Most people have nothing of value to offer. Nothing. Nothing. At. All. We can't stand to accept that most of us really aren't that significant in the greater scheme. Hell, that's why religion is so popular with the masses. Tell the people that their lives are important to the great invisible guy in the sky and they'll fall all over themselves worshipping and paying tithes. It's a beautiful example of marketing expertise. Snake oil to cure any ailment.

How do you know the old lady on the corner isn't one of the great minds?

You make so many assumptions you will never find someone to keep you company and look after you as you age. That is the main reason people seek a partner, not to procreate, but to keep loneliness at bay. I'd rather be content and part of the crowd than lonely and bitter.

Seriously, you say people lack purpose? What's yours? To ride around the planet spreading pessimism? Wow, way to contribute to the human race. Sure you work with disabled kids, good for you, I'm raising one and if it wasn't for breeders like me, you wouldn't have a 'meaningful' job. Ever consider that?

Enjoy being pessimistic, self righteous and essentially lonely.

[Jazzersize]

The difference is I recognize how good I have it. Not only is the water I drink clean, it's chilled to a pleasing temperature. I have a roof to sleep under when the mood strikes me, and that roof rests upon a secure home which is also chilled or heated to my desire. Not only do I sleep in a bed but it's free from lice and other pests. I used to have a TV but I realized nothing good ever came of it so I got rid of it. I have a laptop that places the entire world at my fingertips.

I appreciate what I have. I recognize that I live in absolute luxury with far, far more than I need. I'm happy with what I have. How many people can say that and mean it? Not many. More, more, more. That's what the people want. They don't even give a damn what it is. Just More. Almighty More. There's the real God of the first world.

There's a disabled kid somewhere in this world whose parents can't afford to care for him. Not like in America where it means he doesn't get a new pair of Nikes or a Gameboy for Christmas. I mean there's a kid suffering from cerebral palsy who has never seen a doctor in his life and who is going to die. I understand that you love your son with all your heart. I recognize that, and you'd never, ever give your son up. But try to block that emotion just enough to consider this. If you had adopted that disabled boy you'd love him every bit as fiercely. Why did you need to bring a new life into the world when there are already plenty of hungry mouths?

[MaidenMinx]

I will happily acknowledge that having my son was a purely selfish act. I selfishly had sex without protection and I selfishly chose not to abort because I didn't want death to enter the part of my body meant for life again. Prior to falling pregnant with my son I never planned to be a breeder, I know the planet is struggling and I didn't plan to contribute.

You don't sound happy. You sound grateful and appreciative but not happy. I think that is why you are copping a bit of flak in this thread. You sound bitter and nasty and like someone most women I know (and by the way, I may mot have many friends but the friends I have are AWESOME people that you would probably enjoy knowing) would run a mile from or kick to the curb pretty quickly.

The world is ****ed, I agree. People are dickheads, I agree. The difference between our attitudes, I prefer to assume that everyone has something to offer (whether they no it or not) rather than painting the majority with the brush of ignorance. By doing that, you are actually being more sheep like than you realise. The majority of people seem to assume that the majority of people are braindead. This is a very limiting view of the world, and I would have thought someone as worldly as you claim to be would have realized this.

[Jazzersize]

Which of these things are YOU doing? Because all you post about lately is indulging your hedonism. At least the religious feel some obligation to feed the poor (even if they do it with ulterior motive). What positive good are YOU doing?

I spent some time living in a village in Ecuador. Village probably isn't the right term. This was a tribe living in the jungle. Poorer than poor. I put my engineering studies to use by helping them build a bridge. Side-by-side with the tribesman, I cut down the lumber, hauled it on a 150cc dirt bike up and down mountains, and with a few other volunteers, drafted the plans and constructed the thing. I lived with the villagers. Not in a hotel 20 miles out. In a shack with one of the families. I slept on the floor. In the morning I got up and went out to the fields to work. We kept right on working into the night. When I saw the primitive lanterns they were using for light I had a case of LED lights sent to them. They couldn't believe that they only cost a dollar each. My time spent with them was a learning experience. What I did was an absolute drop in the bucket and i don't deserve ANY of the things I have because of it. I don't deserve my lifestyle. I don't deserve to see the world. But what can I say? I'm in a position to live out my dreams and that's what I'm going to do, and when it's convenient or worthwhile for me I'll stop and help people who sincerely need it.

I haven't adopted a kid, and I doubt I ever will. I don't think the woman exists who would be willing to enter into a contract to raise a child, and that's the only way I'm going to do it. Love and marriage don't mean anything. I do promise that short of celibacy I will do everything I possibly can to avoid impregnating a woman.

[MaidenMinx]

Love doesn't mean anything?!??!! Wow!

[Jazzersize]

Love doesn't mean anything?!??!! Wow!

No it does not. And you're in for a world of hurt if you're in a marriage based on love.

I'm speaking of romantic love. Not the bond between parent and child.

[vashti]

I spent some time living in a village in Ecuador. Village probably isn't the right term. This was a tribe living in the jungle. Poorer than poor. I put my engineering studies to use by helping them build a bridge. Side-by-side with the tribesman, I cut down the lumber, hauled it on a 150cc dirt bike up and down mountains, and with a few other volunteers, drafted the plans and constructed the thing. I lived with the villagers. Not in a hotel 20 miles out. In a shack with one of the families. I slept on the floor. In the morning I got up and went out to the fields to work. We kept right on working into the night. When I saw the primitive lanterns they were using for light I had a case of LED lights sent to them. They couldn't believe that they only cost a dollar each. My time spent with them was a learning experience. What I did was an absolute drop in the bucket and i don't deserve ANY of the things I have because of it. I don't deserve my lifestyle. I don't deserve to see the world. But what can I say? I'm in a position to live out my dreams and that's what I'm going to do, and when it's convenient or worthwhile for me I'll stop and help people who sincerely need it.

Not to minimize your experience, but every religious organization I know of sponsors "working vacations" where people do exactly this. ^^ In fact, my niece went on one.

Honestly, I don't see you as any different than anyone else who is capable of higher thought. Everyone has a certain amount of dissatisfaction with life. Maybe that old lady you so casually disregard can be the one to show you how to make peace with the lack of obvious meaning to it all?

[MaidenMinx]

No it does not. And you're in for a world of hurt if you're in a marriage based on love.

I'm speaking of romantic love. Not the bond between parent and child.

My marriage is based on not only love, but mutual respect and admiration. My husband and I genuinely enjoy being together and we're both quite proud of our little family unit. I personally feel as bonded to my husband as I do my son., which makes me love him even more.

I will agree with you from the perspective that love is not enough but a marriage without love is a business relationship.

[Jazzersize]

I do what I can short of sacrificing a lifestyle which still affords me some pleasure. If everyone did what they could my efforts would be enough.

I don't need to make peace with anything. My life is so short it's not even worth the effort. What I need is to experience everything I possibly can in this brief existence, and I'm not going to experience anything worthwhile living the same life as everyone else. Maybe that woman has a story to tell. Odds are staggeringly against that being the case. I don't need to play the odds, though. If I want an amazing story from an old woman who did something worthwhile I can pick up a book and be guaranteed something worth my time.

Julia Child has a story to tell. You know her, don't you? She had that cooking show way back when. Were you aware she was a WWII spy? There's a woman worth my time, and her thoughts and her experiences are cataloged in a book. Why waste my time listening to some nobody who has spent her entire life convincing herself that she's something special?

Check out Kurt Vonnegut's graph on [URL="http://sivers.org/drama"]real life[/URL].

[MaidenMinx]

Interesting graph, but not relevant to everyone. I know plenty of people that have dragged themselves out of the shit (Cinderella like hardship) and have headed for the stars.

Dude, you aren't the only person that looks at the mediocre and thinks 'yuck'. You are one of few people I have encountered that thinks that makes the majority inferior.

[mwahahaha]

I do what I can short of sacrificing a lifestyle which still affords me some pleasure. If everyone did what they could my efforts would be enough.

I don't need to make peace with anything. My life is so short it's not even worth the effort. What I need is to experience everything I possibly can in this brief existence, and I'm not going to experience anything worthwhile living the same life as everyone else. Maybe that woman has a story to tell. Odds are staggeringly against that being the case. I don't need to play the odds, though. If I want an amazing story from an old woman who did something worthwhile I can pick up a book and be guaranteed something worth my time.

Julia Child has a story to tell. You know her, don't you? She had that cooking show way back when. Were you aware she was a WWII spy? There's a woman worth my time, and her thoughts and her experiences are cataloged in a book. Why waste my time listening to some nobody who has spent her entire life convincing herself that she's something special?

Check out Kurt Vonnegut's graph on [URL="http://sivers.org/drama"]real life[/URL].

jesus, i thought i was an arsehole, but you take it to new levels. One day you will be the "little old lady" and you will be grateful if someone stops for 5 minutes and listens to your shite.