I made a major improvement in my ability to not give a fuck about my job.
I work in American retail.
I didn't know you could insert that here. I just needed that on my previous comment.
Thanks.
Don't give a fuck about it. Get a skilled labor job. Retail is soul-sucking. You want to be the guy who can build a work shed out of a pile of wood, not the guy who knows where the aisle of tuberware is.
Can't I just not be a guy and be done with it? Lol, my boobs would thank me for sure.
Sorry I didn't mean "guy" like male, but that isn't an excuse I should have chosen my words more carefully.
There is nothing wrong with women in the trades. I was in Bangkok for vacation this year and saw an army sized group of women working a construction site. All of them much physically smaller than I am.
Hey, you're all good. I was just messing with you. I know you weren't implying anything. Haha.
Electricians are well paid and among the least physical trades
Do they make as much money over a lifetime as a Washington DC based economist? Which one adds actual value to the world?
The economist makes more money, the electrician adds more value.
I can elaborate but you can imagine the world muddling along without people telling you about inelastic demand but society would collapse in about two weeks if all the tradespeople disappeared.
Sure and think about how better things would be.
Besides for Keynes all economists worldwide thought the New Deal would be a failure. Meanwhile the US recovered first.
Only a fraction of economists think the bank bailouts were a bad idea and the US lost over a decade when you look at the Workforce Participation Rate and CEO-to-worker pay ratio.
No economists thinks student loan debt amnesty is a good idea. Meanwhile the percent of people seeking degrees continues to drop, the age of first time homeowners continues to rise, the number of small businesses started is falling, and the fertility rate hits new lows.
It isn't that economists keep getting it wrong. It is that they are paid to advance agendas. It is like a lawyer, you don't pay a lawyer to find justice and fairness, you pay a lawyer to be your champion. An economist is paid by financial institutions to be a zealous advocate. Which is why there is a lobbyist company whose entire job is to sit economists on congressional hearings and advance the client's viewpoint.
Meanwhile our infrastructure rots.
What's wrong with you?
Don't make it personal, answer the question or don't.
I reiterate their statement: what the fuck is wrong with you?
And no, we won't answer the question as it's a question with absolutely no possible answer since it completely depends on how you define the form that value takes. All you're doing is trying to stir up animosity. Well, it's working.
I made the decision to go back to school. There were various life reasons why I was unable to make that decision in my 20's, but I am happy to have the opportunity to learn again with a renewed sense of drive and direction.
Hey there, I went back at 33, and it took me 4 years to get my AA. But I did it, and got a job that more than doubled what I was making before.
You're going to love classes in your 30s! It's so fun to learn, and you'll make friends with your teachers. It was hard at times, but it felt really good to accomplish! If you need support to talk about it, r/backtoschool was a great place for me to vent or ask for advice.
First, let me say thank you for this kind comment. Oddly enough I also happen to be 33, so it really means a lot to me to get that encouragement from someone else who was literally in the same boat, and made it out the other side successfully. If you don't mind me asking, what did you study when you went back?
I'm happy it was helpful! I love that we went back at the same age! :)
I went back for drafting and industrial design. I got a job as a CAD drafter at a Substation engineering firm, and was promoted to a designer about 8 months in. Been there for 1.5 years now. Best job I've ever had. :)
Good luck! :D
My parents officially cut the life line -- I didn't need their money anymore and they're retired now.
But it made me take stock of my expenditure in a way I hadn't previously.
That's super cool that you think that's positive.
I wish my parents-in-law would cut our life line. They're retired, too, and have a lot of time to make recommendations about your finances when we use a zero-based budget. They don't know the particulars of the budget...but that doesn't stop them from expecting impossible stuff. I just want to be free again...
So, my folks gave me a chunk of cash along with it.
It was basically "hey, economy is maybe going tits up. You're doing fine. Here's you're lifeline in cash. It's you when you were unemployed during the pandemic before the govt funds hit x 3years. Do with it whatever but we can't predict the future and you're doing ok and we're gonna need to budget the rest ourselves."
It's funny because in the same breath they were like "Christmas is gonna be slimmer this year. Don't expect much for gifts."
I'm super grateful. But it made me realize: I wish they calculated this number fucking 10 years ago. I know I woulda fucked up a chunk of it but Im sure I'd be better off today.
So, my advice to someone in a situation I was in a year or three ago would be to have an honest conversation with your parents. If you're financially responsible and debt free or at least able to save while making clear progress on that debt...
"Hey... Listen... I don't need an exact number. But I have a proposal. So be conservative here: what amount of my lifeline would you reach out and say "hey what's going on?" To get info?
Let's just say it's $250 in 1 month.
"Okay... How long are you planning on .. keeping this here for me? Until you die? You're what 70? Okay, so if you live til 90, then it's what? $60k? I'm asking you to just wire me 60k and let me start taking more responsibility.
Hell, make it 40k! Go on a wild vacation!"
Or suggest the two of you sit down with his or your own financial planner. Talk about how best to handle this, instead of taking advice from some dude named foggy on the fediverse.
I met a wonderful woman. We are dating now
For complicated reasons over which we have had very little control, we have had to move house 3 times in the last 5 years.
In April of this year, thoigh, we finally found somewhere that we both really love and which should be pretty much permanent. I am very happy about that.
Moving sucks so much, and can be extremely emotionally and physically disruptive for a lot of people. So, massive congratulations 🎊
I got an invitation from someone I had been talking to online to come and have dinner with their family. It. Was. Awesome. I got a tour of their gardens, talked pest management, chicken composting, and propagation strategies, got a ukulele concert from their usually shy daughter with some special medical needs (and got to play something for her on the instrument she never shares), and had a lovely meal from their garden. Oh, and we traded plants and cuttings with each other to help diversify our gardens (and who they support)!
That is a lovely little vignette. Thank you for a glimpse into your world :)
My car was totaled and I walked away.
I got hella teeth pulled.
I know it sounds terrible, but it really needed to happen. I'm waiting on my bone grafts to set before starting on my first set of implants. Even with my plastic partials, it's a whole new world. I don't think I had cracked a genuine smile since highschool. Now I can't stop.
I have a boss who's in his mid-forties. After I was out a few days for my wisdom teeth, I was talking to him and he says ever since he was a kid his dentist has said he seriously needs his wisdom teeth removed. Man gives me the biggest smile and says "and I've been putting it off for 40 years! ", made me wince. I would be terrified at the prospect of getting them out after that long.
It really depends on spacing and if they're impacted. I had mine out at 35. Wasn't a big deal, but I had other teeth that were congeniality missing, along with gum disease, so nothing was really well attached.
I started turning away from atheism.
I've always wanted to believe in God but i was literally unable to.
it is really bugging me that you are getting heavily downvoted for this. it's not like you are actively proselytizing here. i am sorry people are so shitty.
i think belief in (some type of) god is probably pretty healthy. unfortunately, my life experience has led me to a failure to believe in anything at all.
anyways.... you do you. be well.
i did not say "atheism bad". sure, i dont agree with a lot of atheist beliefs, but the last thing i want to do is spread hate.
and, if you feel good about yourself, "failure to believe in anything" might not actually be a failure. 👍
What are atheist beliefs? I thought being atheist just meant you were non-religious?
Atheist really means a definite belief that there is no god. Agnostic is less ‘strong’, asserting that it's impossible to know how the universe was created and whether or not divine beings exist.
Atheist is a non-believer. Prefix “a-“ means absence. Every human is an atheist unless they believe in every god. The word was first used in relation to Christians.
Anti-theist is someone opposed to religion or belief in supernatural. “Anti” means “opposed / opposite to”.
Agnostic is a bullshit cop-out term that at some point in a Christian discourse briefly meant “someone who considers supernatural to not be knowable”, but doesn’t have a proper meaning nowadays. It has a transactional role in conversation - it most often relays unwillingness to continue the conversation on religion.
A “definite belief that there is no god” would be “gnostic atheist” in proper terms. I.e. “god is knowable and he’s absent”. But those proper terms were barely ever alive. Instead, people dance around topic of religion as if it didn’t enjoy enough fucking dances for millennia past.
Interesting what meaning these words have in English.
That's quite specific, tbh. And both are very American in that they are defined around the bed too establish and stand off "sides". As if there is a right or wrong to children believing in a Santa Claus until a certain age, or grown ups believing into an adult variant if that. The morality comes from the actions taken under such a belief.
Atheist really means a definite belief
No.
Which one did you choose?
Christianity. No church, just me studying the bible.
Cool, I hope it goes well for you.
Interesting. A lot of people who study the bible become Atheist. If you filter out all the bad stuff, maybe it will be useful.
As someone who has found a faith that works for me, personal, nonreligious and without a figurehead god, I've seen a lot of concrete benefits from exploring different ways of walking through reality. For me there was a huge difference between the sensation of feeling like a cosmic fluke, blown around in a confusing and random reality, and finding a way to feel like I'm an integral part of time and space.
It was a decision I had to make, years ago, for my own well-being. I've seen many others make their own personal, spiritual changes, for similar reasons to mine. Some move away from their childhood religions, towards faith structures that feel more healthy to them. Some return to theirs. I've also known people who've found meaning, comfort and purpose through studied, focused atheism and agnosticism.
You can probably tell by my tone that I'm not a big fan of organized religion. Any god that can be boxed up isn't really what I'm looking for. That said, I know from personal experience how powerful that sort of change in perspective can be. It's exactly the type of thing that could find high ranks in one's best of the year list.
Happy New Year!
Definitely would like some more detail on this.
That's great! I wish you all good stuff for the New Year, spiritually and otherwise.
I know how you feel. I started turning away from not collecting stamps. It’s such a good feeling finding faith in stamps.
(wink)
Happy new year!!
Bought a house and started my dream job
Finally sold that damn boat!!
The best boat is someone else's boat.
A boat always gives the owner two good memories. The one when you bought it and the one when you sell it
I was told this repeatedly before I bought it. I naively thought it would be different for me. It was not!
Sweet freedom
Are we thinking in the short or long term here?
Short term (enjoyment for this year): I bought a motorcycle, something I've wanted to do for years but finally had the money and independence to do so this year
Long term (this will affect my future life in a good way): I got a summer research internship as a college student, which gives me valuable experience for later in life
Congrats and congrats!
Thanks!
Everything sucked. 2023 was a calamity for me. I lost my best friend, I had a burnout, I got sick a lot, and it forced me to take 2 full weeks off to take care of myself in early December.
Those 2 weeks for myself are arguably the best thing I had this year however. I'll try to repeat this every year.
That sounds a lot like my 2022. Burnout is rough, I still feel I'm not fully where I want to be. I'm glad you were able to get some rest, and I hope 2024 is kinder to you
Thanks friend!
Well... there's not much. I have 2 nominations. They're not much, but it's something.
2
I got to ride an old ZSSK 012 carriage. It's not comfortable, and it's also quite loud inside, but there's passenger seats in the back. The view makes it really worth it.
:::spoiler Video I took from the back
https://imgur.com/a/ClDOlaZ
:::
There's also possibly another one, but I'll just keep that one in my head. It's a bit weird.
I’d like to hear the weird one, please.
My daughter (born 3 months early in mid-2022) was discharged from needing oxygen 24/7. After months of having to lug her tank and pulse oximeter around everywhere, even across a room, a wireless baby was a game-changer.
She's made huge progress in so many other ways, but this was the big one for us
I bought a house after saving for 6 long years.
Yay! I’m proud of you, that’s a massive accomplishment!
I actually followed through on my "lose weight" resolution and dropped about 50lbs and put on some muscle.
I started therapy again and it's really helped me put the work in and learn to forgive the weird shit in my childhood. Feels good, mayn!
I got a job that doubled my income and gave me the free time to do things like start a garden, learn macrame and spend a lot more uninterrupted time with my family. It was really life changing.
If I could undo this year I might though. I had 5 family members die including my grandma who raised me, my wife and I had a devastating miscarriage, my causing got hit by a car and may not be able to walk, I was diagnosed with a heart condition and put on lifelong medication and still might need open heart surgery, my deadbeat dad got out of jail and has been harrasing my mom and sister, and the icing on the cake, last week our best cat died.
Got to see the northern lights together with my so!
I started volunteering at a children’s theatre. Just finished the third of three production runs, seeing kids from 8 to 18 astound audiences with performances that surpass professional productions I’ve seen. It’s renewed my belief in the power of the arts to change lives, when my whole training and professional life has been in the sciences.
Hey just for my knowledge. My kids are proficient violin players and I heard from a friend that at some point the school theater teacher is going to plead with them to join so they can finally do Fiddler on the Roof. Anything to this? It is actually one of my favorite pieces, would love to see them on stage.
Seeing your kids on stage is magic—my son has been in various professional and amateur roles since he was 10. He can act and sing, which opened up musicals too. Having several aspects to performance has definitely helped him. Actor musicians can be in great demand, but since there are few (compared to actor / singer / dancer), I don’t think there are as many opportunities as there might be.
If your kids are ok with the acting side, definitely encourage them.
On a related note, I was also involved in the building of a new theatre at my kids school, and I tried to convince them to not restrict it to the music and drama departments. No matter what field you’re going to go into, being confident in front of an audience (even just presenting on your own subject) is a valuable skill that theatre can teach. I’m now grey enough to not worry about speaking to an audience. I wish I’d had that confidence earlier in my career.
My eldest daughter is doing so well in violin that her school had to create a special level just for her and is busing her around to other string groups in the district for performances so they sound better.
So proud of that kid.
I got engaged!
Woohoo!!! Congrats!
I started running this year and it has literally changed my life
Excellent decision! I wish you many healthy and injury free kilometers!
Good for you! A few months after I started running seriously, I couldn't stop asking myself that why I didn't start running 30 years ago.
Oh I know why... I hated it before. 😅
Would you say it got your life going? 😛
I made the first step in starting my own company. 2024 I’ll be working on getting more clients so that I can quit my 9-5
I went fishing.
Get fired and the hired with a boss that challenges me and trust me.
Having a job with the right level of challenges, and freedom to approach it how one want, is the best job to have. I've worked at a place like that for more than a decade now. I could probably move on to better paid jobs, but I'm hesitant to let go of my current workplace.
I got accepted for my master's degree abroad, it's been a blast so far
This year has been a bit mundane. Good has been a steady stream with no particular highlights. Not complaining. I like stability.
I got a promotion, from a drafter to a designer. :)
Quit my corporate job for a small place with a mission to do good. Never going back to bigtech.
I fucking hated work for big tech. Like every single creative part of me was being sucked away.
I work for a corporation you have never heard of now. We are a subcontractor of a subcontractor and get to do the actual engineering. There is a towering bureaucracy above us that adds no value and gets all the credit. Which I am fine with, they can have the credit I have the glory.
Same here, really didn't have the feeling I was doing much fruitful work at all. So much energy spent in meetings, and political nonsense.
It's refreshing to just get to focus on getting things done.
I keep killin' it in my easy af graduate program.
This was my covid makeup year. I sold the house I bought in 2020 and got one that suited me instead of whatever I could afford (my old apt was intentionally too small to spend time in so I could save for a house), I had a proper wedding ceremony to make up for the courthouse one in 2020 (which I attended on crutches). We went to some music festivals. Even at work I got to lead a project after the one i was meant to lead in 2020 got canceled by the pandemic.
Brother's family moved to my city, leading to lots of time with the niblings
Got a job that I really like and is very lenient when I come in. I have some medical condition that makes a job and life nearly impossible, some days I feel debilitatingly horrible at complete random. It feels like there's 200 pounds strapped to my back, and I have done that before so I know it really feels like that. Thankfully my boss is very lenient when I come in so if I feel like crap I can take the day off. If I suddenly feel like crap 2 hours into the day, no biggie I can go home early.
Granted it's minimum wage and I'm arguably being underpaid for my level of expertise but the flexibility of my workplace is priceless.
I survived and managed to find a job that helps me help a few other humans survive.
i think i took about 500 shits
My ability to do math and predict my monthly budget costs is bad enough that it finally worked out in my favor... I'm still curious how that's happening, but I'm not inclined to look to deeply else I tip the balance of the universe out of my favor sooner that is bound to happen.
That it’s almost over. My spouse had two unexpected surgeries (successful and all seems well so that’s also good), and my work has turned to shit. Here’s hoping for a better 2024!
Won conference championships in indoor and outdoor collegiate track and field. Ran a half marathon after years of chronic knee problems. Won a piano competition and performed with a full orchestra. Wrote a 48 page honors thesis and presented it. Formed a jazz trio. Graduated college. It's been a cool 365 days, I'm grateful to not know how to pick the best thing.
It's a split between two things:
Firstly, I finally got my degree. People in my immediate surroundings got tired of the confirmed bachelor jokes after the first week of me making them.
And secondly, after a year and a half of waiting I got to talk to a gender service doctor back in February. Now I'm well on the way to get the bureaucracy part of my transition out of the way. And I'll be getting my hormones soon.
Probably that I met a bunch of other decently-high-level fighting game players that have similar demeanor about the games we all play. Hanging out with them gave me an entire new community to feel at home in, and got me back into content creation. Plus, they collectively made it not feel impossible to go to my local tournaments on occasion, at which I'm at least not the weakest player in the room by a good margin.
Oh yeah, I completely quit drinking as well, after overdoing it one night and teleporting to the bathroom to vomit. I'm not counting days or anything, just kinda neat that I dropped it cold turkey, had plenty of opportunities to drink again, and just haven't wanted to.
Through circumstances I’m not going to describe because I’d sound like a crazy person, I discovered that I am immortal. Being unable to escape life has given me a new commitment to living well, and I’ve been pushing every day without hesitation since that happened.
Union almost struck, and we got a nice fat contract.
Unionize people. It's the only way to fight back and have a living wage.
Wife and I finally got permanent residency.
First winter in a long while that hasn't been hell, the new anti-depressants stopped my winter depression. And even helped a bit against my year round depression.
I've started a weekly swimming session too. Haven't been good at following it after the snow came, but its still progress.
I can finally be myself and I even started dating and it's actually enjoyable now.
I made a major improvement in my ability to not give a fuck about my job.
I work in American retail.
I didn't know you could insert that here. I just needed that on my previous comment.
Thanks.
Don't give a fuck about it. Get a skilled labor job. Retail is soul-sucking. You want to be the guy who can build a work shed out of a pile of wood, not the guy who knows where the aisle of tuberware is.
Can't I just not be a guy and be done with it? Lol, my boobs would thank me for sure.
Sorry I didn't mean "guy" like male, but that isn't an excuse I should have chosen my words more carefully.
There is nothing wrong with women in the trades. I was in Bangkok for vacation this year and saw an army sized group of women working a construction site. All of them much physically smaller than I am.
Hey, you're all good. I was just messing with you. I know you weren't implying anything. Haha.
Electricians are well paid and among the least physical trades
Do they make as much money over a lifetime as a Washington DC based economist? Which one adds actual value to the world?
The economist makes more money, the electrician adds more value.
I can elaborate but you can imagine the world muddling along without people telling you about inelastic demand but society would collapse in about two weeks if all the tradespeople disappeared.
Sure and think about how better things would be.
Besides for Keynes all economists worldwide thought the New Deal would be a failure. Meanwhile the US recovered first.
Only a fraction of economists think the bank bailouts were a bad idea and the US lost over a decade when you look at the Workforce Participation Rate and CEO-to-worker pay ratio.
No economists thinks student loan debt amnesty is a good idea. Meanwhile the percent of people seeking degrees continues to drop, the age of first time homeowners continues to rise, the number of small businesses started is falling, and the fertility rate hits new lows.
It isn't that economists keep getting it wrong. It is that they are paid to advance agendas. It is like a lawyer, you don't pay a lawyer to find justice and fairness, you pay a lawyer to be your champion. An economist is paid by financial institutions to be a zealous advocate. Which is why there is a lobbyist company whose entire job is to sit economists on congressional hearings and advance the client's viewpoint.
Meanwhile our infrastructure rots.
What's wrong with you?
Don't make it personal, answer the question or don't.
I reiterate their statement: what the fuck is wrong with you?
And no, we won't answer the question as it's a question with absolutely no possible answer since it completely depends on how you define the form that value takes. All you're doing is trying to stir up animosity. Well, it's working.
Kindly fuck off.
Sorry your job adds no value. Must be hard.
points at you
Rude.
The dude above was agreeing with you and you attacked. You're deranged.
You can join him on the block list.
i made a person
Congratulations! Me too!
Congratulations! Me three!
that's always a good time
next few years will be busy
WTG
I made the decision to go back to school. There were various life reasons why I was unable to make that decision in my 20's, but I am happy to have the opportunity to learn again with a renewed sense of drive and direction.
Hey there, I went back at 33, and it took me 4 years to get my AA. But I did it, and got a job that more than doubled what I was making before.
You're going to love classes in your 30s! It's so fun to learn, and you'll make friends with your teachers. It was hard at times, but it felt really good to accomplish! If you need support to talk about it, r/backtoschool was a great place for me to vent or ask for advice.
First, let me say thank you for this kind comment. Oddly enough I also happen to be 33, so it really means a lot to me to get that encouragement from someone else who was literally in the same boat, and made it out the other side successfully. If you don't mind me asking, what did you study when you went back?
I'm happy it was helpful! I love that we went back at the same age! :)
I went back for drafting and industrial design. I got a job as a CAD drafter at a Substation engineering firm, and was promoted to a designer about 8 months in. Been there for 1.5 years now. Best job I've ever had. :)
Good luck! :D
My parents officially cut the life line -- I didn't need their money anymore and they're retired now.
But it made me take stock of my expenditure in a way I hadn't previously.
That's super cool that you think that's positive.
I wish my parents-in-law would cut our life line. They're retired, too, and have a lot of time to make recommendations about your finances when we use a zero-based budget. They don't know the particulars of the budget...but that doesn't stop them from expecting impossible stuff. I just want to be free again...
So, my folks gave me a chunk of cash along with it.
It was basically "hey, economy is maybe going tits up. You're doing fine. Here's you're lifeline in cash. It's you when you were unemployed during the pandemic before the govt funds hit x 3years. Do with it whatever but we can't predict the future and you're doing ok and we're gonna need to budget the rest ourselves."
It's funny because in the same breath they were like "Christmas is gonna be slimmer this year. Don't expect much for gifts."
I'm super grateful. But it made me realize: I wish they calculated this number fucking 10 years ago. I know I woulda fucked up a chunk of it but Im sure I'd be better off today.
So, my advice to someone in a situation I was in a year or three ago would be to have an honest conversation with your parents. If you're financially responsible and debt free or at least able to save while making clear progress on that debt...
"Hey... Listen... I don't need an exact number. But I have a proposal. So be conservative here: what amount of my lifeline would you reach out and say "hey what's going on?" To get info?
Let's just say it's $250 in 1 month.
"Okay... How long are you planning on .. keeping this here for me? Until you die? You're what 70? Okay, so if you live til 90, then it's what? $60k? I'm asking you to just wire me 60k and let me start taking more responsibility.
Hell, make it 40k! Go on a wild vacation!"
Or suggest the two of you sit down with his or your own financial planner. Talk about how best to handle this, instead of taking advice from some dude named foggy on the fediverse.
I met a wonderful woman. We are dating now
For complicated reasons over which we have had very little control, we have had to move house 3 times in the last 5 years.
In April of this year, thoigh, we finally found somewhere that we both really love and which should be pretty much permanent. I am very happy about that.
Moving sucks so much, and can be extremely emotionally and physically disruptive for a lot of people. So, massive congratulations 🎊
I got an invitation from someone I had been talking to online to come and have dinner with their family. It. Was. Awesome. I got a tour of their gardens, talked pest management, chicken composting, and propagation strategies, got a ukulele concert from their usually shy daughter with some special medical needs (and got to play something for her on the instrument she never shares), and had a lovely meal from their garden. Oh, and we traded plants and cuttings with each other to help diversify our gardens (and who they support)!
That is a lovely little vignette. Thank you for a glimpse into your world :)
My car was totaled and I walked away.
I got hella teeth pulled.
I know it sounds terrible, but it really needed to happen. I'm waiting on my bone grafts to set before starting on my first set of implants. Even with my plastic partials, it's a whole new world. I don't think I had cracked a genuine smile since highschool. Now I can't stop.
I have a boss who's in his mid-forties. After I was out a few days for my wisdom teeth, I was talking to him and he says ever since he was a kid his dentist has said he seriously needs his wisdom teeth removed. Man gives me the biggest smile and says "and I've been putting it off for 40 years! ", made me wince. I would be terrified at the prospect of getting them out after that long.
It really depends on spacing and if they're impacted. I had mine out at 35. Wasn't a big deal, but I had other teeth that were congeniality missing, along with gum disease, so nothing was really well attached.
I started turning away from atheism. I've always wanted to believe in God but i was literally unable to.
it is really bugging me that you are getting heavily downvoted for this. it's not like you are actively proselytizing here. i am sorry people are so shitty.
i think belief in (some type of) god is probably pretty healthy. unfortunately, my life experience has led me to a failure to believe in anything at all.
anyways.... you do you. be well.
i did not say "atheism bad". sure, i dont agree with a lot of atheist beliefs, but the last thing i want to do is spread hate.
and, if you feel good about yourself, "failure to believe in anything" might not actually be a failure. 👍
What are atheist beliefs? I thought being atheist just meant you were non-religious?
Atheist really means a definite belief that there is no god. Agnostic is less ‘strong’, asserting that it's impossible to know how the universe was created and whether or not divine beings exist.
Atheist is a non-believer. Prefix “a-“ means absence. Every human is an atheist unless they believe in every god. The word was first used in relation to Christians.
Anti-theist is someone opposed to religion or belief in supernatural. “Anti” means “opposed / opposite to”.
Agnostic is a bullshit cop-out term that at some point in a Christian discourse briefly meant “someone who considers supernatural to not be knowable”, but doesn’t have a proper meaning nowadays. It has a transactional role in conversation - it most often relays unwillingness to continue the conversation on religion.
A “definite belief that there is no god” would be “gnostic atheist” in proper terms. I.e. “god is knowable and he’s absent”. But those proper terms were barely ever alive. Instead, people dance around topic of religion as if it didn’t enjoy enough fucking dances for millennia past.
Interesting what meaning these words have in English.
That's quite specific, tbh. And both are very American in that they are defined around the bed too establish and stand off "sides". As if there is a right or wrong to children believing in a Santa Claus until a certain age, or grown ups believing into an adult variant if that. The morality comes from the actions taken under such a belief.
No.
Which one did you choose?
Christianity. No church, just me studying the bible.
Cool, I hope it goes well for you.
Interesting. A lot of people who study the bible become Atheist. If you filter out all the bad stuff, maybe it will be useful.
As someone who has found a faith that works for me, personal, nonreligious and without a figurehead god, I've seen a lot of concrete benefits from exploring different ways of walking through reality. For me there was a huge difference between the sensation of feeling like a cosmic fluke, blown around in a confusing and random reality, and finding a way to feel like I'm an integral part of time and space.
It was a decision I had to make, years ago, for my own well-being. I've seen many others make their own personal, spiritual changes, for similar reasons to mine. Some move away from their childhood religions, towards faith structures that feel more healthy to them. Some return to theirs. I've also known people who've found meaning, comfort and purpose through studied, focused atheism and agnosticism.
You can probably tell by my tone that I'm not a big fan of organized religion. Any god that can be boxed up isn't really what I'm looking for. That said, I know from personal experience how powerful that sort of change in perspective can be. It's exactly the type of thing that could find high ranks in one's best of the year list.
Happy New Year!
Definitely would like some more detail on this.
That's great! I wish you all good stuff for the New Year, spiritually and otherwise.
I know how you feel. I started turning away from not collecting stamps. It’s such a good feeling finding faith in stamps.
(wink)
Happy new year!!
Bought a house and started my dream job
Finally sold that damn boat!!
The best boat is someone else's boat.
A boat always gives the owner two good memories. The one when you bought it and the one when you sell it
I was told this repeatedly before I bought it. I naively thought it would be different for me. It was not!
Sweet freedom
Are we thinking in the short or long term here?
Short term (enjoyment for this year): I bought a motorcycle, something I've wanted to do for years but finally had the money and independence to do so this year
Long term (this will affect my future life in a good way): I got a summer research internship as a college student, which gives me valuable experience for later in life
Congrats and congrats!
Thanks!
Everything sucked. 2023 was a calamity for me. I lost my best friend, I had a burnout, I got sick a lot, and it forced me to take 2 full weeks off to take care of myself in early December.
Those 2 weeks for myself are arguably the best thing I had this year however. I'll try to repeat this every year.
That sounds a lot like my 2022. Burnout is rough, I still feel I'm not fully where I want to be. I'm glad you were able to get some rest, and I hope 2024 is kinder to you
Thanks friend!
Well... there's not much. I have 2 nominations. They're not much, but it's something.
Discovering https://free-mp3-download.net/
I used to download low quality music from YouTube. Now I get FLACs.
2
:::
I got to ride an old ZSSK 012 carriage. It's not comfortable, and it's also quite loud inside, but there's passenger seats in the back. The view makes it really worth it.
:::spoiler Video I took from the back https://imgur.com/a/ClDOlaZ
There's also possibly another one, but I'll just keep that one in my head. It's a bit weird.
I’d like to hear the weird one, please.
My daughter (born 3 months early in mid-2022) was discharged from needing oxygen 24/7. After months of having to lug her tank and pulse oximeter around everywhere, even across a room, a wireless baby was a game-changer.
She's made huge progress in so many other ways, but this was the big one for us
I bought a house after saving for 6 long years.
Yay! I’m proud of you, that’s a massive accomplishment!
I actually followed through on my "lose weight" resolution and dropped about 50lbs and put on some muscle.
I started therapy again and it's really helped me put the work in and learn to forgive the weird shit in my childhood. Feels good, mayn!
I got a job that doubled my income and gave me the free time to do things like start a garden, learn macrame and spend a lot more uninterrupted time with my family. It was really life changing.
If I could undo this year I might though. I had 5 family members die including my grandma who raised me, my wife and I had a devastating miscarriage, my causing got hit by a car and may not be able to walk, I was diagnosed with a heart condition and put on lifelong medication and still might need open heart surgery, my deadbeat dad got out of jail and has been harrasing my mom and sister, and the icing on the cake, last week our best cat died.
Got to see the northern lights together with my so!
I started volunteering at a children’s theatre. Just finished the third of three production runs, seeing kids from 8 to 18 astound audiences with performances that surpass professional productions I’ve seen. It’s renewed my belief in the power of the arts to change lives, when my whole training and professional life has been in the sciences.
Hey just for my knowledge. My kids are proficient violin players and I heard from a friend that at some point the school theater teacher is going to plead with them to join so they can finally do Fiddler on the Roof. Anything to this? It is actually one of my favorite pieces, would love to see them on stage.
Seeing your kids on stage is magic—my son has been in various professional and amateur roles since he was 10. He can act and sing, which opened up musicals too. Having several aspects to performance has definitely helped him. Actor musicians can be in great demand, but since there are few (compared to actor / singer / dancer), I don’t think there are as many opportunities as there might be.
If your kids are ok with the acting side, definitely encourage them.
On a related note, I was also involved in the building of a new theatre at my kids school, and I tried to convince them to not restrict it to the music and drama departments. No matter what field you’re going to go into, being confident in front of an audience (even just presenting on your own subject) is a valuable skill that theatre can teach. I’m now grey enough to not worry about speaking to an audience. I wish I’d had that confidence earlier in my career.
My eldest daughter is doing so well in violin that her school had to create a special level just for her and is busing her around to other string groups in the district for performances so they sound better.
So proud of that kid.
I got engaged!
Woohoo!!! Congrats!
I started running this year and it has literally changed my life
Excellent decision! I wish you many healthy and injury free kilometers!
Good for you! A few months after I started running seriously, I couldn't stop asking myself that why I didn't start running 30 years ago.
Oh I know why... I hated it before. 😅
Would you say it got your life going? 😛
I made the first step in starting my own company. 2024 I’ll be working on getting more clients so that I can quit my 9-5
I went fishing.
Get fired and the hired with a boss that challenges me and trust me.
Having a job with the right level of challenges, and freedom to approach it how one want, is the best job to have. I've worked at a place like that for more than a decade now. I could probably move on to better paid jobs, but I'm hesitant to let go of my current workplace.
I got accepted for my master's degree abroad, it's been a blast so far
This year has been a bit mundane. Good has been a steady stream with no particular highlights. Not complaining. I like stability.
I got a promotion, from a drafter to a designer. :)
Quit my corporate job for a small place with a mission to do good. Never going back to bigtech.
I fucking hated work for big tech. Like every single creative part of me was being sucked away.
I work for a corporation you have never heard of now. We are a subcontractor of a subcontractor and get to do the actual engineering. There is a towering bureaucracy above us that adds no value and gets all the credit. Which I am fine with, they can have the credit I have the glory.
Same here, really didn't have the feeling I was doing much fruitful work at all. So much energy spent in meetings, and political nonsense.
It's refreshing to just get to focus on getting things done.
I keep killin' it in my easy af graduate program.
This was my covid makeup year. I sold the house I bought in 2020 and got one that suited me instead of whatever I could afford (my old apt was intentionally too small to spend time in so I could save for a house), I had a proper wedding ceremony to make up for the courthouse one in 2020 (which I attended on crutches). We went to some music festivals. Even at work I got to lead a project after the one i was meant to lead in 2020 got canceled by the pandemic.
Brother's family moved to my city, leading to lots of time with the niblings
Got a job that I really like and is very lenient when I come in. I have some medical condition that makes a job and life nearly impossible, some days I feel debilitatingly horrible at complete random. It feels like there's 200 pounds strapped to my back, and I have done that before so I know it really feels like that. Thankfully my boss is very lenient when I come in so if I feel like crap I can take the day off. If I suddenly feel like crap 2 hours into the day, no biggie I can go home early.
Granted it's minimum wage and I'm arguably being underpaid for my level of expertise but the flexibility of my workplace is priceless.
I survived and managed to find a job that helps me help a few other humans survive.
i think i took about 500 shits
My ability to do math and predict my monthly budget costs is bad enough that it finally worked out in my favor... I'm still curious how that's happening, but I'm not inclined to look to deeply else I tip the balance of the universe out of my favor sooner that is bound to happen.
That it’s almost over. My spouse had two unexpected surgeries (successful and all seems well so that’s also good), and my work has turned to shit. Here’s hoping for a better 2024!
Won conference championships in indoor and outdoor collegiate track and field. Ran a half marathon after years of chronic knee problems. Won a piano competition and performed with a full orchestra. Wrote a 48 page honors thesis and presented it. Formed a jazz trio. Graduated college. It's been a cool 365 days, I'm grateful to not know how to pick the best thing.
It's a split between two things:
Firstly, I finally got my degree. People in my immediate surroundings got tired of the confirmed bachelor jokes after the first week of me making them.
And secondly, after a year and a half of waiting I got to talk to a gender service doctor back in February. Now I'm well on the way to get the bureaucracy part of my transition out of the way. And I'll be getting my hormones soon.
Probably that I met a bunch of other decently-high-level fighting game players that have similar demeanor about the games we all play. Hanging out with them gave me an entire new community to feel at home in, and got me back into content creation. Plus, they collectively made it not feel impossible to go to my local tournaments on occasion, at which I'm at least not the weakest player in the room by a good margin.
Oh yeah, I completely quit drinking as well, after overdoing it one night and teleporting to the bathroom to vomit. I'm not counting days or anything, just kinda neat that I dropped it cold turkey, had plenty of opportunities to drink again, and just haven't wanted to.
Through circumstances I’m not going to describe because I’d sound like a crazy person, I discovered that I am immortal. Being unable to escape life has given me a new commitment to living well, and I’ve been pushing every day without hesitation since that happened.
Union almost struck, and we got a nice fat contract.
Unionize people. It's the only way to fight back and have a living wage.
Wife and I finally got permanent residency.
First winter in a long while that hasn't been hell, the new anti-depressants stopped my winter depression. And even helped a bit against my year round depression.
I've started a weekly swimming session too. Haven't been good at following it after the snow came, but its still progress.
I can finally be myself and I even started dating and it's actually enjoyable now.
Eurovision Song Contest 2023