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Post by Incog Neato on May 20, 2010 19:24:45 GMT -5
Actually, I plan to stop this pretence of a life once my parents are y'know gone. But until then, you guys and a couple friends are the ONLY ONES WHO KNOW THE TRUTH, K?! :O!! And yet you post this on a public forum!? :OOOO |
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Post by Lumi on May 21, 2010 0:36:20 GMT -5
WALL O' TEXT TIME!!! ...At least I've categorized it for y'all so you can selectively ignore pieces that bore you.  General/Home Life:- I'm an only child. Used to dislike it as a little kid because I thought having siblings to play with would be cool. Once I made friends who had siblings, I decided I wholeheartedly LOVED being an only child. Siblings are annoying. - Many of you should know by my picture postings that I'm a cat lover. This has also been a constant in my life. - I used to be a disaster in the kitchen for many years. I mean, boiling water-- I'd spill it on myself. Cutting something? Cut myself. Pull something out of the oven? It'd get dumped in the bottom AND I'd burn myself. ...Yeah, it was bad. I've since conquered some of that clumsy streak in recent years. Thank god. - Still living with mum and dad, but it's largely because it's affordable, convenient, and they never saw fit to kick me out. I do assist with bills, of course, so I'm not a TOTALY freeloader. We get along more or less all right, so it hasn't been a big issue. They're quite good about not invading my privacy, and I'm not particularly intrusive (always being on the computer) anyway. - I don't date. Never have, probably never will. It's not that I've lacked opportunities; I've turned all requests down because, quite frankly, I don't see the point. I'm selfish and I acknowledge that fact about myself, and I embrace it. I don't want to complicate my life with dating woes or relationship drama, so I choose to head it off at the pass every time. Color me cold. Elementary/Middle School:- I was terminally shy, hated P.E and sports (and was horrible at them due to asthma) and generally a really good student (later a very clever and intelligent slacker). - Slightly tomboyish me was already big into video games from the days when, as a teensy li'l thing, I'd play the arcade games in restaurants whenever my parents and I went out to eat. Age seven, I get a Nintendo for Christmas. Age ten, a Super Nintendo. Age eleven? I rent "Final Fantasy II" (har, IV...) and the rest is history. I was hooked on RPGs forevermore. My years-long obsession with Secret of Mana began here, and it's the thing that TRULY jump started my creativity, hands-down. It's also around when I discovered what anime REALLY was. (Saw Unico when I was like, four, but I had no idea that was Japanese animation at the time, y'know?) High School:- Ugh, ugh, UGH. Still shy, I hate cliques, I am a non-entity. Especially after freshman year was over and all my (two) close friends moved away. I officially became a loner, but luckily, that was about the time I got the internet. I discovered online chat rooms-- more specifically, online RP realms, and thus continued my roleplay/writing/creative hobbies with a virtual gang of friends. One of my closest friends today was among this crowd, whom I met by the weirdest sampling of serendipity ever. - I graduate high school and don't look back, ever. Hated it all. Junior year was especially torturous with all the two-faced little snobs I had the misfortune of knowing at the time. Post 2000 - Present:- One year off school in which I veg, do online crap, draw, write, RP.... then I get my first job in 2001. Incidentally, I still work at that company now, nearly ten years later. - I spend about 5+ years working, doing a little bit of college half-heartedly while I attempt to decide what I truly want to do with my career, because life as an office peon is NOT it. I met two wonderful, dear friends in my Japanese classes a few years back. And I turned one of them into a raging Falcom fanboy. (XD Hi Ashurei~) - Somehow, turning 27 kicked me in the ass, and some random comment from a co-worker politely inquiring how I was doing with my schooling one day made me decide "OMG!! I'm running out of time!! DO SOMETHING!" ...after what felt like years of attempting to yearn for the satisfaction of aiming for a creative career while trying to stick to the safety of a "practical" career... I finally say "screw that!" and go apply to the Art Institute of Phoenix. I'm in Web Design, learning a lot about the design industry in general, and I'm loving it. I am, however, also praying that it really does pay off for me in the long run. Story crafting is still my chief passion and fun hobby. Someday, somehow, I'll find the time to write one of the many tales I've worked on and actually like, publish something. Maybe. I hope. |
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Post by Incog Neato on May 21, 2010 1:36:37 GMT -5
- Still living with mum and dad, but it's largely because it's affordable, convenient, and they never saw fit to kick me out. I think this has been an increasing trend. Or maybe I'm thinking about couples putting off marriage till later on? ^^; Well, the media's been reporting on SOME sort of lifestyle changes. :P (Or maybe they're just talking about themselves because it's the media~! We can't totally believe them!) Anyway, I'm still at home too. ^^; Paying my mom every month though plus I'm her chauffer! I used to hate driving her around but I'm used to it now. Are you going for the CIW certification? XD Don't be like me and ignore it! (Yeah, I'm a complete IDIOT that paid thousands of dollars for my Web design courses and totally didn't take any of the exams even though tuition obviously covered for the fees for those things.) I think it'll pay off as long as you market yourself properly. I just took the course to get a degree in something I was interested in. I'm far too durrrrrrrrr to try and look for clients and lacking in self-esteem to do back-end programming such as any sort of scripting stuff. XD I get logic but I can't put it into code. >_> Lordy, I can't believe how many of our lives are so similar. ^^; |
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Post by Justin on May 21, 2010 1:36:53 GMT -5
Nunuu, I live like 2 blocks from the Trans Canada Highway. I'll head there tomorrow and wave east for you. We're cross country buddies The truth is that I am really Wyrdwad, and I've been arguing with myself for the last 4 years. Don't hate me because I'm beautiful. |
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Post by Justin on May 21, 2010 1:58:53 GMT -5
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Post by Incog Neato on May 21, 2010 2:16:30 GMT -5
I think wyrdwad reads everything but just doesn't post everywhere. XD
Also! Yakra! Ye teach art? :OOOO
And I wonder, if EVERYONE cared about politics and EVERYONE voted, would we really have a better government? I guess it depends on who gets voted in. XD
Incidentally, I should vote for the pirate party of Canada next election! Otherwise, I'll just vote for whoever has the coolest sounding last name (usually, it's some East Asian name).
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Post by psybuster on May 21, 2010 2:56:57 GMT -5
Not in CA man, they track by driver's license too.
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Post by Incog Neato on May 21, 2010 3:08:49 GMT -5
I'm uninformed, and as a result, I choose NOT to vote in ANY political elections. In fact, back in Virginia, I even un-registered myself from voting! Not only is it the right choice, but it ALSO eliminates me from the pool of people chosen for jury duty - so yay for that!! (: So instead of having yourself heard, you let the idiots do it for you? JUST LIKE ME. But I'm more on Smithee's side where I just figure whoever gets the job is gonna do something stupid anyway so why bother? And man, I wish I could unregister for jury duty. : ( |
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Post by Ashurei on May 21, 2010 4:32:48 GMT -5
God, I don't even know where to begin with a topic like this.
Uh...
As a kid I was radically different than I am now. The love of video games was there, but I was a lot more active, more willing to do stupid shit, more outgoing. I loved biking. It's a wonder I never broke any bones doing the dumb things I did on my bikes. I must have been pretty popular back then, too; I had countless friends up through highschool, and most of them were girls early on. Nothing ever came of any of that, nor did I ever pursue any relationships, but it was there.
I was probably the kid every teacher hated to love the most. I won't embellish anything here, I had probably every teacher tell me that I was wasting my talent and plead with me to apply myself harder. I was in all AP classes and I excelled at almost everything I did, but I couldn't bring myself to do any more homework than I ever felt necessary. Tests supported my grades. Depending on the nature of the class, this usually meant I'd get anywhere from an A to a C. I only did the homework needed to ensure a passing grade. Paying for college now, I regret this, but at the time, despite every adult around me saying otherwise, I felt it was the wisest decision as it maximized the amount of time I had to have fun. Even PE was never a real issue for me. I've never been in terribly good shape, but I've been able to use my cunning to not be that dumpy kid everyone picks last. I still hated the class with a passion, but at least it wasn't full of torment.
My highschool offered such a boring selection of foreign languages, and needing 2 semesters of one I chose to head over to the community college nearby. I met two of my closest friends there, (hi Lumi~) and have remained in close contact with hem since. They remain two of my closest friends post-highscool, when only about 5 of the near-100 friends I had through public school remained a part of my life. Not to say the friends I had then were duplicitous, just that HS ending has a way of showing you who your better friends are through who actually stays in touch.
My parents divorced when I was 15, and I was made to live with my mom in an apartment until I was 16, when they let me decide where to live. My dad, probably because he was lonely, suddenly had an interest in me and feeling accepted, I moved back in with him. He eventually started dating and let move in with us this horrid, wretched woman who I had known as one of my friends worthless, drug-addicted mother. Our relationship deteriorated, he became drug-addicted, and all the while I just caged myself up in my room, becoming a degenerate, depressed mess. After spending 3 years desperately trying to fix him and show him that he was letting her destroy his life, driving myself into a state of depression, I finally got myself together enough to go move in with my mother again.
When I came to her I was kid devoid of any self-worth. School wasn't particularly important to me, I had a job but I hated it, family life felt arbitrary, I had terrible hygiene, and the ultimate goal each day was to log on to World of Warcraft, where I could commune with people who I felt wouldn't let me down. That game was my primary vice for 3 solid years, having felt abandoned by my parents doubly from the divorce and from my fathers destructive behavior. I still had friends, but they were secondary at the time. I enjoyed their company, but it was never a priority to socialize. Lumi and our mutual Japanese-class friend are probably the only people that I went out of my way to hang out with and look presentable for.
She was never able to rid me of that addiction, but she did however clean me up, and show me personal responsibility. I've become a much cleaner person, I care about my job and found a better one more suited to my personality. Before I moved out I developed a love for cooking, gained financial responsibility since she charged me $400 a month for food and rent, and overall I think I came out of it an overall better person. I was still far from being completely fixed, though.
The past year has been the greatest learning experience for me, and probably the greatest period of personal growth in terms of learning about myself and becoming a more responsible person. The first big change came when my computer died on me at the turn of the year in '09, and I was at a complete and utter loss as to how to entertain myself throughout the day without World of Warcraft to keep me company. I quite literally spent a handful of evenings staring through the ceiling, falling asleep after staring into the void. After about six days without a computer, I kinda snapped out of it and was able to take a good, hard look at myself. I was pathetic. I vowed to quit the game on the spot and never really looked back.
Following that I had yet another butchered semester of college whose schedule was unfortunately dictating by my gaming life – though thankfully the last. But, with this newfound chunk of free time I suddenly had every day, I found myself swiftly realizing that I have friends who somehow still care about me, and I start hanging out with them. A lot. I skip classes a lot, ignore my studies for that semester, all in the name of what I think was probably reclaiming lost time. I went into socializing-overdrive.
That summer I realized again that I had made a horrid mistake, and actually contemplated succumbing to mounting disappointment in myself and dropping out of college. My grandmother talked me out of it and I signed up for classes in the Fall, but I still lacked any real drive, despite having interest in my major.
Then my grandfather passed on.
Losing someone was probably, grim as it may sound, the best thing that could ever happen to me. 21 years of apathy were suddenly shattered and I realized what mattered, what I needed to do, and I decided I should strive to be as great of a man as he was. I suddenly felt closer to my family than I had since I was a kid and driven to do well in school. Given my last grade summary (AAAAC), I'd say I'm doing fairly well! What's more, his passing taught me about myself. I felt a great deal of humility, seeing religion bring my family peace – where I have often been an atheist with a superiority complex. I've come to respect religion and not think myself better than those who follow it. Just different. I also, for the longest time, held this preconceived notion that I wouldn't be phased by anyone dying, that I was some kind of soulless person. Let's just say I couldn't have been more wrong. I was bawling.
Anyways, I guess that brings me to now. I'm currently studying meteorology, as I've had an unhealthy obsession with weather ever since I was a kid. I've already flaunted my last grade report, which I'm proud of. It's not perfect (fucking C), but it's astronomically better than any I've ever gotten before. I'm working a stable job, have a healthy number of friends that I hang out with frequently enough, live close to campus with a couple friends. Can't complain, really.
Relationships are an issue with me, because I have a very skewed, idealist vision of what they should be. Dating frightens me. I don't want to talk to random girls, trying to impress them with money and wit, drawn to them only by their looks. That seems more like lust to me. I've always thought the girl I wind up with, if I ever do, should be a friend. Someone I'm already close to. There would be no dating, no drive to impress eachother. Just... becoming more intimate over time. The best relationships I've seen and heard of (from grandparents & older couples I've talked to) come from this. I've had friends try to convince me that waiting for love is the wrong way to go about it, but the alternative - seeking it arbitrarily from people I don't know and feel nothing for – just seems so …. fake. I don't see why I should open myself up to people I don't know. The risk is too great, and I'm not willing to take it. Nevermind that they never seem to work out. I (was) asked out by a girl once, only once, and that lasted for a matter of minutes, truly. I felt, quite literally, sick after doing it. And that was even with a friend! Just not someone I was even remotely interested in. Knowing I wasn't interested, though she was, made it feel like a horrible mistake, and I felt disgusted as a result, agreeing to go out with someone I felt nothing for. Of course, this was also this particular girl basically hitting me up when I was feeling sad, since the girl, the close friend I had just asked out, turned me down. That one emotional roller-coaster day is my experience with relationships.
tl;dr
I am.
Edit: excuse the grammatical issues. I wrote this very train-of-thought, heh~
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Post by Skeletore has a boner on May 21, 2010 5:42:24 GMT -5
When you compare countries with optional voting, and those with mandatory voting(near 100% participation), the trends are exactly the same.
The only difference is that since optional voting means typically 30-60% participation, you can "swing" the vote with abnormally high turnouts for one canidate, which is very rare in the grand scheme, but does happen.
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Post by Lumi on May 21, 2010 9:58:52 GMT -5
I think this has been an increasing trend. Or maybe I'm thinking about couples putting off marriage till later on? ^^; Well, the media's been reporting on SOME sort of lifestyle changes. :P (Or maybe they're just talking about themselves because it's the media~! We can't totally believe them!) Anyway, I'm still at home too. ^^; Paying my mom every month though plus I'm her chauffer! I used to hate driving her around but I'm used to it now. I know putting off marriage and such things is a definite trend they've identified in the current generation of adults. The failure to leave the nest thing seems to be a trend too, though I'm honestly too lazy to do my five minutes of internet 'research' to confirm that one. XD I admit that lately I've been wanting to get out of said 'nest' just because I think it's high time I did... but um... monetarily speaking, it's just not possible unless I want to make my life WORSE. Which I don't, so yeah. =P Sounds like you pull your weight pretty good, though~ I take it your mum doesn't/can't drive? Are you going for the CIW certification? XD Don't be like me and ignore it! (Yeah, I'm a complete IDIOT that paid thousands of dollars for my Web design courses and totally didn't take any of the exams even though tuition obviously covered for the fees for those things.) I think it'll pay off as long as you market yourself properly. I just took the course to get a degree in something I was interested in. I'm far too durrrrrrrrr to try and look for clients and lacking in self-esteem to do back-end programming such as any sort of scripting stuff. XD I get logic but I can't put it into code. >_> Lordy, I can't believe how many of our lives are so similar. ^^; I've only just begun the program of study as of January, so it hasn't really come up yet. That's good to know about, though, so I'll have to see if the school does anything for covering me on getting that certification. Thanks! XD And seriously, reading so many of these is very telling as to why we have such an amiable population on this board. ;) A lot of us are very much allike in how we've gone through our lives. |
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Post by psybuster on May 21, 2010 22:36:09 GMT -5
My father and brother aren't registered to vote and they've been summoned multiple times too; apparently they use DMV listings here. In fact I'm pretty sure that's exactly what they said when I had to go in March.
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Post by Yakra on May 22, 2010 8:59:53 GMT -5
For some reason, lumi's life is reminding me a LOT of mine. X'D And~ - Still living with mum and dad, but it's largely because it's affordable, convenient, and they never saw fit to kick me out. I think this has been an increasing trend. Or maybe I'm thinking about couples putting off marriage till later on? ^^; Well, the media's been reporting on SOME sort of lifestyle changes. :P (Or maybe they're just talking about themselves because it's the media~! We can't totally believe them!) Anyway, I'm still at home too. ^^; Paying my mom every month though plus I'm her chauffer! I used to hate driving her around but I'm used to it now. Me too. X'D After finishing up with university, I shifted back home and set up me studio there. Honestly though, I think if I tried to move out, I'd only end up worrying me mom, and soooo.... it all works out for the best - one helps with the bills, she acts as my chauffer (because I'm too much of a bum to actually take out time and learn to drive. :P *kicks to self*) And~ Also! Yakra! Ye teach art? :OOOO I do~! I do! ...For now atleast. X'D I seem to get very bored and irritated with stable jobs and prefer my own paintings to them.... But since last year I have stuck to this one. :'D I kind of preferred how I was in the foundation year, teaching drawing, last year though, as compared to being the thesis advisor for final years this year. :/ |
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