I never had a life goal either. Well, I did - I wanted to join the police force for all my life, and as soon as I left high school I applied to join. And I was rejected because I'm blind in one eye. I was told I'd never get a position on any police force in the country outside of London Metropolitan where the rules are apparently more lenient. When I heard that I was 17, and I was dating a girl at the time, and I had friends up here, I didn't want to move to the other side of the country. What can I say? I was crushed. I was lucky that I did well at school without really trying (I was too much focused on my friends and keeping fit to focus on grades) so I went to sixth form, and then to college, and then to University to do an English degree. I'm now training to be an English teacher, and so far life hasn't been too bad to me - it's actually been very pleasant, with only some rough patches I'll not get in to. The moral of my story - please don't get upset if you can't get something you want. When one door locks on you, there might be another door you didn't notice before that is still unlocked. Maybe that other door is even better than the one you had your eyes on the whole time.
Well, as lewd as my post was, I think it is very fitting for the conversation. You have a guy, the MC, who hates his job and is looking everywhere for happiness. His neighbor, a very simple man with simple wants and needs, given enough money to buy whatever he can, decides all he wants would be a menage a trois; no mansion, no fast car, etc. Spoiler alert! Happiness for the MC is found outside of the rat race working demolition and drinking cheap beer with his neighbor
Cheap beer is advantageous in certain contexts. The price is an obvious draw, but in some situations, like being at a rowdy concert, cheaper, watery beer is preferable to something dark and heavy if you want to get in on the rowdiness and get a bit toasty and not get sick. Works for me. Jagerbombs and moshing is not a good combo...
This thread makes me feel all kinds of happy, and gives me more faith in people. As far as the beer bit goes, all I want is Guinness. No water. Just Guinness. As for life, I admit days like today I occasionally get angry about where I am and have a sour mood, but really everything is always fine. Hope and happiness are like air, always around, you just have to remember to take a moment to breathe. I have a funny little dog who I put Santa hats on and has a beard, I work in a bookstore so my job is to talk about books all day, and it's a long bus ride to work so I always have time to read. As for the original post where the fellow talks about being up at 4:30 AM to be at the gym, I really can't blame him. I've been opening the gym for a few years now, and honestly I don't do it for the physique or even the health benefits. It's just really really really fun, less people are there early, and it's a great excuse to drink yummy protein shakes. That and if there are any Arnold Schwarzenegger fans out there who have seen "Pumping Iron" then you'll know his famous line about getting a pump. For those of you who want a good laugh, YouTube "Arnold Pumping is Like", not for people who are sensitive to sexual comments.
The problem with wanting just enough to get by and be happy, is that the bar to do so gets higher and higher each year.
I can see where Duchess is coming from. I've saved up half of the money I need for secondary education. My dream was to just be an RN who drives an SUV. I didn't have any goals past that, but writing and music found their way into my life like a lovable stray cat. Now I want to be a writer/RN/SUV owner/guitaro. Dreaming is probably the best part of youth. I'll miss it.
