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| Spirit of Adventure; ..do you have it? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 30 2007, 12:18 AM (157 Views) | |
| Eral | Mar 30 2007, 12:18 AM Post #1 |
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Kopi Luwak
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I don't. I'm horribly stick-in-the-mud, stay-in-my-comfort-zone, that-sounds-scary-not-exciting. I lay awake at nights worrying how Sylvia will cope with moving house: having lunch on the other side of town is an adventure to me. I like knowing where everything is. Behaving myself in conversation with people I have just met is a challenge: it's so much more relaxing to stick with people who don't need subtitles and are already broken in. Niece No.4 is scheduled to move 40 minutes away and I know I am going to miss her. I realise I am at the extremish end of the scale for wussiness.
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| Regullus | Mar 30 2007, 01:33 AM Post #2 |
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Reliant
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The other day there was talk of going to Boston (about 1 hour and forty minutes away) for an eye doctor appointment and I was concerned with the details of making the trip with my daughter and the logistics. How will I keep her entertained? Where will we eat? What will this do to her bedtime? What snacks should I take? Will she become bored or sleep on the trip? What if were walking and she slips her hand out of my hand, and on, and on. None of that type of stuff would have ever crossed my mind before my daughter but now, all those thoughts and more. I was pretty relieved when the trip was cancelled. ![]() Adventurous? Not anymore, now I like detailed plans. |
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| lara | Mar 30 2007, 02:21 AM Post #3 |
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Kopi Luwak
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Reg, you are a normal parent of a toddler. Honest. Frankly, life with a toddler is plenty exciting without speedbumps. When I get tired and cranky with my kid, I remind myself: Every day is an adventure. She's made my life a playground. And it's true. I love doing new things, new situations, new people. I just need to know I have a home and people I love behind me, and I can go cosy up with them when I need a break. |
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| Krazy | Mar 30 2007, 09:00 AM Post #4 |
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I haz powah!
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I think I am exactly like Eral describes, no real sense of adventure at all. Travelling holds no real interest for me and yes I like my creature comforts. Travelling even a stay over night is actually a logistical nightmare for me for various reasons. But still I am planning a trip to the States for this Autumn and I hope that comes off. I want to see New York and my family who live just outside St Louis now moved from living in Charlotte, North Carolina where I have been before. |
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| Joe | Mar 30 2007, 12:22 PM Post #5 |
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Coffea Canephora
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No, I am not adventurous. But I don't think most of the things described as adventure to be very adventurous at all. |
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In the shadow of the light from a black sun Frigid statue standing icy blue and numb Where are the frost giants I've begged for protection? I'm freezing | |
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| Bex | Mar 30 2007, 02:15 PM Post #6 |
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puppet dictator
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I've determined that what I don't like about travelling is all the planning and arranging that so frequently goes into it (and that I frequently end up with a cold or worse; grr). I'd rather be able to throw some stuff in a bag and just go someplace, which I can basically only do if I stay in Canada. I'd much prefer to go camping or stay with friends than stay in a hotel or resort. I'd like to stay at the Dominion Hotel in Vancouver though, where every room has been made over by a different artist. It's very cool, and also cheap. On the other hand, I'm very happy to stay at home. I don't have the craving for travel that some people do, for whatever reason. I have a friend who claims that if money were no object, he'd just travel... two weeks here, six months there. I couldn't do that, because I need a place that's mine. I always have. I guess I'm more like Lara. Every day can include adventure or novel experience, if you view life the right way. I love new food and people and art and activities. But I also need something solid to ground me. |
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I belong to one of those families that does not speak to or see its members as often as we should, but if someone needed anyone to fall on a sword for her, there would be a queue waiting to commit the deed. -Min Jin Lee | |
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| Joe | Mar 30 2007, 07:37 PM Post #7 |
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Coffea Canephora
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That's where the adventure escapes me--I'm not all that into trying new things, especially if I have to pay for them. I value my time and money so much that I'd rather go with what's tried and true than risk wasting them. |
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In the shadow of the light from a black sun Frigid statue standing icy blue and numb Where are the frost giants I've begged for protection? I'm freezing | |
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| Eral | Mar 30 2007, 10:35 PM Post #8 |
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Kopi Luwak
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I must have had an extremely boring childhood, or something, because I get excited about going shopping. New restaurant? Peak of adventurous living. (We found one just last week.
:) ) I sort of don't care if it turns out badly, because it makes a good story. My friends and sisters have all travelled to exotic and wonderful places living out of a back pack for months. Not me. I bought a house. Not that I was collecting things to put in it or anything: I was then so poverty stricken it was an empty house for some years. A friend who lives in Ireland is always saying "Just come! Get on a plane!" I try to explain it would be a bit unfair to take ten grand from the finances for a holiday just for myself. "See ya Mr.FPS, I'll be back whenever." But she thinks I'm just being a chicken. Which is true too. :lol: If travelling, I like to stay in beautiful places, luxurious places. With toilets you sit on and preferably that don't squirt you. (Never, ever push the mysterious extra button near the toilet while your partner is on it. Bad things happen.) Camping is fun if you are young and can sleep in a tent. I have always loved the scene in Steve Martin's "The Jerk" where he leaves the marital home. "And I'm not taking anything with me. Except for this chair... And this vase...And this..." and it cuts to a scene where he is walking down the street trailing this huge pile of stuff. That is me, I think. I'm always annoying Mr.FPS when we go down to the beach because I fill the car with stuff we might need. (Umm, this is despite stocking the beach house with everything we actually need. Including a coffee machine. ) I also always feel happier if I bring more clothes than I need - because I might not feel like wearing my blue T-shirt on Sunday. I am a very annoying person to pack with. But I am good to travel with, because I am always so excited. re:babies and planning: A friend whose baby was very teeny, still just waking to eat, then sleeping again, remarked that having a baby wasn't going to change her life, the baby was just going to go where she went, when she wanted. Six months later she laughed heartily at herself as she organised her life around her son's daytime sleeps. :lol: |
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| Bex | Mar 31 2007, 02:53 AM Post #9 |
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puppet dictator
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That explains your lack of interest in NWN mods set in custom worlds, and that don't let you play "yourself" as well. You're missing out on a lot life has to offer, me bucko, and I don't just mean the gaming. Eral is absolutely right that even things that turn out badly can make good stories, or at least turn into the jokes that only you and the other person who was there ever really get. ("Fine. Let's get something we'll both hate.") Experiences are worth far more than money ever could be, and I think a "safe" life is a waste of time in itself. |
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I belong to one of those families that does not speak to or see its members as often as we should, but if someone needed anyone to fall on a sword for her, there would be a queue waiting to commit the deed. -Min Jin Lee | |
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| Joe | Mar 31 2007, 04:43 AM Post #10 |
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Coffea Canephora
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Meh. |
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In the shadow of the light from a black sun Frigid statue standing icy blue and numb Where are the frost giants I've begged for protection? I'm freezing | |
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| Krazy | Mar 31 2007, 08:23 AM Post #11 |
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I haz powah!
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Depends, as a teenager I hated going out with the family, I used to do things like wait until the car was at a traffic lights open a door and leg it only to be caught about 10 minutes later and with irate parents to boot...but I tried. I suppose if I am honest maybe 1 in 5 visits actually resulted in something I found interesting. Also like Eral, when going out I liked restaurants (although at that age read burger bar) and well my family are picnic fiends. You have no idea how much I loathed picnics. And then if it started raining and we were stuck in the car eating I would get royally pissed off. (I didn't rebel much so only once or twice I ran off and bought a burger, but when my parents said no and they did every time, I generally went with it) Then if we went to the beach, I used to say, just let me go play the arcade machines (only allowed in certain places in England - not common at all at the time) I don't want to see X, but they hardly ever let me. So I got into this mindset that going out would be shit, and well I was hardly ever proved wrong. That attitude sort of stuck. I must seem like an ingrate and in one way I was, but meh, going out and treating every day as an adventure is not for everyone. I am certainly not going to get excited by going shopping for example it is 100% a chore. |
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| Regullus | Mar 31 2007, 01:47 PM Post #12 |
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Reliant
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Krazy's story has made me recall my own adolescent family outings. I'd always drag my feet and get dissed for my reluctance but the reason I was reluctant is because there was always some trauma or drama and the trips sucked. I just wanted to be left alone. I never made a break for it but one of my brothers would occasionally.
:D It's funny how often families break down during the adolescent years. I hope it dosen't happen to my daughter. :( |
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| Eral | Apr 1 2007, 02:38 AM Post #13 |
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Kopi Luwak
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The ability to laugh at minor misfortune is the most valuable skill I have. I am rarely depressed for long this way. And the purpose of having time and money is so you can waste it. I think my feeling of excitement about shopping comes from that two weeks after I first bought my house, and ran out of food the day before pay day. Dining on a refreshing cup of tea changes your perspective on groceries. Regullus: it all depends on how embarassing your parents are. :lol: Sadly, this will be completely out of your control, and all we can do is wish you luck, but I think you'll be OK. Krazy seems to have been an especially obnoxious teenager and seems to be not at all ashamed of it. :lol: We travelled a lot as a family. Nine people in one car is an experience that both divides and bonds a family. We never had escapes: if it was a non-parental-decree outing, you got your choice before getting into the car. Once in the car, there was no whinging allowed. You enjoyed it, or shut the hell up. Looking back now, I don't know how mum and dad managed that, at all. We all learned to sing and love music - maybe that was it. Also, when we were younger, my dad was prone to say "Come so, we'll go" and you never knew where you would end up. He usually ended an outing with a stop at the local milk-bar, though. Ice-cream.
:) It added interest to life.
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| Bex | Apr 1 2007, 03:55 AM Post #14 |
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puppet dictator
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Rambling post coming.... I liked family outings. The weren't necessarily harmonious, but they were interesting. We were sufficiently nerdy and old-fashioned as children to be quite happy with games of I Spy and some new comic books, and complaints about the space in the back of the station wagon was almost unheard-of. I've always been fairly adept at going off into my own little world when I want anyway. Some of my happiest memories with my father involve getting him to take us for nature walks, really just in the scrub brush, but I was excited to turn over an old board and see voles underneath, or to find the remnants of a squirrel's winter midden. My friend Tom is deeply amused by my lingering fascination with squirrels. I have essentially never grown up, and have no intentions of doing so. When I was a teenager, I was in a youth group, Venturers, that took me camping and white water rafting and stuff. It was a bit geeky to be a Venturer, even though I got to do cool stuff and it also gave me ample opportunity to mess around with boys. I still have the leather moccasins I made myself. The only time I much disliked being a Venturer was when camp fell on the same weekend as a concert I really wanted to attend and I couldn't wriggle out of it. And there was the time I twisted my ankle while hiking up a mountain, but I got over that. Besides, Mike also twisted his ankle, and we helped each other back down and referred to ourselves as a "pair of plegics" for the remainder of the trip. Shopping can be a chore, or it can be a form of... tangible anticipation. Buying groceries is more fun if I've got a list planned around meals and can think about the enjoyment of cooking and eating the food. It's also more fun if the store is full of odd people (most memorable trip to the supermarket involved a couple dancing in the aisles, a young woman flirting with me, and an old woman in a huge wig and ton of rouge seeming just thrilled to be out and interacting with people), if we can make people in the checkout line laugh by audibly conversing over the tabloid headlines, or if our favorite clerk is on checkout and we can visit with her a little. As a woman, I am 100% entitled to enjoy buying clothes so long as I can find things that look nice. As my mother's daughter, I have been trained to blame the clothing and not my body if things don't fit or don't look right. Works out nicely. Hmm... some of this talk about shopping is reminding me of an article Incorrigible posted at PBG, on why so many people are so damned miserable these days. I'm going to see if I can find it.... |
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I belong to one of those families that does not speak to or see its members as often as we should, but if someone needed anyone to fall on a sword for her, there would be a queue waiting to commit the deed. -Min Jin Lee | |
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| Bex | Apr 1 2007, 05:34 AM Post #15 |
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puppet dictator
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Aha! http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/misery.html |
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I belong to one of those families that does not speak to or see its members as often as we should, but if someone needed anyone to fall on a sword for her, there would be a queue waiting to commit the deed. -Min Jin Lee | |
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| Krazy | Apr 1 2007, 07:19 AM Post #16 |
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I haz powah!
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No, I don't think so...I was going to say quite the opposite but that wouldn't be true either :D I wasn't that obnoxious just hated being dragged around on trips. |
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| Eral | Apr 1 2007, 11:06 PM Post #17 |
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Kopi Luwak
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Krazy, you used to escape. (I should say, I very much admire your initiative and determination.) And you whinged and were miserable. Teenager who doesn't want to spend any time with his family because all he can think about is what he wants to do... What do you think that translates to for an adult? I liked that article: but it made me depressed. B) The sad bear was really sad. :'( Umm, I wouldn't show anybody a photo of me that was really disgusting. Trust has nothing to do with it: sheer embarrassment and shame would mean it would be a secret from everyone forever. I certainly agree that we insulate our lives from annoyance to our detriment: but I think the author is underestimating the negative affect on the psyche of enforced intimacy with those we are not in harmony with - Jane Austen is full of compelling examples. Also, I'm not sure about the having less friends. I don't really believe that can be measured accurately. Too many variables. Shopping=buying a present for yourself= :) |
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| Krazy | Apr 1 2007, 11:25 PM Post #18 |
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I haz powah!
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All I can say in my defence is that I had my reasons (am I on trial here? :blink:). And why don't you tell me what that translates to as an adult? Because I would say an adult who has the good sense to avoid stupid trips that are going to make him miserable. What else? :lol: |
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| lara | Apr 2 2007, 12:07 AM Post #19 |
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Kopi Luwak
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We used to go on six-week camping trips in a car with four kids and the folks, pulling a trailer behind us and never sleeping in hotels, occasionally having a shower at some truck stop but mostly bathing in lakes, and every single one of us ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. My father relaxed and had fun, we got to be in a new place every day, unless it was really good, then we got to stay for a week, and we swam and canoed and fished and ate and ate and ate. I visited nine of the 10 provinces in Canada before I was 12. I'd love to be able to do the same with my kiddo, but I'm not a teacher. [edited to add a comma after "the folks" to make it more apparent that they weren't running behind the car hauling the trailer.] |
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| Eral | Apr 3 2007, 01:18 AM Post #20 |
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Kopi Luwak
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Our family had too many hang-ups to wash in public. :lol: My affinity with plumbing is deeply ingrained. Krazy. I didn't say how it appears to an adult because I was trying to avoid saying anything that could be perceived as overly brutal. I want to re-iterate, I completely admire the determination and spirit you showed, and my comments are on adolescents as a general group, and not at all a personal criticism. I'm thinking I should perhaps just Apologise Fulsomely and slink off to Random Chat, but I have to say I love this story, and am really enjoying talking about it. Accept this as an indication of my peaceful intent. Now. You were absolutely intent on doing what you wanted and completed ignored the feelings of those around you. It did not occur to you to sacrifice your own wishes and accomodate others. Hello? Is the picture coming through? It's how your brain works when you are adolescent. No forebrain activity. It's difficult for others because you look grown-up, but you are still functioning as a kid who needs placating. :lol: I believe the need to go away into your teenage cave and not emerge till your brain is fully developed is actually a survival instinct. Good for everyone.
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) I also always feel happier if I bring more clothes than I need - because I might not feel like wearing my blue T-shirt on Sunday.
:lol:

8:54 AM Jul 11