Yup.

The teachings of Christianity don’t make any fucking sense. (Unless you’re willing to gaslight yourself for a lifetime.)

Skeptical Enquirer

Yeah, mine was an alcoholic for 25 years but inexplicably quit cold turkey one day when I was a teen.

I think it’s just a ton of undiagnosed, untreated mental illness. My mom’s mother was abusive and her loving father died when she was a teen. My dad’s dad died when he was eleven and he became the breadwinner for his mom and siblings, and didn’t stop working for another sixty-five years. (Well, he drives for DoorDash now, so I suppose he’s still working, but it’s a far cry from roofing.)

I actually feel a little bad for my dad. He worked his ass off his whole life and has almost nothing to show for it, but somehow, could never put his foot down when it came to my mom and adding more kids to the family. In most other countries his lifetime of work and owning a business would have meant a comfortable retirement, but not here. In America, no one gives a fuck.

Yes.

I have a home, a good job, and am able to save enough that it’s possible I may be able to retire in my fifties.

The only responsible decision my parents made was to pay off their house. They had over a dozen kids and my dad literally roofed houses until he couldn’t anymore physically. They’re now in their 80’s and driving for DoorDash, in a car they’ve “borrowed” from me for almost a year, that I’m certain I’m never getting back.

And, somehow, despite having no mortgage or car payment, they still aren’t paying their bills on time. (But, to be fair, that’s also a referendum on the US economy and capitalism in general, and none of us can get actual progressives elected.)

Yup.

They do not, as evidence by the last two decades of “progressive” politics here in the US.

That progressive people should prioritize economic equality ahead of social issues.

Depends on how many investment transactions I have and the dollar amount they represent. I didn’t make very many sell trades last year, so not having to wait for 1099’s meant I have already filed mine.

Love definitely hits different in your 20’s. Though, the plus side is when something ends I don’t obsess over it like I did as a young man.

I remember in the mid-2010’s when Guns n Roses decided to reunite and tour, and my first thought was: “Why would I want to watch Axl Rose now that he’s old and fat?” That was a sign.

At age 30, I noticed I couldn’t skimp on sleep anymore and hangovers were much worse than in my 20’s.

In my mid-30’s my eyesight started to blur and I had to start wearing glasses.

At 40, my digestion isn’t as good as it used to be and I take supplements. Also, it’s harder to memorize things now, and I no longer have the option of missing workouts or daily stretching, because I notice it much more if I haven’t done these things.

I wouldn’t say ‘often’, but I definitely do. My work has a quarterly process meeting where we talk through new things everyone has learned and figure out ways we can add to our procedures and put those thoughts and methods down on paper. It’s not my favorite to talk through things, TBH, but I always learn new things when we have those roundtables.

This might sound a bit simplistic, but try different things. Different people process info in different ways, and you’ll never figure out what you don’t know that you don’t know if you don’t consider different perspectives and techniques.

I have several teammates at work that process information better by having meetings and talking through various projects and concepts whereas I need to throw on headphones, become dead to the world, and focus to achieve my best state for thinking through things. I retain information better by typing or writing it out by hand, which I attribute to growing up with video games.

They’re still there.

But irrelevant.

Man, so many things.

They fully remodeled it in 2016, and by virtue of being stupid rich, left it fully furnished and equipped. To them it was just a line on their balance sheet that they wanted liquidated. To me, it was an extra $10,000 I didn’t have to spend on furniture and appliances.

All of them.

I love the bachelor life.

Disgusting.

Dunno, just make sure your stop-loss orders are set so you don’t get burned when the dip comes.

I honestly don’t know. That’s just what I saw. Maybe they were running from it.

A few.

I was in San Juan once and, walking back to my cruise ship, saw a van jump a curb, slam into a police vehicle, and then the driver hopped out and jumped off the pier into the ocean.

The first time I visited Los Angeles and saw literal garbage piled 2-3 feet high on public sidewalks. In the days after I saw the tent cities. (I’m from Kansas City, where garbage is very well managed and tent cities are a rarity.)

I once saw a very tall, dark shape in the woods getting chased by cows. It might have been Bigfoot. It might have been a bear or a deer that reared up on its hind legs. It was too far away for me to say for sure.

Man, it’s hard to pick. The Greeks had wonderful stories. The labors of Hercules are pretty neat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labours_of_Hercules

My favorite, though, is the story of Narcissus, in part because it’s my favorite Salvador Dali painting.

Also, sidebar, but there’s a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book where you the reader are thrust in the world of greek myths and it’s awesome. (It’s called The Throne of Zeus.)