If I was a millionaire, I'd build a beach bar right next door and play disco music til the crack of dawn every night! (Just kidding, sxc). I, too, dream of a home on the beach.
First of all, please accept my deepest sympathy for the tremendous losses and devastation as a result of the earthquake.
What would I do in such a situation? I have been in a number of earthquakes, but the greatest damage from those quakes has always been further away from me, thankfully. But I would certainly react. I wouldn't enjoy the destruction around me. I would hope that my training and education would kick in and I would look for a place to go to that is as structurally sound as possible. If I totally panic (and I certainly might), I would still be trying to flee the havoc, try to find what would seem to be the best place to be.
Still trying to verify this, but I heard at work today that those of us who live and work abroad will not get any tax refund from the economic stimulus plan. Sounds reasonable if you consider that the money is supposed to go back into the economy...a little bit more of a tax refund, more money to buy things on the economy. I hear that those of us who have a non-Stateside address (to inclue APO addresses) aren't eligible. Maybe I don't have accurate information and I would be glad to have someone enlighten me if they know the full facts (Google didn't produce results for me)....but if this is true, and I am not eligible, this would mean that no servicemen or women are eligible, either. And those of us who do have APO addresses do a lot of online shopping, buying from the States.
Anybody know for sure?
Geez, at the very least they could give us an Amazon.com or a Netflix gift certificate!!
At the beginning of this thread (Ambrose's OP), John Lennon was referenced. Interestingly, what you wrote reminds me immediately of John Lennon again.... "Life is What Happens to You When You're Busy Making Other Plans."
If there were no choices involving supernatural entities, fate, godly intervention, etc., then it would seem to follow that there is a greater responsibility for our actions, if I am now interpreting your post more accurately. Actually, I don't like that I used the word "greater", for I still believe that we always bear responsibility, but I think I get where you're going here. And I think this goes along with what j (Ibiza) said previously. No fate, no religion, no astrological leanings, no kismet or karma....no excuses. And I think that those unknowns and somewhat mystical entities allow the believers a lot of room for interpretation, in many respects. I am always amused when I see, for example, following a football game, when the star quarterback of the winning team says that God was with them. I wonder, then, if God was rooting for the Redskins and made sure that the Eagles lost the game that day. It just doesn't compute. "God was with me"...."it's Allah's will"...."fate had a hand in it"...it all points to "it's not my fault."
I fully agree. I was just using an example of religion and responsibility, but I do agree with you.
Now I have to go back and re-read Ambrose's reply to me. I think he's f***ing with my mind again!! Need to focus, regroup, and get my thoughts and words together.
But isn't this exactly true, no matter whether or not one believes in unknown factors? If you believe in the things you mentioned (fate, astrology, twin souls, etc.), that belief doesn't remove responsibility for how we live our lives. In a way, it may even add more responsibility. Let's say, for example, I believed that fate brought Mr. Right to me here on CS, but he lives in East Faraway and we are half the world apart. If I believed in fate, am I not responsible to follow the signs I think I've been given, pack my belongings and board the first Farawayair flight? And, if I do so, aren't I now even bearing more responsibilities? I don't believe in many things that I don't know for certain to exist, but I try to keep an open mind. With what you ask, though, I don't feel that I would live my life any differently. Responsibility for what we do always rests on our shoulders, as long as we are the ones taking a particular action.
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Can we really? Can we control what we feel? We can try to keep them in check, be aware of the pitfalls, remember how those feelings affected us in the past, but can we really control them? I mean...we can CONTROL anger, for example, but can we avoid feeling it entirely? We can know that the love we are feeling for someone is not in our best interest or something, but does that mean we can just stop feeling it entirely.... can we turn it off like a faucet when we feel it slowly drip-drip-dripping in our hearts? I don't think so, Paradox. At best, we can try to get a grip and pull the reins in a bit, if we don't want to feel what we are feeling. But, nonetheless, we're feeling it. We just have to figure out what to do about it.
I do appreciate the honesty!! And I like that you have looked back and realize that maybe you need to change the pattern of cheating. I hope you can, Boban. I'm rooting for you.
Well, certainly it can affect your appearance...your physical body. And, if you aren't comfortable about your appearance, it can affect your self-image and can make some people shy and withdrawn or can cause some to overcompensate (class clowns, for example...like a Jack Black kind of guy). I don't think food makes us who we are, but there can be a link to how we feel about ourselves and thus how we project ourselves to others which has its root in our diet and nutrition.
Gee, thanks a lot, Romeo! I just had a chocolate dessert (and I seldom eat dessert!) and now I feel icky!
I prepared my tax returns, wrote an award nomination, and basically just took care of odds and ends at home. This coming Sunday is Greek Orthodox Easter and, although I am not Greek Orthodox, I enjoy celebrating with my Greek friends. There are processions with everyone holding candles in the evening and at midnight (after people leave church) on Saturday night, bells will ring and fireworks will be lit around the city. Friends and strangers will be greeting each other: "Christos Aneste" one will say, and the response will be "Alithos Aneste" (Christ has risen; truthfully He has risen). Then there will be the visits at homes or stops in local taverns, where a soup is the meal of the late hour and bright red eggs are cracked, one on top of the other. The next day (Easter Sunday), it's all about food (the end of Lent) and family and friends. Many people still roast a whole lamb on a rotating spit, turning it for hours over the flame. When it's cut off and being pulled apart for serving, hungry hordes gather round and reach in and start tasting and enjoying. It's really a nice time here.
I like this thread, Jan...I like hearing music from other countries. So, allow me to add one of my favorite Greek artists (I love his voice, and I also love the bouzouki in this song). The song is entitled "Don't Leave."
But we MUST treat our feelings as accurate indicators of reality. Aren't our feelings a response to stimuli? Or to a lack thereof? Feelings are generally borne of SOMETHING and there is generally a traceable root. But, ok, I will go along with your premise that our feelings should be questioned. Sure, I can agree with this. This is introspection and we all must do this now and then. But I believe that what we are doing in such times is examining not if what we feel is right (meaning accurate), but whether it is right for US. It's situational, not emotional. Distinguishing between the two (what is an accurate assessment of the situation vs. what is really in my best interest) is the key here. You can feel angry at the clerk for how he ogled your girlfriend, but that doesn't mean that you have to act on it. You think about it a bit, realize it's really not a big deal in the overall scheme of things, and you let it go. You weren't wrong to get your back up, and you weren't wrong to dismiss it when you gave it more thought. As for the power of self-delusion...well, I can't argue with you there. It is a powerful thing, but it's not insurmountable or impossible to overcome. One must take heed with one's emotions, certainly. They are real, they are accurate indicators of stimuli, but they must be examined for their appropriateness to the situation at hand. Add some common sense and intelligent thought and then decide if these feelings are in your best interest. Right = accurate Right = in your best interest Right = real Semantics, perhaps?
Yeah, Dru...I've discovered that Greek characters don't come through here at all, no matter if from Wiki or if I type them in myself (I switch to Greek letters on my keyboard sometimes, but they don't transfer here).
No, Cristina....hot milk doesn't do it for me. I want Ambrose to respond because his posts put me right to sleep. (I am SO kidding, Ambrose...just trying to prod you into a reply!)
Ambrose, you have no response to my last post (not the one about Socrates, but the one previous)?? I've been waiting for your reply and it's close to bed-time for me. Don't keep me in suspense!
OK...I found it...it's not a word I was familiar with, but now that I see where the accent is, I know I've heard it before. It's affection...the accent is on the second syllable....stor-GI. Thanks, Larry, for teaching me a new word!
Thalassa Forum Posts (2,410)
RE: if i was a millionaire .
I'll bring the rum.