Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

@Octane I'm sure they exist in Europe, but I do feel like it's mostly an American thing. The work culture here originally was initially informed by the Quakers, Adventists, and such, who believed work was effectively a religious experience, and more importantly that any moment not spent working was a moment spent working for the devil. Then the Germans started immigrating and brought that famous work ethic and efficiency that fused all too well with the Quaker work ideal. The end result is a culture that can't shake the notion of life=work, work=life. The famous "Keep calm and carry on" British one from the 40's is all I can think of to associate in Europe...most of them were War related. Not quite the same as the modern corporate motivational poster which feels like a snarky war-time approach to propaganda for increased corporate productivity.

I'd like a corporate rule. For every motivational poster hung on a wall, an executive gets a baseball bat to the face. Few things can fill one with the desire to dismember someone quite like a motivational poster that looks like what happens if an SS commandant were to be in charge of the copier room.

@Octane Nobody actually LIKES to work, or at least not if it is for a boss or employer. That's just mass-hypnosis, brain washing, NLP, or whatever you wanna call it. We don't live to work. We just use work as a necessary evil to be able to fund our ACTUAL lives...

@NEStalgia Well, unfortunately for me, I've been in the sales business. A business all too infused with good old American values and a truck load of nauseating slogans, often recited in various famous movies about sales departments, stock brokers and what not...

But I don't care about any of that. Not to say that I haven't enjoyed any of my previous or current jobs, and I've had quite a few good colleagues with whom I've experienced all kinds of hilarious and exciting stuff, but nonetheless, I've (luckily) never been able to fool myself into thinking that I needed work for anything other than paying the bills, and being able to afford the live that I want to live.

I like work because I like structure. And being paid for doing something. And my particular job allows me to audit those that try to shirk the responsibility the accepted for payment. That brings me solace.
Hunter/gatherers did what they did because they liked eating.

The use of Rad Away was a reference that eliminating radiation would protect me from genetic mutations. Fallout is life.

Anyone that needs a poster to inspire them isn’t going to be inspired long, and the temporary inspiration won’t yield benefits in quality. Might as well have a poster that says “Don’t be a screw up”

Some people do like having a excuse to wake up in the morning and feel useful.

@ThanosReXXX Yep, moderation is key. As mentioned before, I don't crazily restrict myself, but I do try to not go overboard either. Who says that I can't eat one slice of cake at a celebration? I can generally avoid most sweets unless there's chocolate or ice cream involved. There's a reason why I don't typically stock that stuff in my own home (barring some really dark chocolate on occasion)....

Part of the reason that I've been trying to eat healthier is due to some family health problems. High blood pressure runs on some of my mom's side (I've so far avoided medications but was labeled pre-hypertensive when I was heavier), plus the family metabolism rate in general isn't the best. The main thing I'm worried about is getting Type 2 Diabetes as my father has it (the man guzzles sugar like it's gonna go off the market; he's gotten a bit better but still doesn't watch it nearly as much as he should), and an aunt of mine has a myriad of health problems that stem from it.

I fast walk for a lot of my fitness on some local trails. I'd love to walk/ride a bike to work if I could, but where I live makes it pretty difficult. I live along a busy road in a small "town" a couple of miles from an actual town. There are no sidewalks where I'm at, and the traffic, particularly an area that goes by an elementary school, gets pretty nuts/dangerous. I'm also not a morning person, so getting up much earlier than I already do is a struggle. XD

I think brushing more than two times a day, barring some situations, is overkill. There IS a such thing as too much brushing from what I've read; brushing too hard can cause the gums to recede and can even wear away the enamel. I'm no expert, but I decided to try and take better care of my teeth - at least in the flossing department. Once in awhile there's a morning when I forget to brush though.

The coworker with a fast metabolism is in his early 30s, a bit older than me. He claims that things are catching up with him a bit, but it's hard to tell size-wise. XD

On Tim Conway: I do know him as Barnacle Boy, but I have seen him in other roles. The reason I was looking stuff up related to him on Monday was due to his role in The Apple Dumpling Gang. I'm normally not a fan of Westerns/related settings, but that movie is decent IMO.

@Morpheel Can you bake/cook/fry a burrito?

@Tyranexx I love (dark) chocolate, and I love ice cream, but I'm not a fan of chocolate ice cream.

@Octane

You are thinking about enchiladas.

I like McDonald ice cream with Chocolate coat. 😋

@Octane I'm the same way weirdly enough. I like most chocolates and love vanilla-based ice cream, but for some reason I've never cared for chocolate milk or chocolate ice cream. Somehow that infusion just doesn't agree with my taste buds. I don't mind some chocolate ON ice cream though. shrug

I love Rocky Road ice cream, and the chocolate-covered ice cream from dairy queen.

@AlohaPizzaJack Structure is good, as is being/feeling useful, @Morpheel, but all of that is within your own hands/power, and depends on personal motivation/willpower, NOT on having to go to a workplace or office where we do stuff that we are told to do, because someone hired us to do it.

Mind you, I'm not ANTI-work, and I may come across as rather adamant/overbearing in regards to this topic, but
I just hate that some people indeed seem to be fooled into thinking that life IS work, and the other way around. Life is about carving out an existence, and giving meaning to yourself and to others that you care for.
A boss/employer is not included anywhere on that list. Work is just a means to an end, and if you have nice colleagues and a job that you actually like doing, then that's just a bonus, an added benefit to make the necessary a bit more palatable.

If I could make more than enough money by doing nothing, then I would stop working effective immediately. And so would the majority of people, if they'd be really honest with themselves. There's so much to do and see on this planet, and life is so, SO short, that you shouldn't really be spending it, working yourself into an early, and stress-filled grave...

Ever wondered why people invented stuff like "TGIF", or "here comes the weekend"? Definitely not because they LIKE to work...

P.S.

@AlohaPizzaJack Hunter/gatherers did what they did to make sure that they and their families survived, by having food in their mouths and bellies. Not because they "liked" to eat. Gourmet cooking was something first invented many, many thousands of years later.

@Morpheel Maybe. I'm just trying to figure out if any of what I just ate made sense.

@Tyranexx Yeah, chocolate ON ice cream is fine. I do like chocolate milk though, but only the good stuff. And it needs to be cold outside, really cold.

@Octane what was it.

@Morpheel I had chili, and homemade baked tortillas, but I decided to wrap some in a fresh tortilla and fry it in some oil.

@Tyranexx Funny coincidence, although: funny... My dad also has diabetes. But contrary to your sugar-guzzling father, he's actually on meds, and doing really well. Also still exercises daily with weights and what not, and he'll be 76 come June 8th.

By the way: who eats more than one slice of cake on a birthday? Must be an American thing, cause over here, you're not even offered a second serving, so it's one slice or one pastry a piece. All you can get on top of that, is multiple servings of coffee. In all fairness to the Dutch though, it is followed by several other "courses":

when the coffee and cake is finished, we usually do a small break, and then move on to sodas, beers, or whatever you care to drink, coupled with crisps, nuts, various kinds of cheeses (sometimes on miniature toast), sausage slices, raw vegetables for the health freaks, or just for variation, so cucumber, tomato, carrot, celery, various pickled goods, salads (also on toast), and after another food break (alcohol and other beverages will continue to be served), the deep fryer (or nowadays often the air fryer) will be pulled out of the closet, and all kinds of dishes full of fried stuff will land on the table...

Well, fried tacos are a common thing. They get crunchy, but not crumbly.

You don't need to wrap it like a burrito, just folding it once should be enough, lets the whole thing cook a bit better if you're using a pan.

I'm not particularly fond of fried foods, but if you liked it that's great.

As a side note, I wouldn't recommend deep frying flour tortillas, only corn ones.

@Morpheel Concerning ice cream: some of my favorites are either Haagen Dazs or Ben & Jerry's strawberry ice cream, Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey, and Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough.

And over here, in the city center, there's an original Dutch ice and pastry making artisan, who has been in business ever since 1937, and they make the best hand-made vanilla ice cream which they mix with their also hand-made whipped cream. Both of which are made fresh daily. Especially in this time of year, and when it gets REALLY hot, people are forming long lines, pouring out into the street, all to get their hands on a cone or cup of that classic goodness.

@Morpheel It was burnt, so it wasn't very good anyway.

The only noteworthy ice cream shop we have in town is a Thrifty, which is convenient because they sell my fathers favorite flavor: Black Cherry.

There's a Häagen-Dazs in Los Cabos, though. I had a really good triple chocolate ice cream there last time I visited.

@octane welp, now u kno.