h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The subject 'so close and yet so far' sums things up for me in all parts of my life really. Whether it be jobs, nearing my 25 solo edited entries badge, being with my bf, I'm close but not yet there. starts banging her head against a wall.

hi opi
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ive had the house done from top to bottom, and its so close to the finish, BUT, its all to be done again, so beleive me, you dont want my luck, ive been dogged with bad luck or something for years lol jim

Hi Opti

Sorry to hear that RL's not so good.

Please keep writing your bio guide entries - I really enjoy them. I see you're on the Front Page again today!

Icy

Jim

Icy for your compliment. Ah you've seen the entry on John Bird It presented its challenges, but its nice to have an entry on a deserving man.

You're close but not quite there. But ask yourself, what will you do when you get there? Things don't suddenly stop and stay the same. I know it's human nature to try and get 'there', but I reckon is best to assume you're always 'there' in that you're alive and going strong .

I understand. I guess that's the nature of beings these days they are never satisfied and try to always aim higher and reach more goals etc.

Oh, don't get me wrong, goals are great things. But goals aren't just points in time where everything is going right. They need to be more than that. Goals are nice, but trying to hard to reach them can mean your quality of life is actually reduced (in my experience, anyway ).

I think I agree with that. I read a bit this morning that said we all strive so hard for happiness we never find it. Sitting back, counting our blessings and enjoying what we have is more likely to achieve happiness. Also if you are constantly looking back , or looking forward, you forget to enjoy the present, which might just be the best you will ever have. Shame to miss it

Websailor

Ah! yes, I have often been accused of living in the past, but to be honest I like it there
I don't feel like there is a place for me in this modern world, everything has changed so much, and the fall of social standards and increase in violent crime along with the loss of respect, makes me believe that I am in the right place
Smudger.

You could have a point there Smudger. I feel like that sometimes but my past does not bring many happy memories so I will make do with the present I think.

Take care,
Websailor

Aye! WS, I have that problem as well, in fact at a recent meeting with the therapist who is trying to get me into the PTSD group, asked me questions on my childhood, and I discovered that I cant remember long periods of it, in fact years of it.
Yet I can remember other parts like they happened yesterday? That is how I managed to do those Snippets of then
I am not looking forward to this group thing, as I have heard all kinds of stories, I never even knew about this PTSD thing, until they told me about it, so its all new to me?
Smudger.

Smudger,

Try not to worry about it. I know quite a bit about PTSD and though it may be difficult to talk at first I am sure it will help. A bit like uncorking a bottle I think. There are two types, one related to a one off incident such as a car crash or some major trauma, and the other relates to long term stress (bottled up and shelved for years, might describe it) and I am sure it will help. Take a look here, it might help a bit.

http://www.successunlimited.co.uk/

Scroll down till you see the red book,take a look at what it says, then click on the Red Book and there is a wealth of information for people suffering from PTSD for varying reasons. I do hope it helps a bit.



Websailor

PS.

The long term PTSD is called Complex PTSD

Take care,

Websailor

hi opi
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you have more choice and opertunities than i had in my early days.
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my life was h@ll, for the day i was born, no father, a house with no lecy just gas, all my clothes handmedowns.
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bullied a school,be cause of my clothes. no friends as such
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even when i left school in the 50,s, i had only two choice, the textiles or engineering, i when with tetiles, low pay, very noisey and dirty, dont beleive the, where there,s muck there,s money.
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i spent 3 years on the streets, till i one day said, enoughs,enough, now in 60 and have a house, get through each day, as i can, but it beats living for hand to mouth.
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you will find what you want in time, just dont throw it away, jim

I guess if I stop thinking about the job situation and think of what's good in my present life then there are a number of things like learning new skills such as gumboot dancing and yoga. I also write voluntarily both here and away. I can drive now which is something i couldn't do this time last year. I've met great people here and away.

Hi Smudger hope all goes well for you. I've not heard of PTSD before.

As I write this I am wary that words cannot express how I feel towards you Jim but here goes: It sounds like you've been through a lot. I hope things are smoother now and you can enjoy life...I'm I don't know what to say.

hi opi
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for now, there is your answer, you like to meet people, whats the best way to get to know the weird, strange and so, be a taxi driver, or deliveryman, jim

possible but not appealing

I'm pretty sure there's a generation gap here, and I often find myself in Opti's position. I was born in 1976 and am guessing Opti was born around a decade later - no need to correct that unless I'm way out - so we're kind of thereabouts.

So if I may refer to Opti and myself as coming from the same 'generation', I think we have advantages and disadvantages over those who came before. Clearly we do have more opportunities than previous generations - we can work pretty much anywhere and do any job we like. We don't seem to be tied by our backgrounds; there is little left of social classes, and hardly anyone carries on the family business any more.

Advances in technology have meant there is a need for more skilled people in more areas than before. In theory, everyone can find something to specialise in; an increase in leisure time also means that more people with a specialist interest, such as mine, find opportunities opening up. My point here is that we all have skills individual to ourselves, and we're encouraged to pursue them in a fairly certain knowledge that, whatever we study, there will be a job at the end of it.

The disadvantage is that what we learn is fairly job-specific. What I learn in order to take children on camps doesn't prepare me at all for managing nature reserves, for example, and someone with a chainsaw license and a background in heath management will struggle to do my summer job. So while we have the advantage of being able to learn *anything*, we still end up learning everything about just one aspect of work rather than everything we might need in a field.

I understand Opti's predicament here absolutely. You have to be very lucky to end up in a job you enjoy, because you have to know the right skills and the right job to apply for. It takes an awfully long time. I know the generations before us would say that jobs aren't there to be enjoyed, that they are simple necessities that pay the bills, but the educational climate when I was growing up said that anything was possible if you work hard enough. Our future was meant to be different, and it's very difficult to accept that it isn't.

Those of you on my friends list may have followed my journal. My most recent work-related post was in the late autumn, and explained all the possibilities I felt were coming to fruit. I've worked hard all winter, and I'm no closer. I won't give up, but I feel exhausted, and Opti's first post is a little too close to my truth as well.

There is a lot of excellent advice here, certainly. It is very important to remember what you have in the present - but the future is always a worry when it's always a kind of middle shade of grey.

And that's just the work -I don't even know where to start with all the other stuff you're denting the wall with


Opti, if I get 'there' first, I'll tell you how I did it. Do the same for me, eh?

"There is a lot of excellent advice here, certainly. It is very important to remember what you have in the present - but the future is always a worry when it's always a kind of middle shade of grey."

Ain't that the truth brother, ain't that the truth.

Yes, unfortunately. It's very easy to be quixotic, but it's much harder to tell the windmills from the giants.