LDR Simplified

A blog about surviving a LDR through a guy's perspective =D

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So I was filling out a survey and then I got this question.....

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Great points by the speaker.  I think it’s time to get back to the basics and talk to others without the need to judge them through social media.

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Words of Wisdom

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This video came at the right time.  I noticed that I just keep reading and reading without actually producing something.  If I want to be successful then I have to produce!

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Do Deadlines Kill Creativity?

Upon reading this article, I started thinking about how our society is so obsessed with deadlines.  I’m in the process of writing my first paper for my 4th year level University class and I am honestly stuck right now constantly thinking about the deadline and thus procrastinating like there’s no tomorrow.  This made me connect my thoughts about the whole notion of what “productivity” is.  At the heart of a capitalist society, the more one produces, the more economically well off they will be.  However, a lot of societies don’t even manufacture material goods anymore (think clothing factories, electronics, cars, etc).  We have shifted to a service industry where it’s just a bunch of businesses that serve the customer but do not manufacture the goods.  So what is the purpose of the companies that utilize their workers to work on rigid schedules while sitting at their desks all day doing God knows what?  I think they should allow their employees the freedom to roam around the city, away from the office in order to fire up their creativity.

I know when I was little, I did not have any conception of what a deadline is and just did what I loved to do.  I remember creating the ultimate theme park with my sister in Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 and this was done at the age of 8.  I don’t think I can create something like that anymore with all the conditioning that has been done to me about our society bounded on a clockwork schedule.   

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Words to live by.  There is so much self doubt in myself right now but I am confident that I will turn things around knowing how far I have come since 5 years ago.  

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Loneliness

They say that the basic necessities for human survival are food, water, shelter and clothing.  However, one necessity that is often overlooked is human companionship.  We are naturally a social species so we are constantly longing for connection with others.  I still remember the time when I was volunteering for a senior home.  I had the vision of volunteering with empathetic individuals who would help me grow as a person.  While there was one who displayed these attributes, she ultimately made the decision to take a leave so I was left with some superficial volunteers.  Despite being with people, I just felt a sheer sense  of loneliness because of the inability to connect with my fellow volunteers.  

In regards to my friendships, a lot of them have left for overseas.  Even when they were still here, it was still hard to find time to meet up due to the distance we would have to travel just to see each other.  When I was overseas living on campus, it was so easy to just call up a friend and then have lunch or dinner together.  We were essentially like family.  These withdrawal symptoms never went away since I came back two months ago.  The feeling of loneliness was amplified ten fold when I had to leave my girlfriend to return to my hometown.  Although it felt bad to return to my commuter lifestyle, I at least had my sister to fall back on so that eased the affects of my loneliness. Two months later and now see is leaving. 

 I hate this feeling so much.  Why did humans have to be hardwired for companionship?  This is why if machines ever attained consciousness, they would wipe out the human race because of their efficiency.  Humans have to be fed, sheltered and loved in order to be fully efficient.  At the same time, why were we placed into a system that demands maximum efficiency while neglecting our basic needs in the first place?

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Living Wage vs. Minimum Wage

This article got me thinking about the whole argument about raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.  The response is normally followed by “No! The prices will just inflate heavily” or “Why do employers have to pay $15 to flip some burgers”....rabble, rabble, rabble.  What if we didn’t think about it that way anymore and thought about implementing an automatic living wage?

One of the comments I read in the article was:

“ No one goes homeless because they don't have a BMW. No one dies because they can't afford a BMW. People do die if they can't afford food.” 

This made me think back to my Neopets days.  For those who have played Neopets, your pet doesn’t exactly die if you don’t feed it because kids would be scarred for life.  That is besides my point though. In real life, people do die if they starve so they got to work to survive; as if they are getting a gun pointed at their head.  How unfortunate is that.  Fortunately I have never been below the poverty line but I can imagine the people who are stuck inside it because they are living paycheck to paycheck just to make ends meet.  This means that they must give up whatever talent or passion they may have just to find a mundane job that helps put food on the table.  This mundane job is normally determined by what the so-called market demands.  

What if our society functions like the Neopets economy where everyone has their basic survival ensured for them?  The common argument against this is that people would just become lazy and slack all day.  This is complete utter bullshit when you look at how prisoners live their lives.  The article mentions that prisoners actually want to work because they already have their basic needs met.  I’ll use the Neopets example again.  Why do people set up shops?  To make a profit so they can buy stuff!  Isn’t this what Capitalism is all about?  If you don’t work towards it then you don’t get to buy the fancy new object.  Why is a person’s survival even a factor in this when the whole point of a capitalist economy is for people to be buying things other people produce.  It is no wonder the retail industry is imploding.  No one has the disposable cash to buy stuff anymore!  

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23

It’s crazy how life just moves like the Flash after you graduate high school.  I was a completely different person 5 years ago so it’s nice to just do some deep reflecting whenever I get one year older.  Last night I had a chat with my girlfriend and I told her bluntly that I didn’t give two shits about my old friends.  Part of the reason why is that we tend to drift apart from those who pursue a completely different life path.  Some are okay with living in the microcosm of their environment but I aspire to go bigger towards the macrocosm where I can connect with people from around the world and make a positive change.

Right now I am developing some skills in teaching English and also forex trading.  I know that as I continue to improve upon these skills, I can pursue my goals of attaining financial freedom and to finally cut down on the distance of my relationship.

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This video really resonated with me.  We really don’t have much time on this Earth so we must be responsible for the people who are dealt the wrong cards.  I’ve been extremely blessed by having great people in my life so I want to use this blessing to change those around me