The more stuff you own, the more worried is your mind. Live light, live happy.
Spend money on experiences, not possessions (2009)
41–50 of 60 posts
Re: Spend money on experiences, not possessions (2009)
#42Judging from these comments, I must be the only person who does not like traveling. I like hearing stories and learning about other cultures, but the idea of flying around the world seeking adventure is a hassle to me. Does that make me a bad person? Besides, there is so much to do as is, like learn assembly. =)
I happen to hate flying and the process of traveling in general. It is a huge hassle and it takes a lot out of you. But i literally force myself to do it as often as I can. In the last two years alone my wife and I have lived in the UK (London and Brighton) and France (Paris and Cannes). During that time we road tripped to Italy and Switzerland. The experiences we got from the trip were invaluable, not something you can learn about but something you need to experience first hand. These experiences always reshape me as a person and inspire my work.
For a few hours of hassle, you get life changing experiences. That's why we invented Valium :) Anyways, that's my .02. Experiencing another culture first hand changes you, it makes you see your world differently.
Re: Spend money on experiences, not possessions (2009)
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not the only one. I teeter somewhere inbetween. Most places in the USA are unremarkable; as my mother would say when my father talks about visiting a new state park, "seen one tree, seen 'em all". Cities nationwide are relatively the same beyond superficial differences. I spent a week in Rhode Island a year ago, and today I couldn't tell you any way it was meaningfully different from the Silicon Valley besides 'it ha…
Most places in Asia are unremarkable; as my mother would say when my father talks about visiting another Asian country, "seen one temple, seen 'em all". Cities continent-wide are relatively the same beyond superficial differences. I spent a week in Tokyo a year ago, and today I couldn't tell you any way it was meaningfully different from Hong Kong besides 'the eyes on everything were bigger.' On the other hand, visit…
You are correct- it is, generally speaking, the change from what you're used to that makes something remarkable.
Re: Spend money on experiences, not possessions (2009)
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
If we are talking about nature, I agree. I love nature, and I love visiting cool environmental features. I was speaking mostly of cities, which is what most people I know want to visit when they talk about traveling. Visiting Japan (suburbs, not city) was like visiting a sort of parallel universe. Everything was fundamentally similar, but totally different. Additionally, I was learning Japanese at the time, so it was…
How are sleeping accom different in Japan from the US? What do Japanese people usually eat for breakfast? I imagined Prov to be somewhat different from SV. Isn't SV composed of some smallish towns (PA, etc) and then vast modern suburbs? Isn't Prov an oldish city by US stds? Multi-story buildings with shopfronts, apts above, more pedestrians, less cars, narrower streets, different building materials, a harbor, more mo…
Well, they use a futon (they are different from the Western futon, looks something like this: http://futonmattressinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/futo... ) which I found very comfortable. I don't know all the details, but while they still have a 'comforter' and a 'mattress', they were markedly different. The pillows were made of something similar to buckwheat hulls, and kicked the ass of every fluffy pillow I'd used to date. I have since acquired a buckwheat pillow, although it's not quite as good as whatever mystery filler it was. Not quite as cool and fluid. For breakfast, my favorite was hot rice mixed with small bits of meat and a raw egg cracked over it.
edit: I forgot about onigiri, that stuff was amazing too
Providence is most definitely different from SV. I wasn't disappointed or let down either- I expected pretty much what I got. I guess you could say besides the weather (rain) I felt I could have had pretty much the same experience in any of the US cities I've been to. Japan was different, because I was discovering the place rather than living in it. So, perhaps my lack of fascination with Providence stems from the fact that I am not enamored of m&p shops and old buildings. It was nice, but nothing to write home about.
Re: Spend money on experiences, not possessions (2009)
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
If we are talking about nature, I agree. I love nature, and I love visiting cool environmental features. I was speaking mostly of cities, which is what most people I know want to visit when they talk about traveling. Visiting Japan (suburbs, not city) was like visiting a sort of parallel universe. Everything was fundamentally similar, but totally different. Additionally, I was learning Japanese at the time, so it was…
How are sleeping accom different in Japan from the US? What do Japanese people usually eat for breakfast? I imagined Prov to be somewhat different from SV. Isn't SV composed of some smallish towns (PA, etc) and then vast modern suburbs? Isn't Prov an oldish city by US stds? Multi-story buildings with shopfronts, apts above, more pedestrians, less cars, narrower streets, different building materials, a harbor, more mo…
The hostels I stayed in gave me a futon with a nice blanket. Most futons in Japan are thin (~4 inches thick), but quite comfortable. Several of the hostels had quite luxurious baths. In a town called Beppu, I stayed in a hostel that had natural hotspring pools available for guests. For $20 a night, that place was luxurious.
I stayed with a family in Japan. The dad was American, the Mom was Japanese, and they ate cereal and toast every morning. The dad said that's pretty much what all the kids eat. Another popular snacky thing is onigiri. It's a rice ball with a mystery filling (usually tasty), wrapped with dried seaweed. I ate them quite often for breakfast when I was on the road.
EDIT: Silverstorm's link is exactly the type of futon I slept on.
Re: Spend money on experiences, not possessions (2009)
#46Judging from these comments, I must be the only person who does not like traveling. I like hearing stories and learning about other cultures, but the idea of flying around the world seeking adventure is a hassle to me. Does that make me a bad person? Besides, there is so much to do as is, like learn assembly. =)
I'm the same way. My girlfriend and I argue about it frequently.
I am happiest when I can sit in my office and be left alone. I don't like traveling, I don't particularly like the "outdoors", and I'm not big on vacations.
A couple years back I spent three months on a photography expedition in the Atacama desert, and while it was a rewarding experience, I'd have been just as happy spending that time alone in my apartment; but then again I'm somewhat of a hermit.
I think it's probably a useful generalization that people on average prefer experiences, but like all generalizations, it's certainly not true for everyone.
Re: Spend money on experiences, not possessions (2009)
#47Absolutely wrong! Do not spend money on experiences or possessions. Try to avoid spending money altogether.
Re: Spend money on experiences, not possessions (2009)
#48Absolutely wrong! Do not spend money on experiences or possessions. Try to avoid spending money altogether.
Best of all, shut yourself in your room and spend the rest of your life sleeping. You'll save tons of money that way!
Re: Spend money on experiences, not possessions (2009)
#49Judging from these comments, I must be the only person who does not like traveling. I like hearing stories and learning about other cultures, but the idea of flying around the world seeking adventure is a hassle to me. Does that make me a bad person? Besides, there is so much to do as is, like learn assembly. =)
Not the only one. I teeter somewhere inbetween. Most places in the USA are unremarkable; as my mother would say when my father talks about visiting a new state park, "seen one tree, seen 'em all". Cities nationwide are relatively the same beyond superficial differences. I spent a week in Rhode Island a year ago, and today I couldn't tell you any way it was meaningfully different from the Silicon Valley besides 'it ha…
I think you underestimate how diverse the US is. I enjoy leaving Seattle to visit the south. To get away from the cold shoulders of the pacific northwest, and to talk with very welcoming southerners. Georgia is particularly nice to visit for this reason. I like driving across the US, getting off the major interstate and driving in the middle of butt fuck egypt to stop at a small bar or restaurant in the middle of Tennessee and getting some good barbecue. Do you know how many different styles of barbecue there are? That a memphis dry rub is completely different than the sweet stuff you get in the Carolinas, and still different yet from the stuff in Texas? I like these small differences between parts of the US. Eating hot boiled peanuts off the side of the road in Florida, eating Elk burgers in Montana, seeing the gigantic Wisconsin state fair.
When I go traveling, I like to learn about the regional differences in a few of my interests. Those things are: The outdoors, food, music, and idle chitchat. I think the US provides a lot of diversity in these things. It's weird going to a random small fry rock concert in Seattle and watching the crowd stand around and listen. The music is blaring, it's good, and the crowd is going wild, intently staring at their feet, enjoying themselves. Why do they do it? I don't know, you don't see it so much in Portland, it's just how we are in the damp, dark city of Seattle.
I could go on about the millions of delicious hamburgers I've eaten everywhere, the blues guitars, the beer and everything. But I guess I'm just trying to say the the U.S. can be fun, and you just have to get to know the people in order to notice the differences between the cities.
But, I guess that's only if you like traveling :D. Fortunately there are more experiences which don't require leaving your hometown.
Re: Spend money on experiences, not possessions (2009)
#50Absolutely wrong! Do not spend money on experiences or possessions. Try to avoid spending money altogether.
Best of all, shut yourself in your room and spend the rest of your life sleeping. You'll save tons of money that way!
This is an obviously wrong exaggeration and almost a straw-man argument. That kind of rhetoric is rude and should have no place in any discussion.