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I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

theguardian.com

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Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#321

Post by chuckSu »

usgroup wrote: post #286
telesilla wrote: post #266

"This valley is cut in the shape of my heart". I've known farmers like him, bachelors who are mild mannered and love their lives and the extended family that comes with living an entire life in one valley. He maybe goes to Sunday service for socialization and the local pub to watch the game, and as long as his sheep are healthy and the sky does what it promises (because he knows the day before always if it will rain)…

I appreciate the romance, but those of us who have children leave behind much more than stone walls we built in our 20s. He’s a 72 year old Batchelor who’s once stepped foot outside a Welsh valley. If happiness is a lobotomy then credit to us who don’t choose it.

Hater alert!!

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#322

Post by oilostthelast »

testmasterflex wrote: post #310
boredtofears wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, what an amazing world we are leaving our children. I'm sure they'll be so thankful of the task our habits and livelihoods have left them. You've left them so much, indeed.

You speak as if everyone of us is guilty and actively participates in making the world worse. Perhaps you should evaluate your nihilism.

There's such a slim number of people to pull from in any "developed" nation that aren't complicit in a long chain of subjugation and destruction that I'm absolutely sure you're not one of them. It's not your fault, but you're guilty by association, you're part of the scourge simply by the virtue that you honor the social contract and maintain the status quo - not that we're given practicable options, but fortune never resulted in absolution.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#323

Post by watwut »

chubbyish wrote: post #297
brokencode wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think eating the same thing every day is fine, though you need to make sure to have a balanced diet with good nutrition. The author mentioned his uncle who just ate bread, butter, and cheese for every meal, and I’m not sure how you can even survive off of that. Surely it’s lacking something important with no fruit or vegetables. I’ve heard that humans had a long period of time after we became sedentary and started…

How is the author overweight eating what he eats, and walking around outside. That makes no sense.

Reading about what he eats, I am not sure why you would expect him to be thin.

Both his food and shape are pretty much the normal shape for people living in villages doing small farming.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#324

Post by timeon »

usgroup wrote: post #286
telesilla wrote: post #266

"This valley is cut in the shape of my heart". I've known farmers like him, bachelors who are mild mannered and love their lives and the extended family that comes with living an entire life in one valley. He maybe goes to Sunday service for socialization and the local pub to watch the game, and as long as his sheep are healthy and the sky does what it promises (because he knows the day before always if it will rain)…

I appreciate the romance, but those of us who have children leave behind much more than stone walls we built in our 20s. He’s a 72 year old Batchelor who’s once stepped foot outside a Welsh valley. If happiness is a lobotomy then credit to us who don’t choose it.

I'm afraid that those children of yours might not be left behind with good manners.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#325

Post by adflux »

telesilla wrote: post #266

"This valley is cut in the shape of my heart". I've known farmers like him, bachelors who are mild mannered and love their lives and the extended family that comes with living an entire life in one valley. He maybe goes to Sunday service for socialization and the local pub to watch the game, and as long as his sheep are healthy and the sky does what it promises (because he knows the day before always if it will rain)…

Beautifully written

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#326

Post by [deleted] »

usgroup wrote: post #286
telesilla wrote: post #266

"This valley is cut in the shape of my heart". I've known farmers like him, bachelors who are mild mannered and love their lives and the extended family that comes with living an entire life in one valley. He maybe goes to Sunday service for socialization and the local pub to watch the game, and as long as his sheep are healthy and the sky does what it promises (because he knows the day before always if it will rain)…

I appreciate the romance, but those of us who have children leave behind much more than stone walls we built in our 20s. He’s a 72 year old Batchelor who’s once stepped foot outside a Welsh valley. If happiness is a lobotomy then credit to us who don’t choose it.

[deleted]

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#327

Post by robbrown451 »

oilostthelast wrote: post #253
robbrown451 wrote: post #123

Does it strike anyone else as oddly ironic that he is so sad that people don't go to the effort to hear the cuckoos, and yet he basically doesn't want to experience... well, pretty much everything. It's great he's happy with the life he has chosen. But I personally find people who are even slightly like that (i.e. closed off to new experiences) depressing to be around. My parents are kind of like that, and have been…

You find noble, humble and virtuous souls depressing to be around? Look at this austere man, so capable. Entirely singular. Wholly content. How can you come to find even a hint of the vaguest ennui. Truly I envy the man, I aspire to be so contented, unfortunately I've decades of conditioning to unravel to attain such a saintly outlook. Imagine how simple and humane the world would be if it was populated with people l…

I find people who close themselves off to new experiences depressing to be around. Often it comes with age. I'm 57, but have a 7 year old daughter. I love how excited she gets to see new things and I enjoy them with her. My parents, meanwhile, are what you might call "world weary." Depressing, and boring.

Being "noble, humble, and virtuous", if that is what you call the author of the article, is an orthogonal property. I'm not really sure he is particularly notable in those respects though. He's not harming anyone, but he's not out there making the world better for others to any great degree either. He's just living his life.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#328

Post by kewrkewm53 »

There's just something inherently satisfying about farming, growing your own food and taking care of land. Obviously it's hard work and difficult if you actually need to make a decent living out of it, but as a hobby it has been most refreshing for someone who spends his days staring at display.

I hope eventually I can raise my family in a farm-environment while working remotely, and get some extra income on top of that by growing stuff in small scale.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#329

Post by vilts »

alisonatwork wrote: post #159
FractalParadigm wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I came to this realization in university - I love software, I love writing programs and solving problems, but I really don't love office work or the idea of sitting at a desk all day. I dropped out of a software engineering program to work on a factory floor, a decision I haven't regret once in five years (even if my parents would consider me a failure). The hours are good, the wage is good, benefits are good, I get…

I wish I had made that decision when I could. I'm over 20 years into software development and every few years I try to get out of it, but most places won't hire someone with professional experience because they're scared you'll quit, and that problem just compounds itself over time. Instead I now work software for a few years on, then take a year off. During the working years life is a real stress, constantly thinkin…

I don't see a reason why any time is too late to get out. I was in software development and sysadmin field for about 15 years. Then started hand engraving (got quite good at it) and now I'm a full time CNC machine shop and growing steadily. Loving (almost) every day of it. Also went to college to study mechanical engineering. Of course being your own boss usually doesn't let you switch off at the end of the day, but that was just the choice I made for myself.

I believe I could get back to IT if I really wanted to, or needed to. Would need few months of getting up to date with all latest developments and living in the "land of the unicorns" I don't think getting well paying job would be a problem.

Re: I’ve had the same supper for 10 years

#330

Post by tshanmu »

sverhagen wrote: post #249
aeternum wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A man living in the same place all his life has no basis for comparison. I would be more convinced that your great-grandfather's village is something special since he experienced elsewhere yet still returned.

Don't most migrants have nostalgia for their country of origin? Where their roots are, no matter how much of a globetrotter they were. Sure, if the country you grew up in a beleaguered place, you wouldn't think of going back. But I've heard so many migrants say things along lines of: "oh, man, once I'm retired... ". "Disclaimer": migrant myself. Not necessarily my dream to go back "once retired". But my wife yearns f…

What I found that is as migrants we have an idealistic nostalgic image of the homeland in our minds but in reality our homeland also changes quite fast so much that one is left with disappointment mostly....
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