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Self-employed, self-exhausted

theisolationjournals.substack.com

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Re: Self-employed, self-exhausted

#61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There may be other ways to experience this. Cruise ships are some of the most polluting way to experience a vacation there is. It’s also not for everyone, like an all inclusive vacation.

I refuse to not experience life because of some social justice reason. I get that they’re polluting but you only live once. I think one trip is fine. Airlines pollute too and yet millions fly everyday. Are we to go back to sailing across ye oceans to lands yonder so as to not harm our planet? It’s not going to happen in this lifetime. Whether it’s a retreat in the rain forest in Costa Rica or a cruise around the Cari…

It’s not an all or nothing proposition. There is a gradient between going on a cruise ship (which is multiple times more polluting than even flying, disturbs everything living in the sea, are epidemy hotbeds, routinely reject untreated water into international waters, have questionable working conditions for the crew) and not experiencing life. Most people have never been on a cruise. I don’t think they’d say they haven’t experienced life.

There are places nearby wherever you live that you can visit and that don’t require sailing across the ocean in ye olde ship, flying, or taking a cruise to experience. And they’re just as beautiful, relaxing, and would provide the clarity/relaxation discussed in this article.

Re: Self-employed, self-exhausted

#62
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the Netherlands and not having had to work since I sold my first company at 25 (over 25 years ago), I cannot do more than a week vacation before getting annoyed and bored. I like building stuff: programming, welding, soldering, guitar playing, cooking. But I have no patience for doing one thing: normally I code myself and vibe with multiple claude codes on the boil, my electric guitar is on my lap, there is eith…

Wow, I would like to hear the story of building and selling a company pre y2k

The deal was made before the bubble burst here in the Netherlands and was completed after the collapse; the buyer paid the agreed upon price in cash and went on to be successful with it. It was a sign-of-the-times heavy Java (J2EE/EJB etc) enterprise XML catalogue/content management product.

Re: Self-employed, self-exhausted

#63
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... we might pop up with cancer tomorrow under a routine checkup.

Prior to an actual diagnosis, an excess of this type of fear is irrational. You have two powerful tools at your disposal. #1, most people who take care of their bodies will live long and healthy lives. So the first tool is just to take care of yourself through diet and exercise and watch your risk of deadly diseases plummet. #2, insurance exists and the medical field is extraordinarily effective. Rich people beat all…

People of course can have a family history of a certain kind of cancer (for example). They probably ought to worry about this.

To your point though enough insurance and regular visits (and screening — does insurance always pay for that?), you might dodge a bullet that your ancestors caught.

Re: Self-employed, self-exhausted

#64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I refuse to not experience life because of some social justice reason. I get that they’re polluting but you only live once. I think one trip is fine. Airlines pollute too and yet millions fly everyday. Are we to go back to sailing across ye oceans to lands yonder so as to not harm our planet? It’s not going to happen in this lifetime. Whether it’s a retreat in the rain forest in Costa Rica or a cruise around the Cari…

It’s not an all or nothing proposition. There is a gradient between going on a cruise ship (which is multiple times more polluting than even flying, disturbs everything living in the sea, are epidemy hotbeds, routinely reject untreated water into international waters, have questionable working conditions for the crew) and not experiencing life. Most people have never been on a cruise. I don’t think they’d say they ha…

True, but instead of saying “cruise ship bad” how about instead offer those alternatives. I get that cruise ships pollute but out of the couple cruises I’ve been on, I would say it’s less carbon than if I owned a truck. Or a car at all. So to NOT do things simply because of some moral stance on something entirely unrelated is bogus to me. I’m a fan of saying yes, not no, to new things.

Re: Self-employed, self-exhausted

#65
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, I would like to hear the story of building and selling a company pre y2k

The deal was made before the bubble burst here in the Netherlands and was completed after the collapse; the buyer paid the agreed upon price in cash and went on to be successful with it. It was a sign-of-the-times heavy Java (J2EE/EJB etc) enterprise XML catalogue/content management product.

Amazing that you managed to get set for life so early in life, not least with a J2EE product (though that was definitely the hot thing back then).

I am not quite set myself, but trying to :).

Re: Self-employed, self-exhausted

#66
post #4

I live in Sweden where taking 5 weeks off in the summer is the rule. Never got used to it, I take just 2 or 3 and leave the rest of mu vacations for the winter… but I almost never take the full 5 weeks and end up accumulating it over the years. I think I have over 12 weeks pending even after already having taken 3 weeks in July. I just get too bored and start coding anyway, so why not just work and get paid for doing…

> I almost never take the full 5 weeks and end up accumulating it over the years. Companies should have a policy to limit accumulation of unused vacation, such as 3 weeks maximum. The problem with unlimited accumulation is that it essentially allows the employee to assign themselves paid overtime[0] without any business reason or management oversight. For example, if the company policy is to have you work 49 weeks an…

I really don't get the point of doing that. There's indeed a limit on how much you can "carry over" in most companies, but not in the one I work. I've been there for over 10 years. I will eventually take a very long vacation, perhaps 3 or even 6 months. So I am slowly building up (I might take some unpaid time off if I need to) towards that. The idea is to do a kind of sabatical... I've lived in 3 countries so far, and I would like to spend time actually "living" in one of them again, not just visiting for a few weeks. I don't feel like I am doing "overtime" in any way, and my company is getting value from every working hour I put in, I can tell you that.

Re: Self-employed, self-exhausted

#67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Working" but not having to worry about money certainly doesn't sound very exhausting.

Indeed. Saying the working is not the exhausting part sometimes, like the Swedish GP also indicated. You won't mind working a lot if you like the work and your life doesn't depend on it. In the EU (and nordics), depending on your wishes and choices, your life doesn't depend on it.

He seemed to indicate he was wealthy from selling a company not the social supports of his country. I'm quite sure even most in the EU feel at least some aspects of their life depend on working which makes it more of a chore than a leisure activity.
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