Month: July 2015

This isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with difficult neighbours. First time I could remember having to deal with them, was in my childhood neighbourhood on the other side of the railroad tracks –literally. Kids two houses over thought it would be nice to come into our back yard and steal our lemons, because it was a family of four brothers, and they outnumbered me. Then, there was the crazy kid next door who would maniacally laugh at us, because he knew there wasn’t much that could be done when he would shovel dirt from his side, and fling it over to us.

Over the years, I’ve lived in “dorms”, had roommates, and while things have been great, and others not so much, they eventually worked out, but I still preferred to live on my own. Nothing like the freedom to do whatever you want, right? Then, there are the neighbours….

So as much as I’d love to live the “dream” and own a home, it’s unaffordable at the moment, and what if I deal with more shitty neighbours? So if I’m going to lead a semi-nomadic life of moving from affordable rent to affordable rent, how can I make this easier on me? What should I take with me, what should I throw away, and should I keep things in storage?

Then I started thinking: “Home: What it’s intended for, vs what we use it for?” I still don’t have an answer on that one. Even after reading this article on home preferences around the world. I mean, OK, yeah, I get it, we all prefer single-family homes, which simply means we’re all living in overcrowded areas. But really, what is a home intended for, and how does it differ from the way we use it?

Well, a home is supposed to be a shelter to the individual and his family. Whether it’s protecting against man-eating predators, the elements, or whatever. So it’s a little part of the world that you can control inside, while it protects you from the outside. Nothing wrong with that _{unless you live in an area that restricts what sort of modifications you have in your area, in which case, you’d be breaking the law}.

So how does it differ from how we use it? As an investment property. We buy houses, because we know OTHERS also have that need for basic shelter, then sell it at a higher price, or rent it out. Or, we take a section that we illegally modify, and rent that out at an exorbitant price. Is there something wrong with this? I can’t say, honestly.

Just some more unfinished thoughts, is all…

Despite my recent issues with my immediate environment, having read the 道德經, I’m still trying to find some inner-peace.

One of the things at contention, is simply: “Who Am I?” It’s such a simple question, but how can you answer succinctly? Some people immediately identify themselves by their race, others define themselves by what they are NOT. What’s common though, is that most people define themselves by what they do. This gets confusing for me, because what I was occupationally, I am no longer.

“In this line of work, the best thing is that you don’t have to think. Whoever needs to die, the time and place has already been determined by someone else. I’m a lazy person. I like someone else to lay things out for me. Lately, things have changed. I want to change this habit. I don’t know if this is right or wrong. But at least the person who has to make this decision is me.”

Well, when you switch careers, then naturally, you have a new identity. However, when you haven’t found that new career yet, what are you? Even if you have a job, it’s not a career. So how do you identify yourself?

Been thinking about this lately, and then I landed on Ken Sheppardson’s landing page. It’s pretty simple. There’s definitely a man who has his career straight. He’s a programmer. That’s that. Doesn’t help me in my career change, BUT it gives me an idea on how to reduce what elements make me the person I am.

I really don’t have any hard skills like he does. So what can I do? Or rather, what am I willing to do for hours on end, and not think anything of. I mean, the best I can say is I’m a consumer, but then, I can’t say that completely, because I’m not a consumer of material items. On this website, I’ve talked about food, music, movies, languages. So I’m a “consumer of culture”. How would I sum up my landing page then? For that matter, how can I sum up my career skills? Hm…