The General Conversation Area

FourthLion said:
Also... if any of you guys didn't want social interaction to some extent, you wouldn't be on a forum?
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That's a good point - but no one is denying that they have zero interaction at all.

I'd rather have face to face social interaction as text can't convey the tone of a conversation as much as verbal gestures and body language. I mean, even my own 24 year old sister has 'fallen out' with me on Facebook because of a few lines of text. But that's another topic entirely.

The reason I joined was to share my opinions. :wink:
 
That's a good point - but no one is denying that they have zero interaction at all
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^
Well, that was what Forth Lion was responding to in the first place; AF advising 20th century that he is better off alone without anyone. I don't think Lion was ever really in disagreement with Rui. I think he was probably disagreeing with the sentiment that one is better off without any close connections with other people, and I think even Rui would disagree with that sentiment as she's married herself!

I'm not exactly the role model for socially active, in fact I very, very rarely do the whole "going out with friends just to hang out" thing these days, though not necessarily because I don't enjoy that kind of thing. It's more because I simply don't have a great deal of close friends right now and also have certain priority's, but nonetheless the people I am close with and I do have a deep relationships with are very much essential for making my existence on earth a pleasant one. I am very much of the belief that we do all need some kind of family, whether that family be blood, friends or the local community. A life all alone is surely not a healthy one.

I'm obviously not saying you need to have to be popular Joe though. In fact, when I was younger I had an almost countless number of people I might have considered friends and would certainly hang around with, but I probably had a lesser number of actually fulfilling relationships. But indeed fulfilling relationships are necessary, I think even AF has his family who he sometimes talks about.

I also maintain my stance that strictly online relationships can not be a proper replacement.
 
Rui said:
Apologies for being so belligerent about this point; I've been inconvenienced a lot by people who expect me to enjoy real world socialisation in my life (all the more so because I'm female, and girls are supposed to be friendly). I simply don't like it, and see it as nothing more than a means to an end and a source of stress. There is little that sounds less enjoyable than just going out with some friends to hang out or pass the time (and I assure you I consider myself neither unhappy nor unhealthy) ^^;

R
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And this is why we never see you at the AUKN yearly christmas parties and why you won't come out clubbing with my younger self ;)

Time travel aside, i'm chillin at work with the knowledge that it'll be a 1pm finish on thursday and i'll be off to the dentist for another fist clenching time in life.... nothing personal with him but i don't like dentists - and i've only met the new dentist guy twice!
 
Bah! All this "science tells you this" talk is making me want to throw every glass beaker and such into the recycling box! XD

I find that it sometimes contradicts itself too often and people take it too seriously.
Coffee was said to keep you up with a lil' boost, but now they say it doesn't because "scientists discovered it hasn't any properties to do so. It's the mental assumption of such 'myth' that keeps you up." Well if that's the case, I'll go back to my thought-bubble (cup in-hand) and pretend that I'm more awake than they say. lol

Free you minds, people!! We will not be crush by Sci-fi - merely enjoy its madness and assumptions! ^_^
 
Chazzy chaz is back in town!

I like that, throw the beakers into the recycling box :p still somehow being very conservative about it lol. like throwing your dummy out of the pram but only if said dummy lands on a sterile floor :p

I'm more mind over matter when it comes to pain, i walk into door frames or stub my toes on things more than i'd like to fully say but most of the time i blank out the pain and suddenly its as if nothing happened.

I've never broken any bones but sometimes i'd just like to see just how much pain is inflicted..... personally i think "it can't be that bad"

How's things going Chaz?
 
Hey! At least you know what's in the box instead of throwing it in the bin - Next person to grab the bin bag with be dealt a jab from broken glass without even a hint. I, unlike some egg-heads, can help in a more general sense instead of trying to figure out if there's any more stars out there that haven't covered the night's sky yet... :D

I'm good, thx Tachi. Usual work, just switched departments instead. Other than that, had a decent Fri/sat, and now enjoying *MY* Weekend now.
 
Yeah i see were your coming from :)

Good to hear on the change, i'm guessing thats a good thing? And having your weekend on a monday - i guess thats a better way to have a weekend.... everyone else goes back to work on a monday yet you get to chill out :)

Just organised a meeting tonight at the pub, whilst 1 member of the group is still around we will meet up and organise things for next month were the luton lads go on tour! we are off to cardiff for one of the lads 21st birthday and hitting every major town and city on the way back. it'll be a long weekend of partying and as i'll be on holiday the week after i'm having to limit just how much is spent! not to mention we are doing this in 2 cars so i can't get too drunk as i count as half of the main drivers :p the other being my best mate who's dreading the drive across country lol.

With 21 challenges across Cardiff, Brummie land and london we've got alot to get on with :p

My personal vote is to annoy alot of the locals with sheep jokes, mock brummie accents and for london.... well i can't really mock london as i'm on the doorstep myself, maybe i'll just party :) Not in an outrageous way, we are all very well behaved but a few naughty jokes about local stereotypes will be on the cards :p challenge 14 for leo is - wear a sheep costume on a night out in cardiff singing "gimme all your lovin" by ZZ Top.
 
Do you study science, Chazz? Sorry, I'm trying to figure out if all this science talk is a follow on from the previous coffee posts or was an isolated statement lol.

But seriously, I'm pretty sure it is quite safe to assume that caffeine is indeed a stimulant. And coffee has a large amount of caffeine in it, hence why it is so hard to give up, no?
 
FourthLion: Haha, I think we'll have to agree to disagree about coffee, as I don't see my opinions on that ever changing :D

I like people well enough - at a distance - and that's why I read forums such as this one. But I don't enjoy their company in person, and I like to keep to myself. There a very firm line for me between discussing things with like-minded individuals online and hanging out in reality. I have friends, but I speak to them daily online and only meet up a few times a year to do some set activity we're all equally invested in. Fortunately they're all very introverted too, so the arrangement works perfectly. Since I've experienced having a more traditional social arrangement too with old classmates back at school, I have to say that regular, in-depth contact with my friends online in text beats hanging out with them in the noisy real world any day. I've never enjoyed such close relationships before the internet made it possible to talk to people without social frustration completely ruining the experience; it's hard to have a meaningful conversation with someone when you spend every second trying to think of how to exit the discussion as soon as possible. There's only one person who knows how to give me enough space that I don't find his presence annoying, so I ended up marrying him ^^;

I think it's true that telling someone who thrives off social contact to take a break from it would cause them pain; I've met some people who get the same kind of discomfort I feel in social situations when they're away from social situations, which seems mad! But if they do happen to be wired up like me, telling them to keep socialising even though it's unenjoyable can be pressure too. I've always felt immeasurable pressure from people to be more friendly and sociable, yet I don't see what's wrong with the way I am when I'm so happy and not hurting anyone.

Just wanted to answer the lingering questions; I'll let Chaz's glorious return take over now :D

Tachi: I think me agreeing to go clubbing with you would probably be a sign that the end of the world was nigh...

R
 
Nah. Maybe I should of, then I'd do things that matter in the field. For example, finding out how to merge the ideals of man and woman. I'm sure that one hasn't be looked at yet. ;)

The comment was really just a prod at all the "Coke is bad for kidneys," ""Being unsocial will destroy your mind" and other extremes. Not that I was trying to be serious about it, however there are many things that are fine in moderation.
I think this topic is pretty much water under the bridge now though.

@ Tachi = Sounds like a kool plan. Although I have a welsh friend you may not want to say hello to in that costume. ;)

@Rui = Dont!!!! You'll break the fabric of reality if you do that! They just cant co-exist with each other!
 
@ Rui

I don't think there's anything wrong with that lifestyle you describe, you have friends who meet up with in the flesh very occasionally, and you live with partner that gives you the space you desire. It's no less sociable than my life right now, aside from the fact I attend Tai Ji lessons-if you consider that socializing, which I'm not really sure counts lol.

But that's very different to "people are a waste of time, it's better all alone". Though, I guess maybe I'm too judgemental of net based relations? I started using the internet for the first time in 2008, but didn't do any "online socialising" until years later (singed up here 2008, just took me a couple years to get the courage to start posting!), and to be honest I'm still not really fully comfortable with it, I still find a bit overwhelming on the whole. So I guess I'm the opposite of you in that regard, even though I'm not extrovert either.


The comment was really just a prod at all the "Coke is bad for kidneys," ""Being unsocial will destroy your mind" and other extremes. Not that I was trying to be serious about it, however there are many things that are fine in moderation.
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They say Coka cola makes you happy. Don't believe them, keep kidney jing strong!
 
The Olympic Torch came through my town today, was lucky nobody was blocking my way since I'm quite short, that and I was inside the charity shop I volunteer in, so I avoided the bad weather as well.
 
Rena Ryuugu said:
The Olympic Torch came through my town today, was lucky nobody was blocking my way since I'm quite short, that and I was inside the charity shop I volunteer in, so I avoided the bad weather as well.
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I found it a bit of an anti-climax when it rolled through here.
 
Decided to listen to BBC radio 4's 'Front Row' podcasted on the website http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01kjtdy#p00vyj03 (ha, talk of having little social life, well here's the proof!). Mainly because I thought I'd have a listen to what Wynton Marsalis had to say, though I knew when Hip Hop was gonna be brought up that he'd stick to his same unrelenting line.

I really do like Wynton though, I have a lot of respect for the guy, but the same qualities I respect him for are also the same things in him that make me wince. His love and championship for the qualities of golden era Jazz (and other past musics) is something I find admirable. But at the same time I just can't agree with his desire to place Jazz in a restricted box and his notorious dismissals of the amazing experimental Jazz (such as the fusion pioneerd by Miles) that came in the 70's and after. But then, I'm just not keen on genres in the first place, I find the mere notion of 'genre' to be restrictive and untrue.

And then his often expressed opinion of Hip Hop! Now, it's not that he doesn't have valid points, he does. It's that he doesn't seem to make any discernment between Hip Hop he finds negative and that which he doesn't. He seems to genuinely think that ALL Hip Hop is completely meritless, full stop. It just makes me :roll:
 
I've PM'd you Rui about the socializing thing.

Anyway, to sum up; i agree with Rui about not needing to talk or see friends very often to be true friends. The guys go to uni's up and down the UK and i get to see them few and far between, last night was the first time in years that we've sat down the 5 of us and no gf's around. Usually its 3 but the occasional 4th appears but 1 is always away on business so rarely comes back but even rarer to get everyone together at one time for a single night.

I believe its less fun to go out partying and blow hundreds on a night out for the sake of "keeping up appearances" - i did that when i was 18-19 but now that life has changed and the appeal has long faded, i much prefer to go out for a drink with the guys and just sit and talk.

On a similar note, the one weekend we are going "wild" from west to east across the UK.... i'm on a budget of £60 so most of that will go on petrol money and the rest of the evenings will be in bars (except Cardiff, cardiff will be clubs because of the 21 challenges) we are all suiting up for the other nights but for cardiff we are getting t-shirts made:

Ali-conda - Ali, the smallest of the group but strongest physically
House Husband or BENDER - Ben, the poor guy who lives off his gf's wage and is very camp.
Stephen Merchant or lurch - Sam, pastey white guy 6ft 6 with glasses
Schafflicker (german for sheep sh*gger) or blue balls - Leo, The guy who goes to Aberystwyth Uni and is part welsh.

For me, i don't know what i'll be called - possibly Chandler (as apparently i'm very similar to chandler from friends) or the Yorkie because of being yorkshire born.
 
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