Can we talk about how life has been treating you.

Life is difficult when you start getting closer to 70.
For the last 7 years l decided to hop on my bike and cycle Japan. It's a great country to cycle in and when out in the countryside villages can have there own little different culture from fishing to agriculture and different life styles. In Aomori , the natives can actually grow a type of domestic weed. I found that amazing. They make it into paper and mix with tobacco.
I travel solo and have met many wonderful people.
You can follow me on ats discord.
Enjoy the simple things in life and eat what is healthy for you.
Thank you for reading.

a reply to: musicismagic

Life is treating me quite well. There are some struggles with my body, even though I did my best to keep in good shape. Im not rich but I make enough. I have freedom despite my struggles. Somadays I feel lonely as my social network isn't what I hoped but I'm truly loved by my spouse.

Funny you should ask. I am doing OK. Mid life maybe?, I am a house husband, not the norm. My Woman makes the bank and I take care of the rest. It sucks I do not have insider trader skills or we would be retired by now, but it all works at the moment. Everything is getting more expensive, but not worried yet. We are just living our lives and hope that we continue to do so for as long as it is allowed.

originally posted by: InwardDiver
a reply to: musicismagic

Life is treating me quite well. There are some struggles with my body, even though I did my best to keep in good shape. Im not rich but I make enough. I have freedom despite my struggles. Somadays I feel lonely as my social network isn't what I hoped but I'm truly loved by my spouse.

As a side note, why does ATS have a discord channel? That application is quite compromised by China.

Personally, I'm getting better with my major issue over the last 4-5 years, Meniere's disease and its symptoms have lessened significantly. No vertigo in months and the ringing in my ear has lessened as low as it's been in years. I've been fasting eating healthier, and generally feel better than I have in the previous 5 years. Still got a ways to go, have pain in my left leg, ankle, foot, and toes from burn scars and surgeries, have found a decent regimen that gives very good relief as long as I'm consistent and early enough in its applications. A lot of the things I now do every day somebody here on ATS either suggested it or confirmed it worked for them.

Professional life is good, we are blessed. Even before COVID our family business was going through changes and struggles. COVID though shut us down and we lost the 5000-foot showroom that we had for almost 30 years, FWIW we weren't alone the business contracted and the whole venue is under different management. We just had another market in our reorganized locations, it's much smaller but damn if we didn't have a great market anyway. Sure there were fewer attendees but we had significantly less competition and now have excellent relationships with our companies. One company our largest just had its best market in 10 years, they are ecstatic and so are we.

Does it save us? not at all, the venue is still going through losing and reacquiring exhibitors, it was always in flux, but we have the lowest number of vendors and exhibitors Ive ever seen in my own 30-plus years of doing this. We really need NO MORE outside BS, to occur. Hell because of the monstrosity of COVID, Ive almost completely forgotten the protests were basically the opening salvo that hurt not only our business directly, but swathes of clients across the southeast. No more war BS, China BS which is where 90% of our product comes from. So yea even shipping delays have changed to where more stores tock heavily but don't order special order cuts, as they are unreliable to get shipped from China in a timely manner.

Pretty sure they have had Discord for a while, it blew up a bit during the ATS shutdown kerfluffle. But it was there before that as an auxiliary hangout, I'm not even sure it's official. FWIW thought we had a subreddit too, and a large contingent heading to another site, though most migrate back and forth.

I will be 45 tomorrow. When I wake up I expect to see the customary 1 inch (2.54 cm) ball drop.

a reply to: musicismagic

Life doesn't treat you anyway at all.

Its actually about how you treat life, isn't it.

For those who have been dealt a bad hand the problem is not the hand dealt but the inability or more often than not the refusal to reshuffle and obtain a new hand to play with.

So talking about how life has been treating you is actually a unfruitful position to be sprooking from.

You say life is difficult as you approach 70 this is likely because you are cycling down the wrong paths (pun intended)

Take your own advice and "enjoy the simple things in life" then I'm sure life will be less difficult approaching 70 as you claim.
(Hot tip) Remember - the mind is incapable of understanding its own bodies age without the input of constant self awareness which contrary to popular belief the vast majority don't possess said "constant" self awareness.

People operate on autopilot hence they believe life is treating them a particular way instead of them treating life a particular way.

Anyway I'll move along now.

originally posted by: TheAlleghenyGentleman
I will be 45 tomorrow. When I wake up I expect to see the customary 1 inch (2.54 cm) ball drop.

Looking up from the screen in my office I glance out the double glassed sliding doors at the river and marvel that it is coming on mid-August and soon the leaves will begin to fall. Well, early leaves are already. The cats, In and Out are of course in and out. Sometimes In is in and Out is out but sometimes In is out and Out is in. One is grey and one is black and I'll be damned if I know which is which or for that matter care to. They are InandOut.

We live in our own 4 acre park of which three acres sit on the bank of the river which on the north end offers a view of a bend in the river that then runs off into the distance until it banks around a bluff about a mile away. That corner of our park we call Turtle Point due to the family of turtles that like to sun themselves on a dead tree trunk half submerged off the bank.

Our trees vary greatly. There are pine of course which supply us with our winter firewood. I have two down so far this summer now stacked and drying ready to be packed into our woodshed for the winter. I"m debating with myself on whether or not to fall one more as there is still time. We have a Birch and several Myrtlewood. Out along the river bank are a couple of old Oak and a very nice Japanese Maple. In the front yard is a Dogwood and a Curly Willow and a Blue Spruce. There are three nice Redwoods between us and our only neighbors.

Soon our pear tree will begin dropping along with our plum tree. Preserves are in our future once more. The blueberrys from the south side got put up up yesterday by my gal. With the weather this summer it looks like the blackberry patch will be ready in about a month.

This time of year we need to be careful driving the road to our place for the deer that are crossing with their little ones. Also the wild turkeys have babies traveling with them so it is wise to be cautious. In about two months our nightly attraction will be to sit on our deck and watch the elders of the turkey flock teaching the kids how to launch themselves into the trees for the night.

Buzzards are in season, but when aren't they. Lazy critters they soar in circles watching for small game or road kill. Soon again the Canada geese will use the river for overnight stays and the duck don't bother them at all. Strangely enough, there have been no Blue Heron that we have seen but the two Bald Eagles that nest about a mile away often fly by in their ranging.

Oh, I nearly forgot. For some reason the Blue Jays have come. Pecking around our deck where we keep our turkey seed. Where normally we will see only a couple in a season, this year there are maybe a dozen or so. That's different. One got into the house a week ago, or was brought in by InorOut and got trapped in my wifes office creating quite a squall. Trapped up against the window with the cat sitting on the top of a swivel chair licking it's chops, I intervened by opening the window, removing the screen and scooping it to freedom and the everlasting disdain from which ever cat that lost that chase.

We are converting our twenty year guest bedroom now because my sister will be moving in with us in three weeks. We need to finish clearing out our twenty year collection of ''stuff'' from our garage to make room for her ''stuff'' and that will be our chore for the rest of the week. My wives cousin will be the last ''guest'' for that room next Monday. It has seen a lot of use. Our families have used us and our park for twenty years of vacations away from their cities. Wild live and swimming holes are quite an attraction. We held a family reunion for my wife's side of the family about a month ago and in three weeks my family will merge in helping my sister make her move.

Well, now it's time to get out to the garage and start moving ''stuff'' about and out. That we will toss, that we will donate and that which we will just box up and stack in another corner.......

I still feel I have ptsd from the covid years but it is lifting somewhat as I've more internalized my energy into that which is around me and good for me. I have little social world left but a couple people and all my animals/garden.

All in good time for age to hit me upside the head, well feet actually as it takes me a long time to get my ankles moving in the morning so no longer jumping out of bed and hitting the road running. Oddly, I've been sleeping really well recently though which is nice, not having my brain wake me up with "ideas" that need researched or worked on.

I like how you reach out to the whole of ATS every once in awhile and ask how everyone is.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

Your place sounds idyllic, and major props for taking care of your sister. I moved in with my Mom and Dad when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. You do what you have to do when it comes to family unless they are total chits

a reply to: musicismagic

Despite my triathlete past catching up to me and other serious medical issues, life is actually pretty darn good. Retired, more income than working, driving everyone's dream car every day. Life is grand.

Life is being nice for the most part this week...I am spending a week in San Diego in their gaslamp district in a 5 star hotel...client provided. I just made a lighting console that's from the 90s my b*#&% (haven't ever programmed on one of these too).

But with all good comes bad...and waking up bright and early on this monday morning I was alerted by my bank that I was -200$. After checking out what was going on I see a charge from said hotel for 1,224$ ...come to find out that's the hold for incidentals! Imagine my surprise on a work trip that's all paid for...thankfully I have the resources available to cover such a surprise.

Without night there is no day. Without stormy days what would a beautiful day even mean? Without the bad would the good even feel good?

a reply to: musicismagic

Life would be better without the WEF sc*mbags trying to control the global population. I don't see a future for any of us, except maybe those that enjoy being controlled and working while not being financially (or in any way) sovereign.

a reply to: putnam6

Prior to my current marriage my daughter and I moved to my mothers house when she was 75 to care for her as well. I met my gal shortly after that and did a five year long courting thing. We found this place and miraculously found this place on vacation and bought it for the future.

My sis took over from me at that point and mom lived another fifteen years that became very unpleasant for my sister. Now it's time to help her out. Fortunately my wife and her are good pals so we all hope this works out.

I see you mentioned you have Meniere's. My wive has been diagnosed with it as well. She has it sporadically but when she gets hit she gets hit heavily. It's help her to bed till it passes. It's ugly stuff. No visual frame of reference at all, just spinning and spinning.

a reply to: musicismagic

I am currently on month two of a three-month medical leave of absence. I was just burnt out and had so much going on that I needed to talk with a therapist. Doing better now, doing everything I didn't have time to do while working, and evaluating a possible job change at the end of this.

So, it's getting better. I'm just having to re-learn a lot of self care habits.

originally posted by: musicismagic
Life is difficult when you start getting closer to 70.
For the last 7 years l decided to hop on my bike and cycle Japan. It's a great country to cycle in and when out in the countryside villages can have there own little different culture from fishing to agriculture and different life styles. In Aomori , the natives can actually grow a type of domestic weed. I found that amazing. They make it into paper and mix with tobacco.
I travel solo and have met many wonderful people.
You can follow me on ats discord.
Enjoy the simple things in life and eat what is healthy for you.
Thank you for reading.

Growing domestic weed sounds nice. I'm awfully fond of the wild variety available here to the locals. I call my signature blend PinkSatinBomber.

My husband and I have our ups and down, so goes life.

He turns 51 on Wednesday.

We are still deeply in love and care for each other daily.

We're on a tight budget but somehow still able to eat healthy.

Just a bit of adjustment and cutting out unnessecary treats.

We're hanging in there.

a reply to: musicismagic

In Aomori , the natives can actually grow a type of domestic weed. I found that amazing. They make it into paper and mix with tobacco.

I also legally grow a type of domestic weed that can be made into paper and mixed with tobacco.

Life is good in a recession proof business.

I am now unemployed and I have been looking for a job for several months.

Last week I visited my mother's grave and cut the grass that grew there.

A month ago, the social network Vkontakte raffled off prizes and I got 2 months of free viewing of films in a Russian online cinema. The range of films was very small. In addition, many films are still not free even if I received a winning promo code.

However, I managed to find films that were both free and interesting for me.

The movie The Babysitters (1994) is now selected in the online cinema. I watched it a long time ago and I want to watch it again.

Before that I watched Rambo IV (2008), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Resident Evil (2002-2016) [except for part 4 which is not there], Chinese Zodiac (2012), The Frighteners (1996), Riddick (2013), Underworld (2003), Underworld: Evolution (2006), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019).

Of all these films, the only one I haven't seen before is the last one. So I sort of met up with old friends.

It was especially interesting to watch The Frighteners because I watched them only once and for a very long time ago.

When people ask to tell about yourself and you're wondering who you are.