Posts by Frank Flores63

nimbleowl6 said:Rosey, please move this if there’s a better spot 🙂

So, I was scrolling through one of the discussions here on the forum and it totally triggered a memory about this topic:

https://www.cnn.com/health/wellness-and-lifestyle...

If we just look at the symptoms, they're pretty clear:
Overusing forums to the point where it messes with your mental health, your physical well-being, your job performance, and your relationships with people.

We're talking muscle atrophy from sitting too much, a junk food diet leading to weight gain, wrecked sleep schedules that leave you exhausted, and strained social ties that can mess up parenting or even lead to divorce.

What do you guys think? Anyone have experience with this—either personally or seeing it happen to someone close to them?

For me, the forum is usually a nice place to hang out, and I think I use it in moderation.
But man, I’ve had those rough patches in life where I definitely overdid it—I'd spend way too much time online, and afterward, I’d just feel nauseous, dissatisfied, and honestly, kind of depressed.

It makes me wonder... are the users who are posting from sunrise to late at night, every single day, for years on end, actually living in a constant state of emotional crisis?

In my book, any kind of addiction is basically just an escape from uncomfortable emotions. So, being addicted to a forum would be its own version of running away from reality—avoiding facing the tough stuff and using the internet as a massive distraction from "the things I actually need to get done."

Let me know your thoughts and ideas... thanks so much 🙂

Well, I suppose I don't fall into that specific category. 😁

Muscle atrophy due to a sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition leading to obesity, disrupted sleep patterns resulting in exhaustion, and strained social connections that can lead to inadequate parenting or even divorce.

Reduced physical activity, unfortunately, yes. These discussions tend to consume my time, and I guess I have traded the movement I used to get before spending so much time on this forum for more time spent scrolling here.
My sleep remains fine, and my personal relationships haven't suffered.
Generally speaking, I find my thoughts becoming clearer here, and I am learning about—well, myself.
Still, I suppose I could scale back a bit, if only for the sake of being more active physically.

My professional definition of any addiction is an escape from uncomfortable emotions. In that sense, forum addiction is essentially a flight from reality—an avoidance of facing pressing issues and a powerful distraction from "whatever it is I actually need to be doing."

For me, the forum feels therapeutic because it forces me to confront my own inner darkness. As for those pressing life issues, I deal with them in the real world, so that isn't really an issue.

There, I wasn't exactly providing groundbreaking insights, but I was being honest. 🙂

feralotter8 said:I know this sounds wild after everything I just said, but I constantly find myself wishing we had never even met. If that were the case, I wouldn't be dealing with all this drama. I’d just be living my life, chill and relaxed, enjoying the little things, waking up without that knot in my stomach... you know the drill.

But then again, when we're actually good, it feels great. I love it. I really don't want to be alone again...

It’s not about the embarrassment. It’s the fear. Like, how am I supposed to handle it if he leaves me or finds someone else and I have to see them? Just the thought makes me sick...

Everything is just so incredibly contradictory. You can probably imagine what a wreck my head is right now...

I intended to write this yesterday, but you've just confirmed some of my own thoughts. At the very core of this jealousy lies your terror of being left alone, of not being in a relationship. You know better than anyone why that is. You have placed this relationship and him on a pedestal; you essentially deify them within yourself. Consequently, you are terrified of losing all of it, even though the rational, healthy part of you recognizes the need for distance and solitude. You need that space to learn how to be comfortable in your own company and to find peace while reflecting on whether we are truly a couple or not.
When you operate from a place of relaxation and healthy self-assurance, relationships are experienced through a lens of blissful relativism: if they are there, great; if they aren't, that's fine too. Everything will turn out okay.
From a position where you are firmly grounded in yourself, you realize that you cannot lose anyone or anything, because you can never truly own or possess another person.
Instead, you can exist alongside someone in total freedom, much like a queen sitting upon her magnificent throne, amusedly watching her partner flirt with the ladies of the court.

Harold Rogers6 said:That... that quote is exactly what I was getting at. It’s a lot easier to process things when you see other people's perspectives, when you can 'verbalize' the issue, and so on.
In my view, that's the whole point of this place, and I think this topic is a bit of a breath of fresh air compared to the usual modern-day problems we see here.
...
I experienced the whole thing as a total mess and a kind of humiliation—mostly because the old man acts like he's the big boss, even though he hasn't earned that status. But reading these posts from other users acts as a sort of neutralizer.
So, just go on. My goal is being met, so thanks for that! 👍

Edit: I did move out, but I had to come back for a little while because of a virus. I'll be moving out again soon!

Mine too. 😁

He basically "marks his territory" if you catch my drift.

My old man has some seriously unhinged eating habits too. Whenever there's a birthday celebration, he’s got this ritual where he’ll grab a massive slice of cake with a knife and just shove the whole thing into his mouth at once. Of course, one slice is never enough; he just keeps gorging himself like a maniac until my mother finally loses her mind and starts screaming at him. She usually doesn't realize what's happening until the chaos is already in full swing, and by then, most of the guests have already decided they've had quite enough dessert once they see him going absolutely feral.
Fortunately, those birthdays don't happen all that often, so I don't have to witness that lethal spectacle too frequently.

Once you strip away all the conditioning surrounding sex—all the taboo-driven nonsense, the forced moralizing, and those redundant over-analyses filtered through the preconceived biases of certain social groups—what’s left is just a naked woman and a naked man engaging in intercourse. There is absolutely no need to attach some petty, small-minded disdain or pseudo-intellectual scrutiny to the act itself.
It always comes back to this supposed concept of respect or self-respect within a framework of morality that is, frankly, entirely relative... I suppose we just need to check what some papal encyclical has to say about it to be sure.
A woman lives her own life; she’s been an adult for a long time now. Who are we to go sticking our noses into her personal choices?

Jack Cook7 said:When a country is run by clowns, only the midgets thrive.

🤣🤣

That's a solid point.

Joseph Taylor11 said:Could you clarify that? What exactly do you mean by "locals"?

Because I still can't manage to get a pass for the neighboring city.
I did receive a notice saying our local Police Department is allowing residents of our Municipality to travel to that city as far as the gas station, which happens to be right at the entrance.
So, I guess that means I'm stuck once I pass that point... 🙄

It basically means that people from small towns who frequently head into slightly larger cities—and happen to have a permit—are treated somewhat casually (not necessarily thoroughly checked). They aren't pulled over for full inspections, but the officers will definitely take a quick glance at your permit.

Joseph Taylor11 said:Not without a pass.
Since yesterday, I’ve been going back and forth with everyone: all the local Civil Defense Headquarters in my County—and now I've reached out to the news outlets too.
The media will probably pick up on my specific situation... though whether that actually helps anyone else at this point, I honestly don't know.

I’d suggest anyone living in those weirdly isolated Municipalities who isn't allowed to leave to speak up. Maybe hit up the news, too.

Does it seem right to you that people living in big cities (like Washington, D.C., Rijeka, Indianapolis, or San Jose) can move around freely (even if social contact is still a bit risky)... while someone from a small rural area isn't allowed to go to the next town over just to grab some food or gas?
Especially when that neighboring town is actually halfway closer than their own "center"?

Which political parties were actually pushing for reducing the number of Municipalities in the first place?

It seems to me like the Most party was the only one actually attempting to downsize the municipalities, but they didn't get anywhere because local municipalities act as these massive vote-generating machines. I mean, what would IDS be without its loyal supporters scattered through the towns here in Istria?

Joseph Taylor11 said:Reach out to your local news outlets too!

And don't you dare forget to give those same people at Town Hall your answer when the next election rolls around.😉

I mean, look, it all just comes down to whether you're dealing with some local bureaucrat looking for a handout. A couple of days ago, I sent over the completed form and even called to double-check that they actually received it. She promised she’d get it sorted within the day since I needed it by the day before yesterday.
Then yesterday, I’m sending emails and calling, and absolutely nothing—not a single response.
Today I call again, and she goes: "Oh gosh, didn't we already send that to you?" Me: "No, you didn't."
Her: "Oh, right, right, I'll do it now, I honestly thought I had already sent it."
So, it's the human factor all over again. Just typical.
By the way, the Police Department barely even glances at your pass before letting the locals through.

nimblelynx7 said:You can't do it like that.

And what happens to the chief, the secretary, the various department heads, and their official vehicles?

It doesn't work that way; the Municipality lives forever (and dies last).

Now, you can clearly see how redundant all those municipal bureaucrats actually are. It isn't just that there are way too many of them, but they are incredibly inefficient, too.

dustymarlin10 said:Oh yeah, sure, because telling a 75-year-old who has to drive to the next town over in 1.9 miles just to pick up their meds to start using a digital pen sounds like a totally realistic plan...

That’s exactly what I told this forum member, and honestly, regarding our seniors... what else can I say? It's a total mess.
As I mentioned here yesterday—I'm still sitting around waiting for a response from Town Hall. It's been two days, I still don't have my permit, and the people at the municipality aren't even returning calls.
The whole system is completely broken, plain and simple.

George Murphy12 said:Thanks, I'll figure it out... 😁just speaking generally about people living in smaller towns and their age groups.

I get you, looks like we're in the same boat. 😁

Gerald Thompson62 said:And yet, everyone was laughing at me when I said we were sliding backward and that this situation was unsustainable...

I don't recall ever laughing at you. 🤔

George Murphy12 said:Even in our neck of the woods, it's a tiny town where you can only grab the basics at the local corner store...

No meat, no fish, none of that stuff... and getting to a Lidl, Walmart, or Kaufland? Forget it without a pass. You can't just call them up, and if you try emailing, they tell you to fill out a request, sign it, then send it back...

Which basically means print it, fill it out, sign it, and scan it... honestly, how many people even have a printer, a scanner, AND email access sitting around...

If you happen to have a digital pen, maybe you could just do everything in Word and send it over without the whole mess of printing, photographing, and sending.

vividranger8 said:So, to avoid any weird drama with these checkpoints, I headed down to the Police Department this morning to try and register my current address. But nope—registration is totally off the table right now because there isn't a soul working at the Ministry of the Interior; everything is just shut down indefinitely. I asked the officer at the info desk (who was literally the only person there) what I should even do if I get pulled over while my official residence is listed somewhere else. And get this—the cop just goes, "Well, they know registration isn't possible right now..." Like, seriously!?

It’s pretty wild that even the online registration system isn't working either. I guess the folks at the Ministry of the Interior think this virus attacks computers too...

Now go ahead and tell me this isn't just another tiny pebble in the massive mosaic of chaos we're living through.

dustymarlin10 said:Sure thing.
Just trying to boost those numbers, I guess.
Honestly, we’re sliding pretty smoothly into a police state, aren't we?
Looks like those idiots finally figured things out.

Realistically, it is entirely possible that I’ll end up walking through a police line only to be slapped with a fine because I don't have a permit—and the reason I don't have one is that the folks over at the Town Hall work at a snail's pace, even though I need to travel to the next town for reasons that have been a fundamental part of my life for years now.

Joseph Taylor11 said:It won't be the virus that kills us—it'll be their response to it.

They’ve really started talking nonsense over the last couple of days. I just saw a viewer comment on CNN: "The Civil Defense Headquarters is absolutely top-tier." 🙄
As if.
You can really feel the psychosis starting to ramp up.

electricbadger89 said:Exactly.

It’s an incredibly unfair move.

Sent from my Samsung

I honestly believe there are more people in my exact shoes right now—trying to get a permit and then just sitting around waiting (to be specific, I’ve been waiting since yesterday morning; they promised it would be sorted out sometime yesterday, but still nothing) just so we can grab some groceries and head to the doctor. My doctor is in a different city from where I actually live. Between the bank and the grocery store, it's all a massive headache.

Joseph Taylor11 said:And then it didn't occur to anyone to just apply that rule to Washington, D.C. specifically.🤔
Or even just the major cities?🤔
Just tell them they can't leave the city limits.

Inside the city, people can move around just fine. They have everything they need right there. They can hit the grocery store, they can get whatever else they need within the city bounds—which is only a few dozen square miles...

Meanwhile, those of us in rural areas are stuck with one specific store 3.7 miles near our address—and we aren't allowed to go to the closer one just because it happens to be in a different Municipality.

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

👍

That is precisely where the issue lies. This measure has made life incredibly, incredibly complicated for everyone living out in the rural areas.
They really need to just shut down the cities, the islands, and the entire counties. They need to find some actual logical checkpoints because right now, this is an absolute disaster.

urbanhawk17 said:btw, they might as well station snipers on Murter island too.

these guys are a bit sharp.

Grace Ramos said:I'll just keep clearing things out, and if I run into something even bigger...

They might as well set up landmines that go off whenever a hedgehog walks by. 🤦