Posts by stormygull36

I honestly think your 20s are the absolute sweet spot—you know, while you're still out there grinding, building your career and figuring out who you are, that's when you should be building a life with someone else.
It feels like everyone nowadays is just... waiting. They’re waiting to hit some milestone, or land that big promotion, or finally feel "ready," and they keep pushing everything off until the connection just sort of fades away and things fall apart.

To be totally honest, at this stage in my life, marriage isn't even the main focus for me—it just feels like a formality, if that makes sense.

I’m definitely a hugger—just one of those people, I guess. 😁

When I'm hanging out with my guy friends, it's usually a big bear hug, but with my female friends, it's more of a heartfelt hug around the heart... and with family? Well, we're always hugging.
If someone is really special to me, I’m definitely going to give them a hug the second I see them.

Honestly, I used to get pretty white-faced myself once in a while—sort of a similar vibe to how I feel sometimes.
I'll give it some thought. 😁

He hasn't even stepped out the door yet, and you guys already have enough stories to fill a book! 😍

Benjamin Taylor90 said:Who knows? Honestly, who can say? This falls squarely into the "alternative" category. 😵

Is it actually worth killing yourself for a job and a reputation? Is destroying your health just to climb the corporate ladder some kind of smart move? I'm not so sure.

Jobs that absolutely wreck your health? They aren't exactly the ones that build a massive reputation. It’s a total contradiction in terms. 😵

Every job takes a toll on your health somehow, but you guys really went out of your way to pick the absolute worst example possible. You’re sitting there acting like desk work is some kind of death sentence, when in reality, it's probably one of the least physically taxing things you can do. 🙏 🙏

Cut the crap. Just admit you're walking with a cane, just like me. 😁

So, I recently caught some forum gossip claiming I’m some kind of invalid. Now I finally get why people are saying it. It's the computer. This damn computer is clearly out to get me... and here I was thinking my grandma was right about me. Get off that thing! You can't just sit there all day long.. 🧐

Everything. Excelase We should probably just swap them out for AI in the field. You know, for the sake of public health and all that. 🕺

Don't burn yourself out.
Physical labor just takes more of a toll on you. You’re out there getting baked by the sun all day and breathing in god knows what kind of dust and debris. It's a lot to put on the body.

If we’re talking about actual physical labor... Vacation.People would be fighting tooth and nail to land those jobs instead of grinding away under some soul-crushing Taliban dictatorship in an office cubicle. And let’s get one thing straight: it isn't about the paycheck. Most of these white-collar drones are pulling in less than your average plumber anyway. ☕

Look, I already laid out my specific situation and why I actually enjoy doing manual work, so maybe try reading a bit more carefully before you start venting all over the forum. 😉

Harold Smith87 said:Your issue is that you don't have the experience. It isn't easy, not because the thinking behind it is hard, but because you're dealing with chronic fatigue, and you still have to drag yourself out of bed every morning.

I'm not saying you can't adapt, and I guess it depends on the people you work with, but it definitely isn't easy.

Yeah, I totally hear you on that, and I agree.

I actually have a buddy from elementary school who’s still working construction, though he did retrain as a welder.

He tells me that while he runs into some really solid, good-hearted crews, there are also plenty of idiots out there who aren't exactly looking to help anyone.

Personally? I think being a welder sounds incredibly tough and demanding. Honestly, I don't think I could pull it off.

swiftgull4 said:I am definitely not taking it personally, but you really can't compare the two things you're talking about...
I mean, if I were working in an office right now and someone tried to tell me my job was just sitting around all day, I’d definitely push back on that too! 😁

From where I'm standing, I think I could actually handle manual labor—given enough time to get used to it, anyway. 🙂

I'm not saying it would be easy—I never claimed it was—but you've got a blueprint or a project, you know exactly what needs to be done, and you just chip away at it bit by bit.

After a while, it just becomes routine, kind of like any other job, I guess.

I'm gonna leave it at that. Agree to disagree. 🙂

swiftgull4 said:As many as you need to... 😁 I’ve actually done this type of work professionally for a long time, rather than just treating it as a little hobby to unwind from office life...

I guess I finally see why you're taking this so personally. 🙂
My bad, swiftgull4.

swiftgull4 said:But how many hours a day are we talking about, what kind of weather conditions should I expect, and what's the overall duration? 😁
Plus, honestly, that whole process you described involving digging up and burying pipes sounds like the kind of work where even the tiniest little slip-up could lead to a massive disaster...

I mean, how many more requirements can you actually throw at me? 😁

Look, I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty—I've always been used to putting in the work.

To be fair, I haven't really worked out in the pouring rain or during those brutal American heat waves before... mostly because when I was doing stuff around my own house, I just couldn't bring myself to deal with that level of discomfort, you know? But if I really needed the paycheck, I’d definitely pull those shifts regardless of the weather.
If I didn't have a job to get to, staying stuck at home with absolutely nothing to do would probably be the absolute worst part of it all.

swiftgull4 said:Oh, totally. Their boss probably even wipes their chin for them because the job is just so mindless and repetitive.
Just give it a shot. 😉

I mean, honestly? I’m pretty sure I could totally nail that job. I guess I just have that kind of thing in me—you know? Just a feeling! 😉

jadepilot3 said:Look, that's true, but it’s also an undeniable fact that the lifestyle you choose dictates how fast that clock runs (on average). And please, don't start bringing up Winston Churchill as an outlier—the guy ate everything in sight, drank heavily, worked himself to the bone, and still hit 91.🙂

Why not? See, it actually works! 😬
We really ought to be aiming for that. 😁

Morgan Newman7 said:Workplace bullying is the absolute worst... it drags you
straight into trouble.
With physical labor, you either toughen up or you fold.
In an office setting, if you're actually a pro, your boss should at least be able to provide a decent chair and all the other perks that come along with a real job.

I definitely agree with that bolded part.
In an office setting, bullying can cause so much stress, and honestly, it takes a massive toll on a person's mental and physical health.
And let's face it, stress and declining mental health are on the rise here in America and all over the world.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, employers are actually supposed to provide chairs with backrests and armrests that you can adjust for tilt and height.
I mean, it's not like Henry Miller needs a fancy ergonomic setup, but a normal, comfortable chair would be nice.

Oh, by the way, let me clarify my previous post. I'm not downplaying manual labor at all—far from it, I really respect it. My old man worked construction sites as a laborer, and I spent quite a bit of time working alongside him on home projects and at our weekend cabin.
He always used to say that even though that's his job, he wouldn't want to see me stuck on the 40th floor welding a skyscraper in New York City during a freezing winter or in the middle of a heatwave.

I just wanted to mention that this kind of work isn't foreign to me—I can handle it, and sometimes I actually find it relaxing, almost like a workout where you're being productive while blowing off steam.

Carol Jackson2 said:Incredibly shallow and rude post. 🕺

Hmm... I don't really see what's so rude about it, but hey, like Morgan Newman7 said: "Whatever, if you say so." 😬

Morgan Newman7 said:A construction worker or some blue-collar guy is gonna get worked way harder than some office mouse. 🤷

Chi?! You gotta be kidding me.

Plus, from what I can see at those massive corporations, there’s always a crew just hanging out on smoke breaks or hitting the breakroom for coffee... lunch rolls around and that's basically the whole day gone.

They look totally wiped out from the grind. 🙂

Honestly, this feels like you're totally underselling mental labor—all that concept development and problem-solving you have to scramble through right before a deadline hits, which just makes everything so much more stressful.

For me, doing something physical after work or even on the weekends actually feels like a way to unwind... and sometimes I think, man, life must be easier for people in manual labor. Like, they're told to dig a trench, lay some pipes, cover them up, level things out, pave it over...
There isn't a ton of deep thinking involved; it's mostly just mechanical stuff.
I'm speaking from my own experience with my job, obviously, but I'm sure there are plenty of office roles out there where the workload and the responsibility aren't nearly as intense.

I’m not really sure I follow the question.

See, my actual skill level at my job—and, you know, how much money I pull in—isn't really determined by how many hours I spend glued to my desk.

I work in IT, but not for some local firm; I strictly handle US-based clients, and most of the time, I’m just working from home.

So, I make it a point to get up every hour or so to take a quick 5 to 10-minute stroll around the yard with my dogs.
I try to squeeze in those little breaks because, well, that's what the experts say we should be doing. 🙂

And twice a week, I actually head over to the gym during one of my breaks.

Sometimes my workday drags on until about 8:00 PM, but honestly, when you have a healthy work culture, a great salary, and you're actually looking after your physical health, then the answer isn't an unknown choice—it's that I want to find a setup where I can kill it professionally without wrecking my spine.
And trust me, those kinds of workplaces definitely exist.