Janie Karma S 🏳️🌈🖖🏿This is a CHEESE vending machine🧀🧀
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Dobbie03@Karma_J oh my fucking god, now that's a sandwich.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Here in the US, we have many small restaurants that have been in business for decades all over the nation and they serve AMAZING foods.
When I was in my 20s, some friends and I drove to all lower 48 states and we ate anywhere. That was the best way to sample local favorites.
@Karma_J it makes me sad too, especially as a lover of good food.
That sounds like the coolest trip ever. I would one day love to get over to the US and check out those sort of places and eat my way around the US.
One day, when I win the lottery. 😆
The most expensive cost on your end might be the trip itself. Staying at small hotels/motels & carpooling with friends helped us to save money. That & we were very cheap so nothing "fancy" for us. We even slept in the car for a few days to save some money.
But for me, Australia & New Zealand are on my list to visit.
I've visited Europe, Africa, Asia, South America & the Middle East for work & vacations but I haven't been where you're at yet.
@Karma_J good thing I am easily pleased with accommodation. As long as the bed is comfortable and there is AC I am sorted.
NZ and Aussie are great places to visit.
Being in the army made me easily pleased with accommodation, so I can sleep anywhere.
@Karma_J I never had the pleasure(?) of military service though I considered a career in the Navy before I left school.
I'm just not a picky prick, it makes life so much easier.
Like I told anyone, military service will vary from person to person. Some loved it, some hated it, just approach it honestly.
I loved it but had an opportunity present itself for employment while I was in. So when my time came up I did not re-enlist and got out for a great career.
And not being a picky prick is a great way to endure life. I'm a laid back gal and I don't let a lot of things get to me. I just ignore it.
@Karma_J probably in hindsight I should have gone into the military to complete my trade but girls, alcohol and Metal concerts distracted me.
It's a fantastic route for some, but not for the many.
I'm laid back, especially when I have had a few beers. I find it's better to ignore what I see that annoys me and move on. Though sometimes the temptation to comment is hard to fight.
For me it was girls that almost got me kicked out of the army.
When I joined the army, the US official policy on same sex relationships was "Don't ask, don't tell". So whenever we had an official function/party and we were forced to go, I either came alone or had "my friend" come with me. Some people knew but they kept it quiet.
I was in a position where I couldn't afford additional attention on me so that helped shape my interactions.
@Karma_J It's interesting how those things shape our future selves.
It makes me very conscious of how I deal with my kids and the effects of my words.
I never wanted to have children but I did like to borrow some from time to time and would offer to babysit for my friends that have children when I was younger.
We would watch movies, draw and color, and play with legos while I stuff them with fatty foods and sugary sweets then return them to their parents, lol.
@Karma_J I never wanted kids, and then all of a sudden at 22 my girlfriend is pregnant.
As I said to a very good friend of mine at beakfast this morning, my boys are the light of my life. They kept me going when shit got hard. They are the best thing I have ever done.
Ha! I do that with my darling nieces and nephews. It's the best fun and when they go home, they aren't your problem.
I was always going somewhere either for work or personal reasons & didn't want to have a child always moving or missing me. That & a real fear of physical pain helped shape my decision to never have kids.
But I did like to babysit them & we would have a great time. I showed them older TV series, movies and older animated shows/movies I watched when I was younger to them & they loved it.
And as you said, when they go home, they aren't your problem.😆
@Karma_J I used to work a lot when I was younger and as a kid I never saw my Dad. He was always at work, for the right reasons of course and he always regretted the times missed with us as children because he was working.
I didn't want that with my boys so once my eldest was born I stuck to office hours, to get me to do overtime was a real mission, not because I am lazy, but I have more important things at home that money doesn't buy.
@Karma_J P.S., please don't think I am complaining about my Father, my old man is the best Father in the world. If every person had a Dad like mine, we would be in a perfect world.
I understand completely 100%, my dad was the same.
My dad worked 2 jobs at a time to support my mother, brother and myself.
He may not have always been there but he gave 100% of himself for his family and made me who I am today.
@Karma_J He sounds like a top man.
My old man had his own business, my brother ended up taking it over and expanding it.
Yes, I missed out on time with Dad as a kid but I wanted for nothing, everything I needed for school and sport was provided for. We had an 8 week holiday away in Taupo here in NZ every year. But! As an adult our relationship couldn't be better.
My dad was in the army & got out when my mother had my brother (1 year older than me). He worked a factory job for almost 30 years and retired.
Him & I are very close & he was the 1st one I came out to when I was 20. I was terrified but he accepted me, hugged me & told me he loved me.
To this day, we have a great relationship.
My mother...not so much but that's another long story. To put it short, I love her but don't like her.
I've always been a daddy's girl.
@Karma_J Saying all that, I'm not a spoiled kid. Just a very lucky kid, don't think I got everything I wanted, there were so many times I heard the word no :D
I wanted to emphasis that the essentials were always provided for. We were lucky enough to be able to participate in extra-curricular things like representative sport etc that cost so much money.
What I was trying to say is so many people weren't as fortunate and I feel special that I managed to have that as a kid.
I understood you & had a similar youth.
All my toys & clothes for a while were handed down from older cousins. All my events were free programs from schools or churches to keep my brother & I busy.
We grew up very poor & I knew the value of money from an early age.
That shaped me to work my ass off when I got older so I can retire at 45.
@Karma_J Sounds like we did.
Congrats on that early retirement! It is but a dream for so many of us!
Thanks!
It wasn't easy and almost killed me a few times but I made it.
My gad is still working but needs only a few more years at her job to qualify for a pension then she'll retire as well.
@Karma_J when that day happens the world will be your oyster.
Good work! It's an amazing achievment to say the least. You'll have that opportunity to visit NZ and Aussie then!