It definitely made me want to like Earl Grey. It’s just not my jam though. It even made me start trying all the different teas I could find because I wanted to be cultured enough to have a preferred tea. I even tried Lapsang Souchong which is basically barbecue tea.

Turns out tea is pretty easy to drink and I’m pretty basic. Oolong, black, or green are great.

Your basic needs aren’t being met. That is horrible for any human. I’m sorry… I’ve been there.

The part that really sucks is you don’t get to really understand this until you’re in your 30s/40s. We spend all this time trying to fill a hole in ourselves that can’t be filled with stuff.

There are people reading this right now who are like “yeah, right”…

Yep. Once your basic needs are met and you’re not in poverty, any happiness above that line has to come from within yourself.

Meh. I grew up dirt poor, and I am now what past me would have considered successful.

Funny thing about it, though, I’m still me. I’m that same dirt poor teenager, just older. It didn’t change me like I thought it would.

Absolutely, the lack of money will make you unhappy. Without a doubt. But I’ve never got a 20% raise and felt 20% happier. You’re always gonna be who you are, money or not.

Mountain house with a hot tub. Hands down. Assuming I am the one purchasing the property with my own money, of course.

• Beach House: The beach gets boring after a while. Beachfront property cost 2-3 times more than comparable property.

• House with a pool: Pools get crazy boring after a while. It’s just a hole in the ground with water in it. A house with a pool is cheaper than a beach house so assuming you have the same amount of money you get way more house for the same money. Better than a beach house, but a pool, specifically an in-ground pool is a permanent commitment. I have a pool. Nobody uses it. I just maintain it.

• Mountain house with a hot tub: Have you been to the mountains? Holy crap. It’s BEAUTIFUL. Also, just like the house with a pool, you can afford waaay more house than some dinky beachfront house for the same money. Also, when you get bored with the hot tub, just tear it out and put in a nice fire pit.

I work a 4x10 shift.

I got the short end of the stick so I get every Thursday off instead of a 3 day weekend.

Even so, it’s made a DRAMATIC difference in my life. I do chores, shopping, and home maintenance on Thursdays, and then actually spend weekends enjoying life with my family.

It’s great, but I am also the type of person that would work 2 x 20 hour shifts a week if I could. Long hours don’t bother me…the constant grind of eat/work/shower/sleep/repeat in a 5 day work week is what bothers me.

Google Assistant on Android and Home devices gets markedly worse as time goes on. My Google Home can barely even figure out how to turn on lights anymore. Things that used to be amazing have devolved into “I don’t understand”.

It’s really quite shocking and hurts a little bit because it feels like everything in the world is degrading and decomposing like in some dystopian novel or something.

How can such amazing technology get worse? Is it really just “we can’t make money off this”?

Paintball.

Took a hit directly on the neck the first time I tried it. Had a big sun shaped yellow and purple bruise on my neck for weeks.

Pass.

Yup. Just outside of Jacksonville. I knew it.

Sounds like a job for AI! That way we’ll have more time for washing dishes and folding clothes.

Yes. Now that is an unpopular opinion!

Mixing ingredients together to make something even tastier. Not for this purist!

That song would work! Now to convince all the Taco Trucks to play the same song so we know when they’re around the corner.

“It’s Raining Tacos” would work.

The song is not public domain though.

Just to be clear I don’t want to own and run a Taco Truck, I just heard the Ice Cream Truck and wished it was a Taco Truck.

Seems like missed opportunity to me, though.

I stopped being excited for the Ice Cream Truck decades ago, but if I heard the Taco Truck coming around I’d be super excited and run outside with a big grin.

I don’t disagree. I grew up as poor as the characters in this comic and we were definitely not happy like they are. It’s fiction and doesn’t account for the harshness of reality and very callously ignores the lack of a social safety net.

However, the point of the comic still hits home. Life was much simpler when I was young and poor. The complexities and unnecessary stress of the life I lead now seem almost ridiculous in comparison.

I think the message can be interpreted though. It doesn’t have to be taken so literally.

I am the exact same person today in my big adult house with my grown-up job as I was 25 years ago in my tiny little apartment living off $9 an hour. Houses, cars, jobs, promotions…these things don’t really change who you actually are. A 25% raise at work won’t make you 25% happier.

You can still have a job that pays money and benefits and choose to downsize the rest of your life and eliminate all that stress. You don’t need a 3,000 sq. ft. house with a 3 car garage and a marble kitchen island to be happy… You’re still going to be the same you.

Yup. I couldn’t shake the feeling of sorrow after watching this movie. Like it just clung to me…

This movie absolutely destroyed me emotionally for like a week. I was wholly unprepared for what this movie was really about. I was expecting an alien invasion movie and got a brickload of emotions dumped on my heart.