It seems like a common sentiment here is that being a millionaire in the US is common. In reality only 4% have 1million+ in assets in the US which makes it relatively uncommon. I don't get the disconnect here.
Yes, but that counts all households in the US. So my in-laws who own a house worth $800k and your cousin who drives a sports car are lumped in with my 22 year old brother who just graduated from college and lives in a studio apartment, right?
I think that people on this board 1) tend to have higher incomes on average than most Americans an 2) do expect to be in the million + asset class SOMEDAY because of the subject matter of this board. Having $2 million in retirement investments and other assets is somewhat uncommon if you look at the average 401k balance, but also not out of the realm of possibility for those in an upper middle class income bracket given a lifetime of working, a little luck, and some good choices.
Oh, and for the record I have posted several unpopulars, a flameworthy or two, and a small but very shameful confession in this thread. Which is what I usually do -- they're just almost always no more or less memorable than anyone else's!
I know I've said this before.... But it's really starting to become a bigger (ha) issue. I'm really really unhappy with my recent weight gain.
Recent photos of myself make me want to vomit. Like I'm just gross and chubby and ew. Not to mention I jiggle everywhere.
I want to do terrible unhealthy things so that I can quickly drop 45+ lbs.
I know that with continued healthy eating and exercise I'll see a difference. But that also takes a few months and I want this weight gone faster than that. I'm just impatient and frustrated.
I feel like I literally woke up one day 45+ lbs heavier. Wah.
Wait, losing 45 lbs in a few months would be SLOW? Omg girl. If you can lose that much that quickly, be grateful! I would be delighted if I could take off 45 pounds in a year! And that's with working out hard and eating clean. Getting old sucks.
I'll be grateful when I'm back to my normal size.
Kinda hard to feel grateful at the moment because I'm at this massive size because of zoloft.
Her hiking decision making skills were questionable, but it smacked of someone who wanted to get away as quickly as possible and didn't really do a lot of research into what it would take. I think the small shoes were stupid and I'm sure she was given advice she didn't take, but I can see someone deciding that they can handle it in a fit of hubris.
What was driving me absolutely BSC was the things she did re personal safety.
1. I'm alone on this trip. let me sign this guest book so every Tom, Dick and Harry looking for an easy mark knows that I'm out here by myself. I think that one would have been pretty stupid for a man.
2. Those guys look kind of shady, but I won't try to avoid them, I'll just hope I'm wrong.
There were others but I read the thing last year. It seemed like she was done with life and rather than ending it, was either fatalistic (optimist pov) or was sincerely hoping she'd get eaten by a bear or fall off a cliff and let everyone blame mother nature (pessimist pov).
But this conversation reminded me of something a friend posted on FB last week:
For the hikers, a link to a book one of our professors wrote recently. I haven't read it, but those who have read it have said good things.
I don't know if this is unpopular or not, but this whole "Pi Day" meme is some stupid, stupid shit.
Its become weirdly popular lately. I've been celebrating pi day since middle school, but I'm a nerd and now a math teacher But its weird its so popular.
I also semi-enjoyed Wild, but she is so lucky it all worked out. And part of her luck (but not all) involved the fact that she was white and pretty.
Ugh, I saw that in the theater with some friends (who are triathletes but not outdoors-people) and I was itching the whole time. I mean, is there any rule in the book that she did not break? The scene in the motel before her first night, when she was taking everything out of packages and putting it into Monster was the worst. And there were at least 2 or 3 times where I thought omg, this is it, this is when she is going to be sexually assaulted, raped, have an attempt made on her life, etc.
I read the book on vacation shortly thereafter, and it followed the movie really closely. It also frustrated me, but somehow not as badly as actually watching it play out. The almost-rapey scenes also seemed more dramatic and like closer calls in the movie.
My mom called me yesterday during DD's acro competition to tell me that the infant son of someone I haven't seen in 20 years (since she was 7!) passed away yesterday morning. It's very sad, but I don't know her as an adult, I don't know her husband or children. But after she called me it stayed on my mind and I was annoyed about it because I wasn't paying attention to DD.
Just now her husband posted a long update on FB talking about babies sleeping in bed with parents and begging people to just not do it, no matter how tired they are because they could end up with the worst morning ever. So it seems like the baby suffocated in bed with them. Which is horrible and tragic and I feel like an ass for being annoyed about it the day before...but still, I haven't seen the mom in two decades!
I also semi-enjoyed Wild, but she is so lucky it all worked out. And part of her luck (but not all) involved the fact that she was white and pretty.
Ugh, I saw that in the theater with some friends (who are triathletes but not outdoors-people) and I was itching the whole time. I mean, is there any rule in the book that she did not break? The scene in the motel before her first night, when she was taking everything out of packages and putting it into Monster was the worst. And there were at least 2 or 3 times where I thought omg, this is it, this is when she is going to be sexually assaulted, raped, have an attempt made on her life, etc.
I read the book on vacation shortly thereafter, and it followed the movie really closely. It also frustrated me, but somehow not as badly as actually watching it play out. The almost-rapey scenes also seemed more dramatic and like closer calls in the movie.
I read the book before seeing the movie, so I expected everything in it, but that scene with the hunters still had my heart palpitating!
I had to read Into the Wild in college and the whole time I thought he was an idiot for going to Alaska completely unprepared. I didn't feel sorry for him at all.
I'm annoyed that Pi day has become Pie day. If you know what Pi is and the formulas for circumference and area of a circle, then you can have pie, otherwise, don't.
I feel bad that St. Patrick's day is now just an excuse to drink in excess. Every holiday is so made up and commercialized. Why don't we just create a new holiday and name it Drinking Day?
I believe I'm good with the Washington Redskins changing their mascot. Chiefs is a little more generic and can be (barely) respectful but Redskins is just an insult.
For some reason, I'm annoyed by everything right now. Guess I should call it a night.
I'm thinking of spending $100 so Wyatt can have a dog-centric Fitbit.
We have the Tagg geo tracker with activity monitor. They just did something with Whistle so the new one coming out next month is supposed to be a merge of the two with better activity tracking.
I'm annoyed that Pi day has become Pie day. If you know what Pi is and the formulas for circumference and area of a circle, then you can have pie, otherwise, don't.
People that don't know these things exist in North America!?
I mean, we're talking grade school math with circumference and area of circles.
One of the reviews on Amazon says you can't switch dogs once it's set up, so used isn't an option. Maybe he is an idiot though.
Oh wow. Good to know.
I'm still going to make a collar with a Fitbit pocket for miso so I can compare how many steps she gets on our usual walking route vs how many I do
Whistle you can definitely switch dogs. We did it. I don't think it saves your previous profile, so it's not something where you'd want to be switching regularly, but you can set up a new doggie user whenever you want. Our friends have one and lent it to Lola for a week, and it was fun to see her activity.
I'm still going to make a collar with a Fitbit pocket for miso so I can compare how many steps she gets on our usual walking route vs how many I do
Whistle you can definitely switch dogs. We did it. I don't think it saves your previous profile, so it's not something where you'd want to be switching regularly, but you can set up a new doggie user whenever you want. Our friends have one and lent it to Lola for a week, and it was fun to see her activity.
I'm really late to this thread, but re: Wild - I haven't read it or have any intention of reading it, solely because an article about it in the Costco Connection that I skimmed started out by saying that she had "little control of her life" for the first 26 years. I don't know what the first 26 years of her life were like, but I'm pretty sure everyone has some control over their lives, most people are just too afraid to step out of their comfort zone, no matter how terrible that comfort zone may be. I have trouble relating to people who can't even try to solve their own problems, so I don't know why I would care about some lady who went for a long hike to somehow solve her problems.
Oh, and I like Pi day but I'm an engineer and went to an engineering school where it was a big deal. Also (pdq this part) my birthday is Tau day (Tau is 2*Pi) so I celebrate that too (but not with pie).
oswin - my aunt warned me I may not like the book as much as I hoped but it is a full out hate read at this point.
I feel awkward that SO many ppl recommended it to me and I am going to 1-star it on goodreads. Just cause I like to hike and camp does NOT mean I can get behind this book.
She should feel proud of what she did but how she did it (totally unprepared, very risky)....yeah, I judge.
We have the Tagg geo tracker with activity monitor. They just did something with Whistle so the new one coming out next month is supposed to be a merge of the two with better activity tracking.
I bought this after the Toby debacle. Waiting for it in the mail!
My phone is bad with notifications, just saw this -- hopefully they mail them soon. Original date was in Feb.