Posts by caligirl

23

How do you feel about people who wear their religion on their sleeve?

by loosie in

now remember i live in the bible belt.. ok i know i have issues but this annoys me.

we don't have cubicles that separate you from seeing eveyone else.

just really long desks with 12 inch dividers.

caligirl

Let me preface this with saying that I do not mean any of what I say here in an argumentative tone, so please read as if it is conversational opinion and questions.

Having an outward symbol of your faith where other's can see it is not the same as pushing your religion on others. If he were to be saying "I won't talk to anyone who doesn't display a cross at their workstation" or " I can't speak with you about anything outside of work because you are not of my religion, a la witness mentality, then that would obviously be different, but from what you described, it seems like he is just decorating his personal space with objects that have meaning to him and going about his business.

Could you be reading into the situation and applying a superiority complex to him that is undeserved? I certainly know that there are christians with a superiority complex out there, but not every christian thinks they are better than others.

It almost seems like having faith (if you are a christian) is on it's way to being viewed as some kind of crime, a case where it has to be hidden in some dark, back room- as of publicly admitting to Christianity is an affront to those who are not a christian, rather than a simple right of personal expression.

35

Blonde, Brunette, Redhead? Do you have a favorite?

by Paralipomenon in

jw
friends

this is a fun question that i like to pose in social settings.

regardless of who your significant other is, i've found that people have a definite preference for hair color.

what i found even more interesting is that people usually preferred a hair color different than their own.

caligirl

Blond as a child, then dark blond, then changed myself to brunette, then red, now I'm a redhead with heavy blond highlights because it covers the gray.

78

Have you ever faked a service report?

by Orgull in

it's only my third day here so, go easy on me.

lol.. seriously, my new doubts have made it harder and harder to go in service.

a few months ago, when a new month rolled around, i realized that i hadn't actually gone in service at all the previous month.

caligirl

My reports were heavily padded from the time I became responsible for writing my own. You know, count the coffee break or over estimate the time (left the hall at 9:00, drove in at 12, then that means it was 3 hours right?

When I was on my way out, I used to just say one or two hours just to keep people off my back.

31

Do You Still Call It "The Truth"? "The Brothers" etc.

by minimus in

jw
friends

"when i was in the truth....".

"since i left the truth"..... do you still find yourself using jw terminology?.

caligirl

Nope. I gag and choke at any use of that terminology and had no problem letting it go.

I don't remember using it that much growing up either. Everything was pretty informal in the area I grew up in and first names were almost always used. About the only time "titles" were used was on stage. Which was fine with me, because I was also one to go out of my way NOT to use it, especially with people who seemed to need the title to feel "special"

43

What sends you over the edge?

by restrangled in

jw
friends

there was a recent thread on spelling, sentence structure, etc., that was legitimate, but probably made other's feel stupid.. my question is, what is your personal pet peeve?.

i've got a problem with poor construction inside my home...i hate the trim work, some cut too short so it looks like mouse holes over the floor.

i had my kitchen redone and the layout was so unusual that i can't open a fridge door unless i pull it forward or push it back to open a drawer.

caligirl

Major pet peeve for me? That would be table manners, most notably when someone insists on letting everyone at the table have an all-access pass to view whatever it is they are currently chewing. I only inflict my neurotic sensitivity on my children though.

That would be followed closely by someone digging for nose nuggets outside of the privacy of the bathroom or barring that, if they must dig out a crusty bit in public, doing so without the benefit of a tissue.

There you have it. My secrets laid bare. Was that what you were asking for? Other than that, I'm pretty easy going.

36

Would You Now Consider Yourself "Normal" Since You're "Out"?

by minimus in

jw
friends

or are you still grossly affected because you were once a jw?

caligirl

Normal? What is that? Every last one of us is a whack-job to someone, it just depends on who you ask! As for growing up as a witness affecting me, yes it does, but I think I've done an ok job at assimilating into the "real world."

192

GOOD GOD!! WHY ARE THERE SO MANY.......????

by Terry in

jw
friends

....spelling errors on the topic headers?.

how much effort does it take to check your spelling before you post a topic??.

just read over some of the topics up for discussion right now and you'll see a very shocking (to me, at least) disregard for accuracy.. if you can't trouble yourself to get your spelling right how are the rest of us going to respect the fact you have your reasoning right either??.

caligirl

Personally, I belong to the anal retentive group when it comes to spelling, but I am not likely to try to skewer anyone for it even though it gets my panties in a bunch sometimes! I'm sensitive to spelling because I read so fast, hitting a butchered word in my reading stride has the same effect on my concentration as a runner hitting a tripwire. And while I can read very fast and spell very well, my grammar is probably quite poor in the grand scheme of things, so I would do well not to point any fingers. And sentence structure? Right. If a contest existed for run-on sentences, I'd be at the top of the pack.

But I'll wager that most non-spellers could run circles around me when it comes to mathematics! So it doesn't pay to judge a book by it's cover when it comes to poor spelling. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. And if errors irritate those of us who have spelling abilities? I tend to look at it as more our problem than theirs. Let me add that if I were looking at someone's resume and considering them for employment, the poor spelling would be THEIR problem because it would cost them a chance at a job. But on a discussion board, I think that those of us sensitive to errors need to lighten up a bit.

45

I had no idea there were people who felt like me

by Orgull in

i've recently begun challenging my beliefs.

all my beliefs, including those ingrained in me as one raised "in the truth".. a few years ago i sought therapy for chronic depression and my treatment was remarkably successful.

as a side effect, things that used to "work" for me no longer fit with the new emotional pathways and strengths i was developing.

caligirl

Hello Orgull, and welcome!

It is always nice to know that you are not alone, especially when you are questioning what you have been trained not to. I think you will find the internet to be a fantastic source, and there are some great books out there as well.

You said in your post: "Another problem I have is the clear distinction between what the bible actually says, what the FDS write and what actually happens in real life within the organization."

You hit the nail on the head with that statement. That was one of the big issues I had from the time I was 12 or so. I had no idea about what really went on behind the scenes then, but knew that what I was reading in the bible an what they were claiming it said or meant did not add up to me.

69

Do YOU Believe Everything That Posters Say Here?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i don't.

i believe most, though.

caligirl

You can't believe everything you read/hear. That is just common sense.

28

Elders' wives and elders' kids - any different from the RnF?

by Inquisitor in

elder's wives - the general impression of them in my congregation is that they are not to be messed with.

ews are all smiles in front of guests but brutally unaccomodating to more familiar brothers and sisters.

they put much effort in making "good" comments at the meetings, with the occasional veiled insult directed at certain individuals (i suppose this is the only outlet for a lady in jehovah's patriarchy).

caligirl

I always felt that I was under MORE scrutiny, not less as an elder's child. The night my father was made an elder, I was told by another elder's wife "Now you have to be good" (Not that I had done anything wrong at 11 or 12 or however old I was), but I was being warned for sure. Oh, and the one who gave the warning was one of those elderettes who fancied herself better than everyone else and most definitely meddled in things that she was not supposed to.