Posts by Little Drummer Boy

17

If God admitted he had effed it all up and asked for your help ...

by Crumpet in

if god existed and came to you and admitted actually he was fallible and a bit of an ego problem but was undergoing therapy to deal with his jealous and violent disposition and was genuinely sorry for making such a mess of the world by insisting on worship of himself, could you forgive him?

.

and if he asked you to be part of a committee to sort out his mess - what would you suggest he started with?

Little Drummer Boy

I'd prolly just kick him in the balls and walk off in a huff.

41

When Did You Start Feeling Uncomfortable In The Truth?

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

when did you start feeling uncomfortable in the truth?it started out for me by asking questions out of curiosity, which eventually led me.

out of the organization.

my history as a jehovahs witness could easily be summed .

Little Drummer Boy

In the end, after I had become "spiritually weak" , I began to question the validity of the Bible itself, and then religion in general as having "truth".

However, I suppose that I became uncomfortable at first because no matter how much I did, how hard I tried, it was neverenough. You all know what I mean. The never ending grind of weekly meetings, assemblies and service that beat the crap out of all of us, while all the time being told to "Do more" was just too much for me. I honestly think that if the borg would let up on members that people wouldn't fall away as much. There was a time when it could be fun (at times) to be a dub. We were happy to see each other and be together. I think it all started to change in the mid '90s. Before then, I remember parties and get togethers. Softball with the congregation at cookouts. The things that draw people together and make them real friends. Then all that stopped. There wasn't time anymore to be recharged or refreshed. Just the grind of it all. Just Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah and don't you dare think of anything else.

LDB

44

What do you do to fill the void?

by R.F. in

i know many of you are dfed, daed, and faded.

what do you do to fill the void of the time left that was devoted to the religion?

i just like to know what activities you all are into.

Little Drummer Boy

I have had the time to complete a college degree and am learning how to make friends and spend time with them (the real kind, not the borg kind). I have spent a lot of time re-asessing my belief system (religious vs. attheist). I took up a new sport (airsoft) which would be absolutely forbidden by the wts.

So many things to do!

11

Career Advice Please

by brinjen in

jw
friends

i've started this thread as i'm currently working in customer service and am looking for a change.

i've just spent the better part of the day on the local university's website going through their "career decider" answering questions on education, skills, interests, lifestyle the works.

i entered a strong interest in both the arts as well as computers and electronics.

Little Drummer Boy

Just a couple of comments here...

Darth is right about there being a need for nurses. Wifey is a nurse. One thing about it though, is that there is less and less of a need for LPN nurses with a technical certificate. And these are just the kinds of nurses that are being pushed out by the gazillions every year at the 2 year colleges. If you decided to be a nurse, at the very least get you Associate degree while doing so. RN nurse with Bachelors will be much more viable for job prospects.

And that brings me to my second point...

I just recently completed my Associate degree. For me, a 4 year Bachelors was not an option, so I had to do the best I could do at a 2 year school. However, I am severely limited in what work I can do, even though I worked so very, very hard at college. Many emloyers these days won't even consider you unless you have a Bachelors.

Ok, enough of that...

Since you like computers, I would recommend the very specific computer fields of VoIP, Network Security, Wireless networking, or anything else with the Cisco name on it. For people who can spend some time on their education, these fields are fast growing and pay an enormous amount. I spoke to a friend of mine yesterday and he mentioned that for those 3 services, the company he works for charges between $225 to $350 per hour. And they are not hurting for business at all. He was hired right after our Cisco classes ended, and his starting pay is decent.

I would not suggest the fields of general PC Support or programming unless you really, really love those things and don't mind a lot of competition. The Windows certificate paths are saturated by students as well.

Hope that helps,

LDB

32

Phone phobia overcome - now the price to be paid! Skype info?

by Crumpet in

jw
friends

i have always been slightly uncomfortable using the phone, but over the last month i seemed to overcome it in a more general way.

to financially bad effect.

i just got my bill for one month and its horrendous.

Little Drummer Boy

Hey Crumpet!

Just in case you need to do a little research or whatever, the technology is called VoIP (Voice over IP). Even Walmart sells VoIP phones now if you want a device that looks like a traditional phone instead of a computer mic and speakers. I don't use it since I have to keep my landline connection because my only viable choice for broadband is DSL. However, I would go VoIP if I could.

LDB

31

How did you spend Sunday?

by Crumpet in

jw
friends

i spent mine enjoying a traditional sunday romp in the rural idyll that is england, communing with nature.. this, for those who dont know, translates as getting lots of manure on my shoes, nodding politely at passing ramblers, edging away from the well endowed bull, walking for a couple of miles, limbo-dancing under electric fences, and then fighting for a table along with the countryside's finest and their dogs, tucking into a traditional sunday lunch and a pint, then walking it back off - wondering if i a) i just ate one of the bull's babies and b) if i did, can he smell it?!.

.

Little Drummer Boy

(The opposing forces, time and again, cautiously approached the objective's position. Trees, grass, and bushes swayed in the wind. Everything is green. So green. Small arms fire barked in the late afternoon sun while insects whired overhead and birds called to their mates.... )

Run to gain cover. Breath comes hard with heart pounding...adrenaline pumped muscles primed for fight or flight...must...still...the...body. I can't hear the enemy approach like this. Blood rushes through my ears. Pounding! Pounding! Where are they? WHERE ARE THEY? It will mean my life and worse - failure of the mission - if I can't become one with the grass, the trees, the brambles and bugs. Let all these things drift into me so that I can tune them out one...by...one. Ah. Achieved stillness. Now, where are they?...

There!...He foolishly moved in the open. I raise my weapon in a flash. My finger slides to the trigger and the rifle bucks against my shoulder sending a deadly hail of fire to the enemy's torso. He goes down, but I have given myself away. I feel his buddy's rounds slam into me. My head and chest peppered with the stinging rain. I'm hit. I'm done for.

So that's what my friends and I did this Sunday. Airsoft skirmish. Objective was capture the flag and return it to your team's base. I have a few welts from the BBs (one really nasty one too) and scrathes from the briars. Fun as hell though!

Disclaimer: Never under any circumstance play Airsoft without approved safety gear.

LDB (of the "Airsoft plays kinda like paintball but not in a dorky way like paintball" class)

77

Does A School Yard Bully Attitude Take Over This Discussion Board?

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

does a school yard bully attitude take over this discussion board?growing up, i can recall such times when a rival would want to pick a fight .

with me and when we met, he would bring along two of his friends and i .

sometimes, i would knock their block off and sometimes, it was the other.

Little Drummer Boy

You're a marketer and advertiser, supposedly. I'm an engineer, in fact, and have to make real things work. Marketing and advertising often entail bullshit as a goal. Engineering entails the opposite -- always. You can't bullshit reality. Reality has a way of ignoring marketing and advertising goals.

As is the case with most of my posts, I don't really have anything constructive to add. But I just had to comment that I had many a Dilbert cartoon flash through my head when I read the above. LOL. Oh so true AlanF! I really love the way you put that. Heh.

77

Does A School Yard Bully Attitude Take Over This Discussion Board?

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

does a school yard bully attitude take over this discussion board?growing up, i can recall such times when a rival would want to pick a fight .

with me and when we met, he would bring along two of his friends and i .

sometimes, i would knock their block off and sometimes, it was the other.

Little Drummer Boy

'Ol The Wanderer says:

Regarding the design of the article I
set a buffer in place after the main
heading which correlates to the sub-
heading which contains the main idea.

I choose colours based on the type of
discussion that I am presenting.

The articles main purpose is to inspire
thought, viewpoints and opinions.

Wow. I mean, wow dude, just wow. Other people start topics. You start articles. Wow. That's...uh...impressive!

16

Did paintball at the weekend

by cyberdyne systems 101 in

jw
friends

it was for a birthday treat for one of my friends, me and his best friend arranged it and wow was it a laugh!

i got some good bruises going on, but thats all part of the fun.. i'd always wanted to do it, and apart from doing something called laser quest, which is just light guns, i'd always considered it to much of a no no, when a dub.

i recommend it to anyone, there was men, women, children of say 13 or 14 too, the paint balls are a bit pricy but if its a one off, and the memories you take away are great.. cs 101.

Little Drummer Boy

I have taken up the similar sport of airsoft. Although the cheaper guns that you can get at Walmart are just toys, the good guns purchased online are actually near exact copies of real military firearms. My friend has an M-16 copy and from a few feet away you can't tell the difference between it and the real thing - well exept for the blaze orange paint on the muzzle. Because the guns have the real dimensions this allows the use of realistic tactics and gear(holsters, tactical vests, etc.) and makes it a great deal of fun. The projectiles are very light weight plastic bbs and full face protection is recommended (eye protection required). It doesn't hurt quite as bad as paintball and works more on an honor system of when you get hit. Although the spontaneous "Ow!" when you get shot kinda gives it away. Although the guns themselves (for good ones) are slightly more expensive than paint ball markers, the ammo is dirt cheap. 5000 (yes 5 thousand) bbs go for less than $10 which beats the socks off of the price of paint. I highly recommend it to anybody who has never played as the first time I did I was hooked.

LDB

35

Am I bored with JWD? Or have I outgrown it?

by AK - Jeff in

this is not one of those 'farewell' threads, 'gotta' go' threads, or 'bye' threads.

because i know myself well enough to say that i would not honor my own exit - i would soon be back, .

but in all honesty, i am finding my desire to be on this forum less and less compelling.

Little Drummer Boy

Hey Jeff, it could have been me starting this thread. I feel very much the same way.

I really needed and wanted all kinds of support and information when I DA'd, but now, I feel I just want to move on. I really, really enjoy reading posts from many of the people here, but this place is a constant reminder of where I've been in life - not where I'm going. How do we balance being here for and helping those who have just left or are leaving the borg against our own personal growth? That is a tricky one to me. There is a need to help those who need it, but the torch should be passed at some point. I don't want to be the guy who "checks up on the jws" in five years, or heaven forbid ten or 15 years from now. Good grief, we need to put it behind us at some point and take control of our lives and actually live for a change. I can now go days without even thinking about jws. That's what I want. WHY would I, as one poster is doing, 15 years from leaving the borg, want to be reminded constantly of the cult? That last comment is sure to piss off some people, and it isn't meant that way. Everybody's experience with the jws was different amd although I was in for a very long time, I don't have family still in. There isn't anything or anyone holding me to the jws. For those with family in it would be different.

Like you, I have been feeling that the board is more like an addiction than something that is actually helping me at the moment. I realized that, although I really like the folks here, it is mostly all just cyber relationships (apostafests and the assorted personal meetups not withstanding). I decided that I really needed to put forth the effort to make some actual, real life, real world friends that I could spend time with instead of fretting over how fast I could keep up with the dang active topics button so I wouldn't miss a thread here. There is now a group of us guys from school that - gasp - ya know, go grab lunch and stuff. The kind of friends we didn't have in the borg (ie, they aren't fake). And it has been great. Other than my wife I havn't had a real friend in 14 years or so until recently.

So ya, as to your thread title, I don't think you're bored. I think you are progressing in a good and positive way by not needing jwd as much.