Piph

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Posts by Piph

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  62

  My turn to ask some questions

  by Lady Lee in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok i rarely ask questions but hey i might as well do this too.

  but to make life a lot easier for you i will put tham all in one thread when you first came here what did you expect?what were you looking for?did you find it and if so how?if you were looking for information how did you look for it - ask a question?

  wander through the threads?

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  Piph

  • When you first came here what did you expect? I don't know...a nice place to hang out I guess.
  • What were you looking for? A place to vent and talk about my feelings, to hopefully find others I could bond with who have felt the same way I did. Emotional support.
  • Did you find it and if so how? Yes...indeed.
  • If you were looking for information how did you look for it -
    • ask a question?
    • wander through the threads?
    • use the search utility?
    • other?

    I had a few questions at first, and I asked them. After that, I just wandered through threads.

  • Where there other places that helped you find what you were looking for? If so where? Yeah, I started out on Pathways before I came here.
  • How did you feel coming here at first? Kind of shy and excited at the same time.
  • How long did you read before signing up and posting? I think it was the same day...
  • What made you feel safe enough to post that first time? Euphemism was already here, so he kind of provided a safety net feeling for me. ;)
  • If you came across some of the flaming on here, how did you feel and what convinced you to stay? Uh...I kind of live in my own little world, so everytime I came across some bickering I was really surprised. It always surprises me to find out big things have been going on under my nose and I didn't even realize it. It happens all the time. I should just stop being surprised. LOL

  If you have been here for a while now

  • How do you feel over-all about this website? I love it.
  • Do you still come here for the same reasons as you came in the beginning? Yes, although my reasons are a little deeper now...with all the stuff that I'm going through, just reading other peoples' posts helps me preserve my sanity. It helps me remember that I'm doing the right thing and I'm doing what's best for myself. It gives me the courage to keep up the fight and stay real. Thanks!!!
  • How has the board changed? *shrug* I dunno. I live in my own little world, remember? ;-)
  • How does this affect you? It doesn't. I'm sure it's changing...everything's always in flux.
  • Have you thought of leaving? If yes then why stay? What keeps you coming back? I recently realized that my JW friends and family know me on this site now...and probably read my posts. It freaks me out and makes me want to leave. I want to hide. I have said things here that were never intended for their ears and it makes me feel nekkid...and not in a good way. :-o But I need the support right now. Hopefully it will all work out OK. *bites fingernails*
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  38

  Witness Costume Parties?

  by shamus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  does anyone remember a watchtower saying that costume parties were inappropriate for christians?

  i seem to remember that they were labeled in the "deamon" category, even if you had one and it had nothing to do with halloween.. is this true?

  does anyone remember this crap?

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  Piph

  We used to have costume parties around here...after that article came out, there were a few rebels who still managed to have them, despite being counseled, and they had a pretty good turn out anyway. My girlfriend and I came as a couple to one of them...she was dressed as a guy. We got a few stares but we enjoyed them. Of course all the fun was put to a halt when somebody tried to do the limbo. Heaven forbid.
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  18

  JWs in The Workplace: What Type Were/Are You?

  by Room 215 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it seems to me that jws in the workplace fall into three basic categories: (1) the matter-of-fact type who goes about his/her business, not hiding his/her religious afflililation and seldom if ever initiates conversations on religious topics, but who nonethless hews to the wtbs party line on involvement in non-business social events, i.e.

  office holiday parties, etc.

  handling any inquiries succinctly; (2) the aggressive type that seeks opportunity to ``give a witness" to workmates, who brings in and displays prominently wt literature and reads or studies his/her wt at lunchtime and at coffee breaks; or (3) the ``double lifer" easy-going type who's one of the boys/gals and who onlyreveals his/her religious affliliation reluctantly or under duress, yet away from work is a regular meeting attender and active in ``field service.".

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  Piph

  I was a #1. I wouldn't hardly talk to anyone and didn't get involved in the friendly banter around me, made no close friends. They knew I was a Witness because I didn't sign B-day cards, although I sat alone at my desk guiltily eating B-day cake (I can never resist cake). But I hated witnessing. I remember some non-Witness girl giving me the perfect set-up....she was standing there talking and saying, "This world is such a horrible place to live in. I don't feel safe sending my son to school. Can you believe how horrible things are getting? What do you think's causing it??" My conscience was killing me, because I knew what I was supposed to do. But I just couldn't do it. I just shook my head and said, "I don't know." LOL
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  19

  "Landrew" vs "Borg"

  by Stephanus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in classic star trek there was an episode entitled "the return of the archons" where the crew of the enterprise beamed down to a planet where the starship "archon" had last been reported, some time previously.

  they found themselves in a stagnated victorian era society of people going mindlessly about their business, rattling off platitudes like "peace be with you, friend" to passers by.

  the society turned out to be controlled by a supercomputer which had taken on the name (and projected image) of landrew (or landru), its creator some millennia previously.

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  Piph

  And I bet you felt REAL superior while doing it! LOL

  You bet I did! But at the same time I remember watching that episode with a disturbed feeling...hoping no one ever looked at JW's as that vacant and stupid...
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  30

  Cigarettes

  by Beans in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when you left the jw's did you start smoking cigarettes or had you already started smoking cigarettes before?

  and for those who became jw's later on in life, were you smoking cigarettes before joing the organization and was it hard to stop?

  and now how many cigarettes do you smoke a day?

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  Piph

  I used to want to smoke really bad as a JW...I thought it looked cool. The smell really bothered me though.

  Interestingly, I found that since I have left the org, the smell doesn't bother me anymore. Must have been more of a physiological aversion or something...anyway...I might try one one of these days just out of curiosity but I'm not in a hurry, and I don't want to get addicted.
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  10

  Exercising Freedom

  by Sentinel in

  1. social
  2. current

  today is a big day here in the state of virginia.

  many positions are up for election.

  i have been a voter since around 1984, when i was 39. it was a strange thing for me, when i pulled that curtain shut.

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  Piph

  I don't feel informed enough to vote, yet. I know next to nothing about politics, government, economics, etc. Euphemism teaches me a lot, but I don't want to vote just based on his opinion. But in the meantime I'm trying to gather as much information as I can, because I believe in doing what I can to make life better.
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  19

  "Landrew" vs "Borg"

  by Stephanus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in classic star trek there was an episode entitled "the return of the archons" where the crew of the enterprise beamed down to a planet where the starship "archon" had last been reported, some time previously.

  they found themselves in a stagnated victorian era society of people going mindlessly about their business, rattling off platitudes like "peace be with you, friend" to passers by.

  the society turned out to be controlled by a supercomputer which had taken on the name (and projected image) of landrew (or landru), its creator some millennia previously.

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  Piph

  LOL You know what's really scary? When I was an active JW I would jokingly talk about non-Witnesses as being "not of the body", referring to this episode.
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  23

  Tonight I am sad..very sad

  by fulano in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  i was thinking of our friends who were tortured and who died in the concentration-camps in germany and other countries during ww2..and that all in vane as i understand now.. i was thinking of the missionaries of age who are frustrated in their assignments, who see how their lives have gone with no reward and finally without a purpose.. i was thinking of bethelites of age, with no change to go back into real world.. i am glad i had the guts to leave missionary-work at the age of almost 40 and at least have the next 40 years a real life!.

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  Piph

  I went and saw a small production of Cabaret a few weeks ago with Euph, and it got me thinking about the Holocaust and all the people that died...I cried for the longest time, grieving so many deaths at once.

  I think that going through life, a 'normal' person (one who wasn't raised a JW, I mean) would learn of the all the horrible things that have happened one at a time and grieve them all properly in due course. But I don't think JW's are taught to grieve...sure, you're brokenhearted when someone dies, but they are so quick to remind you of seeing them again in the paradise that that hope replaces your grief. So instead of naturally healing from the deaths of loved ones or the deaths of millions around the world, we're just held back by a thin cord of hope in Paradise, and some of us hold on to it for all we're worth.

  When you leave the JW's, BOOM! Here comes all that grieving at once, that was never done in the past. Suddenly there is so much to grieve for...but then you can get through it and go forward, and handle life as it comes like other people do. It seems to all work out eventually. Hang in there. It's a part of being human.
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  35

  Salt or Sweet ?

  by morty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  which is your favorite to munch on at the movies?

  salty popcorn or a pack of gummie bears and chocolate bar?

  went to the show for cheap night and it cost more for the damn junk food..no one could decide on either one or the other so we bought both...your opinon?

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  Piph

  (Fascinating, Tink...I too have a weirdness about hearing people eat. In restaurants, though, I'm too distracted to notice stuff like that, thankfully. And I just try to keep my eyes on my plate...LOL)

  I just love sweets. But sometimes a few pieces of popcorn is a good contrast to all the chocolate...mmmm...chocolate.
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  8

  Only about a month 'till Return of the King!

  by Adam in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  dunno how many of you are hard core lord of the rings fans, but i am so looking forward to seeing this movie.

  personally i can't wait to see the paths of the dead.

  any particular part you are especially impatient to see on the big screen?.

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  Piph

  Oh yes....I am very excited.