Alternative Living

[Emma Raducanu]

How could you change the way you live, for the better?

[Go With The Flow]

Get off CaB whilst you still can!

[Emma Raducanu]

*Starts running, with pants still round ankles*

[Mindbear]

Stop sitting in the house quite so much and accept more invitations out! That would make my life better, but I get seduced by my huge bed and dvd collection.

[Hank_Kingsley]

Finishing my poxy dissertations and getting the fudge out of Brighton.

That would change my life for the better. Also, quietly disassociating myself from all the crap life draining people I've met over the past couple of years. Going back to lovely Cambridge to be with my love and stop having to constantly wear a 'sympathetic' face while people endlessly badger on about their mad and uninteresting lives.

Well, one person.


That sounds like heaven Mindbear! I can't wait to spend the next few weeks after I leave University sitting around in my pants, working my way through the Hammer collection. Good times!

[Cambrian Times]

Writing my first novel.

Winning the lottery

Going to live in Aberystwyth

[boxofslice]

Buy thicker curtains. That early morning sun is a fucker.

[hoverdonkey]

Finish the book.
Receive huge advance.
Move to cottage in country to write for the rest of my days, whilst bringing up nipper with the lady.
Happy ending.

Realistically? Take more exercise, I simply don't get a chance to at the moment.

[Mindbear]

Finishing my poxy dissertations and getting the fudge out of Brighton.

That would change my life for the better. Also, quietly disassociating myself from all the crap life draining people I've met over the past couple of years. Going back to lovely Cambridge to be with my love and stop having to constantly wear a 'sympathetic' face while people endlessly badger on about their mad and uninteresting lives.

Well, one person.


That sounds like heaven Mindbear! I can't wait to spend the next few weeks after I leave University sitting around in my pants, working my way through the Hammer collection. Good times!

I take it uni didn't excite you then? Everyone seems to go crazy for Brighton, or go crazy in Brighton.  Having a missed one takes the shine off anything though i think.

And yes, it is heaven, for a bit, but when you stop doing all the fun things and just sit watching Larry Sanders and Arrested Development life can start to lose its meaning!

[Hank_Kingsley]

I'm technically a 'mature' student, and I did the partying and drugs thing to death a while ago ( I had to drop out of my first uni because of it) so it's all just been a slog I've wanted to get over and done with.

Brighton is nice enough but the relative excitement of it wears thin pretty quickly. Also, too many hills!

[mothman]

"Working my way through the Hammer collection" sounds like a euphemism for masturbation if ever I heard one. . .

Lose weight. Working on that. First step, join a gym. After one month, I've lost bugger all but my BMI has gone down half a percent.

[Mindbear]

I'm technically a 'mature' student, and I did the partying and drugs thing to death a while ago ( I had to drop out of my first uni because of it) so it's all just been a slog I've wanted to get over and done with.

Brighton is nice enough but the relative excitement of it wears thin pretty quickly. Also, too many hills!

I understand totally then. I really want to go to uni, but the idea of living with a ton of kids who are allowed to shag and drink for the first time without being told off puts me right off. I mean, i've watched skins once or twice, and that was too much for me!

[Emma Raducanu]

This time last year, if I had a day off work and there was no one about, I'd just wander into town to look at some CDs or something until I read an article in the Guardian about self esteem getting lower going to town and higher by going to the park. So last May, I diverted myself away from town and spent a few hours strolling through the sunny park, admiring the freshly cut grass and the waterfalls and flowers. It was like the final scene in Withnail and I, only there were tears of joy.

It was right though, it was far better than going shopping, away from people running round, doing their chores and banking and just experiencing the serene beauty of nature and the peace.

So I've not been to the shops for nearly a year now.

[Caroline]

I understand totally then. I really want to go to uni, but the idea of living with a ton of kids who are allowed to shag and drink for the first time without being told off puts me right off. I mean, i've watched skins once or twice, and that was too much for me!

I'm five days short of turning 23 and just finishing my first year at uni. I attempted before, at the right age, but a combination of doing the degree that my parents/teachers thought i should do, and moving to London and getting the opportunity to go on tour with a band put paid to that attempt.

I can say for sure that I did the right thing though. Occasionally being around teenagers all the time gets a bit odd, but for the most part they're really nice and I've made some friends. Being a bit older has really helped with my degree as well, because it's an arts degree I've got four years on them to have done background reading and while I'm certainly no more intelligent than most of them, I've had more time to assimilate general knowledge.

The other thing I've found hard is having to study and have no money when pretty much all my friends (most of whom are a few years older than me) are getting on with their careers and for the most part being pretty successful.

Anyway, if you can do it, I would recommend it. How old are you, Hank if you don't mind me asking?

[Hank_Kingsley]

I understand totally then. I really want to go to uni, but the idea of living with a ton of kids who are allowed to shag and drink for the first time without being told off puts me right off. I mean, i've watched skins once or twice, and that was too much for me!

Don't let it put you off, if you go somewhere local to you it shouldn't necessitate moving in with a bunch of bloody kids- that's what a lot of mature students who are a lot more sensible than me do.

I don't regret going at all, I just wish I'd be a bit more selective about who I ended up living with,

Anyway, that's beautiful Dolphinface. Do you do all your shopping online now and just spend the rest of your time frolicking?

Caroline-I'm not *that* mature, turning 25 in December and this is my last year...

[Mindbear]

Don't let it put you off, if you go somewhere local to you it shouldn't necessitate moving in with a bunch of bloody kids- that's what a lot of mature students who are a lot more sensible than me do.

I don't regret going at all, I just wish I'd be a bit more selective about who I ended up living with,

Anyway, that's beautiful Dolphinface. Do you do all your shopping online now and just spend the rest of your time frolicking?

Caroline-I'm not *that* mature, turning 25 in December and this is my last year...

You see, I'm going to be 29 in a few weeks, so 22 year olds seem like youngsters to me. I don't think I could bear the whole teenager thing. Thats good advice, go somewhere local, the problem is that is Roehampton and thats famed for being a shithole. I see the kids coming out of there, with their emo hair, and I can just envision feeling pretty isolated and lonely. I don't want to feel sad!

[Emma Raducanu]

I'm quite a snob because we buy all the vegetables we need from a nearby garden centre, which is a short stroll away. Anything else comes from the supermarket but I'm normally at work when it's being bought. Actually, I enjoy short city breaks, such as going to Edinburgh and don't mind being in the centre then. So long as there's a decent place for a cup of coffee!

[alan nagsworth]

It was right though, it was far better than going shopping, away from people running round, doing their chores and banking and just experiencing the serene beauty of nature and the peace.

So I've not been to the shops for nearly a year now.

Damn straight. I was in town the other day for the first time in months and I hated it - "How long has this shop been here? Why is it one of five other card/phone shops?" Just looking at all the people who are there for a purpose and yet walk at speeds too slow to be recorded, god it's awful seeing so many mundane lives packed so close together I can't even speedwalk through them.

I always take the most scenic routes possible when walking places but I never go out of my way to go on these little walks, they're just inbetweeners. That's one thing I need to start doing. I live right next to a canal so I might take a stroll up there to the woods and back on a warm day. Sounds lovely just thinking about it.

[alan nagsworth]

I see the kids coming out of there, with their emo hair, and I can just envision feeling pretty isolated and lonely. I don't want to feel sad!

The irony is those kids probably don't have a care in the world.

[Mindbear]

The irony is those kids probably don't have a care in the world.

haha, I know, and they'll be talking about their 'emotional' times, with me thinking, 'you silly bloody kids'. I don't want it! By rights, given how i'd feel amongst them, I'd probably be the real 'emo'.

How can something that is about feeling shit and tortured be such a mass fucking culture!?

[sirhenry]

Damn straight. I was in town the other day for the first time in months and I hated it - "How long has this shop been here? Why is it one of five other card/phone shops?" Just looking at all the people who are there for a purpose and yet walk at speeds too slow to be recorded, god it's awful seeing so many mundane lives packed so close together I can't even speedwalk through them.

That's made my life easier already. I was about to post exactly that, but now I can just quote it. Cheers Nags!

[Mindbear]

I always take the most scenic routes possible when walking places but I never go out of my way to go on these little walks, they're just inbetweeners. That's one thing I need to start doing. I live right next to a canal so I might take a stroll up there to the woods and back on a warm day. Sounds lovely just thinking about it.

I am a total weirdo when it comes to walking places. I get shockingly depressed if I have to walk a route I don't like aesthetically, I'm still coming to terms with living on a street I consider to be ugly, despite its tree lined ways. I actually have made a point of walking through pretty roads to meet my boyfriend every night, which means i'm always always late. It'd be okay if I only did this with walking, but I do it with driving too. I remember being late for college every day because I drove an extra mile and a half just to avoid going through the ugly bits of feltham, of which at that point there were many.

[j_u_d_a_s]

haha, I know, and they'll be talking about their 'emotional' times, with me thinking, 'you silly bloody kids'. I don't want it! By rights, given how i'd feel amongst them, I'd probably be the real 'emo'.

How can something that is about feeling shit and tortured be such a mass fucking culture!?

Probably because they're laboured under the delusion that depression = deep and interesting when really depression = walking nightmare. It's a time when they're just starting to take notice of their own emotions and that can be overpowering at the best of times so they stick a label on it and wear it with pride and also in the hope that they can make some friends out of it too.

Erm shit... that was actually kind of insightful there wasn't it. Anyway I'm not jealous that all the 17 year old girls look a lot hotter than they did back when I was that age. Not at all... cunts.

[Emma Raducanu]

I get shockingly depressed if I have to walk a route I don't like aesthetically

Me too. Walking home from work seems to take a life time, nothing to look at except lines of houses and cars going by. Drop me in the countryside and I can walk forever and a day, without realising. Bloody nightmare this sleep walking.

[steven583699]

I mean, i've watched skins once or twice, and that was too much for me!

This is what's wrong with Skins. Am I right Buttgammon?

[Mindbear]

Probably because they're laboured under the delusion that depression = deep and interesting when really depression = walking nightmare. It's a time when they're just starting to take notice of their own emotions and that can be overpowering at the best of times so they stick a label on it and wear it with pride and also in the hope that they can make some friends out of it too.

Erm shit... that was actually kind of insightful there wasn't it. Anyway I'm not jealous that all the 17 year old girls look a lot hotter than they did back when I was that age. Not at all... cunts.

Ha! I know, the boys seem to be a lot better looking too, I mean, I remember at 17 my boyfriend having a haircut like fucking tintin and wearing one of those awful Che Guevara Superstars t shirts. Not good. I think the thing that bugs me about these kids is the fact that they really do dwell in depression, depression isn't fun, it's fucking dreadful, so scrub your face clean of that eyeliner and go and do a dance in some daisies in the sunshine. You've got the world at your feet you buggers!

[Captain Crunch]

Anyway I'm not jealous that all the 17 year old girls look a lot hotter than they did back when I was that age.

Really?   You go for the bovine look and chemical warfare perfume?  Each to their own then.

How could you change the way you live, for the better?

Listen to lots of Thin Lizzy.
Have a nice cup of tea whenever you want.
Find time to indulge in your disgusting fetishes.

^{(I think I may have missed the point of this thread?)}

[j_u_d_a_s]

Really?   You go for the bovine look and chemical warfare perfume?  Each to their own then.

Back when I were a bairn, the look was a scraped back ponytail, hoop earrings and as much make up as you could possibly shove on their face! Orange foundation can be so sensual....

[Old Thrashbarg]

Lose weight. Working on that. First step, join a gym. After one month, I've lost bugger all but my BMI has gone down half a percent.

Meaning you've grown taller?

[weekender]

I shall ignore all posts on CaB that are made by women.  Seriously, you're all fucked in the head, I can't understand you.  One minute it's "ooh, ooh, ooh, look how troubled I am" and the next it's "ooh, ohh, look how troubled I am", and for some reason it's up to the man to determine the difference between "ooh" and "ohh" and quite frankly you can all fuck off, you stupid woman cunts.