making the cabinet the source of entertainment for guests and the wives

[pbj]

I, along with about 200,000 other people, work in the Texas Medical Center.  Every day, we pack ourselves into 100 acres.  And that big corner office?  You don't get those unless you have the kind of job that involves people arguing with you for 10 hours a day.

Then the hoards.... the hoards of sick people... sick people everywhere...

Privacy is impossible.  No matter how remote the restroom, someone in a hospital gown will be rattling your stall door.  You cannot so much as fart without an audience. 

By the time I get home, I want to hide in a dark cave without phones or e-mail.

 

[dkersten]

Plus you probably have to fight traffic and drive for 30 minutes just to stop at a grocery store, and it probably ends up being a 2-3 hour ordeal.

See, I live in the biggest city in Montana, and we have about 100,000 people spread out across about 100 square miles.  It takes me 12 minutes to get to work when I hit most of the lights during traffic.  I can get there in 5-6 minutes at night.  I have 3 grocery stores within 3 minutes of me, and only WalMart is busy enough to make it frustrating.  And I work in an office with the same 14 other people with virtually no interaction with anyone outside that office.

I still understand your situation, I am somewhat of an introvert and I don't need to be around a lot of people to enjoy myself.  Plus my house is my sanctuary, I ENJOY being here, and I spend a lot of time making it exactly how I want to live.  When I was married I enjoyed nothing more than going home and being there.  I had no need to go out or do anything.  I hate shopping so I always sent the wife for that stuff, and she enjoyed it (too much, unfortunately).  The last 4 years has been different, I have had to get out and socialize more unless I wanted to spend all that free time alone, and I find I like it now and then.  I love having people over now and I have a great deck, firepit, and game room that is all one big entertaining space and I regularly get 6-12 people over to enjoy it with me.  Despite having a steady girlfriend most of that 4 years, I still like getting out of the house. 

Now today, I would like to just stay home and be alone.. It is cold and raining, I had to spend the last 4 hours clothes shopping for my two teenage daughters (and no I didn't go to the gap, lol), and now even though I am thoroughly finished with the human race for a while, I still have to go to a wedding for a friend shortly.  Otherwise I would kick off my shoes and just call it a day.  Or I would be in my shop starting the construction of my next cabinet, but either way alone and not out in public dealing with people.

[Howard_Casto]

I, along with about 200,000 other people, work in the Texas Medical Center.  Every day, we pack ourselves into 100 acres.  And that big corner office?  You don't get those unless you have the kind of job that involves people arguing with you for 10 hours a day.

Then the hoards.... the hoards of sick people... sick people everywhere...

Privacy is impossible.  No matter how remote the restroom, someone in a hospital gown will be rattling your stall door.  You cannot so much as fart without an audience. 

By the time I get home, I want to hide in a dark cave without phones or e-mail.

 

Well there's your problem.    See the thing about Texas is it'd be a nice place to live, if it weren't for all the Texans.  It might be time to move for the sake of your mental health. 

[Slippyblade]

Plus my house is my sanctuary, I ENJOY being here, and I spend a lot of time making it exactly how I want to live.  When I was married I enjoyed nothing more than going home and being there. 

This is how I feel.  My home, wife, and family are my happy place.  I get into discussions about this all the time with co-workers and friends.  Many of them ---smurfette--- about their home life so much it makes me wonder why they HAVE a home life.  I love being at home, I'm happy and comfortable there.  Why would I go out to a bar or club or other such nonsense when I can kick back, drink a beer once in a while, watch TV, play games, or read a book all with the company of my family in my comfy chair at home?

[Howard_Casto]

I think we need to put things in perspective here. 

There is a difference between wanting to stay at home all the time (I'm in that boat) and deciding to no longer go to the grocery store.  You need to get out in the world outside of work for a bit if nothing more than to re-affirm the fact that the outside world sucks. 

[pbj]

Well there's your problem.    See the thing about Texas is it'd be a nice place to live, if it weren't for all the Texans.  It might be time to move for the sake of your mental health.

I've lived more places than you have.  There are very few Texans in Houston, a term I define as "did you take seventh grade Texas history."  This is a young, extraordinarily diverse city.

I like it here but EVERYTHING is a hassle. 

Guests won't touch anything beyond chicken wings and consoles.  You cannot compete with a woman's smartphone. Believing and acting otherwise is an exercise of abject futility.

 

[Howard_Casto]

Oh believe me, I'm aware.  Don't take this the wrong way but honestly the people that willingly migrate there have more issues than the natives.  Plenty of diversity for a perfect sampling of the most annoying people from all corners of the country. 

Don't feel bad though, I can't stand it here anymore either. 

The whole country is screwed up these days, there are just pockets of it I find particularly annoying.  People suck everywhere you go, but if you can find an area with a low population, at least you have the opportunity to get away from them without barricading yourself indoors all the time. 

I have family that have inexplicably moved to Texas, near where you are at I think, I'm starting to run out of excuses to keep from visiting them.  Hopefully I'll die soon or something.   

Before people accuse me of being cynical or something understand that it's a Men in Black sort of thing.  I like a "person" it's when "people" get involved that I just want to get out of dodge. 

[ark_ader]

Just work from home or find a job that will let you.

Simples.

[Vigo]

As far as my opinion goes. People are awesome where I live. 

[dkersten]

It's funny because for the past several years (the past year being the exception), we have been watching an excessive number of people from Texas move here to Montana.  At one point I could drive for 10 minutes and count no less than 100 cars with texas plates.  The past year is the exception because the last couple winters really sucked.  Over 100 inches of snowfall last year in a town where the average is about 28 inches per year.  That sent a lot of the Californians home too, lol.  Thank God for that..

I spent a couple weeks in Texas not long ago.. we opened up a location in Dalhart.. Not many people, and the ones I ran into were hella friendly, but what a shithole.  First day there it was 80 degrees, the next morning it was snowing and 25 degrees.  Two days later it went from hot to cool at night and all the cowshit turned into a mist on the road and it was literally raining cow manure.  And what the heck is up with having to buy a membership to drink a beer??

I will stay in Montana, thanks.. 

[jennifer]

       I HATE my stupid "smartphone.... I will be talking, and talking, doing the hand gestures and laughing only to realize my face turned the phone off like 5 minutes ago.

[dkersten]

must be a Samsung.. this thing sucks..

[eds1275]

       I HATE my stupid "smartphone.... I will be talking, and talking, doing the hand gestures and laughing only to realize my face turned the phone off like 5 minutes ago.

7/8ths of the time I want to smash my wife's smartphone, just slap it right out of her hands onto the floor and stomp it into dust.