Poll

But do you get what you need?

Generally
Not under a Tory government
Good and hard
Other

Author Topic: You can't always get what you want  (Read 1187 times)

sam

You can't always get what you want
« on: 07 January, 2024, 02:12:46 pm »
Space for real life examples ↓

Re: You can't always get what you want
« Reply #1 on: 07 January, 2024, 07:02:40 pm »
Need: I have somewhere to live.
Want: Live near to work (max 10 min walk) in my own place.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: You can't always get what you want
« Reply #2 on: 07 January, 2024, 08:30:42 pm »
Kylie Minogue has still not rung the doorbell and asked me to elope with her to a tropical paradise.  I find this puzzling.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

sam

Re: You can't always get what you want
« Reply #3 on: 08 January, 2024, 11:45:34 am »
My last bike. I wanted titanium, horizontal dropouts (joint top of the list), and last/least, a level top tube. I got one out of three,


Sorry mate

which it turned out to be all I needed to make me happy. Well, that and a good fit and warranty.

Years ago when we had the neighbours from hell who compelled us to move, my wife and I wanted – needed – a house off on its own. We got one:


Counting sheep beats that view of parked cars we left behind


Authenticity


The neighbours pop in and out

An estate agent had informed us in a way I'm sure wasn't condescending that on our budget we couldn't afford it out here, and in a way, she was right: we live in a rental. It will never truly belong to us, unless 20+ years of it arguably being ours in this time on earth counts (word is you can't take it with you when you die anyway).

ian

Re: You can't always get what you want
« Reply #4 on: 08 January, 2024, 08:18:54 pm »
I would like to live out in the country (Burwash is very nice), a sort of pleasant oasty experience, and could probably afford to, but the downsides are that I do take many suburban comforts for granted and the proximity to the capital is useful, but the killer is that my wife would have to abandon her advanced social life and I think that would be a bit cruel unless she's 100% onboard. I'm a bloke, so my idea of an advanced social life is talking to random strangers in the pub.

alfapete

  • Oh dear
Re: You can't always get what you want
« Reply #5 on: 09 January, 2024, 09:47:28 am »
I'm a bloke, so my idea of an advanced social life is talking to random strangers in the pub.
That's far more sociable than me
alfapete - that's the Pete that drives the Alfa

sam

Re: You can't always get what you want
« Reply #6 on: 09 January, 2024, 09:59:00 am »
I would like to live out in the country

It has its dark side. For example, on my walk through the woods yesterday I came across this:



Blair Witch meets Santa. So that's what the horrified Ho Ho Ho Argh!!! I heard a few weeks ago was about.

Quote
my idea of an advanced social life is talking to random strangers in the pub.

Mine is the weekly shop, asking the woman at Waitrose if they have any more lemonade not on the shelf. If I'm feeling extra gregarious I'll chat with people I meet on my rides.



I've always wanted a classic car, something like a 1960s Mustang. But in reality, I need a reliable and economical vehicle for daily commuting.



Spotted in Hastings. It's no Mustang, but it still beats most of what I see on the roads.

My first car was a classic Lemans purchased with the proceeds of the sale of a very nice bike (! - a Schwinn Voyageur). It lasted all of a month before something apparently vital died. After a couple of other dodgy motors I ended up with a succession of reliable Toyotas, which I consider to be large mobile white goods.

(click to show/hide)

sam

The simple things
« Reply #7 on: 12 January, 2024, 12:30:04 pm »
Tangential: Is it really so, Joe?



Are the best things in life the simple things? Feel free to consult Maslow's hierarchy of needs (Kylie Minogue is on there somewhere).

I specialise in "labyrinthine forum metadiscourse",* i.e., not at all simple. It may not actually be the best life has to offer, but it has its moments. I'm sure you can think of your own examples of complicated pleasures.



*DuckDuckGoes where Google fears to tread.

sam

The one that got away
« Reply #8 on: 27 February, 2024, 07:18:08 am »
Early this morning I cruised by a house we offered on almost six years ago:



Here it is with better lighting.

My wife loved the kitchen – purely the wide open space, as ours is fairly cramped (the wide open spaces being outside the house). I fell for the garage, which it was easy to picture as a workshop for my bikes. It was also as about as private as it got in that postcode at that price, with one neighbour living in what amounted to a jungle, the other with an entrance on the far side of the house, (we won't talk about the rear), and trees in front that we were surprised had held out so long against developers. As a bonus, it was just inside the catchment for our doctor's surgery, which is far preferable to the one in the nearby town.

In the debit column it was on the small side, with only one toilet (I reckon £300k should get you at least two), a shallow loft space, a big kitchen window blighted by a roof blocking what would've been a grand view of the north, and a few other niggles; but as I said, we made an offer on it. This was refused. They went down a little, we thought not enough, and it was goodbye house with kerb appeal.