Related Posts
People Watching …
Sometimes it’s fun to watch people and try to guess at what their lives — outside of where you are watching them. Sometimes, if you listen carefully enough, they’ll even give you glimpes into their personal lives based on photos or things they say in passing. You just have to listen.
One thing in particular that makes me wonder about people is when they get excited over little things. Things that shouldn’t be THAT exciting. Things that I assumed people are doing everyday. Things like going on a short vacation or going to dinner with a significant other. Things that seem almost pathetic to be getting all excited over.
Personally, I believe that people need to do some traveling at some point in their lives. Visit other places, see things that you don’t normally see in your own town. I’m not talking about a vacation that you can drive to, or take a commuter flight to. I’m talking about going far, far away. Across the United States, across an ocean to another continent or the outskirts of the one you are on. However, there are still people out there that get all excited about taking a three hour trip and staying in a motel away from their house. Ugh. That’s soooo not a vacation. That’s a “getaway”. You might be on vacation from your work, but it’s certainly not vacation worthy. An example would be if I were to visit Las Vegas or Southern California. Not exactly a vacation, since I can drive there in 8-10 hours, but a nice getaway. Nothing to get majorly excited about, just a little excitement.
There are people out there though that get all excited about stuff like that and it has to make me wonder if they never get out of the house.
Along the same vein, people who get all excited about going out to dinner with their significant other. “So and so is taking me out to dinner tonight … YAY!”. Erm. Does so and so never take you out or something? I don’t know. Maybe there are alot of people out there that don’t go out to dinner that often. Wifey™ and I go out all the time. Usually on our “date night” Fridays. Who the hell wants to cook on “date night” anyway! Don’t get me wrong. It’s fun. But we don’t get so excited that we start telling everyone about it. It’s just sort of a way of life.
And you can always tell those people who don’t go out to dinner much. Especially if you are at a place like Friday’s and they’re all dressed up. Ugh. Friday’s is nice, don’t get me wrong, but far from a place that you need to get “dressed up” for. Just makes me laugh when I see people who obviously look like they put alot of effort into getting all dressed up for a night out at Denny’s. My feeling is that if you can color on the menus, you probably don’t need to get all dressed up. In fact, the only time I get dressed up for dinner is if we are going to be spending some serious cash … otherwise it’s jeans and a nice shirt.
I kind of forgot the point of this entry, but the gist of it is that getting all excited about going to dinner with your significant other or about a short trip up the freeway probably means that you don’t get out much. As far as going out to dinner, people should do it for no reason other than because they are hungry. Don’t save it up for a special occasion or because you are meeting friends … unless you can’t stand each others company.
As far as vacations go, people need to travel and see the world. Do it before you die, even if it means going into debt to do it. Once you die, its up to your creditors to figure out how to get the money from you. And if your significant other won’t go with you, then go alone or with a travel group and have the best time of your life.
Get excited over the big things because the small things should be a way of life.
Print This Post
Link to this Entry
5 Responses to 'People Watching …'
“So and so is taking me out to dinner tonight… YAY!” Gee… wonder who you’re talking about there. For your information, we go out all the time. But thanks for writing a bitchass entry based on something I said…
What the hell are you talking about? The world doesn’t always revolved around Katie… I was actually writing a bitchass entry about people who never go anywhere. Perhaps I kept that line in my subconcious, but I wasn’t thinking about you at all when I was writing the entry…. Ugh.
Actually, I disagree with you. I think you should appreciate the small things. Maybe the person you’re mocking doesn’t get to go out to dinner very often because they have kids or their budget is tight. Maybe it’s special to THEM.
I know that when my husband and I go on a trip to Montreal (not that far from Toronto, definately driving distance), it IS a vacation. It’s a vacation away from our everyday lives. The city is completely different than Toronto. Same with Ottawa (granted, not as different as Toronto). New and different museums, restaurants, areas of town, different stores, different styles of clothing in boutiques… Different history.
I’d also say that Boston, DC, and NYC are all very different cities, with unique aspects even though they’re really not very far apart.
I think it’s sad that you take dinner out with your wife for granted.
I don’t mind you disagreeing with me. Brig and I find our time together very enjoyable. Neither of us takes it for granted. It’s something we both look forward to after a long week together and doesn’t always involve going out. It’s more about the time than what we do with it.
With that said, I think you are interpreting what I’m saying as “don’t enjoy the small things”. Probably more than anyone, I enjoy the small things. I might enjoy the way a certain crown molding hits the ceiling in a house or the way the sun shines through the trees in the morning. These are very enjoyable to me, but not the most exciting things in my life. For me, it takes bigger things to really get me excited.
Going out to dinner at Denny’s may be enjoyable, but far from exciting. Taking a trip to Vegas might be an enjoyable getaway, but far from an exciting vacation. In my opinion, a vacation spot is somewhere that can’t be driven to in a few hours. I can “get away” from my everyday life by going to Napa or Las Vegas, or I can take a “vacation” from my everyday life by going to Europe or Australia, in the same way that I could be genuinely “excited” about that vacation or just “enjoy” that getaway.
I understand tight budgets and I understand obligations, but I don’t understand why people can’t find the extra money or time to spend time together. Brig and I are on a very tight budget most times, but somehow we always find a little extra cash to treat ourselves. We might not feel “excited” about where we go or what we do, but it’s definately enjoyable and special to us.
An example that illustrates what I’m trying to say is as follows: My grandparents were married for over fifty years. They raised a family and were happy together, but they never went anywhere. My grandfather was pretty cheap and just didn’t want to spend the money. Vacations to them involved going camping to the same spot every year for twenty years. I’m sure they “enjoyed” the time they spent there, but I don’t think my grandmother would classify it as “exciting”. Going out to dinner was the same. My grandfather liked to go to places where people knew him and wasn’t willing to spend much when they got there. So for years they would go to the same restaurant and eat the same thing. Again, nothing to get excited over but an enjoyable time. In fact, I don’t think that there were many really exciting moments in their lives. They never took a trip that involved a plane or train ride?õin fact, I don’t think they ever went on a trip outside of California. I think my grandmother would admit that she’s had an enjoyable life, but probably not that exciting. In fact, now that my grandfather is gone, she readily admits that she’d have loved to have done more. And that makes me sad.
I think people need to have excitement in their lives but it shouldn’t be because you never got to take a trip in your life or because your significant other never takes you out to dinner. I think people use kids, money and time as excuses for not being able to do things.
Having special moments in your life is great?õits what life is about, but there should also be a good mix of really exciting moments?õmoments that don’t involve going to dinner at the local hangout or taking a drive to the next town over.
Damn Greg… write a book much. 🙂