Navel-gazing

[afuna]

I worry that I'm becoming jaded because these things don't impress me anymore. But but maybe not. Because I don't want more luxury more gold more bling more wow. All I want is less.

Sigh. Well I'm in a quieter place right now and feel better. Maybe I'm just an introvert running out off cope?

Comments

[kaberett]

You could be both an introvert-running-out-of-cope and someone legitimately unimpressed by ostentation for ostentation's sake?

I hope it gets easier, and I'm glad you're getting to spend time with family.

[ninetydegrees]

I'd call it becoming older and wiser, not jaded. :)

[afuna]

Thank you <3 I do like the way you ohrase that, makes me feel less like a horrible person who fails at life! ,

[afuna]

Heeheheee I'll take that!

[swaldman]

FWIW, I found Dubai pretty horrible when I was there... I never got to see the old stuff, because I was on business and working a long way away from it, but... it was simply all about short-term money and about showing off.
I looked around at all the wonderful buildings (never mind the "my skyscraper is taller than your skyscraper" competition) and remembered that much of it was built by (near enough) slave labour... and then I heard that petrol was cheaper than crude oil because of government subsidy, and saw bright green lawns being irrigated with desalinated water (really expensive to make, in energy terms)... it all seemed a bit obscene.

Not sure whether that's relevant to what you were saying or not, but I guess my point is that I didn't like Dubai all that much, and maybe for similar reasons.

[surpassingly]

All the hearts, all the hearts <333

[starshadow_rivaulx]

You do NOT fail at life, ok? You don't have to be impressed by all the gold and stuff and things. Remember that sign in the supermarkets/department stores: "Lovely to look at, nice to hold"? That's what it is. Stuff is pretty, but doesn't have to bug your eyes out.

Or like a special dish that only comes out during the holidays - great for the occasion, but not for every day eating. "Nakakaumay" is the word, I think.

Bonding with family is fun, and the hijinks, if any are forthcoming, can be more impressive than any skyscraper. The kind of stuff that becomes family legend for generations. *g*

[afuna]

Nakakaumay is a good word. I've been using it a lot *nod nods :D*

[afuna]

That pretty much reflects my experience there as well. They opened up the biggest garden recently, too, though I'm glad we didn't go. Because things were just getting really ridiculous.

My best moments were actually when we went out to the desert for the evening -- that was gorgeous, and didn't cost billions of dirhams ;-) My second favorite part was avoiding the big fancy mall, and going to the souvenir/shopping place that many OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) would go.

I went to Dubai expecting to be impressed. I left feeling that most of it is for rich folks preening to other rich folks, and wanting no part of it.

[afuna]

Hearts hearts hearts!

[jewelfox]

I spent a little while researching Dubai earlier, and your impression of it reinforces the one that I had.

I'm personally coming to value materialism more than I used to -- it's really nice to have a new PS3 and games that I can play on it -- but I don't have a lot of respect for what kaberett described as ostentation for ostentation's sake.

[afuna]

Shiny things are nice! I wouldn't live without my gadgets. But -- and thinking out loud -- I guess it's the difference between, say, an iPhone (which is an expensive phone, but useful), and a Vertu (which as an expensive phone but as far as I can tell is just like one of the *old* crappy Nokia phones with bling attached, and is more expensive than an iPhone)

[jewelfox]

I wrote an article about the latest Vertu which got hundreds of thousands of pageviews because it led with something like "smartphone costs $10,000, is crap".

And it really is. >_>; It even has an app which does nothing but serve up targeted ads. Except that you're rich and important (if you're buying one) so these are special offers hand-selected by our concierge staff, or something equally pretentious.

I feel like it's pointless and ugly and serves no purpose except to mark its owner as a member of the wealth-owning class. I would shed no tears if everything like it ceased to exist.

[afuna]

Yes! (There were booths for that everywhere in Dubai. Proving that just because you're rich doesn't mean you have taste...)

[jewelfox]

The two do not go together at all.

Part of me doesn't want to imagine what a whole Vertu booth looks like, and another part wants to know if you took pictures. >_>;;

[afuna]

Nah, I felt out of place enough being in such a "posh" location. But uggh :p

[jewelfox]

Speaking of changing the subject, is it okay if I ask if there's any progress on the support ticket I opened up earlier regarding inconsistent language being used in the Guiding Principles page and the Diversity Statement? I don't know if you've been following that on my journal or if you're the right person to talk to, but it's been like a week or more now and I thought I'd ask. >.>b I understand if you can't or would prefer not to answer.

[afuna]

I'm definitely not the person to talk to about this, alas. Please follow up in the support ticket instead!

[jewelfox]

Okies, thanks anyway. >.>b

Um, is it normal to need to ask for follow-up about a support request on which there's been no activity for over a week? I'm not familiar with DW etiquette here ...

[afuna]

I honestly don't know! I'm not very much involved in that side of DW -- that is, I probably know only as much as you at this point *g*

[jewelfox]

Okay, thanks. >_>