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I spent years by MillMan (4.00 / 2) #1 Tue Mar 14, 2006 at 01:27:51 AM EST

beating my protestant work ethic out of myself. Now I'm just kind of lazy, and looking for something that actually inspires me to work hard. It was an epiphany the first time I was able to honestly ask myself "really, why is hard work a virtue?" Growing up in church I was taught an odd lesson - while getting into heaven was an exclusive function of asking Jesus to forgive your sins, hard work was a really, really good idea...some sort of insurance policy, I guessed, like getting into heaven with a 4.0 GPA instead of a 2.5, and really, most Christians I knew growing up more than anything wanted to make sure they were the best Christians around.

I was terrified of storms as a kid as well - other than the sudden loudness of thunder, the dreaded "tornado warning" and associated sirens and radio buzzers were the stuff of nightmares. By the time I was 12 or so I really looked forward to storms. However, when I saw my first tornado in my early 20's with no basement to hide in, I turned into that six year again old real fast.

I never really considered face-to-face contact a possible thing. -CRwM

from my earliest days by 256 (4.00 / 2) #2 Tue Mar 14, 2006 at 02:39:27 AM EST

"storm warning" held a kind of magic.

when i was eight years old, a storm blew over a tree and crushed half our house. it was like a faerie tale. i loved it.

and the protestant work ethic never got me. my mom tried to instill it i think, but we never went to church. i grew up thinking of work as something that clever people tricked dumb people into doing.
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_{I don't think anyone's ever really died from smoking. --ni}
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I grew up in a house.. by toxicfur (4.00 / 1) #3 Tue Mar 14, 2006 at 07:14:21 AM EST

in which my father's work ethic consisted of "keeping a job long enough that his wife doesn't yell at him so he can drink in peace." I think that did more to instill a drive to work as hard as I can to support myself and my family (the four-legged kind) and to help my friends when I can. I've worked more than one job simultaneously for most of my adult life (now being an exception). I still have to remind myself that I don't have to answer all of the restaurant help-wanted ads I see ...

Re: storms. I outgrew my fear by the time I was 6 or 7, I think. We rarely had tornadoes in North Carolina, and when we did, there were no associated sirens to add to my fear. I do remember the above-mentioned father go outside during a storm to watch the tornado go over our house. He wasn't the smartest person I've ever met.
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damn it, lif eis actually really *far4 too good at tghe momnent, shboyukbnt;t whilen. --Dr Thrustgood
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I once worked by ana (4.00 / 1) #4 Tue Mar 14, 2006 at 07:18:52 AM EST

in a building shared with a meteorology department, in the Midwest. After one particularly strong thunderstorm went by, the little newsletter for the building contained the advice that when the tornado sirens sound, people should not go to the roof to watch. You'd think meteorologists would understand that, but hey.

Can you introspect out loud? --CRwM
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but but by Kellnerin (4.00 / 1) #8 Tue Mar 14, 2006 at 11:29:12 AM EST

how else are you going to get a good view of the storm?

On another note, I think toxicfur is becoming more and more siggable. Although I was also tempted to use your own "I've verified experimentally that you cast a shadow."

--
"Slick Loons Cow Stumbling Readers." —toxicfur
I may be an expensive mushroom. —iGrrrl
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hm. siggable. by toxicfur (4.00 / 1) #9 Tue Mar 14, 2006 at 11:32:44 AM EST

I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

I'm not sure if I'm much smarter than the meterologists and my idiot father, in regards to storms. One of my favorite places to be during a thunderstorm is ankle-deep in the ocean. There are few things more moving to me than watching the thunderclouds and rain merge with the gray, choppy ocean.
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damn it, lif eis actually really *far4 too good at tghe momnent, shboyukbnt;t whilen. --Dr Thrustgood
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: re: sigs by Kellnerin (4.00 / 1) #10 Tue Mar 14, 2006 at 01:56:49 PM EST

It's both.

--
"Slick Loons Cow Stumbling Readers." —toxicfur
I may be an expensive mushroom. —iGrrrl
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