are you happy?

[Booker]

so are you? yes, you. is this where you wanted to be at whateverstage of your life? did you give it all up to go to japan (or where ever) and live? ____ it!, did you say, this is what i want to do so this is what i`m going to do. the well-paying job, the (not associated with the yakuza) benz, the HOV lane, gone so you could pursue something you`ve always wanted to do regardless what it meant sacrificing? maybe you had no previous experience as a teacher or as a video game designer or as a male whore, but did that stop you? how do you know this is it? or do you? so many questions.
just curious, you know....

[richard]

So what's the point of your post, Booker?

Are YOU happy?????????

[JayJay]

Ask me day to day, everyday Ive give a different answer. Such is life .

[kintarou]

i was pondering this very thought today.
personally, i think i was raised to believe there would be a point in my life when or where i would arrive or be happy. i think this is because i somehow inferred the reason for doing something, especially an academic something, was as a means to an end.
i've now come to believe there will never be that point but only the journey.
however, by evaluating, and adjusting the things i do that contribute to my life, by default, i may without noticing, find myself having reached that point.

the problem is however, because of my childhood i'm not ready to allow myself to enjoy the journey.

if i'm not happy then what is the point of staying alive.

to your original question, as a boy my first dream was to study and teach grammar. i did this but found it took my students all their time to get past hello much less what's an identifying relational clause.
my second goal was to become a professional musician and join an orchestra. i did that too but found no matter how much you like your job it always comes down to how well you get along with your co-workers.

in the end, i can only sympathise with my friend who said 'i'm not happy, but i'm happier now than i was before'.

[donpaulo]

I am very happy. Glad I made the move. Glad I started my own school, should have made the move about a year earlier ... but still very happy I did.
Glad to have sold my late model german imported car back in the states. Glad to be rid of my satellite TV which is wasted since there is no NHL.
Glad I live in Japan, glad I enjoy japanese food. Glad glad glad. Does that answer the question ?
On bad days I am still content, but on most days I am happy.

[JayJay]

Happiness is a mood. Right now, after a glass of wine (or a few ) and a movie, I am happy. When I play my guitar, I am happy. In the morning as I go to work I an usually unhappy. Life gives us little pieces of happiness and shittiness everyday, its up to us to take it or leave it as it comes.
As for Japan, I wanted to come here, and here I am. I complain sometimes (as we all do) but if I really hated it that much, I would just ____ off home.

"Am I happy" to me is the wrong question, it should be "Am I content?" Then the answer would be, no. But do I want to be? I'm not doing exactly what I want now, but I am trying, and maybe if I achieve everything I want to do, its time to roll over and cark it. As long as I have things I want to do I will try to do them, but that doesn't mean Im unhappy.

Well paying job? Thats not happiness to me unless I can do what I want to do. Mercedes, Cars? Well, I do splash out on material things such as entertianment, fashion and toys every now and again, but I know it wont really make me happy. As for my job back home, my degree is in music, so I hardly think my career propects are any worse here than back home.

I have dreams, and goals, but Im hardly going to scarfise the happiness given to me day by day, by God, the Universe, fate, whatever, for some far off "end happy life". I could get hit by a car tommorrow (mostly because they never stop for me ) so whats the point? Maybe instead of worrying so much about when we'll get to our destination, we should enjoy the journey, in all its highs and lows.

I just try to keep myself upright, do the best job I can in whatever I do (personal or professianal) and be thankful for every good time that comes my way. Maybe to be "happy" thats all we can do. Sorry, my slightly drunk 2cents, sorry if you couldnt follow.

[Booker]

your drunk two cents were わりと inspirational.
i don't know. here i am in boulder colorado a quarter of the way through a masters degree in japanese literature (about as useful as a degree in music, wouldst thou say) and don't really know if this is what i want to be doing. kinda want to pick up and go do what i want to do now, not what i wanted to do when i decided to quite my job at AEON. i don't know. ever see that special that was on in japan about the old man that quit his job at some big ___ company to become a hairdresser? kinda like that. but not.

[Booker]

So what's the point of your post, Booker?

Are YOU happy?????????

i don`t know, ____, i`m trying to decide if this is what makes me happy or if i should be off doing something else. you know how it is.