Help me decide wtf to do with my life

[Primitive]

http://theanarchistlibrary.org/category/topic/anti-work

I was a skinhead for 10 years, of course all "working class" this and that. Fuck that shit i had nothin to show for it at the end, and ill tell you what else never been happier and have more to show for it now that im willfully unemployed. First time i got my license, first time i got my own car, first time ive been able to eat at restaraunts everyday and do whatever i feel like. i make more money now than i ever have, and ive come to the conclusion that not only do you live this life once, but when someone else is making more of a profit off of your labor than you are, thats slavery. Someones getting cheated and used, and that someone is YOU!

 

[Primitive]

And yes im a rare anomily... my skinhead retirement plan wasnt pyschobilly, but crusty. Go figure, well hey i started hangin out and drinkin with san jose skullfux gutter punks when i was 15. Back to my roots that introduced me to subcultures in the first place i guess.

 

[Matt Derrick]

http://theanarchistlibrary.org/category/topic/anti-work

I was a skinhead for 10 years, of course all "working class" this and that. Fuck that shit i had nothin to show for it at the end, and ill tell you what else never been happier and have more to show for it now that im willfully unemployed. First time i got my license, first time i got my own car, first time ive been able to eat at restaraunts everyday and do whatever i feel like. i make more money now than i ever

have, and ive come to the conclusion that not only do you live this life once, but when someone else is making more of a profit off of your labor than you are, thats slavery. Someones getting cheated and used, and that someone is YOU!

what i'm curious about is how you can afford to eat at restaurants every day and not have a job.

i make more money now than i ever have,

i really hope you're not talking about spanging, because:

when someone else is making more of a profit off of your labor than you are, thats slavery

you're perpetuating the same slavery on someone else by mooching off the middle class/poor.

also, i feel like the only part of my post you actually read was the part about working. not what i was working for, etc... which makes me think you missed the whole point of this thread.

forgive me if this post sounds agro, i just woke up and i'm currently going through my caffeine enema.

 

[Primitive]

And i was drunk last night too haha but obviously we're all forced to live under capitalism. I dont see how it at all perpetuates slavery onto other people however, but one common argument is that im "living off of other people" or "other peoples slave labor". Which is really quite ironic if someone bothered to take a look around them and ask what sweatshops their clothes were made in, how many casualties of genocide did it take to get that gasoline, how many indigenous communities were destroyed to aquire those metals, coal, natural gas, minerals, etc. Ceo's, boards of directors, and shareholders are the biggest mooches on the planet, yet people only get mad when poor people are doing it. However i dont really "beg" i fly funny signs, laugh with people, chat with them, brighten up the morning or evening and smile. But ive seperated myself from this society, id rather have no part of it, id rather live freely among unpolluted rivers and forests abundant with life amongst small tribes or communities, but that would be somewhat escapism i think in todays day and age. Im just wandering wastelands, virtual deserts, amongst people living in their own graves under skyscraper tombstones. Wondering what i can contribute to help bring it all down one day, not help it thrive. I dont see it at all as someone else does, because i feel too disconnected with this culture to care. All i care about is ive found a way to escape wage slavery without risking prison time. Something few people can say theyve done.

 

[Primitive]

I also forgot to mention that considering we all live off of other people in ways that are invisibly brutal, obviously the way which i do is hardly comparable because at least the people i live off of flying signs have a choice in the matter. Im sure you understand and get what im saying, however when people question me about it and i reply with intelligent reasoning behind what i do its like they shut off and cant believe im actually fully justifying it. Lol this song kind of expresses my state of mind in regards to the "moral" deterring people attempt to inculcate me with when it comes to the way i make a hustle outside of wage slavery haha

 

[Matt Derrick]

well, this is definitely a subject for another thread; that said, i'm not saying everyone shouldn't spange, but if you're not doing it for the right reasons you're not much better than a capitalist. other people had to work for the beer you buy or the clothes on your back, or for you to be able to travel somewhere.

and frankly if you're spanging for any other reason besides trying to eat, you're not spanging for the right reasons. sorry, but it's the truth most dirty kids don't want to hear. you're not 'opting out' of society, you're taking advantage of people's kindness that aren't that much better off than you.

 

[East]

I know what you mean about relationships, age and whatnot, like every last one I've had turned out to fizzle somehow. Just kind of accepted being single without much of a qualm these days. I hope I can remain content with this mindset. In retrospect I can't help but feel like I derive way more pleasure living single than I do in a relationship. There's something about my personality that makes me dwindle quite a bit in relationships. I always feel like I'm losing part of who I am and I have no idea why. I'm still open to the idea that I'll click someday with someone and won't feel that way, and in any case I wouldn't be opposed to it- but for now I have a strong preference for friendships and nothing more. Those women with ideas in their head full of judgement about different lifestyles alien to theirs (or opposed to status quo) aren't much different than the majority. You're definitely right in that there is no future with that kind of person. If there was I'd imagine it to be nothing short of a soul crushing experience. Pretty much weeded out most people that would put a judgement on me for being single. At least the ones that I know of. Just don't be convinced the pool is shrinking and relationships are becoming completely out of reach, there's always going to be people looking for something new, no matter their age.

 

[Primitive]

Sorry to have put this thread slightly off topic, but my point was anyone who would say its wrong to live off of other peoples hard work the way i do to do, should take a look at the resources they themselves use on a daily basis. We all live off of the suffering, poverty, genocide, subjegation, exploitation, and true slave labor of people in 3rd world countries and indigenous communities. Virtually all resources here in this country has blood or unimaginable suffering underneath its nice packaging. The only difference is the people who give me money have a choice. Its really the pot calling the kettle black, our whole foundation of this culture we're forced to live under is inevitably just that living off of the hard work (and even worse murder and suffering) of other people. i also fly a sign that says bet u cant hit me with a quarter which is neutural on any promises where my money goes, so i do make sure im honest however.

 

[mightyb]

thank you matt sorry if this doesnt help but thank you for this site

 

[Rob Nothing]

you are just getting into your prime and as you say you have a good 20-30 years of what is likely to be your best work.

I would only keep in mind that travel is hard on your body and you age a lot quicker, especially in those periods there is little-no money and you are living off almost nothing. now is the perfect time to be planning for that - setting yourself up so that you won't have to worry about that shit so much later on and be able to focus on your core ideas and knocking them down at your own pace.

your parents have the best advice. settling down to establish roots and build money... but we can't and we won't. not as long as there are worlds out there left unexplored / documented, right?
but you didn't come to us with this for advice so much as to give these things voice and more tangibility.

and fwiw man I can relate to the dear in the headlights thing. frozen in place by all the directions I would go at once if at once they could all be gone to. too many ideas burning through my head and all just steps away. they say the trick to success is to go one way and stick with it, but that is success and success is relative.

 

[RovingGale]

Dude, I may be new around here and primarily a lurker, but I just wanted to tell you that this site has been an amazing lifeline at times for me, in just the short time I've been hanging out here. I totally get you on the not being able to sit still and concentrate on things when you're in one place for too long - while I've not been legitly traveling for too long, I also haven't lived a full year in a single place since before I finished high school, it just doesn't work for me.

That said, while it looks like you picked out what your plan is and I hope it works out well, lemme throw a thing that I've been using and have found to be super effective for myself in my semi-nomadic lifestyle. I have a bank account that I've set up so it's easy for me to transfer money into but a stone bitch to get money out of. I use it for mostly taxes, since I work as an independent contractor and it means I always have enough to pay when tax time rolls around, but it also means that I've been slowly building savings to use when I need a change of pace. Because I can't see it easily or access it easily, I don't remember it's there unless something major comes up and I'm not tempted to use it on things that I could work out a better way to get or could really do without. I'm about to clean out the portion not dedicated to paying the man and keeping me out of jail for tax fraud to get a vehicle that I can live in, and if I'd not had this account sitting here for the last several years I'd not be able to do it. So maybe that's a thing that might work for you - do your thing and, whenever you think about it, dump a few bucks into the account. Then when you hit this place of wanting a change of pace and feeling kinda stuck again in a few years you'll be able to buy a van and go rubbertramping instead of having to look forward to several months stuck in one place in order to be able to do what you want.

Finally, I can't freaking wait to see the StP book! I hope you manage to rock it and can get it published and out there. *grins*

 

[Anagor]

Other random ideas: I'd really like to travel around the UK/Europe and interview squatters and take pictures of their squats. I think this is something I would have to save for next year though. Lastly, i still dream of building a raft and boating down the mississippi, but again that would have to be next year (due to timing with the weather).

Being from Europe I think that's a great idea!

Otherwise I would suggest option 4.

God, I feel like a half-dead crone when I read about all you "yungins'" complaining about how old you're getting and the things you want to do, when all of you are vets at doing what I'm just now, contemplating starting!

LOL. Yeah, I'm 41 and did my first backpacking trip last year. Before I was never away from home for more than one night, besides a few one-week excursions at school long time ago.

...the rat race is for chumps. I know, I speak from experience. I worked in corporate America for 30 years and what do I have to show for it?

I have similar thoughts, yes.

My thoughts are, do something that you will 100% enjoy and is affordable the quickest. Then when you're on a high from that you can slog your guts for 6 months working and get the cash together to travel to australia/europe/UK or wherever. Then have a sit down and a reassess...Don't buy a van if you're going to leave the country as it'll just sit rotting or you'll have to sell it.

Second that.

I don't get your age panic, we're fairly similar ages and I just don't get the worry. We could die tomorrow or we could live for another 40 years. Wouldn't you rather chug along doing whatever the hell you wanted now and settle down if/when the time is right, not because you or others think it's what you should be doing. I know people in their 60's doing the stuff on your list of things you want to do.

Yep.

Firstly dude, what your doing with STP is a pretty big deal. I'd say bigger than any 9-5 job, especially as the site grows into a truly international space.

Couldn't agree more ...

 

[Durp]

I think the biggest problem is you picked your target audience to be us, a bunch of dead beat broke fucks that don't respond well to advertising. Build some other site about some bullshit targeting yuppies that you can make advertising revenue off of?

 

[Nelco]

I feel this on so many levels. I'm thinking a short bus too.
I don't want to do college or goals of that likeness and I don't want to get old in a ditch later and I've actually been looking into Austin also. We just all need our own country that a barge does drops of junk too ever so often.

 

[Nelco]

Let me know if the slabs are decent or if Austin is better, if ya don't mind. I'm relocating next year. I thought the slabs would be good due to apocalyptic weather and the fact that it's the last free place I know ohere...trying to pick a good place for a little one.

 

[Matt Derrick]

Let me know if the slabs are decent or if Austin is better, if ya don't mind. I'm relocating next year. I thought the slabs would be good due to apocalyptic weather and the fact that it's the last free place I know ohere...trying to pick a good place for a little one.

when you have a kid, austin is clearly a better choice. as much as i like the slabs, i wouldn't want my kid growing up there.

 

[Nelco]

K...scratch the slabs off.
On the list is so-cal, Portland and Austin...the west coast is taking a beating from mother nature so I've been back and forth. See you in Austin some time next year if that's where we go later.

 

[CelticWanderer]

it seems like alot of people are stuggling with this right now. My two cents, even when we're bummin it we're still apart of the system, we're just on the lowest end of the foodchain. The only reason someone could give you money is becuase they worked for it. So, find something you enjoy working at and makde money doing it. Work for a while take a while off, rinse and repeat and try to be okay dying at 50.Thats what im doing any way. I think i've posted this on a bunch of threads but its like being in a bow and arrow and ur the arrow. you get drawn back working and ur tense as fuck but once you have what you need you get shot into the wild blue till you gotta get picked up and put into the bow again. I dunno, im drunk. Hope your feelin beter.

 

[Nelco]

I wouldn't mind hearing Dax Riggs more since he moved to Austin. Good luck Matt.

 

[Mankini]

Heres what I did. I was working construction at Temps while living in the woodz, after deciding that paying exorbitant amounts for rent and bills was foolhardy and futile. But then I discovered online college courses: sign up, sign up for student loans, and youre set! I immediately went to Belgium, then all over Western Europe. All you gotta do with online courses is stay fairly close to wifi so you can submit assignments once or twice a week.

Okay the bus thing is another great idea. Why? No rent; move when you want to; go where you want to when you want to. Women? Women love FREE men-that is why owning a motorcycle, having long hair, and playing guitar/singing are the 3 most important things sometimes. Yes, many want Ward Cleaver/suburbs/middle class existence/minivans. But many are free themselves and want a fellow free person.

And last but not least, sometimes building something of substance draws others. Don't think small: think grandiose! Fill the bus with likeminded people. Move here; move there. In the beginning tribes and chiefs moved around and cultures were founded. Cultures.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merry_Pranksters


Romanticism was for pirates. adventurers. Marco Polo. Arctic explorers. Astronauts.

It is not for humdrum strip mall America.