The bike ride was just for fun and exercise. I was planning to cycle 28km north and take the train back, but the southbound train was cancelled, so I ended up cycling all the way.
As for talking to strangers, I just talk to people. It’s what I do.
To give an example, a couple was making their way though a crowded train. I asked if they were getting off at the station too, which turned into us walking to the same platform and finding we’d missed the connecting train. We ended up walking around town for an hour and they explained some of the local history to me, along with talking about the weather and the world. The guy’s brother lives two blocks away from me - Small world!
Then there was a guy on the train and I asked if I could sit across from him. We ended up talking for the rest of the train ride. The lady sitting across from us overheard us talking about computers and managed to ask us a couple of questions about making a website. We all ended up exchanging numbers and offered that she could call us any time if she had any more questions.
Then I also did the classics, approach a guy sitting alone at the counter of a bar, and another sitting alone at the counter of a café.
You just ignite a spark and find that some people are happy to respond and keep the conversation going. Other times they signal that they don’t wanna talk at all, so I just let them be. :)
Coffee has no effect on me after I’ve severely overconsumed it. I still drink it amply out of habit. The hisses and drips of the machine remind me of better times. Thanks for the encouragement!
computers, geography, language learning, cycling come to mind. tbh i find that question really hard to answer when asked directly, maybe because i kind of don’t enjoy my life in general.
WOW thank you! It’s super rare for anyone, let alone a stranger on the internet to care and ask. I appreciate you. You have some personality traits you come across very seldom and I hope you preserve them. I’ll just put it in spoiler tags because it’s long.
spoilerSo, earlier today I drew up a diagram with my age on the x-axis and happiness on the y-axis. There were three times in my life when my happiness was in the positive. The first was when I met someone at school and they seemed to like me and we became mutual best friends. Unfortunately, they cut off all contact for reasons they still don’t want to talk about, so that ended fairly quickly. The second time was when I met an online friend irl, we became best friends instantly and started dating, but because of living on two different continents we couldn’t keep it up, so that was the end of that. I have an unfulfilled desire for reciprocated best friendship or love. Humans are social animals and I think it makes sense to feel miserable when a basic need that you have is unfulfilled. I’m not suggesting that everyone feels a need for romance or a best friend, but I certainly do. I have zero friends I can turn to in this town. My next closest friend lives 160km away while the second closest is already separated by the English channel. Oh, the third time in my life I felt happy? Well I was bullied throughout my entire childhood and adolescence for my weight. When I turned 18 and left that toxic environment, I was able to reach a weight that’s considered healthy for the first time in my life. I thought this would be the end of feeling miserable and that my life would start now. That optimism lasted for about a year. Then I realized that nothing has changed and nothing I have ever done has amounted to anything worthwhile. ___
Europeans — especially Germans — are increasingly keen on curbing immigration and are less focused on climate change, according to a study by a Danish-based think tank....
I didn’t mean to criticize anything, only to illustrate the difference c:
Btw Europeans also use minutes for most of the situations you mentioned. The difference is only really obvious for fixed distances like “I live X minutes from my family” vs “I live X km from my family”
Hunter Biden used crack 'every 20 minutes or so', court hears (www.google.com)
It's Tuesday, what made you happy last week
How are you lemmy peeps?
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space rule (lemmy.blahaj.zone)
196 crayons rule (sh.itjust.works)
Is there a file browser with fzf like capabilities
I feel like I’d use my file browser if it was easier to get around. ctrp-p like zoxide/fzf would be game changing....
Rammenstein rule
One in five children on the planet is now overweight or obese. (english.elpais.com)
potato (lemmy.world)
pee(1) rule (lemmy.world)
18+ Ruletai
'Give us $600 and also we hate you': WestJet's new UltraBasic fare gets roasted online (www.cbc.ca)
If there’s anything people can agree on these days, it’s that flying sucks....
Truth rule (lemmy.world)
TERF Jenny Watson is Called a Trans Woman by her own Dating App Meant to Ban Trans Women (slrpnk.net)
https://slrpnk.net/pictrs/image/2d123cbf-9a41-4306-9a50-14fdcec17db4.webp...
Talking about your hobbies (lemmy.world)
The following text is overlaid over an image of Patrick Star fast asleep on Squidward’s couch....
step 4: wait for it to get better (lemmy.world)
Ship of Theseus Rule (lemmy.world)
The game was rule from the start (lemmy.blahaj.zone)
Crumb rule (lemmy.world)
Mental health rule (discuss.tchncs.de)
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Germans fear migration more than climate change, study finds (www.dw.com)
Europeans — especially Germans — are increasingly keen on curbing immigration and are less focused on climate change, according to a study by a Danish-based think tank....
this picture is 27kb (lemmy.world)
Imagine Jerma (rule)ing over humanity. (pawb.social)