I could easily get theological and/or philosophical responding to the OP, but more concisely I would just say the key to happiness in life is contentment regardless of one's situation. Contentment not in the sense of not having aspirations or drive in life, but for having a propensity to seeing the good, appreciating what you have, cherishing your close relationships, having a thankful and positive attitude, and knowing who you are and where your value is derived.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:Honestly, nothing really bothering me lately.
I’m doing fine financially. Got a great apartment and a quality babe. Unsettled and inconvenienced by some current world events but have managed to adapt and ride with it.
Basically, I’m fairly healthy, happy, and enjoying life and my hobby without having any night terrors.
Anybody else?
Pretty much the same here. Financially sound. Lots of pinball machines. Nice house and a quality man. Annoyed by world events too, but mostly I try to ignore them. I am pretty healthy, could lose some weight but thats for the new year. No night terrors unless I skip a day of drinking. About it.
Quoted from skink91:Best pinball cat name ever: Novus 4.
Best cat name I saw recently was a rescue with one eye. Someone suggested the name Nick Furry. I thought it was brilliant.
2020 was quite the manic year. it simultaneously threatened to destroy everything i worked my whole life to create, for no fault of my own, while also turning my best friend into my wife and mother to our beautiful now 20month old daughter. 2021 came around, my business survived, and i still have the family. and we're the happiest we've ever been. i'm the luckiest man in the world. all is very good.
Quoted from Mudflaps:I've been to prison once. I've been married twice. I've had my eye socket punched in, a kidney taken out, and I have a bone chip in my ankle that's never gonna heal.
I was going to refrain from posting in this thread (because I didn't want to be the only "downer"), until I saw the above post.
It seems the American way is to always compare ourselves to those who have done better than us and have attained more than we have. But while growing up, when we wanted something we couldn't afford, to put things in perspective my Mom would always say "I cried because I had no shoes 'til I met a man who had no feet." (First time I've thought of that in years.)
I retired in 2021 and turned 72 a couple months later. (I envy those able to retire early, since I couldn't afford to do so.) I have severe glaucoma and am now taking four eye medications daily, hoping not to go blind. My wife of more than forty years has recently been diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. A brain MRI and PET body scan (both taken this week) will show if the cancer has already spread and determine if treatment will be chemo and localized radiation (to try to stop the cancer if it has not spread) or just much harsher chemo (to try to extend her life expectancy if it has spread). I've been having a hard time falling asleep worrying about losing my sight and worrying about my wife's cancer situation.
But yesterday my wife (who is ten years younger than I am) turned to me and talked about how we have had a pretty good life, since we were never both unemployed at the same time, we long ago paid off our mortgage and have no debts, and we made it through any previous health issues okay, including the breast cancer (unrelated to her current small cell cancer) which she had lumpectomy surgery to remove last year. I just hope she has a lot more life to live.
Quoted from littlecammi:I was going to refrain from posting in this thread (because I didn't want to be the only "downer"), until I saw the above post.
It seems the American way is to always compare ourselves to those who have done better than us and have attained more than we have. But while growing up, when we wanted something we couldn't afford, to put things in perspective my Mom would always say "I cried because I had no shoes 'til I met a man who had no feet." (First time I've thought of that in years.)
I retired in 2021 and turned 72 a couple months later. (I envy those able to retire early, since I couldn't afford to do so.) I have severe glaucoma and am now taking four eye medications daily, hoping not to go blind. My wife of more than forty years has recently been diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. A brain MRI and PET body scan (both taken this week) will show if the cancer has already spread and determine if treatment will be chemo and localized radiation (to try to stop the cancer if it has not spread) or just much harsher chemo (to try to extend her life expectancy if it has spread). I've been having a hard time falling asleep worrying about losing my sight and worrying about my wife's cancer situation.
But yesterday my wife (who is ten years younger than I am) turned to me and talked about how we have had a pretty good life, since we were never both unemployed at the same time, we long ago paid off our mortgage and have no debts, and we made it through any previous health issues okay, including the breast cancer (unrelated to her current small cell cancer) she had lumpectomy surgery to remove last year. I just hope she has a lot more life to live.
My post was the opening quote from the movie ‘Bad Santa.’
On topic, I’m a pretty happy guy. No complaints. Thank you for sharing your story, though. I’m hopeful you get to spend more years with your wife!
Quoted from CrazyLevi:Honestly, nothing really bothering me lately.
I’m doing fine financially. Got a great apartment and a quality babe. Unsettled and inconvenienced by some current world events but have managed to adapt and ride with it.
Basically, I’m fairly healthy, happy, and enjoying life and my hobby without having any night terrors.
Anybody else?
Then why are you constantly bitching?? 
Quoted from Mr_Tantrum:I could easily get theological and/or philosophical responding to the OP, but more concisely I would just say the key to happiness in life is contentment regardless of one's situation. Contentment not in the sense of not having aspirations or drive in life, but for having a propensity to seeing the good, appreciating what you have, cherishing your close relationships, having a thankful and positive attitude, and knowing who you are and where your value is derived.
About ten years ago a wonderful neighbor got non-smoker lung cancer and died within a year. He had a toddler child just a few months older than our son. It made us stop and reassess our perspective on everything. We began a nightly bedtime ritual of saying what we are grateful for that day and in general. We all always say that we are grateful for our health and each other.
Still breathing and hoping my job search/life situations starts getting better in ‘22.
But again, still breathing.
Love these positivity posts.
Thanks Levi.
Quoted from TheLaw:You've inspired me sir; HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Drank all my Seagrums it seems, this'll due.
[quoted image]
A bottle of Tin Cup and some classic Stern hardware...seems like a party!!
My landlord just told us that she is putting the house we’ve lived in for years on the market this month. No warning, just thanked us for being great tenants and said she would be a reference if we needed one, and that’s that.. she can give us 30 days notice to move out as soon as the house is under contract. We begged her to wait till spring to sell, but she just said she’d suggest delaying the closing date to the buyers..
I didn’t realize how horrible the rental market has gotten while we’ve been living in the house. It’s absolutely heartbreaking trying to find a decent place in our price range. It doesn’t help that it’s the middle of the New England winter when no one in their right mind would chose to move out of their place. The amount of money that used to get us a multi br house rental only affords a shitty one br in a multi unit now. So we are rushing trying to buy something, but really have no chance competing with the crazy cash offers coming in. I just feel completely defeated watching every place we’ve gone to make an offer on, go under contract well above asking price within a week from hitting the market.
With all the uncertainty I’m begrudgingly starting to sell off my game collection that I’ve been building for years. ( no, I won’t sell you my skill roll!)
It’s been a real struggle mentally these past couple weeks. But yesterday I drove to the coast to deliver a pin that I sold. The guy bought it as a surprise Christmas present for his sons. It was amazing the amount of joy in their faces when they saw it, and it actually made me feel good about selling a game I spent so much time working on. The icing on the cake.. I stayed on the coast after delivering/setting up the game to hang out with some buddies and play in a pinball tournament. I ended up coming in second place!
I know it’s all going to work out well enough in the end. I don’t need my games to be happy or even a nice place to live. I have a girlfriend and little cat that I love and who love me back, and friends and family that have said we can crash at their places until we figure something out. In the end, I guess as shitty as everything feels right now, I’m actually pretty damn fortunate. There are so many people that are in the same housing situation, but without the support system to keep things from getting truly grim. We’ll eventually land on our feet and be happy until the next pile of bullshit lands on our heads. Sometimes it just takes a little reminder to take a step back and look at the big picture.
Sorry for the long rant. I needed to vent I guess, and this seemed like a good place to do it.
Here’s the aforementioned cat, girl and skill roll looking festive.
5579C146-9A18-4150-8248-7C06311D133B (resized).jpegQuoted from TheLaw:You've inspired me sir; HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Drank all my Seagrums it seems, this'll due.
Thanks you kindly!
It's always a plus to have back-up..
Quoted from CrazyLevi:Honestly, nothing really bothering me lately.
Got a great apartment
Ok. So this confuses us west coasters. Living in an apartment sucks on the west coast because apartments are for rent only and are short term solutions. There is no such thing as a great apartment unless you are under 30 years old. The optimal living situation is to own a home which is expensive. If you can’t afford that then maybe a townhome (rowhome or connected home). Bottom of the barrel is a condo. So do you east coast guys just have a different view of things or is the vernacular different?
Quoted from vicjw66:So do you east coast guys just have a different view of things or is the vernacular different?
Nah, we just think you're an asshole. Merry Christmas! 
A studio apartment in NYC could cost more than a 5 bedroom house in western PA, it’s all perspective.
Quoted from vicjw66:Ok. So this confuses us west coasters. Living in an apartment sucks on the west coast because apartments are for rent only and are short term solutions. There is no such thing as a great apartment unless you are under 30 years old. The optimal living situation is to own a home which is expensive. If you can’t afford that then maybe a townhome (rowhome or connected home). Bottom of the barrel is a condo. So do you east coast guys just have a different view of things or is the vernacular different?
Manhattan’s population is 1.63 million people, all living in an area of just 23 square miles. It is an island. Nowhere to build but up. Location, location, location.
Taking a Christmas shit right now, and all my innards and outtards are functioning, so I have much to be thankful for.
Wife and I met and bonded over video games in the 90s. These past few years, we both fell head over heels in love with pinball. Bought our first machine as a 20th anniversary gift to ourselves, and 5 months later, we now have 6 machines.
This year was a great year. I work in music and hit #1 on the billboard hard rock producer’s charts, so as busy as I’ve been, things are really picking up.
The only things I have to complain about are the dramas I create in my head. As someone wise once told me, life is 10% what happens to you, 90% your reaction to it. I intend to manage that 90% better in the coming year.
It’s time to wipe, so Merry Christmas and anything else you celebrate!
Quoted from KingVidiot:Taking a Christmas shit right now, and all my innards and outtards are functioning, so I have much to be thankful for.
+1
It’s like the IT department at a company. You don’t really think about it when it’s working right but when something goes wrong they’re very important.
Merry Christmas!
Quoted from vicjw66:Ok. So this confuses us west coasters. Living in an apartment sucks on the west coast because apartments are for rent only and are short term solutions. There is no such thing as a great apartment unless you are under 30 years old. The optimal living situation is to own a home which is expensive. If you can’t afford that then maybe a townhome (rowhome or connected home). Bottom of the barrel is a condo. So do you east coast guys just have a different view of things or is the vernacular different?
Did you think about this before you posted ?
I have a lot to be grateful for in my life so in the grand scheme of things I am doing very well.Merry Christmas Pinsiders
Quoted from Jamesays:Did you think about this before you posted ?
Not really. It wasn’t meant as a put down. I just never hear the term condominium used by New Yorkers.
Quoted from vicjw66:Not really. It wasn’t meant as a put down. I just never hear the term condominium used by New Yorkers.
You need to associate with a richer social circle of New Yorkers…generally you don’t rent a condo, you buy one.
For renters, it’s apartments, and generally, they break down into old buildings (tenements) that are 6 stories or less, or newer elevator buildings.
I’ve always lived in tenements, in a studio or one bedroom, which shared a floor with 3 other apartments, these are pretty small, about 300-500 square feet.
During the early days of the pandemic, when everybody fled the city, my babe and I sensed an opportunity, and we found one. For the first time in ever, asking prices went down, way down. Long story short, we found a 1000
+ square foot through (front to back) in 100 year old tenement, on the second floor (only one flight of stairs), great location, and an entire half of the floor (only 2 apartments a floor instead of 4) at a monthly price well below what it would have been pre pandemic, so I broke the least on the old place (landlord was understanding, and happy to get rid of me as I had a fairly low rent stabilized place) and we grabbed it. Awesome place, high ceilings, huge windows, thick plaster walls, nobody downstairs (it’s a frame shop) so pinball and giant floor speakers friendly, tons of old school charm…it’s a relative palace!
Now a year plus later all the candy asses who fled to their parents’ during the pandemic are back, and rents are way back up. We couldn’t touch a place like this now unless we added about $1500 a month to what we are paying. And it’s stabilized so it’ll never go up dramatically.
Apartments in nyc…it’s kind of like traffic in LA. It’s a sport and it dominates the consciousness and conversion.
If you want a proper “house” around here you either have to look way out in Brooklyn or queens, or be a multi millionaire.
But our good fortune and initiative has given us delusions of grandeur. Now we are even thinking of getting a car!
Quoted from Spelunk71:Manhattan’s population is 1.63 million people, all living in an area of just 23 square miles. It is an island. Nowhere to build but up. Location, location, location.
Yeah, I didn’t get my point across properly. For instance, on the west coast, when discussing your living situation, people are very specific. But if you ask a New Yorker, they will mention their “apartment” and it doesn’t seem to matter whether it is a rental, or condo, coop, brownstone, etc. Apartment is a very specific term in most every place in the country, except in NYC, where they use it as a vague term.
Quoted from vicjw66:Yeah, I didn’t get my point across properly. For instance, on the west coast, when discussing your living situation, people are very specific. But if you ask a New Yorker, they will mention their “apartment” and it doesn’t seem to matter whether it is a rental, or condo, coop, brownstone, etc. Apartment is a very specific term in most every place in the country, except in NYC, where they use it as a vague term.
I understood your point.
In LA, an “apartment” is like the tiny shithole over the Rainbow that Lemmy lived in.
In New York, it could be that too. But it could also be so much more!
Quoted from vicjw66:Ok. So this confuses us west coasters. Living in an apartment sucks on the west coast because apartments are for rent only and are short term solutions. There is no such thing as a great apartment unless you are under 30 years old. The optimal living situation is to own a home which is expensive. If you can’t afford that then maybe a townhome (rowhome or connected home). Bottom of the barrel is a condo. So do you east coast guys just have a different view of things or is the vernacular different?
Have you ever been to New York City? Aka the greatest city in the world? With few exceptions there are no traditional homes in Manhattan. It’s all about the apt. So yeah, it’s a different culture.
In contrast, I live twenty miles from Manhattan in a house on a half acre in a county that’s 65% wilderness. I have deer, fox and wild turkeys roaming around my property regularly.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:Honestly, nothing really bothering me lately.
I’m doing fine financially. Got a great apartment and a quality babe. Unsettled and inconvenienced by some current world events but have managed to adapt and ride with it.
Basically, I’m fairly healthy, happy, and enjoying life and my hobby without having any night terrors.
Anybody else?
+1
Quoted from TheFamilyArcade:Have you ever been to New York City? Aka the greatest city in the world? With few exceptions there are no traditional homes in Manhattan. It’s all about the apt. So yeah, it’s a different culture.
In contrast, I live twenty miles from Manhattan in a house on a half acre in a county that’s 65% wilderness. I have deer, fox and wild turkeys roaming around my property regularly.
Yes. Been to NYC and upstate. Understand there are very few homes. The state of New York is a lot like the State of California in many ways. You have NYC which is nothing like the rest of New York, just like the Coast is nothing like the rest of California. I like NYC for the most part, but your trash collection system is baffling to me.
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