Rock Bottom Low Self-Esteem

There's a reason why aerobics classes are only an hour long, you can only take the ra-ra syrup for so long. You need to balance it out with a hard-core free weights session and then mix it/follow it up with a yoga class.
I only used this analogy because BALANCE are the types of people that draw me and what I strive to achieve for myself. It's life-long, ever evolving and I'd be a clown to think just one way is THE WAY. Otherwise you could never adapt once you stepped out from your cocooned environment. (for those who depend on it for their esteem)

 

I guess us hardened east coasters need more sun lol
I agree though, the world isn't one way so it's ridiculous for your thinking to be as such.

 

When I lived in New Jersey, I felt better because the atmosphere there was more realistic than it is in a warmer climate. In Jersey, we took everything in stride and enjoyed what we had. I mean, to most kids in their teens a new car, regardless of make or model was a status item. I remember seeing a Chevy Camaro I-Roc Z for the first time when it came out. I was wondering what all the fuss was about when it came to this car. I asked the driver if he would pop the hood. He did so and we looked at what made the I-Roc Z so unique; it was the engine. It was very well made and it sounded stable and strong when revved up. That's all it was; the engine. To the owner, it was his version of the Mach 5 and he was in control(but so was the bank where he got the money to buy it). When I first came to South Florida, I saw both the real and the unreal. A friend of mine from up north told me that I had it made because I was where the girls were. I told him about the girls in South Florida; they were just girls, young and physically developed to look like adults and it was scary. People outside of this state can believe all the MTV hype all they want, but it's not that simple here. The beach and the open Atlantic Ocean are siren calls that help with the tourism. I want to get out so bad I can taste it.

 

LIVE? Or visit?

This is shallow thinking IMO - you can't compare people who are likely on vacation or temporary residents. You have to look to the entrenched locals, which is difficult to do on face-value. This is why Florida got it's own special thread of the whacked out behavior of some of its sun-kissed RESIDENTS.

The Middle East has the most beautiful warm weather in the world.

Greece for example, has 300 perfect days of 70 degreed cloudless days a year, but lately has one of the highest stress and pollution rates. Sure come look at the artifacts and vacation, but one should never ignore that there are people suffering - I would hate to be so one dimensional as a human being.

To quote another truism; 'Wherever you go there you are', so really, an individual's quest to find their esteem is borderless, and what really matters, if we are to get real about this subject.

 

Yeah people are interesting for different reasons. I'm not put off by a lot of people, but I do well alone or with my inner circle. Its more of a leave well enough alone philosophy. The cordial blonde or the moody one? Simple choice.

 

That's waaaaaaaaayyyy too cold! It should only be 70F at night!

Well, you know there's the "bro" crowd, a lot of those guys from West Dade with the steroid-laced biceps trying to be flashy and the well-moneyed tourists, but there are lots of hidey holes or nooks where you can lay low and meet some great people. FIU's Biscayne Blvd. campus rocks, so does Biscayne north of NE 116th. You can find that neighborhood where regular people live and they're not all glamorous. But stay away from the Gables and Brickell, lol.

Good point. Unless she's a moody artist with shades and a beret. LOOOOOVE them! Lol

 

Some of the BEST, reflective, deepest ever conversation experiences I have had has been with interesting peeps (or one person <3) in bars, way into the wee hours of the NIGHT!
Some even had SNOW FALLING OUTSIDE! Man, when you hit that cold air after a few wines :smt001, and you wrap your arms with someone in a bulky coat, feeling sooo good mentally..lol...Fun awesome times!

 

Yeah I actually enjoy seasons lol

 

The original residents were either the rich ones with old money, or the ones who lived on the beach originally only to move away from the beach because they couldn't afford it or were deceived into moving out due to a gentrification project. A lot of black residents who lived on the beach in the old days were duped into moving inland because the real estate developers wanted to attract whites to the beaches and they kept the blacks out. There was only one beach in Miami-Dade county that belonged to the black community. It had been refurbished and reopened in 2007. I'm quite familiar with that truism, you mentioned. You can go wherever you want. But, realistically, does one have the necessary ways and means to get there? Self-esteem is fine for self-motivation. Does that equip one for the next step in their journey?

 

lol oh you Floridians! (it's actually officially a minimum weather degree number, it gets HOT as heck in the summer there).

My BFF and co. is moving to FL in the next 2 yrs. She just bought a house there. She is wanting me and co. to come move there with her (Port Charlotte??) IDK wut to do....

 

An hour north of my son. I'll be moving to Ft. Myers (just south of there) next year to prep for exams.

Trust me, I know about Old Man Winter: born in St. Louis, raised there, Chicago and Ft. Wayne, IN. That's why I split as soon as I could, lol.

 

lol enjoyed my days living across lake Erie. Its nice to be able to relate to this. Enjoyed grilling out in the cold, the excitement of the new summers ect, when that chapter was closed the memories remained fond, but those days won't be missed.

 

70 degrees in New Jersey was the right temperature to sleep with your windows open. I used to pass FIU's Biscayne Blvd Campus on the bus. Here in Homestead, I am just learning my way around down here. I visited Miami-Dade College's Kendall campus. it's about a stone's throw away from the 286 and the turnpike. Lots of nice looking young women there(a lot of them were Latinas and whites). I spent a lot of time in the campus library. I wasn't a student there(I was one on the North campus). I felt a bit lonely there.

 

I hear that often from the special person in my life - he loves the season changes.
I do too, but lately the extreme cold and heat is taking its toll on me.

Wow, didn't know that - you know your cold!
I hit Chicago one October, for 6 weeks, after living on the Mediterranean for 3 summer months, and maaann, the Hulk almost killed me. I had no layered coat - had to wear the coat of the guy who I was staying with. He would laugh at my screams of the cold and my shivering. He would tell me, "you're dead in the middle of the USA!!! Welcome to America!"

I knew either you, Beasty or Gor would know of Port Charlotte. Have to do my research on it, lol.

 

Yeah, I'm not too familiar with the scene down there. Only went down once to pick up a used truck that my buddy bought. I have a good friend who took some classes at MDC-Kendall. I'm more familiar with Miami northward. Is there as much of a cafe culture down there as in Miami, or is more of a bedroom community?

 

It is a little hard to say. The Kendall campus is as or bigger than the North Campus(the North Campus has a longer bus area than Kendall's) and more parking than the North campus. It is more of a café culture. But not all that laid back. It does have a pond in it like the North campus, but you cannot see turtles or Koi fish in the water.

 

I have heard the name. But never been there.

 

Been living in one season for the years so it's shitty going to a cold place. I'd die in Chicago.

 

How lovely. What State?
Yeah, for me personally, as my age creeps up, my tolerance for the cold lowers. The summers seem to get shorter, too but they are truly APPRECIATED on the East and Mid-East. We don't take sunshine for granted here.

Something about the Midwest calls me, though. I have more native American exploring desires than sun-worhsipping ones. I want to see the Grand Canyon, chill on a ranch, river watch...basically explore the country side of this vast country. I have seen enough beaches all over this world, but that's just me.

 

Port Charlotte is across Alligator Alley and north of Ft. Myers and Cape Coral. Small city in a mid-sized metropolitan area.

I can certainly understand that. I like the Everglades and all the green lush areas as much as, if not more than, the beach.