Life

[Catfish Alley]

They filmed the original 21 Jump Street in Vancouver.

Filmed a lot. Neverending Story was one I recently found out while watching one day. My wife works down in the city and often streets are closed or it looks like a war scene for some movie.

 

[Catfish Alley]

Feel like The X-Files put it on the map, with cinematic style on a TV budget. I remember it was a big deal when Duchovny basically forced them to move production to LA (then left shortly after, anyway).

Yeah, for sure. X-Files, Supernatural, Stargate etc. Lots of sci-fi.

The new Planet of the Apes was filmed around where I live. Think that was Oscar nominated for production.

 

[edgie]

Original StarGate SG1 was that mini movie style production.

I remember Robert Patrick was in the pilot for the spin off Atlantis, specific reason he didn't want to be in the show full time was because he didn't want to move from LA.

Sent from mTalk

 

[PP34]

Is it? Sounds like namby pamby bullshit. Most people's passion isn't cleaning offices, answering phones, or middle management (though a lot of people are good at telling themselves it is). edgie likes movies and wants to be in films and works hard toward it, das him, but he ain't getting anywhere with it and will probably never live off it.

I know myself very well, I know what would make me happy. It isn't going to come.

Yeah I wish my passion towards sport would land me a nice job in sports but it's never going to happen.

People have been telling me that bullshit since my early high school days. Do what you love etc. Had all those speakers come in and tell you how one day their life changed and they realised they loved inspiring others and how I could find something I loved. Still yet to find anything I enjoy that will transfer to an attainable job.

It's really ****ed when you think about it. So many people I've known over my life basically just slaving away at some shitty job so they can afford to pay bills, eat food and grow old somewhat comfortably so they can eventually die. Making plans to do things one day that may never happen because they could drop dead tomorrow. And I love when people tell me that you won't always enjoy what you're doing. Well no s**t, but * me I'm going to grow into a miserable old campaigner if I'm working 5 days a week in some job I don't enjoy with just enough time each night to come home, eat, watch some rubbish and go to sleep. Counting down the days until the weekend, maybe actually enjoying those two days which fly by before doing it all again.

It's basically what I've done throughout my entire schooling. Counting down the days until I got out of high school, only to realise things were pretty ******* good in high school. Didn't have to worry about paying for s**t, didn't have to work, didn't have to worry about finding a career that suits and you saw your mates on a daily basis. Same thing with uni. Spent basically four years counting down the days until the weekend where I could go and get pissed with my mates. Didn't ever really think to enjoy the random week days off. Basically worked for weekends. Didn't bother to think about any proper travelling until now when I'm only going to end up doing a small trip before I end up joining the rat race and probably inevitably putting off ever going on a big trip somewhere.

It's all ****ed.

 

[craigos]

Yeah I wish my passion towards sport would land me a nice job in sports but it's never going to happen.

People have been telling me that bullshit since my early high school days. Do what you love etc. Had all those speakers come in and tell you how one day their life changed and they realised they loved inspiring others and how I could find something I loved. Still yet to find anything I enjoy that will transfer to an attainable job.

It's really ****** when you think about it. So many people I've known over my life basically just slaving away at some shitty job so they can afford to pay bills, eat food and grow old somewhat comfortably so they can eventually die. Making plans to do things one day that may never happen because they could drop dead tomorrow. And I love when people tell me that you won't always enjoy what you're doing. Well no s**t, but **** me I'm going to grow into a miserable old campaigner if I'm working 5 days a week in some job I don't enjoy with just enough time each night to come home, eat, watch some rubbish and go to sleep. Counting down the days until the weekend, maybe actually enjoying those two days which fly by before doing it all again.

It's basically what I've done throughout my entire schooling. Counting down the days until I got out of high school, only to realise things were pretty ******* good in high school. Didn't have to worry about paying for s**t, didn't have to work, didn't have to worry about finding a career that suits and you saw your mates on a daily basis. Same thing with uni. Spent basically four years counting down the days until the weekend where I could go and get pissed with my mates. Didn't ever really think to enjoy the random week days off. Basically worked for weekends. Didn't bother to think about any proper travelling until now when I'm only going to end up doing a small trip before I end up joining the rat race and probably inevitably putting off ever going on a big trip somewhere.

It's all ******.

I have very similar feelings to this, well I did have. Actually I still do to some degree but the fact is that you and only you can change the path in life you take. The thing is advice like this is easy to give and very hard to take. What's stopping you from studying part time in something you find interesting? What's stopping you from volunteering/doing unpaid work experience in a an area you find interesting?

I've been frustrated and down like this myself and still am at times, the fact is you have to get off your arse and be willing to take the knock backs, to put up with rejection and be willing to live life on the poverty line at times if that's what it takes.

The fact is most people are too scared to do that and I 100% understand that. The amount of people I hear that tell me they want to work in elite sports but wont even do anything at a junior or amateur level and expect a professional organisation to take them on straight out of school is mind boggling.

We're humans and humans always look for the shortcut, unfortunately their really isn't one unless you've been luckily enough to be born into it, if you haven't then you have to make your own luck because it sure as sh*t aint going to come knocking at your door whilst your watching Netflix in your undies on a Sunday arvo.

 

[JackOutback]

Very few people do what they love (and even then, turning something you love into a career, can ruin what you love... footballers probably don’t enjoy the game as much as we fans do with all the work and pressure involved). I say aim for ‘do what you don’t mind doing and do what you love at home, on the weekends etc’.

 

[Silent Alarm]

I have very similar feelings to this, well I did have. Actually I still do to some degree but the fact is that you and only you can change the path in life you take. The thing is advice like this is easy to give and very hard to take. What's stopping you from studying part time in something you find interesting? What's stopping you from volunteering/doing unpaid work experience in a an area you find interesting?

I've been frustrated and down like this myself and still am at times, the fact is you have to get off your arse and be willing to take the knock backs, to put up with rejection and be willing to live life on the poverty line at times if that's what it takes.

The fact is most people are too scared to do that and I 100% understand that. The amount of people I hear that tell me they want to work in elite sports but wont even do anything at a junior or amateur level and expect a professional organisation to take them on straight out of school is mind boggling.

We're humans and humans always look for the shortcut, unfortunately their really isn't one unless you've been luckily enough to be born into it, if you haven't then you have to make your own luck because it sure as sh*t aint going to come knocking at your door whilst your watching Netflix in your undies on a Sunday arvo.

How many people have the privilege of time?

Everyone old enough to be out of uni and facing the issue of getting a haaaalf-ish okay job or realising they hate theirs, is locked in. They have rent at the least and a young family at the most. Most internships and work experience will take place during work hours and no one has the flexibility to take even a day off every week. I know people into music, lighting and they can do it after work or on weekends but they're also the same people who struggle to find a traditional job that takes place 6am to 6pm on weekdays.

That's without the fact that even internships rely on intense arsekissing or knowing someone in a position to give one. Not to mention how ripped off the average person is. Yeah sure there's the dangling carrot of being kept on but short of being 20 and living at home and studying and maybe being able to live off Centrelink/15 hours a week work, no one can seriously work so ******* hard for such little pay-off. Internships are a ******* joke favoured by the same companies who fight to rid Sunday loading or don't want public holidays.

So many of the kids I went to uni with who did internships generally had folks in a good industry: olds on Rockwiz, behind the scenes at ABC Radio. These people lived at home in Elsternwick or Northcote, went to uni Monday to Wednesday, went to their internship/volunteer gig at some joint that takes photos of new cafés/make-up brands/radio stations 3-7 Wednesday, 8-4 Thursday, then spent the last three days of the week sitting around home or walking to relevant venues to drink. Dinner on the table every night, no rent, the sort of situations where they worked in high school and had some deposits from their family so sit on 12k and then manage to go to France for a fortnight or India every second uni break.

I don't begrudge those people, they're taking what's there, and every parent would love to fight to give their kids such privilege and ease, but it's that: privilege. At the same time I've come into contact with these people and had to listen to them pontificate about the glass ceiling or how it's hard being half-Malay-half-Sri Lankan but they grew up in a converted weatherboard and the worst earner in the family was a private school headmaster, but alas...

 

[craigos]

How many people have the privilege of time?

Everyone old enough to be out of uni and facing the issue of getting a haaaalf-ish okay job or realising they hate theirs, is locked in. They have rent at the least and a young family at the most. Most internships and work experience will take place during work hours and no one has the flexibility to take even a day off every week. I know people into music, lighting and they can do it after work or on weekends but they're also the same people who struggle to find a traditional job that takes place 6am to 6pm on weekdays.

That's without the fact that even internships rely on intense arsekissing or knowing someone in a position to give one. Not to mention how ripped off the average person is. Yeah sure there's the dangling carrot of being kept on but short of being 20 and living at home and studying and maybe being able to live off Centrelink/15 hours a week work, no one can seriously work so ******* hard for such little pay-off. Internships are a ******* joke favoured by the same companies who fight to rid Sunday loading or don't want public holidays.

So many of the kids I went to uni with who did internships generally had folks in a good industry: olds on Rockwiz, behind the scenes at ABC Radio. These people lived at home in Elsternwick or Northcote, went to uni Monday to Wednesday, went to their internship/volunteer gig at some joint that takes photos of new cafés/make-up brands/radio stations 3-7 Wednesday, 8-4 Thursday, then spent the last three days of the week sitting around home or walking to relevant venues to drink. Dinner on the table every night, no rent, the sort of situations where they worked in high school and had some deposits from their family so sit on 12k and then manage to go to France for a fortnight or India every second uni break.

I don't begrudge those people, they're taking what's there, and every parent would love to fight to give their kids such privilege and ease, but it's that: privilege. At the same time I've come into contact with these people and had to listen to them pontificate about the glass ceiling or how it's hard being half-Malay-half-Sri Lankan but they grew up in a converted weatherboard and the worst earner in the family was a private school headmaster, but alas...

If you start a family when you're not happy with your life and career then I'm not going to feel sorry for you. If you lock yourself into buying a house when you're in a job that you hate then I'm not going to feel sorry for you. If you decide you want to live alone in an apartment in South Yarra and wont entertain the idea of a sharehouse in an average suburb then that's on you.

It's about sacrifice, there's a million reasons people use as to why they can't do something but how many have actually tried? People make a conscious decision to take on debt, it's not being forced upon you.

Agree with the internship side of things though. That being said if that's the career path you want to go down and you want to play that game then it's on those peoples terms. Everyone wants to work at a KPMG, big four bank or the like so it's easy for them to make you jump through hoops.

A friend of mine who now makes a great living as a photographer & videographer for mostly corporates had to begin his career doing weddings so he could get the experience and save money for new equipment. He hated it but that's the sacrifice he had to make. There's several ways to achieve whatever your goal may be but sometimes the path to that achievement is littered with sh*t that some aren't willing to traverse.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

You could rent an entire house somewhere for the cost of renting an apartment in South Yarra.

 

[edgie]

Edgie, you post about struggling financially.

Then you have a kid on the way, thus bringing more financial hardship.

Why?

I was brought up in an unemployed family. We done ok.

Two parents earning a bit less than mean wage and a lot less than average, we'll be fine. Time was of the essence as my partner is 38 and the biological clock stops for nobody.

My financial posts are just based on the fact that there is a lot more than the basic three class system in Australia currently, and we need to acknowledge it. It leads to disadvantage, but certainly not poverty. So many apps required for basic things, apps require technology, that requires money. I can't even get the commonwealth bank app on my phone. I guess the rising prevalence of reliance of technology is a big factor to me in dissatisfaction with modern life, and other one being rampant increasing urbanisation in Australia.

I'm not poor, I just have to manage and make sacrifices, probably more than most. I spend money on restoring my old car. I buy the occasional new video game (and a few cheapo bins too), I paid for a movie I don't like JackOutback. I want a new camera to indulge my hobby film making, but that just isn't gonna happen in a hurry. I'm ok with that and never would begrudge anybody for having more than me, but let's not kid ourselves that because we fall in the same tax bracket that one doesn't have it easier than the other.

Lastly, it is draw attention to the fact that in the current age of mental health awareness, we tiptoe around the triggers of financial stress waaaaaaaaaaay too much, which draws me back to the myth about friends and family and people being more important. If that was the case, it wouldn't be an expectation of society that kids leave their country homes and move to the city to study and find career. It's absolute bullshit. The path is to make money, not to be happy with good people. The path is to pay bills and have big mortgage and a place of your own.

I see my mum nearly everyday and I'm so grateful for it. My brother lives just around the corner. We live on the same block as my partners family. Most of my childhood and school mates are ten minutes away. It's great. Not joking, it's really good, makes me smile just thinking about it as I type this, but... it doesn't pay the bills.

 

[getthefooty]

How many people have the privilege of time?

Everyone old enough to be out of uni and facing the issue of getting a haaaalf-ish okay job or realising they hate theirs, is locked in. They have rent at the least and a young family at the most. Most internships and work experience will take place during work hours and no one has the flexibility to take even a day off every week. I know people into music, lighting and they can do it after work or on weekends but they're also the same people who struggle to find a traditional job that takes place 6am to 6pm on weekdays.

That's without the fact that even internships rely on intense arsekissing or knowing someone in a position to give one. Not to mention how ripped off the average person is. Yeah sure there's the dangling carrot of being kept on but short of being 20 and living at home and studying and maybe being able to live off Centrelink/15 hours a week work, no one can seriously work so ******* hard for such little pay-off. Internships are a ******* joke favoured by the same companies who fight to rid Sunday loading or don't want public holidays.

So many of the kids I went to uni with who did internships generally had folks in a good industry: olds on Rockwiz, behind the scenes at ABC Radio. These people lived at home in Elsternwick or Northcote, went to uni Monday to Wednesday, went to their internship/volunteer gig at some joint that takes photos of new cafés/make-up brands/radio stations 3-7 Wednesday, 8-4 Thursday, then spent the last three days of the week sitting around home or walking to relevant venues to drink. Dinner on the table every night, no rent, the sort of situations where they worked in high school and had some deposits from their family so sit on 12k and then manage to go to France for a fortnight or India every second uni break.

I don't begrudge those people, they're taking what's there, and every parent would love to fight to give their kids such privilege and ease, but it's that: privilege. At the same time I've come into contact with these people and had to listen to them pontificate about the glass ceiling or how it's hard being half-Malay-half-Sri Lankan but they grew up in a converted weatherboard and the worst earner in the family was a private school headmaster, but alas...

Yeah, life's tough, probably tougher than it's ever been for 20 somethings. Property market, oversupply of grads, stupid internships, blablabla.

Life's what you make it though. If you have the drive and willingness to sacrifice, you can make it despite whatever disadvantage that has been thrown your way.

I'm not saying that it's not easier for certain people - it definitely is. It's ******* unfair. But the system is going to suddenly change. You may as well accept it for what it is and plan how you're going to make it despite everything being ****ed.

Every word you utter or type that is directed towards complaining is one you could be directing towards something positive.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Some good posts in the Centrelink thread:

In modern Australia though, a person gets the pleasure of suffering through full time employment, without reward, being made to pay rent / mortgage at whatever rate some festering scab seems necessary, paying petrol at record prices because a weasel wants munny, paying power prices that can arbitrarily increase due to foul scheming of sycophantic fiends, paying exorbitant telecommunication prices in the only country in the civilised world where it is possible for technology to get worse and more expensive over time.

It’s actually easier and more humane to be a dole bludger.

And most jobs are either poorly paid, s**t, casual or have a bastard boss attached. Or a combo of all 4.

So all you can do is figure a way to make more money to become insanely rich or adjust your life accordingly and readjust what you want/need.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

I don't think money is the be all and end all of happiness, but I was certainly miserable when we were dirt poor when I was a teenager. There's something about the family having to buy groceries for 5 people and only having about $40 to do it that really gets you down.

There's truth in that. Money doesn't buy happiness, but a proper lack of money definitely feeds misery. Its no fun having to choose between paying the rent and being to eat each day. Thankfully that's a long way in past, but its no way to survive.

 

[craigos]

Mo money Mo problems

 

[Run n Spread]

Thing with skills is if you want a change/start your own business you need to be very proficient with IT/Apps/Programming even basic web development/e commerce or all of them or have the capital to have these developed. Even for a small idea.

It is the technology of our time like reading, writing arithmetic. Don't have these and you may as well be illiterate.

 

[Catfish Alley]

Not really. You still get your simple coffee shop, bakery, dry-cleaner etc being successful. Same business rules apply. Location, service and convenience. It’s more the start-up cost that limits people.

 

[tangolikelama]

It's terrifying how quickly time is passing by. Every now and then I'll tell myself to make the most of each day, then suddenly another month has past. I really feel like i've missed out on my early twenties and it was all out of my control. What edgie said before about Beams hit me hard.

 

[edgie]

Thing with skills is if you want a change/start your own business you need to be very proficient with IT/Apps/Programming even basic web development/e commerce or all of them or have the capital to have these developed. Even for a small idea.

It is the technology of our time like reading, writing arithmetic. Don't have these and you may as well be illiterate.

Which requires moolah. I was pretty tech savy but around 17 the IT scene exploded, internet exploded, smart phones became a thing and it all crossed over in to mainstream. Things began to move at a pace financially I couldn't keep up with and eventually I was left behind. Old machines make for bad practise. You gotta keep up in that game. Gotta have hardware.

Trades can use the same tools for a decade. Find me an IT worker still using windows 7 or a push button phone.


Sent from mTalk

 

[Scotland]

Not really. You still get your simple coffee shop, bakery, dry-cleaner etc being successful. Same business rules apply. Location, service and convenience. It’s more the start-up cost that limits people.

The internet has made things a lot easier than 10 or 20 years go. Back in the day if you wanted to sell a product you needed a physical premises to sell it. Or you needed to do a deal with a wholesaler/retailer to get your product out there. Now you can set up an online store and cut out a heap of traditional overheads. Does anyone except big business pay for advertising these days? You can set up a Facebook/Instagram page for your business with photos, location, opening hours, contact details etc. very easily. Apps like Airtasker make it easy for people with skills to connect with people wanting s**t done.

The problem with business likes cafes, restaurants, bars etc. is the physical premises. One person can make and sell dozens of coffees an hour for $4-5 each and there's $100-200 in revenue for minimal consumables. If you make 3 dozen coffees then you need maybe half a kilo of beans and 5-10L of milk. The operating margin is still there.

The outlay is getting the machine that costs thousands and then having somewhere to put it which costs even more. I reckon it's why food trucks have started to take off over here. You can buy a Ford Transit van or an old caravan or something and kit it out for anywhere from thousands to tens of thousands, or you can buy an existing cafe for hundreds of thousands and then pay tens of thousands in leasing fees every single year.

 

[Run n Spread]

Which requires moolah. I was pretty tech savy but around 17 the IT scene exploded, internet exploded, smart phones became a thing and it all crossed over in to mainstream. Things began to move at a pace financially I couldn't keep up with and eventually I was left behind. Old machines make for bad practise. You gotta keep up in that game. Gotta have hardware.

Trades can use the same tools for a decade. Find me an IT worker still using windows 7 or a push button phone.


Sent from mTalk

True. You can get something for free off the shelf but even that can be hard. Also you are literally competing with 12yos who could do a better job.

Different times require different skills. From being a good warrior to farmer to whatever they did in the 60s to today you need to be up to date with tech and know what you're doing.

 

[Run n Spread]

The internet has made things a lot easier than 10 or 20 years go. Back in the day if you wanted to sell a product you needed a physical premises to sell it. Or you needed to do a deal with a wholesaler/retailer to get your product out there. Now you can set up an online store and cut out a heap of traditional overheads. Does anyone except big business pay for advertising these days? You can set up a Facebook/Instagram page for your business with photos, location, opening hours, contact details etc. very easily. Apps like Airtasker make it easy for people with skills to connect with people wanting s**t done.

The problem with business likes cafes, restaurants, bars etc. is the physical premises. One person can make and sell dozens of coffees an hour for $4-5 each and there's $100-200 in revenue for minimal consumables. If you make 3 dozen coffees then you need maybe half a kilo of beans and 5-10L of milk. The operating margin is still there.

The outlay is getting the machine that costs thousands and then having somewhere to put it which costs even more. I reckon it's why food trucks have started to take off over here. You can buy a Ford Transit van or an old caravan or something and kit it out for anywhere from thousands to tens of thousands, or you can buy an existing cafe for hundreds of thousands and then pay tens of thousands in leasing fees every single year.

In the main street closest to me I reckon 5-6 businesses have gone bust in the last year. Main reasons (when I asked a couple why they shut down):
Cost of Rent/not being maybe to turn a profit due to business costs, Competing with the big supermarket chains, not attracting enough customers due to online shopping.

 

[Scotland]

In the main street closest to me I reckon 5-6 businesses have gone bust in the last year. Main reasons (when I asked a couple why they shut down):
Cost of Rent/not being maybe to turn a profit due to business costs, Competing with the big supermarket chains, not attracting enough customers due to online shopping.

Sounds familiar. One of those bullshit 'coal is great' TV ads has a bloke with a factory whose power costs went from $70k to $200k (off the top of my head). A business that size can't just absorb that sort of increase easily if at all. That's a couple of people's annual salary. Something like leasing a small cafe in Perth CBD or West Perth is well into the tens of thousands per annum.

There are regular stores of people getting the shits with Westfield, Stockland etc. over retail space. No way I would set up shop in one their centres. Good traffic through them but they have you over a barrel.

I'm still surprised by the number of seemingly sustainable businesses that go under because they don't keep costs under control. Symptomatic of a spend what you earn society. You see it over here with people working in the mining industry who earn big money doing short term gigs then end up with no money when the work dries up.

 

[edgie]

Are we really a spend what we seen society? Lotta people earning a lot of dollars that aren't going back to their community, instead going to ebay/bali/europe/the cities.

That's half the problem in small towns and suburbs. People are just using them and taking them for granted.

My dad lives and works in a mining town of six thousand population and you can't even buy undies there anymore because of FIFO, online, and relies posting from away. Essential goods that have been redundant because folks earning six figures are selfish tightarses.

Sent from mTalk

 

[craigos]

The internet has made things a lot easier than 10 or 20 years go. Back in the day if you wanted to sell a product you needed a physical premises to sell it. Or you needed to do a deal with a wholesaler/retailer to get your product out there. Now you can set up an online store and cut out a heap of traditional overheads. Does anyone except big business pay for advertising these days? You can set up a Facebook/Instagram page for your business with photos, location, opening hours, contact details etc. very easily. Apps like Airtasker make it easy for people with skills to connect with people wanting s**t done.

The problem with business likes cafes, restaurants, bars etc. is the physical premises. One person can make and sell dozens of coffees an hour for $4-5 each and there's $100-200 in revenue for minimal consumables. If you make 3 dozen coffees then you need maybe half a kilo of beans and 5-10L of milk. The operating margin is still there.

The outlay is getting the machine that costs thousands and then having somewhere to put it which costs even more. I reckon it's why food trucks have started to take off over here. You can buy a Ford Transit van or an old caravan or something and kit it out for anywhere from thousands to tens of thousands, or you can buy an existing cafe for hundreds of thousands and then pay tens of thousands in leasing fees every single year.

As soon as you list a business page on facebook the only way that page is getting seen is if you're pumping decent coin into advertising.

Sounds familiar. One of those bullshit 'coal is great' TV ads has a bloke with a factory whose power costs went from $70k to $200k (off the top of my head). A business that size can't just absorb that sort of increase easily if at all. That's a couple of people's annual salary. Something like leasing a small cafe in Perth CBD or West Perth is well into the tens of thousands per annum.

There are regular stores of people getting the shits with Westfield, Stockland etc. over retail space. No way I would set up shop in one their centres. Good traffic through them but they have you over a barrel.

I'm still surprised by the number of seemingly sustainable businesses that go under because they don't keep costs under control. Symptomatic of a spend what you earn society. You see it over here with people working in the mining industry who earn big money doing short term gigs then end up with no money when the work dries up.

One of the biggest killers is you have to have a lease for a lot of service based businesses (cafe/bar/restaurant/takeaway) before you even apply to the local council/government for licenses. This process can take months and even then there's no guarantee they'll approve you or someone will object and another one or two months has gone without earning a single cent.

 

[perthblue]

Now you can set up an online store and cut out a heap of traditional overheads. Does anyone except big business pay for advertising these days? .

Yep. The problem with the ease of starting a business nowadays is that everyone is trying to do it. If you are serious about it and want to make it full time then you need to stand out by paying for advertising/marketing/what have you