Fortunately, I’m a very low consumer & live quite simply with only a couple of hobbies, almost no subscriptions & an aversion towards anything plastic or synthetic so the cheap-shit plague doesn’t really affect me. If I buy stuff for my hobbies, I typically hunt about & find higher quality or handmade stuff. I have found that certain parts & electronics for vehicles are usually pretty rough quality these days so finding new old-stock OEM gear is always a happy moment.
I have however ‘window-shopped’ a few times via the pocket-’puter & some of the silly stuff actually ‘looks’ pretty cool. I just never buy it.
I ordered a (cheap) luggage rack for a motorcycle & what turned up was this little platform, barely big enough to strap an apple onto. I laughed at my dumbness & ended using it as a part for a decent sized, home-welded, proper sized rack. In fact it is still in use to this day
I went into Temu just once to see what it was like.
It’s just awful
Uses a casino type roulette wheel to get you to pile stuff into your cart as fast as possible. The next item is xxx amount if you get it within xx:xx minutes. Lots of times it says free or $10. Keep piling the stuff in and keep spinning the wheel for deals.
I would imagine people end up with boxes of junk and have little idea of what they bought.
This is what happens when Chinese communism and end-stage capitalism collide. You have to keep the workers working - but you have to keep the economy selling. You end up with millions of people making stuff nobody wants, which you then have to sell at a loss, so you can claw some money back, to make more junk nobody wants.
If you feel the comparison is appropriate, then the Chinese government has an answer for you.
Package yourself up, and offer yourself at a huge discount on Temu or Ali BaBa, Someone will buy you. They may not be your partner of choice, but somebody out there wants you.
Joking apart, if you want to make friends, the answer is to go where people are. If you want to find a female partner, go where women are. I understand from things you’ve written that you find some social interaction difficult - but not addressing that problem will only make isolation worse. If you have a hill to climb, start with the gentler slopes first - but keep climbing.
Join clubs. Get involved in group activities. Do charity work ( but only in groups - not alone) . Ideally (a big ask) work for a large organisation that employs a lot of women. Even if you only do these things on a voluntary basis, you’ll get to meet a lot of people. It’s all out there, but it won’t come to you - you have to go out and find it.
It’s also important to remember that you won’t get on with all of them. None of us does. The bigger pool you fish in, the greater your chance of meeting someone who really likes you.
Thanks for the advice, support and understanding. A lot of that is true but I was certainly worse in my teens and twenties for it.
very off topic for the merch thread
I dont get out much but this week i happen to be unusuaully busy. Going cinema with friends for The Bone Temple and another friend bought us tickets to an orchestra playing Joe hisaishi/Studio Ghibli music on saturday
I havent talked about it much here because its complicated but currently working through a psychiatric re-evaluation at the same time my brother has been antagonising my dad, sister and myself. Its the “Had to make statements to a Gard”, type of antagonising. Its annoyingly complex and nuanced for something that doesnt need to be. And begun right after my mam passed so grieving has been hard to work through as a result.
So i come here to escape, you guys have an incredible way of pulling me out of it without even realising thats what you’re doing. So girlfriends can wait, I’m not dragging anyone into this dumpster fire
If all things go belly up, ill take your advice and ship myself to China
You could always ship yourself here but the tariffs would be high and you could spend weeks waiting in port then more weeks being carried zig zag fashion across the country.
Of course, you could end up on a truck with my Gek and you two could swap stories.
That Gek is great and all but it’s not worth getting shot for. Stay at home Sheralmyst , you’ve been fraternizing with those god awful europeans on the internet to the point they may just revoke your citizenship.
)
we are through the looking glass, people!! I bet this goes all the way to the Top!