Meme without a name: Day two!

[thistlechaser]

Since I was answering comments on the first post about the meme, might as well do the second day while I'm thinking about it.

3. Lose half your hair or lose half your hearing?

This one annoys me. Way to put looks above functionality? I'd rather lose all of my hair than even a tiny bit of my hearing. (Though I have the advantage of already being okay with no hair -- I'd happily shave my head bald if I were a man.)

Since that was an annoying question, let's do the next one, too!

4. Be poor and work at a job you love or be rich and work at a job you hate?

This is a better question. As much as it pains me, I'd rather work at a job I hate and be rich. Being poor would affect your whole life, inside and outside of work -- housing, food, likely lack of medical insurance. While hating your job would follow you after work hours, not to the same extent; having a nice home and plenty of money would make working the job you hate more worth it.

What would you all pick?

Comments

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

I'd rather lose half my hearing. Seriously. It has nothing to do with looks, but my hearing is off the charts, the world is so fucking loud 24/7 for me, I've sometimes actually wished to lose some hearing.

I think I'd pick the second option too - work part of the day at a job I hate and have all the freedom I want otherwise. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ah! Okay, that I would agree with -- too much hearing wouldbe annoying.

And yeah, work a job you hate which would give you the freedom to have a life you could enjoy. Makes sense to me!

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

Ear plugs, ear buds and I are good friends. ;)

[heathersmoo.livejournal.com]

I agree with the hair. Not sure about the second. I'd need more info to make an informed decision, lol.

[hamsterwoman]

I think I would actually pick losing half my hearing. If it was all hair/hearing, I'd go with losing hair, because not being able to hear at all would obviously make life much more difficult. But I think I could stand to lose half and still be fairly functional. Although it would depend a bit on what losing half one's hearing meant -- going completely deaf in one ear? Not being able to hear certain frequencies at all? My grandfather's been deaf-ish for a long time and now my mother (though she's pretty young) has been losing her hearing, so I've been able to see it affect their lives and also how they've been able to cope, and I think I could live with that.

I tend to be startled by sudden noises and bothered by loud things, so I wouldn't mind a dampening effect. And I'm really vain about my hair.

And I'd rather wear a hearing aid than a wig :P

As for the job, if I were completely on my own, I'd pick being poor with a job I love over rich and a job I hate. I don't actually need much, and I grew up with a much lower standard of living than I currently enjoy, which did not feel like a hardship, so I think I could cope if sufficiently motivated.

I wouldn't have a problem with being rich (or even comfortable) with a job I was merely indifferent about, and would pick that over being poor and a job I love -- but actively hating a job would sap all the enjoyment out of life, unless I could afford to be on vacation more often than actually working...

That said, having other people dependent on me, I would probably feel obliged to keep the hated but well-paying job, at least until said people were independent.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Good points. If losing half your hair meant you lost every other strand, it could still look okay.

These questions need to offer more details!

Good points about the job, too. Having a job you love (or even just are indifferent about) does make a difference in your everyday life.

[hamsterwoman]

That's true, although having had my hair grow thinner would still annoy me. But might be a toss-up at that point.

I'm always after more details on these sorts of hypothetical questions, BUT it's actually really fun to see what assumptions people make and what loopholes they find in the absence of those details :D

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

A comment below had a good thought on the hair: Losing 50% off the end should be no hardship for most people, and a benefit to many! I'd be happy with mine 50% shorter, then my next haircut would be that much further off.

[hamsterwoman]

Ha, that's very clever! I would settle for that :)

[ani-mama.livejournal.com]

3. Lose half your hair or lose half your hearing?
Can I lose the bottom half of my hair? It is time for a hair cut anyway. The length is getting to the point I am sitting on it.:P

4. Be poor and work at a job you love or be rich and work at a job you hate?
I have done both. I would rather have the second option, because you can use the money to move onto something else that would make you happier.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

HA! That's an even better thought for the hair. Losing half of it that way wouldn't be a negative option at all!

And yeah about the jobs. Money = options. Save enough and you could go get some other job. The meme doesn't say you have to stick with that job forever.

[spike7451.livejournal.com]

Definitely going with the losing the hair.. can always buy a wig can't you.

And I agree with you on #4.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Sure can! A wig is easier than a hearing aid.

4. Be poor and work at a job you love or be rich and work at a job you hate?

[bacchuslives.livejournal.com]

This is a question I am constantly ruminating on. I don't tend to stay happy in any job for any length of time, but as each job/career change has led to higher compensation, on some levels I feel held hostage by the money. Part of the issue is that I'm a typical Taurus. I'm materialistic. I like hobbies with lots of fun gear (SCUBA, photography, motorcycles, sailing, hunting, see what I mean?, I like to surround myself with pretty things to look at, I love to travel and see new places and I love to dine at wonderful restaurants (and even not so wonderful ones). Without money, I obviously can do very little of these things. At the same time, I'm very envious of people who live simply. People that don't care what car they drive, who are comfortable in a small modular home etc. etc.

Increasingly, the "I hate me job" starts to spill out into my non-work time like an illness. Whatever the next trip that I have planned becomes the drug that I need to treat the illness (Key Largo dive trip June 25th, them Belize trip at the end of October) and like an addict, I need more and better diversions. This is a little amplified as my last few work days have been filled with even more such than usual, but be that as it may, the argument is still my constant companion.