Ha-ha! Again, do I absolutely have to start a special topic and post some kind of certification there that proves that I am not depressed, or psycho (before you ask)?.. Dare to differ.
Life in general sucks, not mine or your, mine and yours, altogether. It's a bloody battle and nobody wins! Isn't it better to except it at the very beginning and be ready for all knives in the back it has for you?
But then again, who am I to be right or wrong? How can it be tested against the trite time proven set of phrases that is used in all appropriate and inappropriate situations and basically none of these phrases mean anything?

Anyone who claims to be a Steelers fan in a public forum should be on medication.

That aside, I believe what CityCat is saying is life by it's very definition is a struggle and happiness isn't something that just happens becuase you're blessed to be American (or lucky enough to get the visa to America) and living the American Dream. Even if things are going so great for you, according to the American Dream, it's still hard. It's a struggle, and you don't make yourself happy by getting the things you struggle for, you get happy by being happy about something that makes you happy. You have to find happiness somewhere, but guess what? The rest of life is hard. Struggle through it and don't expect to be happy so much!

Or, I can sum it up a lot easier than that - Set your standards a lot lower. You'll be happier when you exceed them. If you have the expectation that life is, by it's very nature, $#!t.... then when something good happens, you'll be happy with it.

Thank you! For this post I'll even ignore (and forgive) your Steelers strike!

I'll help with the ones, I know...


Yes! This is no problem now. Just be certain you understand that purchasing land may have many restrictions and more than likely Russia will ALWAYS own the mineral rights. A flat is no problem what so ever.


Absolutely and not difficult at all. Just do not expect to be approved for any credit unless you have residency and well established income.


I believe you only must complete a written and road test.


Not sure about this.


No.


You do not have to remarry. As long as you have an apostle of your marriage certificate, you are fine. Getting residency is in constant change. It also is severely affected by regional laws. When I was in Kazan' the requirements were two-fold, a legal marriage and ownership of property in the Republic of Tatarstan.

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Kinda has that same spirit that the Book of Job is loaded with.
In some way it's a little depressing to face the true emptyness of life yet it is also like walking on the
empty beach... as you watch those waves roll to the shore, endlessly, knowing they have been doing it for millions of years, you realize how insignificant your moment on the beach... or even your life really is, yet somehow that walk on the beach adds more meaning or connects you to something big, bigger than yourself and it feels good.

Which reminds me, I need a trip to the beach!
Danny

Me too!

CityCat,
this is the famous Russian attitude, LOL. But I swear there are happy people in this world. I used to share your view, but now that I have seen happy people and know they exist... I will not agree to be unhappy anymore. Not for all the great jobs and lovely cars.
"Life is hard and then you die" is still my motto, but it does not hold the same dark meaning anymore.
If you find that moment, you strreeeeetch it, recreate it and stretch it again. Until it covers most of your life/time... and when you see that 90% of time you are happy - can you deny that you are happy in general. Regardless of the other 10% that surely still suck Like going through immigration...
Anyway... happiness (or not) is a choice. It barely depends on outside circumstances, although happiness/unhappiness can be and often is triggered by outside events. You may choose to be unhappy (there is pleasure in this too, of course), but it is a choice, not inevitable reality.

I agree with positive people:)Its all about You that makes sense in the world around You!I believe happiness is inside you but i guess not everyone is that lucky to feel it:)
And then life is hard wherever,in Russia,all Europe,And USA and guess what?there are countries where people dream of having a place to work at and they just cant!There are people out there that experience much more difficulties than You do.So just smile and be happy that you have a health and ability to work and enjoy life:)!!!Life is what you making out of it:)

Well, you know, I don't like generalizations. This kind of attitude is quite common among artists, highly intelligent people, or young people (who are also highly intelligent). I don't think it has anything to do with nationality or ethnic background.

The medication comment is out of line, imo. I was clinically depressed in my teenage years, and I can assure you, depression has nothing to do with being sad. Yes, it makes you feel sad, but it also gives you a sense of helplessness - you feel crappy, and you desperately want for it to stop, but you just can't fix it. This is where medication comes into play - it definitely helps. Depression is a chemical imbalance of (mainly) serotonine and neuropenephrine in your brain, whereas pessimism is just an individual choice of how a person wants to feel about life. And it sure helps people to be creative and it can also be a source of inspiration. I respect that. I do not feel the same way about life as CityCat does, but I don't think that feeling this way is abnormal.

I lived in Vladimir over 7 years!And i do not advice you to move there!Its simply boring!I have my family living there.
In 2-3 years when she visits her city she will see the difference and will never want to live there again..lol

There are parallels to Job. But the First Noble Truth of Buddhism is "All life is suffering." Sounds like City Cat to me. Buddha solved the problem differently than CityCat. The Second Noble Truth of Buddhism is "Suffering is caused by Attachment (sometimes translated to English as Desire). The third Noble Truth, "To eliminate Suffering, eliminate Attachment." And then onto the core of Buddhist teaching.

City Cat isn't the only Russian I know of who finds the trick is "to find a moment or person that is good and hang onto it." But her main insight, that all life is Suffering is one that is core to many religious traditions.

I hope she finds ways skillful for her to cope with this reality.

This is exactly the way I deal with the reality - it sucks and I have to fight hard to survive in it. I don't have unreasonable optimistic expectations, I know hum much I am worth, and what I can give to the world and what I can get back from it. That's why I always land on four paws (my nick name actually is meaningful)
People just tend to dress up the world around if they can't deal with all downsides of it. That's simply weak in my book.

Happiness is just a word. Pretty meaningless for me...
Define happiness? Who is happy? People who smile? Than the whole US is crazily happy! It doesn't make any sense.
There is no happy/unhappy. There things you do, things you give and things you get back. It has nothing to do with nationality, it's just a reasonable attitude.

THANK YOU!!!!! I am young and talented and highly intellectual (and I can PROVE it - at my age I have achieved more than many people can hope to achieve in their whole life)
The source of inspiration, you say? Well, not really, not for me. My source of inspiration is people and crazy things they do and crazy lives they live.