All Forum Posts by: Travis H.

@Neal Collins

Have you seen Brene Brown's TED Talk on Vulnerability?  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o

It's pretty good and hits on a lot of the things that you're talking about in your post. 

It's good to see that this sort of fear of not knowing what we're doing is normal. I have it, and I haven't even started yet. It's pretty good to see that admitting that I've never done this before to someone isn't going to spell the end of my career, either.

@Steve Olafson

"Life is about enjoyment, not fear."

I just had to point out that I absolutely love this comment and find it to be utterly brilliant!

The girlfriend and I bounced ideas around. We decided to just rent one for the time being--one of those rug doctors that they have at Ingles--but we'll probably look back into the question after we buy our first property. I think, like @Chris K. points out, it'll come down to a decision on which is worth more to us at that time, the money savings or the time savings.

@Kyle Hipp

I was raised Southern Baptist, though my nuclear family wasn't all that devout. I just about typed up a long diatribe about my experiences in the loss of my faith, but decided against it as I'd rather not derail my own thread. If you're curious, PM me and I'll tell you the story.

I will say, having seen both sides (Christian and not-Christian), I don't think it's as much that people feel that the Bible is a big rule book. I thought the same thing myself, but my observations since I left the faith simply do not support that. Most of my friends, the more literate ones at least, don't see the Bible as a big rule book. Mostly, they see it as a work of literature, history, poetry, etc. They're also very willing to acknowledge its role in our national culture. At the very least, they understand that many (if not most) of the principles expressed in the Bible are sound. 

And several of them have read the Bible cover to cover. They just don't give it any more credence than they would the Magna Carta or the Q'uran or the Bhagavad Ghita.

I will say that, if anything, a lot of their attitudes towards Christianity comes from having observed Christians and people of other faiths. Some people (not just Christians) get pretty defensive when they perceive that their beliefs are under attack. My girlfriend, an atheist, actually managed to offend one of her coworkers simply by saying that she didn't want kids. Even I'm a little nervous typing this as I want to be as respectful towards your faith as I possibly can. 

One person, of course, isn't a representative sample of anything, but once you factor in stuff like negativity bias, depictions of people of faith in the media, a few other chance run-ins with nutjobs, and the fact that it's far FAR too convenient to ignore all of the beneficial things that Christians (and those of other faiths) do for the world at large, and it's fairly easy to see why faith is something that gets attacked so much. I do agree with you that most beliefs, and especially Christianity, get a pretty raw deal in the public eye.

@Kyle Hipp

Just wanted to mention that I've started reading that book you recommended. I love it! I'm even planning on pilfering an excerpt from it to teach my students about audience and rhetoric when I get back to work in a week.

Thanks!

@Kyle Hipp

Just bought the book. I'm not a religious person at all. In fact, me and the church have a pretty nasty history, to put it lightly, but I'll take my info where I can get it. Thanks for the info!

Do you think it's worth the time to just purchase a carpet steam cleaner instead of renting one? Recommend any good models?

@Kim Moon

@Richard Dunlop

Thanks, folks. That makes me feel a lot better. And the example of a mother in law puts things in perspective.

You know, I'm a veteran of the online dating world (if such a thing exists). I noticed that some of my same concerns that I've voiced about real estate investing are similar to the ones that I've heard when people ask me about online dating and whether it's safe. 

And there's scammers there, too, but I figured out that they were fairly easy to spot once you know what to look for. Incidentally, I've had enormous success with it, and am now in a committed relationship with a wonderful woman because of it.

@Doug Pretorius

I blame a lot of my nerves on just growing up in Georgia during the 80's and 90's. I was a kid when they had that string of child murders back in the 80's, and I think that made my parents more paranoid than most other parents. This was during the time where people were afraid of things like folks hiding razor blades in Halloween candy and sneaking poison into over the counter medicines. We lived our entire lives in a rural setting, and my parents were naturally nervous about anything that seemed unfamiliar. Heck, it wasn't until I went to college that I even drove on the interstate for the first time.

So a lot of my nervousness is just living a fairly sheltered life.

It gives me comfort knowing that I can battle most of those dangers with knowledge, though.

@Riley F.

You, sir, are a godsend.

As it turns out, I've got a lot of free time on my hands because of my broken leg. I've pretty much had nothing better to do these last few weeks but sit around and read, listen to podcasts, and play Skyrim. I have a mage character on there that went from zero to badass in three days.

I've got an agent that I'm working with to sell my house. It's a husband and wife team, and I like them a lot, so I might start with them.  

I'll start listening to those podcasts as soon as I can, and I'm definitely making a note of those comp sites.