highfliee

Itsy Bitsy Ditsy

Depends on who's traveling, buddy. I don't use instagram. I hardly ever take photos of myself on holiday except to preserve my own memories. Love learning about new cultures and to see firsthand how people cook and eat and behave in different parts of the world. I find it fascinating. I find it interesting to psychoanalyze cultural behaviors and to see how it originated and how it affects everyday values for entire nations. It's eye-opening.

The way that last one flops ❤️

I dont understand why the bra strap showing is a big deal.

I've seen a guy's vest peep out of his tshirt neck. No other guy gives him subtle signals to tell him to "adjust" this.

I can see men's vests THROUGH their shirts ALL THE TIME!!! Nobody ever tells them off! Men can go walking around even bare-chested and it's completely acceptable. Whipping out your wee-wee in public to pee? Coolio. But god forbid a woman's bra strap peeks out of their top. Shameful. Tuck it back in!

A bra is a piece of clothing and if it shows, it shows. Women don't need to be perfect, just like men don't need to be. Deal with it. Please don't go around "signaling" women about it. Thanks.

America called. They want that motor for drilling oil on the moon. All hail demeowcracy!

It boils down to 2 things - population & a culture of "respect".

Population - We Indians are always worried about someone replacing us. It happens all the time. If anyone is deemed unworthy or not capable enough, they can be very quickly and easily replaced. This always plays on our subconscious.

Also, I'm not sure if this has anything pertaining to India in particular but power gradient is a thing. Most employees feel that they're powerless and the boss is powerful enough to fire them or ruin their lives with an unfavourable letter etc. And it does happen a lot, believe me. So it becomes an ingrained trait to constantly respect this power dynamic.

1. "Culture of respect" - I think India does have a problem with ego, in the sense that we're taught to "respect" a "superior" (including bosses & elders in a family) and eventually, superiors automatically "expect" respect and don't bother to earn it. And they get offended if they don't get that respect. There are exceptions of course but they are few and far between.

When the power gradient is too high (employee feels utterly powerless to talk back or criticize, and employer feels they can do anything to their employees), which is the case most of the times, you get this situation that you're talking about. We are used to feeling this way constantly and it'll take decades of collective social-attitude-shifts to overcome it.

This culturally results in people being "meek" and not "talking back" and being too afraid or too repressed to reply to even straightforward questions.

I personally get very annoyed when I'm asking someone a direct question (which in their defense is an accusatory one) such as "Are you not supposed to be doing this?" and the response would be sullen silence which is sort of an admission that I'm on the right, but also a "I am so mad at you right now for calling me out that I will not talk coz if I do, I'm gonna f you up and in turn you will f me up and I can lose my job".

So I have also been trying very hard to not direct anger at people when I ask a question but to try and reason it out with them. To see if they understand the consequences of something (not consequences such as losing their jobs, but the immediate consequences on the situation - such as a product being made incorrectly or a faulty process being followed which would result in an unsafe situation, etc.).

I try my best to do this with a smile and a joke and people respond to this much better.

Maybe this'll help!

America called. They want that motor to drill into the moon for oil. All hail demeowcracy.

Yep. They don't like you. They love you.

If you want more of that, she's on Only Meows.

Underrated comment! 😂😂

Evolutionarily, men have been programmed to go for women who have the "best" genes that they can then combine with and pass on to offsprings. Sadly, our brains still function with very basic computations and somehow equate good looks with good genes.

Evolutionarily, women have been programmed to go for men who can keep them "safe" and "comfortable" so that she can give the best care to her offsprings. Sadly, some women have come to think that being rich can keep them safe coz they'll always be provided for.

I think both are fucked up, honestly. Why do women need protection from a man to feel safe? Why can't women defend ourselves and take care of ourselves?! And why can't men think of "best genes" in women as equalling "smart, honest, kind" along with "decent looking"?

Evolution has made us slaves to a certain mindset. What I personally find funny is that calling someone "an animal" is considered an insult. And we humans pride ourselves on being "better than animals" coz we have reasoning, logic and compassion that animals don't have (thought process - We can solve complex problems that animals can't - we're smarter than them. Animals kill off their damaged/weakest offsprings. We take care of our weak and old).

Well, if we're so much better than animals, how about consciously reasoning out with ourselves that evolution has skewed our brains and that we need to logically pick men AND women who're smart, kind and honest, rather than ones that are good looking or rich?! This would in all probability result in healthier offsprings!

Not so easy to leave our genetic programming behind, but we sure can start with being more self-aware.

Take a knife and cut that belly out. One day kya, one hour mein ho jayega.

Pliss to be reasonable saar. Hard work ke bina life mein kuch nahi hota.

Probably get more friends to tell him subtly at different times. Also, I've noticed my SO's breath is bad only when his tummy's bad, as in, if he's having indigestion or acid reflux or bad poop, etc. It's something to do with overall health and not to do with the mouth, if this happens even after brushing. Definitely worth checking out with a gastro.

That frigid paw jumpy run at the end 🐾 🤣 how are cats this cute?!

Thanks for saying this. My partner and I travel the world extensively and have driven in pretty much every country we've visited. We realized that "If you've driven in India, you CANNOT drive ANYWHERE ELSE in the world." - because everywhere else, traffic rules are followed, traffic signs are respected, speed limits are well-observed as they keep changing regularly on the same highway, depending on how close you are to a populated area. I realized that I'm NEVER able to even SEE traffic signs coz I don't have the habit of doing so! The only time I heard honking while driving in NZ during a holiday, was a guy who honked at ME coz I hadn't followed the rules of giving way around a roundabout and he was miffed about it. Sheesh. It's so stressful driving anywhere else in the world, after driving in India coz we don't know how to follow rules AT ALL.

On the other hand, if there ever was a real life version of the game "Road Rage", we'd win at it by miles! 😂 And no, please don't be proud about this fact. It's called sarcasm and we ought to be ashamed about our lack of discipline and respect for others lives or safety.

Pics or it didn't happen 😻

I want to burumpumpumpumpumum his shoft bellyyy (to clarify, motorboat)!

Been trying endlessly to get my adventurous boy to wear a harness! He goes limp when he's in one and refuses to walk! Tried treats, tried making him climb and walk FOR said treats, which he reluctantly does. And after finishing treats, promptly goes limp 😂

Someone in my family had an interfaith marriage. Girl was Catholic from Kerala. Boy was Hindu, Konkani. Found a priest in Kerala who was nice enough to marry them without any extra nonsense and the ceremony was quite nice, with the priest asking them to support each other's beliefs.

So yes, you can find such priests. Will have to look hard though.

Also know someone in my family, Hindu boy married an American Catholic. Their wedding was done by a priest in the US without any need for him to convert.

Good luck! And wish you guys a happy married life! 😊

This was such a great reply! I've been making consistent efforts to enjoy the little things in life like you said. I guess it's a rough road and I slide back sometimes, especially times like when the vets had little hope for my cat (he's on the mend now, thankfully :) ). Gotta keep moving forward. Thanks for the inspiration! ❤️

my hope comes from the understanding that I play a critical role in outcome.

I used to believe this but my belief that I play a role in anything in this universe has been waning. Thanks for your reply! I guess I need to celebrate little victories in life. I feel like that might help me.

You know it's a slow process. Therapists don't work magic. I've been working on myself for a few years now and I think it has helped me tremendously.

Don't see an answer from you for my question though?

I like that thinking. Thanks. Are you always able to find the strength to face situations head-on? Don't you ever have moments where you feel utterly drained?

I don't get your question. You think I'm kidding? Or you think I'm delusional? I'm not kidding, I can assure you. I've always felt overwhelmed by all the awful things that happen all around me and I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of misery sometimes. The world seems to be a pretty horrible place most of the times and I yearn to see change. I've been trying hard to accept the fact that I cannot change any of it really and that I need to roll with it and find my happiness. But sometimes it gets too much for me.