What constitutes "A Life"

People are always referring to “A Life”. As in, “Get A Life”, and “I have A Life, too, you know”. But, I’m not sure I know exactly what constitutes A Life. (Nor am I really sure why it’s always capitalized, even when spoken. But, you can definitely tell by the way it’s said.) I don’t even know if I have one. Which is the reason for this post.

How do I know if I have A Life, if I can’t define it? Obviously, I can’t possibly know. I may have one, and not know it. I may not have one, and not be aware of it. It may be packed away in a box in the cellar, with all the other useless crap I can’t part with. Or, maybe it accidentally got thrown out, last time I cleaned out the basement, because I didn’t recognize it.

So, help me out, here. How do I recognize A Life, when I see one? I’m assuming any helpful labels it originally had have long since fallen off or faded to illegibility. I’m assuming it’s made up of multiple parts, since people who seem overly focused on one aspect of life are often the targets of the “Get A Life” barbs. I’m also assuming “Some assembly is required”, and that the instruction manual is somewhere in the Lost Sock Nebula. Fortunately, I’m reasonably mechanically inclined. (Although, it helps to have some idea of what I’m supposed to be building.) But, leaving assembly aside for the moment, do I even have all the pieces?

I have the following;[ul]A job that pays well, even if I occasionally hate it
A girlfriend
A few remaining family members
A car
Pets
Friends (though, no really close ones)
Varied interests (At least, I did before I joined SDMB. They’re probably around here, somewhere.)
Assorted skills and talents
Lots of books, CDs, DVDs, videos, and collections
A whole lot of other crap (details as needed)[/ul]
Does this add up to A Life? If not, what am I missing? (Please; religion is absent by intent, not omission.) And, what should it look like, when assembled? A large wooden horse? A bunny rabbit? A kinetic sculpture? Clues gratefully accepted.

Since you contribute to society as a whole, have someone who loves you and that you love and interests outside of yourself, them IMHO you have a Life.
Go forth and live.

Ummm…is the love part required? 'Cause, I’m too sure about that part. Girlfriend, yes; love, I dunno.

And, do I have to go forth? Couldn’t I just live where I am? :wink:

Anyone ever spent a significant amount of time on a computer game forum? I love it when people get into flame wars over the game, and inevitably someone goes:

“blahblahblahblah, but I have a life too. I have a girlfriend/job/friends and do tons of stuff on the weekends.”

I think gamers are the most insecure people on earth :smiley:

Are you happy ? If so, you have a life, IMO.

Yep. Perfect example. But, are they right, when they make that claim?

Happy? No, not often. Is that crucial?

I don’t really know where my happiness went. (But, I’m pretty sure it isn’t in the cellar.) But, if happiness is (one of) the criteria, then I guess I don’t have a life. At least, not often (Is that possible? A part-time Life?).

Gah, I think they only say it because “Other Shit to Do” would sound ridiculous capitalized.

Well, since you’re visitng those forums, you must be a gamer, thus also insecure :wink:

I say this often at work.

Yes, I have a life. Enough of a life so that I don’t feel compelled to gossip about coworkers and stir up shit for entertainment. I have enough of a life so that I don’t have to try to make other people miserable to get my jollies.

Truly, I think this is part of it.

My life isn’t all that great in some ways, but it depends on how you look at it. I don’t feel the need to gossip and stir up trouble for other people in order to feel important.

Right now, my current “life” involves a lot of scanning (with my awesome Epson Perfection 3200 scanner with a great transparency adapter). I am scanning a whole lot of my travel photos of Yosemite and Sequoia. I then fix these photos up in Photoshop, and intend on publishing them on my website and maybe try to sell prints. (They are turning out GREAT.)

I am sure some people (most likely my coworkers, who do not appreciate travel to National Parks or photography) would not consider such activity to be “a life”. But it sure as hell is. I am happy. (I have other things in my life that make me happy, needless to say, but for this post I am focusing on my AWESOME Epson Perfection scanner! :slight_smile: ) The reason I have a “life” is because I am enthusiastic about my AWESOME Epson Perfection scanner, and I am not hurting anyone else (as in gossiping like a bitch). I am happy and am doing something semi-productive. That is what a “life” is, or at least one interpretation.

(And no, of course I’m not bitter about my bitch co-workers. No, not me!) It’s just that they are really scary. I never encountered people that could be so bitter and petty.

Oh, and did I mention my AWESOME Epson scanner? Yes? I did? :slight_smile:

I generally moan that I have “No Life” when all I’m doing is going to work, or writing papers, or sitting around in my housecoat watching NewsRadio reruns.

So if not having a Life is being in a state of inertia, then having a Life would involve going out, experiencing different things, being spontaneous, and so on. IMHO, of course.

This is just my opinion of course, but I think happiness is definitely a major component of having a Life. I think that happiness with one’s life can take the form of experiencing joy and wonder in the smallest, most inconsequential things. Finding contentment in the simple beauty around you. A good job and a girlfriend don’t necessarily make you happy - or so it would seem in your case. To me, a Life is one filled with joyful moments. Not that you have to have a perma grin 24 hours a day, but having a contented feeling about your existence and the world in general. If you have to ask what a Life is then yes, you are missing something vitally important…A Life is something you carve out for yourself. It can just be a state of mind or a way of being. You can have a Life and be sitting on a mountain comtemplating your navel or you can be a sky diver…but if you’re happy with your choices and lifestyle, then hey, you have a Life!:wink:

Davebear, you have got a life when your circumstances could be turned into the Davebear TV show: You need to have at least 15 moments a day, where underlying laughter from a tape would be appropriate.
You need to have a regular cast of about five people and new characters shouldn’t be introduced too often, in order to not confuse the audience.

Oh and you need to have some catch phrase, like “I love it when a plan comes together.”

Hopefully that helped :slight_smile:

Did you choose your username, or is that just what everyone calls you? :wink: Actually, that is something I’ve often suspected, but then, I’m often called a cynic.

Actually, I say it, too. That’s another reason for this thread. I don’t often say things without knowing what they mean. To paraphrase, “Dammit, Jim! I’m a bear, not a parrot!” So, why do I say this, and what the heck am I saying?

Scanner? You have a scanner? :wink: Actually, I looked it up, and it does sound pretty awesome. So, if I get one, will I have A Life, or just more of “a whole lot of other crap”? Do I need photos of National Parks, or will photos of any old wildlife/flowers/scenery do?

Ack! Even I would say you have no life, based on the first sentence! NewsRadio? :eek:

Inertia? I’m good at inertia. That doesn’t count, huh? I’m not good at spontaneity. It takes too much planning, for me.

Davebear: just your own photos will be fine. As long as they are not illegal! :wink: Your photos sound like they’ll be fabulous with this scanner!

I have been scanning negatives and slides with it, mostly. This is the big reason why I am carrying on about this AWESOME scanner. It isn’t as good as a dedicated pro-level transparency scanner, but it’s damned close (especially considering the price). I now can do a lot of things I could not do before with my photographs, thanks to this scanner.

This is such a nice post, I’m kind of hesitant to respond to it. But, as the host, I feel I have an obligation.

So, we’re back to happiness. This is not a good thing, from my point of view, because if it’s required I probably don’t have a life. I do try to take advantage of the small wonders, when I come across them. I stop to enjoy flowers while walking to the bus stop, when there are any. I try to remember to appreciate a nice sunny day. I’m often the guy people look at funny because he’s standing outside an office building (smoking), looking up at the clouds. (That’s not easy, in the slot canyon of office buildings I’m surrounded by.) There’s a beagle puppy down the block that I absolutely love, but she’s not out often when I pass by. (And, I can’t get one of my own.) But, overall, I’d say contentment is sorely lacking.

Carving? Well, I once carved a bear out of a block of wood. I don’t think I could carve a life, though. I don’t know what they look like.

And, forget the navel comtemplating. It’s an innie, it’s hairy, and sometimes there’s lint in it. Doesn’t really bear comtemplating.

Oh, come on! I’m supposed to have more laughs in my day than a whole week’s worth of network sitcoms? (You DID say appropriate. Most laughtrack laughs are gratuitous.) That’s a tall order!

A catchphrase I can probably do. At the moment, “Don’t confuse the audience!” sounds pretty good. :slight_smile:

There are two kind of Lives.

The general Life (as in “I have no LIFE”, I need to get A Life") for me entails having a couple of different interests or activites that are pleasurable, ideally at least one that you are passionate about, and some degree of social interaction (including online), ideally involving some people with whom there is mutual affection/caring.

The other Life, is A specific Life, as somone said “other shit to do”. This is Life is whatever you do when not in the situation where you exclaim “I have A Life too you know!”. For example at work, your Life would be whatever you do when not there, be it shopping, cleaning, grooming your cat. It is the Life you call upon when somone starts taking things too seriously online, as in “You need to get something that matters more to you than whether you have a Shield of Resistance”.

One can have “A Life too you know!” without actually having A Life in the general sense.

This complete and utter nonsense was brought to you by the letters A, L and the number 4.