Plus not that many wars, except for when the US starts something.

@Færd come on man. You get into any other cab and all the talk about how there's nothing wrong with us and everything wrong with the world

And who knows how many people dealt with depression back then. It wasn't even a thing.

And how the government is stopping us from soaring into skies of richdom

@Færd Quite

Anyway, I doubt there is any way of determining a meaningful happiness average.

Definitely not a right assessment, but I see too much depression in basically everyone these days

Or well, it might just be me growing up enough to see my surroundings

I mean much of the time people don't even know how unhappy or happy they are themselves.

@M.A.R. I ain't denying the current low.

@FaheemMitha Haha. Definitions ruin things.

@FaheemMitha that has never stopped a sociologist such as I. :)

@FaheemMitha if they wonder whether they're happy or not, they're definitely unhappy

@M.A.R. I hate to break this to you, but the world is not a happy place.

They might even be unhappy about happiness.

@M.A.R. There are ways of determining whether people are unhappy or not. If they watch a lot of TV they most likely aren't. Ditto for alcohol.

@FaheemMitha there are more depressed places than the others

But people often don't want to admit it to themselves.

@M.A.R. Not sure what you mean by that.

Also, I think that spending a lot of time online is probably not good for you. Present company excepted, of course. :-)

@FaheemMitha That the world isn't paradise is obvious, but just a generalization

Some places are less grey

Or grey

Ha autocorrect chose the right spelling for me

@M.A.R. Yes, of course.

@FaheemMitha online? I only meet happy avatars online

Iranian sites are stupid.

Though individual circumstances are also important. For example, I think living in Denmark is better than living in India. But you might be better off being rich in India than poor in Denmark.

And BTW, it's interesting how our online self can be very different from our normal real life self

@M.A.R. My point was simply that spending a lot of time online isn't conducive to forming actual relationships.

Heck, I think my English self is different from Persian self

Well, with the occasional exception. I believe people do meet online.

Or Turkish self

I'm never this talkative in real life

Make way fewer jokes, and only with people I'm very comfy with

I laugh with others though. Not really shy, just a . . . Um, respectable guy

Um, that makes me shiver

Or rather, my online self

That can change.

@Færd the real self personality?

Sure. The image I had of myself doesn't fit me anymore.

I guess my illness's's stress doubled up with Konkur's and already did it.

I'm more repulsive now.

More vocal. Slightly less calm

And more suitable

Hmm. You might see your social self develop and dominate eventually, for example.

Agitable, stupid autocorrect

In a peacefully stable manner, hopefully. :)

I'll show you peace! (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

LOL

@Færd it's interesting how our projections in other people's minds are something both we and they control and neither really do

I control yours but not the way I want, and you controls yours but not the way you want

@Færd nevertheless, I seem to be still too calm and complain way less than the average person, like the persona I looked up to, and that is the impression I get from the feedback of the new people I regularly meet -- The dialysis center nurses

No kidding -- there are REALLY grumpy senior citizens there

@M.A.R. Are you sick? If so, I'm sorry.

@FaheemMitha thanks! I actually get the feeling it has had more benefits than downsides

@M.A.R. What? Being sick?

@M.A.R. I hope you're calm on the inside too.

It probably decreased my lifespan but who cares about that?

@Færd I'm the sad clown, ha

@FaheemMitha yep

I take that back.

I hope you're dealing with it well on the inside. Whatever that means. Dunno.

@Færd Slightly uneasy because I haven't still passed this ridiculous dam called Konkur, but other than that, very calm

The sickness initially worried me

@M.A.R. By how much? Like, half?

It doesn't once I find out I could have gone to a coma but my body is too awesome

@Færd how do you even measure that?

@M.A.R. No offense, but that sounds unlikely.

I dunno. Just crude life expectation.

@M.A.R. This isn't really a good time, but if you want to talk about it, I can listen.

@FaheemMitha well, for one, I don't have to waste two years of my life in this compulsory military service we have here

Fuck. Right on.

@M.A.R. That sounds like a very minor upside. Unless the military service is very dangerous.

@Færd I expect to live long. I do lots of exercise

@M.A.R. Happy to hear that. :)

@FaheemMitha not dangerous, usually. It just steals two years of the best in your life

Anyway, I should go afk now. Nice talking to you guys.

@FaheemMitha good night!

Me too.

@M.A.R. I understand. I think I would still prefer not to be sick.

To you too.

Me three.

Fortunately, India, though less then perfect, doesn't force military service on its citizens.

@FaheemMitha it really doesn't feel that bad when you don't take it to be that bad

All about the spirit

@M.A.R. It depends on how dangerous it is.

@FaheemMitha because we're in constant alert of wars, we do some stupid things you don't

@M.A.R. Yes, the constant US harassment.

@FaheemMitha a bulky guy comes to our pharmacy that experienced kidney transplant like, 30 years ago.

I keep thinking, if that tree is this happy, why shouldn't I be?

It was only very dangerous when we didn't know it.

@M.A.R. Pardon?

@FaheemMitha lol this autocorrect

There's that slogan doctors use: successful diagnosis is half the treatment

I don't exactly know the English equivalent

@FaheemMitha I was referring to the guy, who's as big as a tree

@M.A.R. Depends on the disease. I take it there is something wrong with your kidneys?

@FaheemMitha they've both shrunk to half the natural size

I basically don't have a kidney.

@M.A.R. Yikes. They aren't functioning?

If it doesn't bother you, I'm very impressed. I'd be terrified.

I hope Iran has good health care.

Doctors say it's UV junction, anatomical anomaly, curable during the first 12 months after birth

But I don't buy it

They used to function perfectly till, like the past 18 months

@FaheemMitha they are functioning somehow

But obviously very very trivial function

So I need hemodialysis to get urea out of my blood

@M.A.R. Yes, I see.

My own theory is I dehydrated myself too much by pushing myself too much

@FaheemMitha oh, whatever sucks here, health care doesn't

Except in the expenses

@M.A.R. The state doesn't pay?

@FaheemMitha haha, it felt like a dream. A dan 4 kung fu student and active biker, reduced to a hospital bed.

@FaheemMitha it's supposed to, but it finds a gazillion excuses not to

The state insurance companies suck big time

Side note: now I see why autocorrect is destroying good writing

@M.A.R. Oh, that's bad.

Thankfully, I had a very strong body. Anyone else would have at least gone to coma. My urea and creatinine levels were like a world record.

@FaheemMitha you can say that again. State insurance companies are like the most infuriating things here

For God's sake, they don't have coverage for vitamin B pills

Ugh.

I have felt their stupidity to the bone, because I have grown up in a pharmacy