When not behind the keyboard... hobbies

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I morbidly enjoy telling this story:

I was born in Guatemala in the late 60s, I spent my childhood and teenage years in the middle of a civil war which lasted until I was 20 something. During that time I saw well what one would expect during a civil war (car bombs, shootings, dead bodies, etc) HOWEVER never did someone shot anybody in my backyard. Then during 2000-2005 I lived in Indiana, USA…

I was 2002 and I was home along with my ex-wife and my 4 kids, we heard gunshots and being born in Guatemala one looses fear of gunshots so I poke my head out the window, I heard one more gunshot and a guy is shot dead in my backyard.

The details of the story: the guy that was shot dead went to his brother-in-law’s house armed with a colt .45" shot the guy a couple of times (and I mean shot lthe guy not shot AT the guy), the brother-in-law got inside of his house and grabbed a .22" pistol and ran behind the shooter, he shot him once in the head and he dropped dead.

So yeah, El Salvador or Guatemala are not the safest places to be but then again, where can one be actually safe?

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There are ways to be unsafe in every place in the world
But there are some places that are more unsafe than others

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True. I just like telling the story :wink:

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No problem.
I have to admit that coming from Canada to El Salvador at that time was a shocker
When we drove from San Salvador to San Miguel I waned to open the windows on the vehicle to let in some air
The windows had no handles so I asked how to roll the window down
“You dont”
“Oh? Why not?”
“The jeep is armored and the windows dont roll down. We’ll turn the air conditioning up”
Amd that was the start of a real eye opening trip.
I met a LOT of nice people and saw some beautiful country and also a lot of things a kid from Canada had never seen. In parts of the country the violence was starting so we ended up just driving on even when a guy stumbled out of a bar with a big chunk of the back of his head missing.
We were in San Salvardor for the festival at the beginning of Aug and we were riding in the bed of a truck and some idiots drove by and thought it would be fun to shoot at us. I ducked. A few of the guys IN the truck with me just shot back.

Stuff like that :slight_smile:

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That was any day in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala during that time. Growing up over here makes one inmune to the reality of the situation these countires lived/live.

I’ve been to Canada many times and truth be told I even thought about moving there back in 2005. But I didn’t wanted to learn French LOL. I visited the Canadian Embassy to start an immigration process, I had a good score on most of the requirements but the language… I should have listened to my dad when I was young as he always tried to teach me French.

I really like Canada, you are lucky to live there.

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They dont even make ME learn french - I live way out west in Alberta :slight_smile:

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If you were born there they won’t make you but if you wan to move there you have to, well not HAVE to but it helps a lot in the immigration process.

In fact I always wondered why Canada gives that many points in the immigration application to the French language. I’ve been there, I’ve met many Canadians who don’t speak French.

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I’m sure it helps
My daughter married a young fellow from the USA and they havent even asked him to learn french
Maybe it has to do with him being a spouse instead of just an applicant that is unsponsored
I dont know

I have no idea since most of the country uses french very little

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I guess that two things might be different:

  1. I was not marrying a Canadian (should have thought of that LOL).
  2. Probably the immigration rules between USA and Canada are different.
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I’m glad I live where I do. I’m 47 and have never once ever seen a gun other than on TV

I’ve only ever once seen a fistfight in a pub.

It’s a different world where I live.

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It is really amazing how the world being so small can be so different depending on where you live.

But I have hijacked this thread enough :wink:

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And yet there is so much that is common among us, as this thread has also shown. I’ve found the discussion interesting; to me it doesn’t feel hijacked at all.

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agreed. :slight_smile:

I have had alot of fun responding and reading about what other people are into. I agree with @swampcat, I am fascinated by what others have shared in what interest them the most.

I am still in awe over @garry 's coffee table gaming hub. Such a cool idea.

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Thanks @SpeedLimitChallenger. Much appreciated. I just floored my loft so I can get a lot of the stuff that’s currently in my cellar up there. I have plans to turn the cellar into a small retro arcade.

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when you say “my cellar”, your referring to rich’s cellar? :stuck_out_tongue:

just need to make plans for when the arcade room will be ready and all :smiley:

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I think he meant MY cellar :slight_smile:

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Get in line boys - I can do your cellars after mine :slight_smile:

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mine

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It seems there is a new career in Garry’s future: traveling the world, building man-caves… :rofl:

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Finally happy that the New Jersey weather is starting to turn nice. First time this year with the laptop on the patio table drinking a cappuccino :slight_smile:

By chance, does anyone else move their mobile setup to work in an environment other than inside? I can tell you, I wouldn’t mind setting up shop at @beatrixwillius backyard garden with the frogs.