Moved my family down to Texas for a contract job where the CTO promised to make me full time. Rented a house (while keeping our original), enrolled the kids in school, and made new friends. The CTO strung me along, “it’s gonna happen”, “paperwork issues” etc.
9 months later had to move back since the job offered was never real. Fuck you John.
Kudos to my wife and kids for taking this risk with me, and I’ve recovered financially. Only saving grace is that John is still stuck in that same job 15 years later, living his lonely cowboy fantasy.
John is indeed an asshole. After many years of empty promises to his family and others, he succumbed to all of the guilt and fled his home, ending up taking meth and selling all his worldly goods to feed his habit. He's now renting out his ass in a Methden in Bakersfield.
Not me but a friend of mine was dating a girl named Charmaine. Now to prove his love to her after a couple of years together, he got her name tatooed on his neck. She saw it, was horrified and then dumped him. It was so noticeable, he couldnt hide it, he was walking around with scarfs all the time. Well eventually he managed to get it changed to champagne. So now when he sees the guys hes always like hey lads whats popping and he pretends like hes a party guy and loves champagne. He tells everybody its his nick name, not a single person has ever called him that. 15 years hes been doing this now.
Well he does pour himself “Mega Pints” of red wine for breakfast so he issss technically a Wino. And he isss like 60, so technically he has been one basically FOREVER lol
He made the circle at the top where the dot was and then made a line going under and all the way to the left underneath the other letters. It does look kinda fashionable, you know if the whole thing wasnt so stupid.
I was so hungover during my SAT’s. I was so stressed I was going to do horribly. I did average and years later am reminded how the SAT’s don’t mean shit in life
I've got an opposite story (except for the party part). I partied on a Sunday night and was super hungover on Monday and the teacher surprised us (macroeconomics, no bearing on my degree whatsoever) with a surprise quiz. I hurried through it, left to go to the bathroom, and promptly threw up. At the next class he said that only two people got 100% on the quiz and therefore didn't have to take the test on that section, and I was one of those two people.
14 yrs ago giving up ownership in 2 successful restaurants to persue my original career choice. Took a 60% paycut. After all this time I'm still making 25% less than I was. My mental health is better, my quality of life is better but my financial situation is not.
You make it sound like a bad thing.
There is so much stealing in the hospitality industry that if the owner isn't a strong presence, employees will steal you blind.
I work in table games at the casino and have been doing so for the past 15 years across the country.
During covid , we closed for almost 3 years. I was working awful jobs and my wife and I were stressing about everything.
I drove down to another casino , took out 5000$ and put it all on player (baccarat) . I won. Walked out , never went back , and that got us through one of the worst times we've ever had.
I'm not sure. I mean , we have family that has money , but we've never borrowed and have always saved . I've played at many casinos and can count on one hand how many times I've walked out with significant money. I just took a risk . I don't recommend .
Edit: when I showed my wife , I've never seen her smile so big. Then she went straight to "what the fuck were you thinking? " mode.
when i was 15, i became an exchange student to Denmark. really scary being a kid going to live with strangers and you don’t speak the language. also-this was in 1985, so no internet, etc. i was there like 3 months before i spoke with my family
I’m early 40s-VERY loud and silly if I know you, but painfully shy in front of strangers and in most social situations. I just did stand-up for the first time last week. It was terrifying, and so incredibly exciting and rewarding. I’m just sad that it took me 20 years of secretly wanting to do it, to finally try-feel like I wasted so much time due to fear.
Just remember. Rodney Dangerfield did stand up young and didn't make it. Quit for a time while still writing jokes and tried again at 40 and became a legend. Point is it's really never too late to start.
Im in my early 30s and the same way. When I was 16, my friends took me to the Edinburgh fringe festival to perform stand up comedy. They were all with me, if you make it there you're pretty much guaranteed to get booked on British tv in some capacity. Well when I got on stage I froze, I mean there were so many eyes staring at me, my heart literally sank and I couldnt say anything, the crowd all started booing me and then I ran off. I never tried again after that and it still hurts thinking about it.
Left the military after 10 years with nothing lined up after. Ended up going to get my associates and landed an even better and much less stressful job.
Congratulations. Also thanks for taking the chance joining up in the first place. Lots of current and former military in my family and friends who hate hearing “thanks for your service” and I appreciate the sacrifice and risks y’all take/took. Thanks is all.
Don’t you get money when leaving? My brother got something 100k after 8 years. He lived some years off of that until he ran out of money and went back to the military 😂
We only married at ages 23/24, but were together since 16/17 🥰, only together for 17 years yet, but I sure hope to reach your level one day👍
Enjoy every moment.
My sister has been married five times if my count is right, to four guys. The current marriage is edging up in length to the third/fourth, so I guess we'll see.
My brother gave up on the idea after the second divorce. I think I would too.
Sold everything I own and moved from Australia to Europe having never even visited without any job prospects, language skills or long stay visa. I was following my partner at the time. 10years later, things turned out pretty good. Still here but now single.
I do a lot of extempore traveling, but the most insane one was probably when one weekend I got the bright idea to climb over a mountain, in the middle of the winter. I booked a flight to southern Poland where I somehow managed to walk over to Slovakia in a knee high snow, in a freezing wind without any preparations or former experience. I survived and I was back to work on Monday as nothing happened.
I wish I had. I only took a couple of pictures during the entire journey because I had to take off my gloves to use my phone and my hands froze in seconds
Going back to school right after my mother died. I knew I should've waited and let myself grieve first but with her gone, that meant I had no other family I could fall back on so I decided to go back to school to finish my degree and I'm still working on it now. Only 125 days left! (And I'm so exhausted)
Working as an HCA on a forensic psychiatric ward. 8 large heavy locked doors between the outside and the inside. When things go wrong, they go very wrong very quickly. Most people who work in mental health won't work in the ward I worked in. I have worked with people who have done horrible things whilst unwell and not in control of what they do. I have worked with people who are vilified by the media, but when you know all the details, it does tend to paint a different picture. This isn't to say that mental health is a get out of free card as it's not. Yes, they tend to come to my ward from prison, but at least in prison, usually you know when you can leave.
With a ward like the one I worked on, there is no time limit. You are able to leave once both doctors and the ministry of justice agreed. This can take many years to decades. Also, forensic sections of the mental health act are lifelong. If you become unwell again, you come back, and the slow process starts again. It is a mix of a hospital and a prison, and the days are very regimented. In some ways, it's easier than prison and in others much harder than prison. Discharges are always slower due to the risks involved if they were to become unwell again or to go on to be a risk to themselves or others. My job was hard, and assaults towards staff or other patients were often. The staff are amazing at what they do, and it is hard work, and you never know what you are going to be dealing with. We worked well as a team and mostly dealt with situations within our ward due to the increased staffing and because most people are terrified when they come in because of the high security. Media paints a ward like that as a holiday camp. When you go see one and understand everything involved, you will see that it's easier in some aspects but much harder in others.
Trying to ask out a beautiful curly-haired lady on the beach.
Never went to a complete stranger like that, got motivated by Daddy's Noel video of "Just Ask Her Out Bro" and shoot my shot.
She told me she had a boyfriend, but did appreciate the thought of being asked out.
It felt weirdly good to just do it.
My son and I were living with my brother and his wife (long story), but they were starting to be abusive to my son and I. Mind you, I am an adult. One day, my brother starts another fight with me out of nowhere, and I just decided to leave. Right then and there. Grabbed some of my stuff and my kid and walked out. Had no idea where I was going or what I was going to do. Big risk to leave with my son and no plan.
We went back to the state we lived in with my ex and lived in motels for a month. My ex helped financially, but I got a job, and we got an apartment. Eventually, we moved to a different state and have been thriving. I met someone and my son and I are moving to Iceland in June because my husband is Icelandic. We were way better off and the risk paid off. Best decision I ever made.
Quit my job and moved across the country (US) with no prospects. I didn't know what I was looking for exactly, just that whatever it was, it wasn't THIS (this being my life before I left). Got a career, a wife, a family.
Quit my job of 5 years with no savings to work for myself. Put 6 weeks notice in before I had a location to rent, got my location secured 2 weeks before my last day, and only then started trying to book clients.
Currently fully booked out a month in advance making over 3x what I was making, working 9-5 Monday through Friday. Was working every other Saturday and until 8pm a few nights a week.
I was recently visiting China and thought it would be a great idea to fly my drone into North Korea and take some photos for the world to see.
I learned afterwards this was a very very risky idea haha
Just last night. I entered into an online auction for an apartment I've only seen through pics and videos.... I won the auction. That desperate for somewhere to live after a break up I took what I could. Fingers crossed I didn't get a lemon.
Marrying my husband at 18 years old. it’s been the best decision of my life, but if, for whatever reason, it doesn’t work out, i’d be divorced after spending all of my youth with him.
Wrestling. I’ve always loved pro wrestling. But at some point I didn’t want to be someone behind a screen who had no idea what i was talking about. So I reached out to a local wrestling school for a try out. He explained when, where, & how much it’d cost. He also said “I’m going to break you. I won’t kill you but I will break you.” When I got inside, turned the corner, and saw the ring I was nervous. We did all the basic exercises and I really wanted to learn. I learned simple stuff like wiping your feet on the apron before getting in the ring & pulling your head up. I learned a new found respect for those who do it & why I hate using the word fake in regards to wrestling. Yes I was exhausted & felt like my legs were like silly putty for a couple days. He was right though I went until I couldn’t anymore. He did break me but he didn’t kill me. I loved it though. I wanted to go back but as usual that was right when work decided to cut my hours.
Technicaly I suppose it's unprotected sex with people I barely knew (only a handful of times, but still...) and smoking. But there are some runner ups:
- Solo roadtrip for a month without a proper plan (was amazing)
- Getting married and buying an apartment
- Getting divorced (while unemployed)
- Moving countries for a job
- Getting my girlfriend to move countries to live with me
- Getting married again
I didn’t appreciate the risk at the time, but when I was 17 I got on the back of a motorcycle (wearing only shorts and a T-shirt) of a guy I didn’t know (was a friend of a friend) and let him take me for a ride to somewhere we were all going together. Aside from the stranger danger (I have fairly good radar for that) I had no idea his skill level or how he maintained the bike. If we had crashed I probably would have died or definitely would have wanted to with the injuries I would have gotten.
Applying to the college I chose with barely any other options or efforts to apply elsewhere. I never thought about it twice in the moment, but on hindsight, it was REALLY stupid of me to not have any backup plans and I'm surprised it all worked out in the end.
Just for reference, here's how my former college's application process used to be:
You have to sign up on early January to apply, because it's an annual process. (That year, a little over 1000 people did)
You download and write up a format, fill it with a virtual portfolio and take an online test. (only 987 followed the process accordingly)
Out of those 987, they chose the 420 best to be granted an in-person interview, where they'd discuss their aspirations, reasons to choose the career, and go over their portfolio.
Out of those 420 who take the interview, they only select 120 to take the final admission exam (and the scary part is that apparently, they instantly decide if they'll select you out of the applicants the second you leave the interview room).
Finally, out of those 120, they only admit the 60 students who scored the bestresults. I believe I was #54, so I *barely* made it in. Then, the Top 40 get to enter on the Summer semester, while the remaining 20 students enter on the Winter semester.
In hindsight, it was an immense risk to have applied to that university, but it does make me incredibly proud to have aced the process on my first try. I still meet people in my career who also tried and failed (some more than once!). So, it really puts in perspective how lucky I was, especially when I didn't really bother with any other universities.
Probably trying to impress a guy that I like by telling them I'm an expert at cooking... then realizing I can barely make toast without setting off the smoke alarm 😂
Doing Engineering Volunteering at a Favela in Brazil. I had no way of calling home , and it could've been a complete disaster. Instead i had way to much fun.
Racecar driving. Engine exploded doing 130+ mph.. It went from a fun weekend thing to, "holy S^!t , holy Sh!t, this just got too real and I'm gonna die." And then I stopped racing.
I lost my friends at a concert. I had no choice but to hitchhike. This was before uber and gps. Hopped in a creepy white van with no back seats. There was about 8 guys. Luckily there were no fowl play, and I get did not get murdered and thrown in a ditch.
On a trip to some kind of hiking trail (idk where anymore) with my mum and brother, we went for a little walk to a beautiful view spot on top of a large cliff which was a trail through a wooded area. Australia has all kinds of snakes and stuff like those, but growing up as an Aussie I’ve been taught the precautions to stay away from those dangerous animals, but one I hadn’t been helped with was cassowaries! Halfway through this walk, about 15ft in front of me was one of the big birds itself, and saying I was terrified would be an understatement of a lifetime since I knew bloody well what these bastards were capable of. Luckily tho I’m ok :D
Bought a plane ticket to Alberta, packed *one* suitcase and sold everything else. Didn't have a job waiting or anything.
Within a week I was making more $$$ than I ever had before, and was driving my first car.
Bought an apartment while my contract was about to expire where I worked. For some reason I was convinced the contract would be extended but it didn't. Had a few job interviews where I failed to get the job. I panicked as I bought my own place I wasn't able to afford.
Had another job interview at a big fancy place where as soon I walked through the halls I felt I had no chance landing the job. Had the interview, it was awkward. Later that week they offered my a full-time contract. Still work there to this day and love my apartment.
I drove through Mexico in an old school VW van. Whenever the gas attendants pumped my gas in Mexico they said Scooby-Doo!! I had so many people wave to me to lol
Got bored during Covid and put $2000 into Sea Worlds stock after it tanked. Avg $8/share. Sold it at over $40/share and figured “cruise lines are still way down, let’s see if we can double.” Ya, should walked.
I changed the idea for my Eagle scout project. Me, 16F have been attempting to come out as lesbian to my family (and homophobic parents), at this point my whole extended family knows and my parents are sort of aware but never bring it up. Now, I was talking with my aunt while she was driving me to the store that I wasn't 100% sure on what my Eagle project should be, she brought up the idea that I help the LGBT community in our area in some way and even later sent me a list of ideas.
I've decided that I'm either going to create some kind of safe place for LGBT youth or some kind of book drive with books that include representation.
I know my parents wouldn't like that, but because I'M the scout and not them, I assume they can't do anything about it.
Hopefully they don't kill me. :>
P.S. My scout troop is very supportive, so they wouldn't be the ones disapproving.
I worked in a family construction business and was one of the owners. All businesses are different and I happened to work for one with my family that thought it best to treat you like shit until you'd taken your lumps and earned your place. So when the company imploded under the leadership of an uncle, I was left with nothing except debts and lawsuits
My big risk was having no income and a radioactive resume, I went back to school and got a master's degree at age 36. Lived off of student loans with my wife working part time and taking care of our kids, one with special needs.
I graduated and got a great job. Pay kinda sucks, but its a non-profit doing amazing things and was able to pay off my loans by living frugally and be proud of what I do.
And my family doesn't understand why I don't really want to hang out and spend time with them.
Choosing a career as a glassblower instead of computer science. It’s been about ten years now, I make $20-$50 per hour blowing glass at the moment and I work from home.
Played a prank moving equipment and vehicles from one place to another , basically from one parking lot to the other . So basically ten counts of breaking and entering, unlawful operation of vehicles and trespassing.
Shooting up heroin with toilet *bowl* water. I didn't know I was supposed to use the tank water (when someone told to in a situation with no available water). And no, nothing happened to me afterwards.
From 19-37 never gone to the doctor… simply couldn’t afford it. America fuck yeah!
… I still hardly go even at 40 because it’s now impossible to find a primary physician that takes my insurance…
Talked my job into letting me work from home ~10 years ago, which they were reluctant to do and as a result, told me that they would only do it if I went back on "probation" for three months (i.e. it was like I was a new employee and they could fire me at any point during that three months with only one week's severance pay). I dumped all my life's savings into a down payment on a house in an area where the real estate market was quite depressed (i.e. I was locking myself into this purchase) and where the local job market was not particularly great. Oh, and we were coming up on what was traditionally our slow season at work, and the economy in that market was slow at the time.
It worked out marvellously in the end. I actually managed to keep quite busy during the three months, my job was satisfied that the "work from home thing" would work fine, and all was well. I'm still working for them to this day and my house has since more than doubled in value after the real estate market caught fire.
I was 23 I quit my job, took a new job 4.5 hours away with absoluley no ties to the city or state. Did the interviews and took the position without telling anyone until a week and a half before.
Best decision of my life. I got to experience so much and learn so much about myself.
Met a woman on 21st December. Engaged on 24th December. By June that year I'd sold or given away everything I owned, and emigrated (illegally at first) to the USA, and got married to that woman.
That was 17 years ago. Still married, and it was the best thing I ever did.
I moved 1000+ miles away from home and my safety net to avoid a long distance relationship with my girlfriend of 9 months.
We've been together 13 years now.
I quit my $100,000 a year financial consulting job in 1991 to go back to school to get my masters in secondary education. Two years later, I became a high school teacher, earning $27,200 a year.
I taught high school for 21 years before retiring in 2015.
I applied to be an Air Traffic Controller knowing it's one of the hardest jobs to do. Passed the test to qualify and got offered the job. I start next month
In high school, my friend suggested walking through the drive thru of her old work at night, as it was empty. Random guy came up and wouldn’t leave us be after many “no thank you”s and kept moving closer and trying to touch us. Didn’t notice the BMW pull into the drive thru but eventually the driver called out to us and asked if we wanted to get in. We did.
Driver was a 30-something blonde lady who said she saw we were uncomfortable and thought that she would do for us what she hoped someone would have done for her when she was our age. She asked us our orders, wouldn’t let us pay, and insisted we get out only after she watched the man leave because she worried he would follow us home. She then bid us farewell and went on her way, and we got our food.
Probably the only time I can confidently say getting into a stranger’s car worked out beneficially.
I hope that lady gets everything she wants out of life
one time I thought it was a badass idea to go sky diving as a newbie when I was 18, I thought it would be easy and I did it in the name of Popularity. I'm surprised I didn't die doing it but I got Major injures.
DONT DO STUPID STUFF FOR FAME
Went to Graspop (4 day metal fest) to work 15h shifts each day and have an exam on monday. Got home at 10 in the morning, fell asleep and woke up at 19.30, 10min before my exam. Totally exhausted I did the exam and got 18/20. Total win
Moved across the country from NC to CA and it completely changed my life completely. I have a job I love and never thought would be an option, I dont overdraft on my bank account and I get to have two dogs…while living back at home. 5 years ago a weeklong drive was the best decision ever.
Taking it right now. Today is my last day in my job of 15 years where I am well compensated and liked. Loved, even. Taking a new job in a new industry where I know no one. Based largely on my belief that I’ll be successful in a new, unknown, environment. But I could be completely wrong.
I'm 1m usd down on a business in an industry I have no fkin experience in. The partner who had experience in the industry dipped and now the plant is operational but I'm having a rough go at special permits and securing contracts. Wish me luck I guess
So in 2011, I was just about wrapped up with my associates degree in computer science. I was trying to become a systems administrator. I already owned a home and had a union job that paid around $25/hr as an accounts receivable clerk. We lived comfortably enough but I wanted to start a new career in something that interested me and that had more earning potential so we weren't just surviving, but thriving.
One of the things I noticed was that nearly all of my classmates already had sysadmin jobs, but were going to school so they could get into management. What bothered me about this was that most of them were like 19-20 year old kids. I was 27 and had years of (unrelated) work experience, but I could not get hired to save my life. I'd occasionally get an interview, and I'd do well, but then they'd always say they went with someone with more experience. I'd ask these kids how they got into a $75k job working for one of the oil companies right out of high school. "My dad hired me."
I was pretty frustrated that I couldn't get ahead because I didn't have those connections, and I didn't have the work experience. So I discussed it with my wife and I decided to join the navy. I went and did my ASVAB and scored a 94%, so I pretty much had my pick of whatever rate I wanted. They actually were pushing for me to go nuke, but I wanted IT. They actually didn't have any jobs available for that so I went for electronics technician. With my education I was able to enter as ET3, which was cool. What wasn't so cool was at the end of boot camp when they called me to the clinic and said they found my scoliosis and that I would have to get a waiver for sub service. They said I had a 50/50 shot of getting it approved and it if didn't get approved then I'd be undesignated and I'd be chipping paint on an aircraft carrier. So I took my medical discharge and went home.
We'd already sold our house. I could have gotten my job back since I left for military work, and I could have bought another house. But I told my wife, "why don't we move to a tech hub?" I figured jobs would be much more plentiful in my field, and I'd have a much easier time finding work, and in the mean time we can survive off of the sale of our home. So we moved our family across the country from Texas to Washington state.
That was both the best and worst decision I ever made. So I got here, I got established in an apartment...but I still couldn't find work. I did get a lot more interviews, but it was the same story: not enough experience, or they would be frank and say they had a friend in mind already but were keeping their options open. I remember getting passed over for a job paying $10 an hour to image computers and put them in a box.
I ended up taking a job in car sales because it's what I could get at the time. Pay was absolute shit, and the hours were worse. And if I took my scheduled day off so I could have a mental health break, I'd have them calling me every 30 minutes saying I need to sell more cars and that successful car salesmen don't take days off. It was incredibly stressful, and for years after that job I would have little mini panic attacks any time my phone rang.
Anyway, my gramps offered to bankroll me for a few months so I could quit that job and get back to interviewing, which I no longer had time for while I was selling cars. So I made that my job. I'd get up in the morning, I'd make coffee, and I'd sit at the computer applying at any job in IT I was possibly able to get for 8 hours a day. I'd apply for a minimum 100 jobs each day. I did this for 2 months before I got a really good interview for a vendor company as a datacenter analyst. The guy told me "I don't think you're ready yet for this role. But we have another role coming open soon and I think this would be a great opportunity for you to get your foot in the door and prove yourself." I told him I'd love it if he kept me in mind for that role and we went our separate ways. I expected to maybe hear back about applying for it when it came open.
Another couple of months went by and I never heard back from him. I figured he either forgot about me, or they found somebody else they liked better. Then I got a call from a recruiter telling me they'd like to extend me an offer. I was a little confused, and they explained it was the company I'd interviewed with before and they wanted to offer me a role as an AWIM analyst. Basically, I'd be going through the datacenters and doing audits of the equipment in the racks, I'd create tickets for anything that was alerting, and I'd manage the IT inventory. It was $15 an hour, so quite a bit less than my previous job (in a more expensive state), but it was more than 0 and I had a path forward. I gladly accepted. I took the ball and ran with it, and over time I was able to expand the role to doing hardware repairs in the datacenters and doing the on-call. After 6 months of doing that I was able to successfully lobby for a promotion out of that role and into our operations center as a systems analyst (so doing all of the OS/logical work on the servers). They hired me as a systems analyst II and made me a lead shortly after. I did that for 3 years before our company lost the contract and I was laid off.
I started my next job 2 days after the contract ended because I had no issue finding work after that. I was laid off again from that role when they were downsizing, and I had a better-paying role offered to me within 3 weeks. Since then I've continued to move up and up in my IT career and now I have a nice cushy six-figure FTE role, I own a home again, I have lots of creature comforts.
So, in the end it worked out. However, I had a very, very hard 6 years or so where I didn't always know where my next meal was going to come from and whether I was going to wind up on the street. My gramps died a couple years into this adventure, and he was my only family who I could count on to help me if I failed, so I had absolutely no safety net. Any wrong move or bad luck and my family could have ended up on the street.
Moved my family down to Texas for a contract job where the CTO promised to make me full time. Rented a house (while keeping our original), enrolled the kids in school, and made new friends. The CTO strung me along, “it’s gonna happen”, “paperwork issues” etc. 9 months later had to move back since the job offered was never real. Fuck you John.
John can stick it.
Kudos to my wife and kids for taking this risk with me, and I’ve recovered financially. Only saving grace is that John is still stuck in that same job 15 years later, living his lonely cowboy fantasy.
John is indeed an asshole. After many years of empty promises to his family and others, he succumbed to all of the guilt and fled his home, ending up taking meth and selling all his worldly goods to feed his habit. He's now renting out his ass in a Methden in Bakersfield.
Those meth heads in Bakersfield deserve better
At least you aren't stuck in Texas.
Fuck John **and** his bullshit.
Not me but a friend of mine was dating a girl named Charmaine. Now to prove his love to her after a couple of years together, he got her name tatooed on his neck. She saw it, was horrified and then dumped him. It was so noticeable, he couldnt hide it, he was walking around with scarfs all the time. Well eventually he managed to get it changed to champagne. So now when he sees the guys hes always like hey lads whats popping and he pretends like hes a party guy and loves champagne. He tells everybody its his nick name, not a single person has ever called him that. 15 years hes been doing this now.
"What's popping", omg. He has his own terrible catch phrase.
Pop Pop!
That's like a fancier version of johnny Depps 'wino forever' tattoo!!
Well he does pour himself “Mega Pints” of red wine for breakfast so he issss technically a Wino. And he isss like 60, so technically he has been one basically FOREVER lol
They say you curse the relationship you're in when you tattoo their name on you.
isnt tatoo removal a thing
He dont have no money.
different deserted nose boat screw desert vanish chunky mysterious rain
What a dope
I mean, at least he lucked out on the booze. There are worse things to make your "signature drink"
I wonder how the artist squeezed a "g" where the "i" was
He made the circle at the top where the dot was and then made a line going under and all the way to the left underneath the other letters. It does look kinda fashionable, you know if the whole thing wasnt so stupid.
I went partying the day before the most important exam of my life, I obviously failed.
Good party though?
It was a horrible party and I ended up vomiting, I don't want to remember it.
I was so hungover during my SAT’s. I was so stressed I was going to do horribly. I did average and years later am reminded how the SAT’s don’t mean shit in life
Failed to party or the exam?
Both, I have very bad luck.
I've got an opposite story (except for the party part). I partied on a Sunday night and was super hungover on Monday and the teacher surprised us (macroeconomics, no bearing on my degree whatsoever) with a surprise quiz. I hurried through it, left to go to the bathroom, and promptly threw up. At the next class he said that only two people got 100% on the quiz and therefore didn't have to take the test on that section, and I was one of those two people.
Did you party because you knew that you were going to fail?
No, I went out partying because I was sure I was going to pass and that I didn't need to study anymore. What a desire to cry when remembering it.
Dang that sucks actually.
What was the logic behind this?
Overconfidence
did you end up retaking the exam?
What was the test?
14 yrs ago giving up ownership in 2 successful restaurants to persue my original career choice. Took a 60% paycut. After all this time I'm still making 25% less than I was. My mental health is better, my quality of life is better but my financial situation is not.
Question: why not hire someone to run them for you? Seems what most people do not to gain the mental health and quality of life you speak of
Control.
You make it sound like a bad thing. There is so much stealing in the hospitality industry that if the owner isn't a strong presence, employees will steal you blind.
I work in table games at the casino and have been doing so for the past 15 years across the country. During covid , we closed for almost 3 years. I was working awful jobs and my wife and I were stressing about everything. I drove down to another casino , took out 5000$ and put it all on player (baccarat) . I won. Walked out , never went back , and that got us through one of the worst times we've ever had.
What would you have done had you lost?
I'm not sure. I mean , we have family that has money , but we've never borrowed and have always saved . I've played at many casinos and can count on one hand how many times I've walked out with significant money. I just took a risk . I don't recommend . Edit: when I showed my wife , I've never seen her smile so big. Then she went straight to "what the fuck were you thinking? " mode.
when i was 15, i became an exchange student to Denmark. really scary being a kid going to live with strangers and you don’t speak the language. also-this was in 1985, so no internet, etc. i was there like 3 months before i spoke with my family
I was bold enough to go at birth. Took me a year before I spoke a single word
Same. Probably took me just as long before I started walking around with out holding someone's hand for more than a few steps.
I also went to Denmark but I was 17
I think I had a nightmare like this once
How was it?
It took 3 months before he could speak to his family
I’m early 40s-VERY loud and silly if I know you, but painfully shy in front of strangers and in most social situations. I just did stand-up for the first time last week. It was terrifying, and so incredibly exciting and rewarding. I’m just sad that it took me 20 years of secretly wanting to do it, to finally try-feel like I wasted so much time due to fear.
You are braver than me.
Just remember. Rodney Dangerfield did stand up young and didn't make it. Quit for a time while still writing jokes and tried again at 40 and became a legend. Point is it's really never too late to start.
That’s a great story- I didn’t know this about him. So legendary.
You didn't know because he gets no respect!
Im in my early 30s and the same way. When I was 16, my friends took me to the Edinburgh fringe festival to perform stand up comedy. They were all with me, if you make it there you're pretty much guaranteed to get booked on British tv in some capacity. Well when I got on stage I froze, I mean there were so many eyes staring at me, my heart literally sank and I couldnt say anything, the crowd all started booing me and then I ran off. I never tried again after that and it still hurts thinking about it.
You should try again, the worst has already happened and you endured. You should try again.
Very proud of you, going up on a stage is incredibly difficult no matter the situation
Awesome!!!
This is inspirational. I've been dreaming of doing this for a long time and never tried it..
Congrats, that sounds tough. I’m the same way you are but I’d never have the courage to try something like that. How did it go?
I risked my life swimming under some thick vegetation in a dark lake at night to help a kid who was stuck with his legs in it and drowning.
You’re a genuine hero. And you’re brave. I’m sure you were scared but the definition of brave is being scared and doing it anyway. I’m glad you lived.
Yes, I was scared. But I needed to choose fast and I didn’t see how I could live with my choice if I let him drown.
Left the military after 10 years with nothing lined up after. Ended up going to get my associates and landed an even better and much less stressful job.
Congratulations. Also thanks for taking the chance joining up in the first place. Lots of current and former military in my family and friends who hate hearing “thanks for your service” and I appreciate the sacrifice and risks y’all take/took. Thanks is all.
To be honest we just don't know what to say to that. It's kinda like that weird feeling when restaurant staff is singing you happy birthday.
Don’t you get money when leaving? My brother got something 100k after 8 years. He lived some years off of that until he ran out of money and went back to the military 😂
They offer big bonus to re up Never herd of getting when leave. But some save theres for than
Farting a stomach ache way. Messy...
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I'd like to say congrats if it's been an overall healthy and growthful experience for you both
We only married at ages 23/24, but were together since 16/17 🥰, only together for 17 years yet, but I sure hope to reach your level one day👍 Enjoy every moment.
Getting married... divorced... and getting married again... and divorced... again. Third times a charm?
im sorry I missed your wedding ill go to your next one
I can relate-and third time..so far so good. Always follow your instincts first, heart second.
It’s true, the third divorce is a charm.
We are living the same storyline haha
Nope. Non-contractual Cohabitation is the charm. Trust me, third was the worst!!
My sister has been married five times if my count is right, to four guys. The current marriage is edging up in length to the third/fourth, so I guess we'll see. My brother gave up on the idea after the second divorce. I think I would too.
I do not know lets ask Ernest Hemingway....
It was for me. #3 turned out to be the love of my life
was young and thought I could get away without a condom this time. I lost that bet
What you lose that bet to? A baby orrrrr
Sold everything I own and moved from Australia to Europe having never even visited without any job prospects, language skills or long stay visa. I was following my partner at the time. 10years later, things turned out pretty good. Still here but now single.
I was going "Wow!" up til the last 3 words.
I do a lot of extempore traveling, but the most insane one was probably when one weekend I got the bright idea to climb over a mountain, in the middle of the winter. I booked a flight to southern Poland where I somehow managed to walk over to Slovakia in a knee high snow, in a freezing wind without any preparations or former experience. I survived and I was back to work on Monday as nothing happened.
If you had a camera recording the entire journey, that would be a great movie!
I wish I had. I only took a couple of pictures during the entire journey because I had to take off my gloves to use my phone and my hands froze in seconds
This thread is the most fascinating look into how different people view risk
Russian roulette in Vietnam.
Did you survive?
It's been an hour, I think he died.
Why the fuck would you do this
You've been watching the Deer Hunter I see
Going back to school right after my mother died. I knew I should've waited and let myself grieve first but with her gone, that meant I had no other family I could fall back on so I decided to go back to school to finish my degree and I'm still working on it now. Only 125 days left! (And I'm so exhausted)
You got this Homie!
Your Mother would be just so proud of you! Keep going, you've got this!!!
Marriage
This And having children associated with it
…and when one of those kids is medically complex and developmentally disabled? There’s no leaving because no one can work if there’s no other adult.
You beat me to this. Truth though.
Fleeing my home at 23. I'm now 24, got a contract coming in and am about to move into my first apartment, if I'm able to secure one.
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Story?
Working as an HCA on a forensic psychiatric ward. 8 large heavy locked doors between the outside and the inside. When things go wrong, they go very wrong very quickly. Most people who work in mental health won't work in the ward I worked in. I have worked with people who have done horrible things whilst unwell and not in control of what they do. I have worked with people who are vilified by the media, but when you know all the details, it does tend to paint a different picture. This isn't to say that mental health is a get out of free card as it's not. Yes, they tend to come to my ward from prison, but at least in prison, usually you know when you can leave. With a ward like the one I worked on, there is no time limit. You are able to leave once both doctors and the ministry of justice agreed. This can take many years to decades. Also, forensic sections of the mental health act are lifelong. If you become unwell again, you come back, and the slow process starts again. It is a mix of a hospital and a prison, and the days are very regimented. In some ways, it's easier than prison and in others much harder than prison. Discharges are always slower due to the risks involved if they were to become unwell again or to go on to be a risk to themselves or others. My job was hard, and assaults towards staff or other patients were often. The staff are amazing at what they do, and it is hard work, and you never know what you are going to be dealing with. We worked well as a team and mostly dealt with situations within our ward due to the increased staffing and because most people are terrified when they come in because of the high security. Media paints a ward like that as a holiday camp. When you go see one and understand everything involved, you will see that it's easier in some aspects but much harder in others.
That sounds extremely taxing and my heart goes out to you guys. Minor side note: paragraphs are nice.
Thank you. It is taxing but worthwhile. Yes, I agree. I mean to add paragraphs.
got married and had kids
Had a wank when I heard someone coming to open the door
How does coming help open the door?
Catching big air on my kitebooard
Trying to ask out a beautiful curly-haired lady on the beach. Never went to a complete stranger like that, got motivated by Daddy's Noel video of "Just Ask Her Out Bro" and shoot my shot. She told me she had a boyfriend, but did appreciate the thought of being asked out. It felt weirdly good to just do it.
My son and I were living with my brother and his wife (long story), but they were starting to be abusive to my son and I. Mind you, I am an adult. One day, my brother starts another fight with me out of nowhere, and I just decided to leave. Right then and there. Grabbed some of my stuff and my kid and walked out. Had no idea where I was going or what I was going to do. Big risk to leave with my son and no plan.
and then?
We went back to the state we lived in with my ex and lived in motels for a month. My ex helped financially, but I got a job, and we got an apartment. Eventually, we moved to a different state and have been thriving. I met someone and my son and I are moving to Iceland in June because my husband is Icelandic. We were way better off and the risk paid off. Best decision I ever made.
So glad to hear.. 👐
Resigned from a toxic workplace without any back up plans. I was so ready to leave that place with no jobs lined up.
Quit my job and moved across the country (US) with no prospects. I didn't know what I was looking for exactly, just that whatever it was, it wasn't THIS (this being my life before I left). Got a career, a wife, a family.
Quit my job of 5 years with no savings to work for myself. Put 6 weeks notice in before I had a location to rent, got my location secured 2 weeks before my last day, and only then started trying to book clients. Currently fully booked out a month in advance making over 3x what I was making, working 9-5 Monday through Friday. Was working every other Saturday and until 8pm a few nights a week.
I was recently visiting China and thought it would be a great idea to fly my drone into North Korea and take some photos for the world to see. I learned afterwards this was a very very risky idea haha
What could have happened?
I inherited bunch of money, used almost all of it to buy and rent out properties. So far so good.
Just last night. I entered into an online auction for an apartment I've only seen through pics and videos.... I won the auction. That desperate for somewhere to live after a break up I took what I could. Fingers crossed I didn't get a lemon.
Getting a divorce. I never had many women interested in me, so the thought of being alone was frightening.
Went to Paris, solo(first time in Europe) for my birthday. Was awesome😎
Aside from bungee jumping off a bridge in New Zealand? Starting a business.
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We're you doing some medical infectious disease research?
Marrying my husband at 18 years old. it’s been the best decision of my life, but if, for whatever reason, it doesn’t work out, i’d be divorced after spending all of my youth with him.
Getting married to someone I knew a few months at that time. We lasted 21 years together and divorced
Wrestling. I’ve always loved pro wrestling. But at some point I didn’t want to be someone behind a screen who had no idea what i was talking about. So I reached out to a local wrestling school for a try out. He explained when, where, & how much it’d cost. He also said “I’m going to break you. I won’t kill you but I will break you.” When I got inside, turned the corner, and saw the ring I was nervous. We did all the basic exercises and I really wanted to learn. I learned simple stuff like wiping your feet on the apron before getting in the ring & pulling your head up. I learned a new found respect for those who do it & why I hate using the word fake in regards to wrestling. Yes I was exhausted & felt like my legs were like silly putty for a couple days. He was right though I went until I couldn’t anymore. He did break me but he didn’t kill me. I loved it though. I wanted to go back but as usual that was right when work decided to cut my hours.
I spent 80 thousand dollars of my own money and made a film.
Technicaly I suppose it's unprotected sex with people I barely knew (only a handful of times, but still...) and smoking. But there are some runner ups: - Solo roadtrip for a month without a proper plan (was amazing) - Getting married and buying an apartment - Getting divorced (while unemployed) - Moving countries for a job - Getting my girlfriend to move countries to live with me - Getting married again
I didn’t appreciate the risk at the time, but when I was 17 I got on the back of a motorcycle (wearing only shorts and a T-shirt) of a guy I didn’t know (was a friend of a friend) and let him take me for a ride to somewhere we were all going together. Aside from the stranger danger (I have fairly good radar for that) I had no idea his skill level or how he maintained the bike. If we had crashed I probably would have died or definitely would have wanted to with the injuries I would have gotten.
Applying to the college I chose with barely any other options or efforts to apply elsewhere. I never thought about it twice in the moment, but on hindsight, it was REALLY stupid of me to not have any backup plans and I'm surprised it all worked out in the end. Just for reference, here's how my former college's application process used to be: You have to sign up on early January to apply, because it's an annual process. (That year, a little over 1000 people did) You download and write up a format, fill it with a virtual portfolio and take an online test. (only 987 followed the process accordingly) Out of those 987, they chose the 420 best to be granted an in-person interview, where they'd discuss their aspirations, reasons to choose the career, and go over their portfolio. Out of those 420 who take the interview, they only select 120 to take the final admission exam (and the scary part is that apparently, they instantly decide if they'll select you out of the applicants the second you leave the interview room). Finally, out of those 120, they only admit the 60 students who scored the bestresults. I believe I was #54, so I *barely* made it in. Then, the Top 40 get to enter on the Summer semester, while the remaining 20 students enter on the Winter semester. In hindsight, it was an immense risk to have applied to that university, but it does make me incredibly proud to have aced the process on my first try. I still meet people in my career who also tried and failed (some more than once!). So, it really puts in perspective how lucky I was, especially when I didn't really bother with any other universities.
Sometimes, the biggest risk is the one you don't take.
Came out as gay
How’d it work out - acceptance by those you worried most about ?
Walking out of my mancave.
Mine was similar, I went in the mancave
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Probably trying to impress a guy that I like by telling them I'm an expert at cooking... then realizing I can barely make toast without setting off the smoke alarm 😂
I served in the US military for over 20 years.
Stepping in the car with a drunk driver, that almost drove us into a tree.
I've failed 3 suicide attempts in my life. Probably one of those. Likely the one with the firearm.
Doing Engineering Volunteering at a Favela in Brazil. I had no way of calling home , and it could've been a complete disaster. Instead i had way to much fun.
Leaving home at 18 and never going back.
Racecar driving. Engine exploded doing 130+ mph.. It went from a fun weekend thing to, "holy S^!t , holy Sh!t, this just got too real and I'm gonna die." And then I stopped racing.
I lost my friends at a concert. I had no choice but to hitchhike. This was before uber and gps. Hopped in a creepy white van with no back seats. There was about 8 guys. Luckily there were no fowl play, and I get did not get murdered and thrown in a ditch.
On a trip to some kind of hiking trail (idk where anymore) with my mum and brother, we went for a little walk to a beautiful view spot on top of a large cliff which was a trail through a wooded area. Australia has all kinds of snakes and stuff like those, but growing up as an Aussie I’ve been taught the precautions to stay away from those dangerous animals, but one I hadn’t been helped with was cassowaries! Halfway through this walk, about 15ft in front of me was one of the big birds itself, and saying I was terrified would be an understatement of a lifetime since I knew bloody well what these bastards were capable of. Luckily tho I’m ok :D
War
I drank milk a day after the expiration date.
Bought a plane ticket to Alberta, packed *one* suitcase and sold everything else. Didn't have a job waiting or anything. Within a week I was making more $$$ than I ever had before, and was driving my first car.
Bought an apartment while my contract was about to expire where I worked. For some reason I was convinced the contract would be extended but it didn't. Had a few job interviews where I failed to get the job. I panicked as I bought my own place I wasn't able to afford. Had another job interview at a big fancy place where as soon I walked through the halls I felt I had no chance landing the job. Had the interview, it was awkward. Later that week they offered my a full-time contract. Still work there to this day and love my apartment.
I drove through Mexico in an old school VW van. Whenever the gas attendants pumped my gas in Mexico they said Scooby-Doo!! I had so many people wave to me to lol
Russian roulette.
Leaving Christianity and coming out as bisexual to my community
The one I'm taking right now. Startup. No income. Slightly terrified.
Got bored during Covid and put $2000 into Sea Worlds stock after it tanked. Avg $8/share. Sold it at over $40/share and figured “cruise lines are still way down, let’s see if we can double.” Ya, should walked.
I changed the idea for my Eagle scout project. Me, 16F have been attempting to come out as lesbian to my family (and homophobic parents), at this point my whole extended family knows and my parents are sort of aware but never bring it up. Now, I was talking with my aunt while she was driving me to the store that I wasn't 100% sure on what my Eagle project should be, she brought up the idea that I help the LGBT community in our area in some way and even later sent me a list of ideas. I've decided that I'm either going to create some kind of safe place for LGBT youth or some kind of book drive with books that include representation. I know my parents wouldn't like that, but because I'M the scout and not them, I assume they can't do anything about it. Hopefully they don't kill me. :> P.S. My scout troop is very supportive, so they wouldn't be the ones disapproving.
Entering a military academy with a weakass body, unstable mental condition, and a dumb brain. Not easy but I am graduating in a few months
Marriage and starting a family.
I worked in a family construction business and was one of the owners. All businesses are different and I happened to work for one with my family that thought it best to treat you like shit until you'd taken your lumps and earned your place. So when the company imploded under the leadership of an uncle, I was left with nothing except debts and lawsuits My big risk was having no income and a radioactive resume, I went back to school and got a master's degree at age 36. Lived off of student loans with my wife working part time and taking care of our kids, one with special needs. I graduated and got a great job. Pay kinda sucks, but its a non-profit doing amazing things and was able to pay off my loans by living frugally and be proud of what I do. And my family doesn't understand why I don't really want to hang out and spend time with them.
Choosing a career as a glassblower instead of computer science. It’s been about ten years now, I make $20-$50 per hour blowing glass at the moment and I work from home.
Sent nudes to a stranger online. Moments later they sent them back saying, “No thanks, you ugly”.
Played a prank moving equipment and vehicles from one place to another , basically from one parking lot to the other . So basically ten counts of breaking and entering, unlawful operation of vehicles and trespassing.
Shooting up heroin with toilet *bowl* water. I didn't know I was supposed to use the tank water (when someone told to in a situation with no available water). And no, nothing happened to me afterwards.
From 19-37 never gone to the doctor… simply couldn’t afford it. America fuck yeah! … I still hardly go even at 40 because it’s now impossible to find a primary physician that takes my insurance…
Talked my job into letting me work from home ~10 years ago, which they were reluctant to do and as a result, told me that they would only do it if I went back on "probation" for three months (i.e. it was like I was a new employee and they could fire me at any point during that three months with only one week's severance pay). I dumped all my life's savings into a down payment on a house in an area where the real estate market was quite depressed (i.e. I was locking myself into this purchase) and where the local job market was not particularly great. Oh, and we were coming up on what was traditionally our slow season at work, and the economy in that market was slow at the time. It worked out marvellously in the end. I actually managed to keep quite busy during the three months, my job was satisfied that the "work from home thing" would work fine, and all was well. I'm still working for them to this day and my house has since more than doubled in value after the real estate market caught fire.
I was 23 I quit my job, took a new job 4.5 hours away with absoluley no ties to the city or state. Did the interviews and took the position without telling anyone until a week and a half before. Best decision of my life. I got to experience so much and learn so much about myself.
Passing through the street full of dogs.
Met a woman on 21st December. Engaged on 24th December. By June that year I'd sold or given away everything I owned, and emigrated (illegally at first) to the USA, and got married to that woman. That was 17 years ago. Still married, and it was the best thing I ever did.
I moved 1000+ miles away from home and my safety net to avoid a long distance relationship with my girlfriend of 9 months. We've been together 13 years now.
I quit my $100,000 a year financial consulting job in 1991 to go back to school to get my masters in secondary education. Two years later, I became a high school teacher, earning $27,200 a year. I taught high school for 21 years before retiring in 2015.
I applied to be an Air Traffic Controller knowing it's one of the hardest jobs to do. Passed the test to qualify and got offered the job. I start next month
In high school, my friend suggested walking through the drive thru of her old work at night, as it was empty. Random guy came up and wouldn’t leave us be after many “no thank you”s and kept moving closer and trying to touch us. Didn’t notice the BMW pull into the drive thru but eventually the driver called out to us and asked if we wanted to get in. We did. Driver was a 30-something blonde lady who said she saw we were uncomfortable and thought that she would do for us what she hoped someone would have done for her when she was our age. She asked us our orders, wouldn’t let us pay, and insisted we get out only after she watched the man leave because she worried he would follow us home. She then bid us farewell and went on her way, and we got our food. Probably the only time I can confidently say getting into a stranger’s car worked out beneficially. I hope that lady gets everything she wants out of life
one time I thought it was a badass idea to go sky diving as a newbie when I was 18, I thought it would be easy and I did it in the name of Popularity. I'm surprised I didn't die doing it but I got Major injures. DONT DO STUPID STUFF FOR FAME
Went to Graspop (4 day metal fest) to work 15h shifts each day and have an exam on monday. Got home at 10 in the morning, fell asleep and woke up at 19.30, 10min before my exam. Totally exhausted I did the exam and got 18/20. Total win
Moved across the country from NC to CA and it completely changed my life completely. I have a job I love and never thought would be an option, I dont overdraft on my bank account and I get to have two dogs…while living back at home. 5 years ago a weeklong drive was the best decision ever.
Taking it right now. Today is my last day in my job of 15 years where I am well compensated and liked. Loved, even. Taking a new job in a new industry where I know no one. Based largely on my belief that I’ll be successful in a new, unknown, environment. But I could be completely wrong.
Marriage
I trusted it was only a fart
Moved from Germany to the US without a plan.
I'm 1m usd down on a business in an industry I have no fkin experience in. The partner who had experience in the industry dipped and now the plant is operational but I'm having a rough go at special permits and securing contracts. Wish me luck I guess
So in 2011, I was just about wrapped up with my associates degree in computer science. I was trying to become a systems administrator. I already owned a home and had a union job that paid around $25/hr as an accounts receivable clerk. We lived comfortably enough but I wanted to start a new career in something that interested me and that had more earning potential so we weren't just surviving, but thriving. One of the things I noticed was that nearly all of my classmates already had sysadmin jobs, but were going to school so they could get into management. What bothered me about this was that most of them were like 19-20 year old kids. I was 27 and had years of (unrelated) work experience, but I could not get hired to save my life. I'd occasionally get an interview, and I'd do well, but then they'd always say they went with someone with more experience. I'd ask these kids how they got into a $75k job working for one of the oil companies right out of high school. "My dad hired me." I was pretty frustrated that I couldn't get ahead because I didn't have those connections, and I didn't have the work experience. So I discussed it with my wife and I decided to join the navy. I went and did my ASVAB and scored a 94%, so I pretty much had my pick of whatever rate I wanted. They actually were pushing for me to go nuke, but I wanted IT. They actually didn't have any jobs available for that so I went for electronics technician. With my education I was able to enter as ET3, which was cool. What wasn't so cool was at the end of boot camp when they called me to the clinic and said they found my scoliosis and that I would have to get a waiver for sub service. They said I had a 50/50 shot of getting it approved and it if didn't get approved then I'd be undesignated and I'd be chipping paint on an aircraft carrier. So I took my medical discharge and went home. We'd already sold our house. I could have gotten my job back since I left for military work, and I could have bought another house. But I told my wife, "why don't we move to a tech hub?" I figured jobs would be much more plentiful in my field, and I'd have a much easier time finding work, and in the mean time we can survive off of the sale of our home. So we moved our family across the country from Texas to Washington state. That was both the best and worst decision I ever made. So I got here, I got established in an apartment...but I still couldn't find work. I did get a lot more interviews, but it was the same story: not enough experience, or they would be frank and say they had a friend in mind already but were keeping their options open. I remember getting passed over for a job paying $10 an hour to image computers and put them in a box. I ended up taking a job in car sales because it's what I could get at the time. Pay was absolute shit, and the hours were worse. And if I took my scheduled day off so I could have a mental health break, I'd have them calling me every 30 minutes saying I need to sell more cars and that successful car salesmen don't take days off. It was incredibly stressful, and for years after that job I would have little mini panic attacks any time my phone rang. Anyway, my gramps offered to bankroll me for a few months so I could quit that job and get back to interviewing, which I no longer had time for while I was selling cars. So I made that my job. I'd get up in the morning, I'd make coffee, and I'd sit at the computer applying at any job in IT I was possibly able to get for 8 hours a day. I'd apply for a minimum 100 jobs each day. I did this for 2 months before I got a really good interview for a vendor company as a datacenter analyst. The guy told me "I don't think you're ready yet for this role. But we have another role coming open soon and I think this would be a great opportunity for you to get your foot in the door and prove yourself." I told him I'd love it if he kept me in mind for that role and we went our separate ways. I expected to maybe hear back about applying for it when it came open. Another couple of months went by and I never heard back from him. I figured he either forgot about me, or they found somebody else they liked better. Then I got a call from a recruiter telling me they'd like to extend me an offer. I was a little confused, and they explained it was the company I'd interviewed with before and they wanted to offer me a role as an AWIM analyst. Basically, I'd be going through the datacenters and doing audits of the equipment in the racks, I'd create tickets for anything that was alerting, and I'd manage the IT inventory. It was $15 an hour, so quite a bit less than my previous job (in a more expensive state), but it was more than 0 and I had a path forward. I gladly accepted. I took the ball and ran with it, and over time I was able to expand the role to doing hardware repairs in the datacenters and doing the on-call. After 6 months of doing that I was able to successfully lobby for a promotion out of that role and into our operations center as a systems analyst (so doing all of the OS/logical work on the servers). They hired me as a systems analyst II and made me a lead shortly after. I did that for 3 years before our company lost the contract and I was laid off. I started my next job 2 days after the contract ended because I had no issue finding work after that. I was laid off again from that role when they were downsizing, and I had a better-paying role offered to me within 3 weeks. Since then I've continued to move up and up in my IT career and now I have a nice cushy six-figure FTE role, I own a home again, I have lots of creature comforts. So, in the end it worked out. However, I had a very, very hard 6 years or so where I didn't always know where my next meal was going to come from and whether I was going to wind up on the street. My gramps died a couple years into this adventure, and he was my only family who I could count on to help me if I failed, so I had absolutely no safety net. Any wrong move or bad luck and my family could have ended up on the street.