What would you do differently if you where 20 again?

Not have been an accountant!!!

Mike

When Sarah Wilson (think taller, leggier, blonder version of Michele Pfeiffer) walks up to me (never having spoken a single word to me before) and asks me if I'm going to any of the supplemental Maths lectures, this time I'll say "Yes! Of course! Why don't we walk over there now?" instead of going red and spurting out, "No, not really... I mean...er...no".

Cheers,

Tim
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Os nid Campagnolo yw hi, dyw hi ddim yn werth ei marcho...

quote:

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When Sarah Wilson (think taller, leggier, blonder version of Michele Pfeiffer) walks up to me (never having spoken a single word to me before) and asks me if I'm going to any of the supplemental Maths lectures, this time I'll say "Yes! Of course! Why don't we walk over there now?" instead of going red and spurting out, "No, not really... I mean...er...no".

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My problem has allways been that when I've answered something like "Yes! Of course! Why don't we walk over there now?", the girl in question suddenly loses interest and goes away!

Well, what would I have done differently?
- Not waste two years doing the fourth year to get a engineering degree that amounts to absolutely nothing in the employment market. Not doing the fourth year at all would be the better alternative.
- Trying to get away from the compulsory military service (yes, Sweden is that kind of fascist state) by pretending to be a peace activitist. Others did this, so it was doable.
- So far I have saved three wasted years.
- Not being unemployed for one year (now total saved years is up to four), but instead:
- Doing the one year computer programmer course I actually did and that has kept me employed ever since four years earlier.

That was the getting a decent work bit. Over to the important parts of life.

- Revise my strategy on getting sex. I believed that the so called "easy" girls was the ones one most easily to get inside. Not so. To late I found out that the opposite was true (I've since then had sex in both catholic and muslim countries). I lost my virginity at 19 to a friends little sister who was known to be quite a swot (yes, I still thought that the "easy" girls where better chasing material after that one)!

- Don't trying to fix broken cars myself. It's a total waste of time and money.

And most important:
- I should have bought a LP12 in 1976 when I earned my first sallary and wasted it on a cassette deck that actually costed more than a Linn.

JohanR

Similar story to Tim.
When I was at college, I couldn't help but notice the most stunning 6'2" Goddess who was on some other course somewhere. Eventually (long romantic story) we hooked up, but it was all so complicated because she was with someone, and I was with someone, and stupidly (stupid, stupid, stupid!!!) it fizzled out. We exchanged letters after, and she moved away, but we kept in touch for a few years. She looked me up a few years back when she was in the country and we went for lunch somewhere, which brought me down for a few days after. She was a catwalk model for a few years which took her all over the place, I was in a band which mean't that I was effectively married - so that was it really. She is now married with young kids - same as me. But hey, it wasn't meant to be.
But if I could be 20 again....there is one particular night that I would rewrite.

Rasher,

Does your wife read this forum? I'm sure she'll get used to the idea of being second best.

This is the trouble with youth!!! It's wasted on the young. Hindsight is a wonderful thing

Regards
Clive

emigrated

Bob

This was way before my wife, and they have met since. Like I said, it wasn't meant to be and I would rewrite one night - not the whole episode. Fortunately my wife is the most stunning woman I ever saw, and even though she couldn't stand me at the time, I got her to marry me. I can assure you that I am one happy bunny. My wife still hates me though
Having said that, I've never believed in burying the truth and we are who we are as a result of what we have been through to get here. My wife has similar past affairs. You think we should pretend they never happened?

Sending clues to younger self, in order of seriousness

1. don't take them during the week
2. don't take 4 at once
3. get a clue when your ability to speak starts to misfunction
4. don't repeat electronics/physics/maths a-levels when you haven't caught clues 1-3
5. don't do 4 years voluntary work
6. do bug your supervisor to apply for research council funding the first time

There, saved myself wasting 6 years.

O/T

Hey Rasher, check your 'ride' PM.

Are we talking about being twenty again with the benefit of full, partial or zero hindsight??
Oh...... & an excellent memory?

I assume we are talking twenty WITH the benefit of FULL hindsight
AND I bloody well expect to have the body of a 20 year old adonis or else it's not worth it.
Given that
Start by becoming a gigilo to get some funds under my belt...
Then be discovered as the new Brad Pit...
and then......ummmm

OH stop it's all futile really. I'm with Nick. Hindsight would make it boring because in reality you would be afraid to do stupid things because you would keep thinking about the consequences, whereas first time around you did'nt give a shit and anyway you knew best did'nt you.

regards
GEOFF

Listening every day planning to "not fade away"

I'm not so sure Geoff. I think maybe as far as I'm concerned I gave too much of a shit then, whereas with TBOH, I wouldn't so much now (and maybe don't - I'm older and wiser [yes really])).
What is apparent to me, is that the people I now know, including my missus (actually especially my missus), I would have known anyway from more than one direction (stick with me here). For instance, she knows a couple of my previous girlfriends from her old friends, who know her from other circles. My ex-girlfriend had a lodger after I left, who was the boyfriend of a girl in Northern Ireland who went to school with my missus (yes - I know them all still - including my ex-girlfriend who is now back in Hong Kong married to my ex-lodger with four amazing daughters (yes, my ego tells me I'm partly responsible for which I am immensely proud). It's fucking weird I know - they even keep in touch with my mother!!!). Now maybe I believe in fate and therefore I'm a soft touch for this theory, but I know I would have met my wife from at least 3 directions. Weird or what. And this is not a little village, and I didn't come from here originally anyway. (My wife is part British, part Italian - but mostly Indian - so there is no connection there either). Being the complete fuckwit that I am, I am lucky that without my input, I am extremely happy with my life & wonder every day how the hell I got here. With that in mind (being a fatalist), it gives me even greater qualification to indulge in "what would I do differently if I were 20 again", but more interestingly, would it have ever changed where I am going to end up (in life)? I somehow don't think so - but I maybe could have had even more fun on the way. Maybe. On the other hand - I may be dead by now.
What does occur to me right now, is that I don't know why I'm telling this to a hifi forum! Now that is fucking weird. Maybe there's hope for me yet!

1. Not take drugs
2. Buy all those bargain-bin 70s LPs that were worth hundreds fifteen years later
3. Buy a terraced house in Cambridge for £15,000.

not drive 40 miles on the worst winters night ever for a bit of leg over action, only to find out she was rubbish and so were my car tyres. one dissapointed alpha male and one bent vauxhall nova and a snapped tree.

what were barn owls called before barns were invented?

Moi, je ne rgerettez rien.

Apart from bad French spelling.

Bruce

Oh...and that bottle of Southern Comfort that I felt I just had to finish at 3.00am after a party.

1. Bought property
2. Married Linda Daniels. I saw her back end of last year and instantly hated the bloke she was with. But then again I would not have my two cheeky monkeys.

Regards

Mike

Spending money I don't have on things I don't need.

First to say that I don't regret a thing. But, if I had the wisdom then that I have now, I would have:
- taken some more time thinking about what I really wanted to study. Perhaps philosophy, psychology and/or history. I now know it doesn't matter what you study, if only you study. So it's best to do something that you reallly really enjoy!
- staid single for at least 3/4 years!!!
- perhaps taken a shot of playing hockey at a higher level
- travelled around some more and studied in another country for a year or so
- gotten my GVB (you need this to play golf in the Netherlands. I could have taken courses when I studied very cheap, if I am to get it now it'll probably cost me a SuperCap!)
- and some other stuff I guess.

Because of what I was doing when I was 20 I can't remember being 20, in fact thanks to Tripple fff I can't remember (for Seagull)

Me?

1. the biggest thing is probably just believing in myself a bit more. I could've absolutely anything. Had a few ideas, but never persevered.
2. I really wish I didn't listen to my mates when they said "why'd you wanna go out with Jan when you can stay home and get freaked out with us?" Yeah that sounds like a good idea. Jan dumped me and I didn't realise at the time that was a bad thing!
3. Having said that I did go travelling with a clinically mad and very scary girlfriend. When my mates said that was "probably" a bad idea.......I didn't listen. That was an interesting year.
4. Saved a bit more money.

Now? Well I realise that life is an experience, both the good and bad. I've probably learnt a lot more from my mistakes than I have from my successes. And the good thing is I no longer feel guilty about starting sentences with the word "And".

And....I now know I really can do anything, if I really want it bad enough! Thank god I realised that before it was too late

Jay

OK, so a bit before 20, but I don't have any other real regrets...

I'd not have wasted two years of A levels at Grammar school studying 'pure' subjects with f***-all apparent practical application and gone to college where the same material would have been presented, but the relevant practical application of it would have been obvious.

I might then have paid more attention and saved myself having to re-learn it all later on. It wasn't even difficult for the most part, just totally bloody boring and presented by teachers who hadn't a bloody clue about the real world.

Rant over...

Andy.

Keept the body I had.
Took the time to learn Arabic & Chinese.
Realised that a 30 yearold woman is not old.

Roy T

I would never, never, never go into Accountancy again!

Regards


NB

Like most people in this cell if they're being really honest with themselves, if they had all the money they'd spent on drink !

They'd spend it on drink, especially those down Stokes Bay way.

Fritz Von Daanthemarkit

1. Don't smoke. Life, sex and everything is better without fags.
2. Don't waste time with women you're not really interested in.
3. Don't waste time with jobs you hate - even if the money's good.
4. Do that thing where you go to Calais and join the Foreign Legion. It might be a laugh...
5. Talk to your parents. You may miss them later.

Tim