As a bit of relief from What’s the worst mistake you ever made? thread here whats the best thing (or mistake) you made. Something happened unexpectedly, or a choice you made that worked out for the best?
cant think of one personally for the moment, but i will post it up when i do.
Best thing I have done - outside of marrying Mrs.Phlosphr - would have to be launching off a mountain in southern arizona near Gila Bend with a 36 foot wing attached to my back - Hang Glider - and gliding up to a cozy 10,000 feet on a nice thermal…
AAAHHHH!!! Serenity
Biggest mistake?..Why the hell did I move back east?
Wow, the “toot-your-own-horn” thread…
Actually, it’s a little unclear whether the question is “best decision you ever made”, “thing you did most likely to get you into heaven” or just “favorite moment from your life”…
So I’ll answer all three:
Best decision I ever made -
Breaking up with girlfriend #3 (as opposed to breaking up with girlfriend #1, which would be my answer to “one thing you would like to go back in time and do differently”)
Thing I did most likely to get me into heaven -
I was sitting at home on a Saturday watching a DVD when a friend (not super-close) calls up. He was just in a bad car accident, although he’s physically OK, and he’s stranded a 5 hour drive away. I ended up spending 11 or so hours in the car picking him up, driving him home to San Francisco, and then driving back to Palo Alto. I also once lent a friend a bunch of money so that he’d have enough in his bank account to get a home loan.
Favorite moment from my life -
Being madly, passionately in love with girlfriend #4, and the absolute certainty that I felt knowing that we were just perfect for each other. (This memory is sadly sullied by the fact that she dumped me 3 months later).
Sorry for tooting my own horn, but hey, you asked.
Joining the Peace Corps and spending 2 years in a developing country undergoing amazing changes.
Best thing I ever did (aside from marrying my hubby) was calling back the lady that left a message on my machine after I half-heartedly sent my resume out last year.
I had been working for a fairly decent salary as a retail store manager. The pay was good, but the hours were killing me. Over the course of a year I played around with the idea of looking for a new job. Out of the blue one day, I decided to type up a resume and send it out to a couple ads in the classifieds.
I then promptly forgot all about it, until I got a message a week later. I agonized over calling back – I had only applied for a crummy data entry job, I was about to get a great bonus where I was, but I finally broke down and called her back.
I was almost too late – she said that they were only doing interviews through the end of the day – and I only had two hours!
I told her I’d be there. Good thing I had a bottle of black hair dye too, as my hair had green streaks in it that needed taking care of!
Make a long story short, I got there just in time with my freshly dyed hair, interviewed for a data entry job and after being called back for 4 (yes 4!) more interviews, they finally decided I’d do better in Political Operations. So here I am, with the best job I’ve ever had, the best benefits in the world (employer pays all health ins., dental, etc, great 401(k), FSA ) and a boss I truly love.
The past 5 years I’ve spent every holiday working. Last Christmas I had two employees walk out on me. I worked a 17 hour shift. My husband came in to help me close the store.
This Christmas I get a week and a half off.
And to think, I wasn’t going to call her back!
Life is kinda funny like that :
:
This first one is a downer. Sorry.
The best thing I ever did was to help my sister care for my dying mother, and to be at her bedside when she died. I hated every second of it, but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. 
The best upper? Well, I have lots of things I’ve done that I’m proud of, but the one that comes to mind the fastest is that I had to take a test for credit for a class, and I got 115 of a possible 100 points (I finished an extra credit problem). The subject was C programming, and I had 15 years experience when I took the test. 
There are a few things that stand out in my mind, but I really think that one of the deciding factors overall (thought its hard to define) was quitting drugs.
I only did pot and shrooms, and only for about a year, but I had problems with a guy, and it was beginning to affect my grades, and I was constantly bitchy with my family, and I was getting pretty messed up. I quit quite suddenly (after an amazing inspiring one-on-one talk with a friend who’d managed to go from full-time crack/cocaine/heroine/you name it addict to totally clean in about 2 years). I was still messed up, and that guy I mentioned left me with a phobia for knives, but I was able to more or less get myself back together. I became closer with my best friend, and left a lot of my “party” friends behind, and about a year later met my SO, with whom I now live, and am totally happy with. I also chose to go to university away from home (850+ km away), and although I do get homesick, I think I REALLY needed to get away from the hometown environment. I love my SO, I love my apartment and my school, and I have become a much better person than I would have been if I was back home right now.
So I know there are people on these boards who have gone through a lot worse than that, and I don’t want to belittle them or their experiences, but I still think it was a really important thing for me. OTOH, I don’t REGRET having taken drugs. They could be fun, and I had some great times, and it was a good experience in my life, but I’m glad I’m not on them anymore.
The best decision I’ve ever made was to study abroad for my junior year of college. A few years ago now, but it changed my life so much that it comes up a lot. I recommend studying abroad to everyone I can. My crazy enthusiasm for the experience has influenced at least one person to go abroad too. As a direct result of my year in Israel (2 months in Haifa, 9 months in Jerusalem), I’m now in the process of applying to graduate school in Middle Eastern Studies and hope to spend my life studying and teaching about the region. Being in that part of the world also enabled me to travel to Europe twice, and also to Egypt.
I was only in Egypt for a couple days (just Sinai), but when I was there I got to do one of the absolute Best Things Ever. I swam with wild dolphins in the Red Sea. It’s not going to get me into heaven, and it certainly didn’t help anyone else, but it was absolutely brilliant. Incredible.
The best thing I’ve ever done was marry my husband.
After that, the best thing I’ve ever done was finish my first novel. It gave me the drive to finish a second and a third, and without it, I would never have had the experience to become a freelance game reviewer, which is such an awesome part time job (despite the crappy game I’m currently playing).
The best decision I ever made was to go to England to meet RickQ. We had only known each other online a few weeks when I bought my tickets, but I knew he was a wonderful person. Marrying him wasn’t even a decision–more of a foregone conclusion.
The best thing I ever did was to be with a friend during the two years he was dying. I called, I wrote, and I drove several hours a few times to have him come stay with me. Other friends couldn’t take it, but I did, gladly.
Best thing I’ve ever done? Saved one maybe two(don’t know if the guy I gave CPR to lived but he had a pulse when I was relieved by the Ambulance guy 
) lives.
I’ve very rarely made any good decisions when it comes to me personally but ya never know, maybe one day.
Can I wait to answer until both of my sons are in their thirties?
Beyond that, I once physically picked up a classmate, carried her across the lab, shoved her head into a fountain and kept her there until the authorities came. Of course, the authorities were paramedics, she had been splashed with acetic anhydride (acid) and her doctor told her that I very likely saved her sight. I’d like to think that the chemistry department’s staff now knows how to dial 911 from their phones (dial 9 to get an outside line was too much; I sent a student to a pay phone on the first floor) and that they also have at least a clue about first aid around hazardous chemicals.
I guess the best choice I ever made was breaking up with the abusive boyfriend to start dating my high school crush.
Married high school crush. Still very much in love. :)
Saving my 3-year-od nephew from drowning after he fell in a drainage canal.
Best deed: Responding to a late-night phone call from two very panicked and worried (female) friends who were calling from a locked dorm room where a third (male) friend was pounding on the door trying to get in. All three were on a massive amount of acid and cocaine.
I drove over to the dorm and found the male friend slumped on the floor in front of the door with a crowd of people staring at him. No RA’s in sight. He was rhythmically pounding his head against the door and yelling for the two female friends to come out. The side of his head was all bloody and the door had numerous cracks and dents in it. He is a big guy, 6’4" or so and probably 250 lbs. I managed to get him outside where I called 911. The police and an ambulance came and they took him to the emergency room.
The next day my two female friends and my just-released male friend were so pissed for calling 911 that they wouldn’t even talk to me. I had apparently broken some sacred stoner rule about calling the authorities.
Oh well.
Best decision is easy. I was a dope-smoking, unemployed, uneducated couch potato when I met this girl. After a couple of weeks I realized that I was totally in love with her and that, given my current status, I was not exactly a “catch.” To indicate that I had a smidgen of ambition, I enrolled in three night classes. That was eight years ago. I married her, have two kids, picked up a masters degree along the way, and have a super cool job. Funny how things work out.
Best thing I ever did: meet, date and married my husband.
Called Woodward and Bernstein; divulged shocking secret.
Best thing I’ve ever done-divorce my exhusband which ties into the other best thing I’ve ever done-decide to go on a blind date last summer. I fell madly in love with said date and have never been happier!
I’m too young for this thread.
But in my (short) life, the best thing I ever did:
Wake up one morning and decide I didn’t want to be shy in real life any more. I’d always been comfortable and outgoing online, but painfully shy in real life.
And then one day, I got out of bed and realised Raven and I are the same person. And we always will be.
~Raven
Best decisions include leaving my abusive and adulterous first husband, realising I was worth something and going back to university. My best overall decision, however, was packing up during finals week and moving to England a week later, then marrying Kal a few months after that. Boy was this a good move I made
Best deeds… I’ve saved a few lives here and there and rescued a few abused animals.