My contribution:
Today I learned that hard drive platters used to be made of glass. As an IT guy, I’m tasked with destroying our company’s old hard drives. Typically, I just remove the platters and bend them in half (they’ve always been constructed of plastic platters with a magnetic surface, as far as I knew) - mostly because I like disassembling things. Today, however, I was destroying an older hard drive. When I went to bend the platter in half with one hand, it exploded in glass fragments. I now have a nice, deep 2-inch gash in my hand and shards all over my office.
Thankfuly I was alone today, otherwise this would have been a contribution to the embarassing moments thread…
Which life lessons or knowledge did you learn the hard way?
Your credit rating is important. Pay your bills on time - just because you know what you can tell them to avoid having to send a payment (because you work in collections) doesn’t mean you should.
Don’t take a job you know you aren’t qualified for, even if you can ace the interview and get hired – you’ll regret ever taking it, no matter how much money it offered.
Don’t get involved with people who scream “DEPENDENT - VICTIM - SAVE ME MY FROM MYSELF”. Just don’t do it. Seriously.
Think with your head. Always. Give your heart a one-way ticket to Shut The Fuck Up Land if it wants to do the thinking for you.
Learn to compromise, yes, but also learn when not to. Put your foot down when it’s vitally important. Hard.
To trust my instincts on relationships. When I broke up with him the first time, I shoulda stayed broke up with him, not relented because he was crying. It just gave him an excuse to screw around on me because he “knew” I was only going to dump him again. sigh
No matter what secret, subsersive strengths you’ve nurtured through dire adversity, they won’t, WILL NOT, rescue anybody else, even loved ones. Especially loved ones. Dispassionate love is not an oxymoron. It’s a survial guide for all involved.
Outside of medical and direct-threat emergencies, vanishingly few situations require immediate responses. Patter, filler and fluff are just fillers. When in doubt, take one step back, two deep breaths–then settle back to listen and absorb.
When you’re diagnosed with osteoporosis, don’t assume that you won’t have to worry about broken bones until you’re “old”. And take the damn Fosamax, no matter how much it costs.
(Spending most of the summer in a wheelchair here.)
Always check the womens’ toilet cubicle for paper before you begin; drip drying only works for shirts.
If you really love something but it’s pricy, think about it for 24 hours; if it’s still bugging you, buy it.
Trust your instincts.
You can’t wait for someone else to make you happy.
Your mum is normally right.
There is honour and good grace in admitting when you are wrong.
Once a friendship has been really bitterly , brutally ripped apart , it can never be the same again no matter how many ‘I’m sorrys’ have been said .
Never wait to say I love you to your parents . You never know when it will be too late . (I lost my father May 7 , and just had a very lonely birthday without him yesterday , and today is Father’s Day… I am really down )
If there is a movie playing at the theater you want to see , don’t keep putting it off . They don’t stay playing forever .
Gordon Setters are at their most kissy-face affectionate right after they have gotten a drink of water :dubious: .
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