# You can undo one and only one decision you made in the last year. Which one do you choose? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 14, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181 "2011-12-14T16:09:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/21 "2011-12-14T21:47:53Z")
Best I can come up with is a hat I left at an airport. Which I kind of would like back, but oh well. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/22 "2011-12-14T21:53:00Z")
I would have gone to CarMax immediately instead of wasting time at six other dealerships before I tried them. It was a nightmare, and turns out it didn’t have to be. ---
**Author:** ![Tracyfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f14d63/32.png) [@Tracyfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracyfish)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/23 "2011-12-14T21:56:05Z")
I wouldn’t have gone to my friend’s bachelorette party. She said some things during it that still have me worried about her. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/24 "2011-12-14T22:16:33Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > June 11th. I don’t want to go over the details but I nearly ruined my life that day. That day has cost me a fortune and I’ll be feeling the consequences for several years. Why bother posting if you’re going to be cryptic about it? mmm ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/25 "2011-12-14T22:47:32Z")
I applied at a community college for a part-time, year-to-year contract job, and a full-time temporary position. I got the temp position but didn’t tell the college right away just in case I lost it. The college calls, says they’re ready for my first day and I tell them I already have a job. My temp job only lasted six months and I’ve always felt like crap for how I handled things. I’m also scared to apply to the college again, or at least the IT department, because they will probably see my name and be like, “Don’t hire that guy. He jerked us around.” So if I could do it all again, I would have taken the college position. I could pay my bills on what they would be paying, I would probably still be employed, and I wouldn’t have to feel like jerk. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/26 "2011-12-14T22:52:03Z")
I wouldn’t have waited until the end of the summer to start looking for a job. I was counting on contacts coming through for me, and a more-or-less ‘promised’ hiring didn’t happen…so I’m still unemployed. Had I started looking while I was still in school, I likely would be working by now, since the “promise” involved entry-level positions…that the company only makes available in May. If I don’t land something before then, I’ll have been out of school and unemployed for nearly a year. My sister found a job in her field within 2 weeks. Found 4 jobs, actually, she just had to choose which one she liked best. I feel like an idiot and a complete failure. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Lovely\_Margo\_Lane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@The\_Lovely\_Margo\_Lane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lovely_Margo_Lane)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/27 "2011-12-14T23:07:41Z")
Toss-up: Take my cat to the vet in early May when he started having intermittent coughing fits rather than wait until mid-June when it became clear that it was more than hairballs, then insist on a biopsy when a spot showed up in his lung x-ray. I am hesitant about this because it might not have done any good and instead made his last two months a painful mess of surgery rather than a swift decline with more-or-less normal quality of life until the onset of respiratory distress that killed him. We followed vet advice and I don’t blame anybody for what happened, but I wish I had noticed the coughing earlier. We all thought we had more time ☹ Also my new cat is looking at me slant-eyed cause he thinks I’m saying I’d rather he was still stuck in a cage at the shelter. Second option: Be more proactive about staying in touch with the person I thought would be my summer subletter - she didn’t bother to tell me her plans changed until I called her 2 weeks before she was supposed to move in. If I’d checked with her in like April I would have had more time to find a replacement and wouldn’t have gotten stuck with the super high maintenance herbal-supplement-swelling wackjob who made our lives hell for three months. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/28 "2011-12-14T23:29:57Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Why bother posting if you’re going to be cryptic about it? > mmm Because I wanted to answer the OP that yes, there is a single thing I wish I could change about this last year that involved a very bad decision on my part. I don’t want to go into detail because it the fallout has been devestating and I come of looking bad. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/29 "2011-12-14T23:33:36Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > Because I wanted to answer the OP that yes, there is a single thing I wish I could change about this last year that involved a very bad decision on my part. > > I don’t want to go into detail because it the fallout has been devestating and I come of looking bad. I wrote the OP, and I am not offended or even vexed by your answer. It was pretty clear from your earlier response that you preferred to be discreet. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/30 "2011-12-14T23:48:20Z")
Getting up to speak at a friend’s funeral. The minister asked for people to get up and share a story. I wasn’t expecting it but I felt like I should and when I did I got flustered and the story did not make the positive point I intended and I cringe every time I think about it. It wasn’t bad enough that anyone else gave it much thought (I hope) but I’d love a do-over on it. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/31 "2011-12-14T23:54:32Z")
I’d have waited till the end of the year to retire. I took the first wave incentive for what I thought was a good reason, but it turns out I could have waited and even without the incentive pay, I’d have been off better financially. It seemed like a good idea at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/32 "2011-12-15T00:15:35Z")
First choice: Two quarters ago, when I took the class in Character Modeling, I should have taken the “programmers option” and done the auto-rig script, instead of trying to make a 3D model of a person, and doing so badly that I failed the course. Second choice: Taking the “programmers option” last quarter when I retook the class, instead of pigheadedly trying to make a character, just to prove that I could do it, and failing the course _again_. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/33 "2011-12-15T00:55:14Z")
I’ve only made 1 bad decision lately I’d like to change. About a year ago, I bought a cheap car charger for my laptop. The fact that it was only $5 brand new should’ve tipped me off that something was wrong. Ended up frying the mother board with that charger. I’ve still got the thing sitting in one of my closets. Don’t know if it’s worth fixing or not, since it is about 7 years old now. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/34 "2011-12-15T00:59:38Z")
I would like to think I’d have saved Mig from getting arrested but I have a feeling it was only a matter of time anyway. But other than that I got nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/35 "2011-12-15T01:03:41Z")
I wouldn’t have gone off my diet. All that weight lost and now I’ve found it again. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/36 "2011-12-15T04:59:37Z")
I would have finished that Continuing Ed. course, rather than dropping out after the 3rd class. Now I’m wasting time trying to figure things out on my own. And I wouldn’t have lost my bifocals on the train between Paris and Bordeaux. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/37 "2011-12-15T05:09:35Z")
Watching _The Producers_ on Netflix. What a god-awful movie. Maybe it’s funnier if you see it live and you’re super-old or something. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/38 "2011-12-15T05:33:46Z")
I would have been home a week ago so I could have visited my friend in the hospital instead of calling her. The last thing I said to her was “I love you and I’ll see you next Monday.” The last thing she said to me was “I love you flatlined, don’t hurry back, you need to relax and heal.” ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/39 "2011-12-15T05:40:44Z")
I wouldn’t have rented my wooly mammoth heard to Skald so cheaply. I wouldn’t have gone to that party. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181/40 "2011-12-15T14:21:05Z")
This is easy for me. I’d go back to that day in January when I tore my ACL. I mean, I’d still play football that day, just not try to juke that guy for a few extra yards. It has had a profound impact on my year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-undo-one-and-only-one-decision-you-made-in-the-last-year-which-one-do-you-choose/606181.md?page=3)