Thanks for rubbing THAT in

Not a place for a family vacation, unfortunately, and I'm already 46.

Guess I can throw beads from my old age wheelchair, if my Depend's don't leak

 

Living large in Boston, thinking I had the world by the short hairs. I had a huge apartment, actually the top floor of a warehouse in the Fenway, a decent day job in an office environment and a string of female friends that kept me plenty busy. I also was a raging alcoholic and spending about 40% more than I was making. The 4 days a week hangovers eventually got me fired from my day job. I took the first offer in a bad section of Boston for less money. I totalled my car while driving drunk. Because of the $2400/month I was paying for rent & utilities, I'd let my car insurance lapse and would up paying on two years for a car I didn't have any more. I got tossed from the new day job because the subway didn't go there. There I was, student loans and credit card dept up to my eyeballs, an apartment I could no longer afford and my social calender dwindling away. It took less than a minute to figure out that I was in deep trouble. I sub-let my apartment, took an awful studio on the subway line and got my bartenders license. If you ever want to quit drinking in a hurry, become a bartender. Night after night, you'll see beautiful people get really ugly. An offer had been on the table for years to move to Ohio and work for a former supplier. I took a long look at death spiral my future was in and made the break. I've never looked back in regret. After one year of being sober in Ohio, and the social coma that came with it, I was able to erase most of my debts and start rebuilding the fragments of my life. 14 years later, I've got a terrific wife, two super kids, a comfortable place to live, a better than decent job, two dependable cars in the garage and an old pickup in my workshop.

What I'm trying to say is as I look back a 24 from 40, all the crap I wanted didn't really matter, but I couldn't see it then.

 

I was going to college and working for my parents when not in school or traveling with a sports team providing medical coverage. AH, nothing like a Trip to Alaska and then Hawaii on the school's dime.

 

Thanks for the replies. All of them were interesting. I hope no one took my first post as complaining. I was just curious as to where everyone else was at during that period of their life. Guess I'm trying to figure out if I'm where I should be in my life right now.

 

Where you will be at in your life the next four years, and then the next four years after that , and the next four years after that, so on, WILL be the direct outcome of where you set your personal goals for life at the start of the four year cycle. good luck. jmo

 

I was going to school on the GI Bill, was broke all the time and having bunches of fun.
Dono

 

hmmmmm, target date...april 2010, still got a ways, for now, stuck as a customer service representative for a grocery store and attending a four year university at UNC-Charlotte for a BS in mechanical engineering, with my beat up, but wonderful 94 ranger that receives all my loving, when my girlfriend isn't around

 

Let's see, there is a 1/4 life crisis, a mid life crisis, then a crisis every so often.

 

i had a beer fridge in my room, i lived in the university dorm with my best friend and 6 freshman girls. i was still thin then

i fixed my schedule so i only had classes in the afternoon which meant i had teachers who preferred teaching in the afternoon and would invite a small class to their home

i ate dinner with friends every night. the food wasn't always good but at chrismas or thanksgiving everyone who hadn't gone home would dress nice and have their cafeteria turkey together... the manager would let us bring wine... there wasn't a lot of privacy but you were never alone

most evenings i'd go work out.. run a few laps, lift weights, then catch up to my buddies checking out the girls in the pool.. then i'd go have my coffee in the lounge and do homework until i saw a friend who needed to be beat at foozball. it's nice to have time to waste, to take care of yourself, to read a lot and get involved in things

i joined lots of clubs so i got to go places, meet people, drink free beer. i took back the night with the girls from my women's studies class. went to edmonton to party in some hotel with the business club when it was too cold to go anywhere. met and listened to politicians and other public figures by going to lectures, concerts, art shows

i had a car.... on weekends we'd go driving thru some of the nicest scenery you ever saw to find interesting places to get high, go hiking thru the hills past the xmas tree farms

got blinded by tear gas when we protested against some or other globalization thing. some girl i never saw before washed my eyes out with vinegar. a french journalist impressed by the fact we kept coming back for more took my picture for some magazine. i was still thin then

 

Wow that was 25 years ago,man how time flies when you're having fun. Seriously I had been married for 5 years. Had a 3 year old daughter and a son on the way. I quite working in a factory and loaded up the U Haul and moved everyone 180 miles away. Got into the trucking industry, union at that time. Supported the family on my single income. Was on our second home, both were in a city, which I hated but the kids liked. It just keeps getting better, which is hard to believe unless you believe in yourself.

 

I was living in Albuquerque, NM, bartending at a restaurant called Liquid Assets. I lived in the North Valley in a 5700 sq ft house that I bought when I was 21! I had 4 friends that lived with me and paid about 80% of my mortgage for me. Life was great, this was before sex could kill you, and nothing was incurable!
Some mornings the introductions around the kitchen could take 5 minutes...let's see...your name is...and which room did you stay in last night?...
Except for my house payment and utilities, I had NO CARES, NO PROBLEMS, being a bartender, I paid cash for everything I had. No credit card debt(It's hard to remember how that feels) I had a Suzuki GS1100E and a 1965 Mustang GT Convertible, and a 1982 Caravelle Stingray ski boat.
I have been married for 19 years and have two great kids and now live in Texas. I wouldn't trade that for anything...but I'm glad I have a great memory!
James

 

At 23 I was working a couple jobs, driving a car that got point A-B. Partying real hard......to hard. Like two years are a blurr. Then somewhere late in my 23rd year....I slowed down......a serious relationship was the reason. I got all serious about gettin it together. Got it together...brand new car at 23. Promoted at 24. Made supervisor at 25......got dumped late my 25th year. Turned out resonsibility wasnt what she had in mind. Worked for me. Got recruited by a competitor at 27. Gave me everything I wanted. Met my wife, been a struggle since. Got married and moved at 30......still a struggle.
Its always tough. It only gets better with a big winning ticket......or lots of smart decisions and hard work. The big ticket isnt likely.
So carry the burden......make a break thru. Set goals......work towards them, meet those goals, set more. Setting goals, and obtaining those goals.....the thrill of achievement is what makes life grand.
Hang in there.