The "Time vs. Money" thread got me thinking about the path that my life had taken both professionally and personally. It brought back thoughts of what I wanted to be growing up and almost became when I finally grew up.
I remember as a little kid wanting to be a police officer (what 8-10 year olds don't want that?), then eventually wanting to be an NFL player until I realized that I possessed limited athletic abilities compared to many of my peers. Then in high school, I wanted to become a marine biologist but instead settled on becoming a Marine instead my senior year. But if I could be anything in life when I really grow up, I would love to be a teacher or even a college professor. I've taught a few college courses as an adjunct professor, and it was just really rewarding.
So what did you want to grow up to be when you were a kid? Further, if money was of no concern, what would you like to do career-wise?
Unfortunately, I don't think I have a situation conducive to working towards it at this moment (I feel I need 2 out of the following: time, money, and space)... but after turning 26, I know the clock is ticking on even having one foot in that world, and I'm trying to break my inertia to make some changes.
I'm actually really afraid that if I don't try and do something, I'll always live with this massive regret in the back of my mind.
If I could do whatever I wanted now, I'd be an idle millionaire lounging on a beach.
If I could do whatever I wanted now, I'd be an idle millionaire lounging on a beach.
In diamond studded jorts, I'm sure. That's how the 1%'s do it.
Hey...at least you settled for something just as badass by becoming a Ninja. It could be worse.
Is that you, Art Vandelay?
Link - ( New Window )
I would stay out in the back yard and stare at the moon while we were on a mission to it.
My claustrophobia might have been a slight problem though.
Myers Briggs always said I should be an architect. Or at least I think it was the Myers Briggs test.
For 7 years, I did just that.
Now I drive a PC, and work on avionics software.
A looooong way from delivering cheese in Jersey!
Until the police turn up, of course.
I never wanted to do anything. No aspirations. No goals.
I only went to college because I thought I was supposed to, only picked a major because they said I had to.
Not even sure how I wound up doing what I'm doing, but I definitely don't love it.
but there is no career I feel like I would love and I am compensated well so I do it.
I never wanted to do anything. No aspirations. No goals.
I only went to college because I thought I was supposed to, only picked a major because they said I had to.
Not even sure how I wound up doing what I'm doing, but I definitely don't love it.
but there is no career I feel like I would love and I am compensated well so I do it.
There's a lot of truth to that for me too.
Well...you've come closer to your goal than most people have.
And sort of on a tangent here, but what kind of a moron decided to cancel Law & Order? Probably the best procedural show on TV for the past two decades+...for a POS Law & Order: Los Angelese? WTF?
Quote:
gen x-er.
I never wanted to do anything. No aspirations. No goals.
I only went to college because I thought I was supposed to, only picked a major because they said I had to.
Not even sure how I wound up doing what I'm doing, but I definitely don't love it.
but there is no career I feel like I would love and I am compensated well so I do it.
There's a lot of truth to that for me too.
I really had no idea what I wanted to do coming out of HS. It was part of the reason I joined the military tbh.
Quote:
gen x-er.
I never wanted to do anything. No aspirations. No goals.
I only went to college because I thought I was supposed to, only picked a major because they said I had to.
Not even sure how I wound up doing what I'm doing, but I definitely don't love it.
but there is no career I feel like I would love and I am compensated well so I do it.
There's a lot of truth to that for me too.
Thankfully, I enjoy what I do and get compensated pretty well as well. I stated this in the other thread, but at this point family enjoyment trumps any kind of career enjoyment. If I had decided to wait a few months to start at Quantico (again), I know my wife and I would not have the little family that we have now.
No way...I liked the new crew with McCoy as the DA. Enjoyed the dynamics between Anthony Anderson and Jeremy Sisto along with Linus Roache as the new ADA in the younger Sam Waterston role. And Alana de la Garza was the hottest female co-lead in the show's history.
Don't get me wrong, Jerry Orbach was the man, but the new crew with the latest twists on cases were awesome.
I really wanted to pursue it up until life got in the way. I still day dream about it but it's no longer in the cards.
Wait...so you decided to join after graduating from college? Why enlist? Or were they really restrictive on the officer side of the house (like in recent years)?
Quote:
When I graduated college, I had one goal - get out of Virginia. I got a job with a publishing company in LA as junior edior. That was boring as hell and went nowhere, plus I started to hate California, so I left and moved back to parents. Had no idea what to do next, so I joined the Marines. I had a notion that I'd have figured out what I wanted in life when I got out in 5 years....but, no, not really.
Wait...so you decided to join after graduating from college? Why enlist? Or were they really restrictive on the officer side of the house (like in recent years)?
I did the same thing. Funny thing about being "the most educated E-4 in the Army." Nobody gives a fuck. Recruiter said off the street OCS was rare and I was motivated enough that I didn't care, plus I wanted to keep my LSAT scores for my next set of law school applications and they sunsetted after five years so a three-year enlistment made sense.
Quote:
When I graduated college, I had one goal - get out of Virginia. I got a job with a publishing company in LA as junior edior. That was boring as hell and went nowhere, plus I started to hate California, so I left and moved back to parents. Had no idea what to do next, so I joined the Marines. I had a notion that I'd have figured out what I wanted in life when I got out in 5 years....but, no, not really.
Wait...so you decided to join after graduating from college? Why enlist? Or were they really restrictive on the officer side of the house (like in recent years)?
Well, that's a bit of a long and personal story. If you actually want to know, I can email you about it.
Ben Stone was made for TNT, McCoy for ABC. It became high drama, for better or for worse, with McCoy. And Ronnie as any first year law student will tell you, it is more than a little procedurally flawed.
Eh...I have to disagree. I didn't like the old crew prior to Waterston joining the cast. And I really didn't care much for Chris Noth's character either.
Quote:
Compared to Ben Stone, he was so histrionic and overwrought. Logan, Briscoe and Stone were my favorite group.
Ben Stone was made for TNT, McCoy for ABC. It became high drama, for better or for worse, with McCoy. And Ronnie as any first year law student will tell you, it is more than a little procedurally flawed.
Oh I'm sure it's flawed. But what show isn't when it comes to such technical field? But for us legal laymen (at least this guy), it's just a fun show to watch. We can say the same for any military or intelligence agency themed shows or movies...I can nitpick them to death.
A bit off topic here, but I will say that I just recently rewatched Zero Dark Thirty with the wife, and she was more than underwhelmed with the final raid scene at OBL's compound. But honestly, from my personal and from my friends' (and my brother's) experiences, that was about as realistic and accurate of a raid sequence as I've seen on screen. But most people wouldn't know it since all they see are these well choreographed and super exciting raid scenes from other movies.
Greg...I don't want to intrude, so if you don't want to talk about it, no worries. If you do, my email is ronniechoe at yahoo dot com.
I would stay out in the back yard and stare at the moon while we were on a mission to it.
My claustrophobia might have been a slight problem though.
This albeit no claustrophobia. The space race was so cool that it prompted me to work in the field. Still to this day would love to blast off into space on a vehicle built by the lowest bidder!
After doing that for a few years I realized how different my real life goals were, and how it wasn't going to work out. I ended up going back to school, something I never thought I would do, and found something still of interest to me but much more promising to achieving the ends for what i really value in family, time, and other interests.
Even with the sense of urgency involved in any raids in a combat area, there are so many instances of just everything coming to a stand still for one reason or another. The most memorable scene in that entire raid sequence that my wife specifically asked about was when most of the SEALs were crammed into that single room as two SEALs tried to get the final door open with charges. My wife hadn't heard me talk much about some of the experiences I had in Iraq or Afghanistan beyond just some funny hijinks, but when we got into a discussion after the movie, she found my experiences pretty eye opening. And she used to work in the defense industry supporting Special Operations units.
Quote:
Well, that's a bit of a long and personal story. If you actually want to know, I can email you about it.
Greg...I don't want to intrude, so if you don't want to talk about it, no worries. If you do, my email is ronniechoe at yahoo dot com.
Don't do it, Greg. That address is associated with a well known male prostitution site.
Yeah...I can see that.
Back in 2005 during my first tour in Iraq, we were in a pretty shitty wild wild west situation, so my unit conducted deliberate planning to the nth degree. We would do missions every few weeks and support Force Recon (before MARSOC was formed) or JSOC units whenever they came into our AO. My snipers had incredible effects in the area though.
But in Ramadi in 2006 when I was the assistant team lead for a MTT, we used to get asked by our local SEAL team to do missions on their behalf (or have them "tag along" with us) since the approval process for an Iraqi unit to go after any target (local or HVT) was far far shorter than what the coalition forces had to go through. We were doing full on raids at least once per week...pretty crazy. We experienced so many instances of clusterfucks (and not all of it was because we were advising the Iraqis) that we just expected things go wrong during our missions.
I must have read too much Aldous Huxley or something. . . I guess if money is no issue, that would still be on the table. I'm one of those people for whom interest in the contemplative traditions of yore either fixed me or ruined me (still not sure which), but simplicity and contemplation are good things I value and yet feel increasingly alienated from.
But I ended up pretty close to the original idea as an academic.
What I wanted to be was hireable.
Do you write your own music often? Did you enjoy playing more, or writing songs?
I think my favorite thing in the world is when you're playing to a crowd who is excited to see you and loves your music. The synergistic effect and ping-ponging of energy between the crowd and the performers is the greatest thing I've ever experienced.
I see a lot of my friends who play rock music in pro-level bands struggle with the bills (the kid who DJs seems to be making decent money), but they all seem to be happy with the trade off, at least for now (I define pro level as touring the country and the main focus of their lives).
It's a shame that the album/CD model has died. I know that a lot of consumers hated it, but it at least provided some sort of viable financial option for musicians who weren't in the top upper echelon of pop artists or appealed to the widest audiences.
Going into college, I was going to be the next Steven Spielberg.
Now I'm a school librarian.
I caught the acting bug in high school and ultimately, I went to college and majored in theatre. I did the whole audition thing, and I did get cast in a few non-paying plays. I never could quite get my big break. Commercials, film, an agent. Never quite there. I did get a paying gig dressing up as a giant teddy bear at FAO Schwartz, and Arthur the Aardvark at the NYC Toy Fair. I even got paid to march in the Thanksgiving parade dressed in a female cat costume. Fun, but not really show business.
I'll never be a successful musician so that's just turned into meditation for me, but at least I don't live in group homes anymore.
I'll never be a successful musician so that's just turned into meditation for me, but at least I don't live in group homes anymore.
Hey Shep, iirc, you were going back to school. How's that going?
I caught the acting bug in high school and ultimately, I went to college and majored in theatre. I did the whole audition thing, and I did get cast in a few non-paying plays. I never could quite get my big break. Commercials, film, an agent. Never quite there. I did get a paying gig dressing up as a giant teddy bear at FAO Schwartz, and Arthur the Aardvark at the NYC Toy Fair. I even got paid to march in the Thanksgiving parade dressed in a female cat costume. Fun, but not really show business.
Somebody asked James Garner how to become a successful actor. He said "be lucky."
I'll never be a successful musician so that's just turned into meditation for me, but at least I don't live in group homes anymore.
And you live in Canada...so you have that going for you as well...which is nice.
Live and learn, thanks for asking.
Me too Rick. I was a little kid and completely rabid Ranger fan. Brad Park, Eddie Giacomin, the Stemmer. A shame that team never won it.
As a teen, a singer in a metal band
Now, at 40, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up
Yeah, I hear you, and I know how that happens. His experiences may have provided him with some ease though, so that he can at least look back and say "hey, I gave it a shot and lived that life", and he won't have to always have the "what if" in the back of his mind.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think a lot of it has to do with having the guts and the balls to leave behind the comfortable status quo and give things you're passionate about an honest shot.
The aforementioned friend I mentioned who is now a fairly successful DJ was on his way to med school, told his parents that he wanted to be a DJ and producer, and didn't look back. I don't know if I'd have the guts to make that move. Initially when I was way younger it was due to not wanting to deal with the disapproval of my parents, but over time, it became a question of whether I'd be able to function back into society and what kind of job I'd get if/when I decided to leave that world.
A college degree isn't really anything to fall back on nowadays.
Quote:
he was my first sports hero
Funny thing, when I was a kid Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle, and Brad Park were my favorites on the Rangers. I would watch the games (or listen on the radio) and hear about the plays Rod Joe-Bear was making and then the next day I'd read the name Rod Gilbert and I'd wonder, "Who is Gilbert?"
Good stuff Milton. Channel 9 on Saturday nights. And only the home games were on radio back then. Pre cable, which finally came to Lake Grove in 1975. Which unfortunately allowed me to see them lose to the f-----g Islanders in the JP Parise game.
Bingo. I was lucky in a few cases, but not lucky enough to make a living out of it.
Big deal. I have a beautiful wife and a sweet kid, and I am living comfortably. I think I am very lucky after all.
Do you write your own music often? Did you enjoy playing more, or writing songs?
My passion is straight-ahead jazz which unfortunately in 2015 is a path to starvation for probably everyone but the upper .01%. I'm more interested in playing than writing. I still play enough gigs to keep me happy and love my non-music career, so I have no regrets at all. Having to stress about money would detract greatly from my enjoyment of playing music, so I'd definitely do it the same way again.
21 years old and almost done with college, still have no idea what I'll be doing. Will probably end up with a city job. Still kind of crossing my fingers hoping I hit the mega millions.
Quote:
than the rest of us (37, I think). He had played in metal bands for years and years, hit his mid-30s, realized he was never gonna hit the big time, and just said to himself "Time to move on". Went back to school to become a psychologist.
Yeah, I hear you, and I know how that happens. His experiences may have provided him with some ease though, so that he can at least look back and say "hey, I gave it a shot and lived that life", and he won't have to always have the "what if" in the back of his mind.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think a lot of it has to do with having the guts and the balls to leave behind the comfortable status quo and give things you're passionate about an honest shot.
I have genuine mixed feelings on this. One wise person made the point that at most graduation speeches people say to "chase your dreams" or something like that, and the people saying so are like the minority who did actually chase their dreams and not end up screwing up their life. At the same time, as you note, you don't want to live your life saying "what if".
By the time I got into high school I had (for the most part) moved on from my dreams of playing professional sports and had decided that I wanted to be a business tycoon and run a large corporation (for some reason I had my eye on US Steel), so I set my sights on getting into the Wharton School, which I accomplished.
But in my first semester at Wharton I fell in love with movies and knew that that was what I wanted to do.
I lived in Lake Grove from roughly 1967-1970. The corner of Lafayette Avenue and Browns Road. Does that ring a bell?
Quote:
Pre cable, which finally came to Lake Grove in 1975. Which unfortunately allowed me to see them lose to the f-----g Islanders in the JP Parise game.
I lived in Lake Grove from roughly 1967-1970. The corner of Lafayette Avenue and Browns Road. Does that ring a bell?
Yes it does, very close. I lived on Eliot Drive off of Old Nichols Road. Could walk to Wenonah Elementary School. Lived there from age 2 in 1966, graduated from Sachem in 1982, went to Dowling College.
Quote:
In comment 12201251 Victor in CT said:
Quote:
Pre cable, which finally came to Lake Grove in 1975. Which unfortunately allowed me to see them lose to the f-----g Islanders in the JP Parise game.
I lived in Lake Grove from roughly 1967-1970. The corner of Lafayette Avenue and Browns Road. Does that ring a bell?
Yes it does, very close. I lived on Eliot Drive off of Old Nichols Road. Could walk to Wenonah Elementary School. Lived there from age 2 in 1966, graduated from Sachem in 1982, went to Dowling College.
Live and learn, thanks for asking.
Congratulations on sticking out, in any case!
Quote:
I'm getting really good grades but honestly, it was pretty much a disastrous decision on my part to do this at this point in my life. I've got 5 more weeks to go and I'm just looking forward to the end so I can get on with my life.
Live and learn, thanks for asking.
Congratulations on sticking out, in any case!
Sticking it out, that should say.
Quote:
In comment 12201285 Milton said:
Quote:
In comment 12201251 Victor in CT said:
Quote:
Pre cable, which finally came to Lake Grove in 1975. Which unfortunately allowed me to see them lose to the f-----g Islanders in the JP Parise game.
I lived in Lake Grove from roughly 1967-1970. The corner of Lafayette Avenue and Browns Road. Does that ring a bell?
Yes it does, very close. I lived on Eliot Drive off of Old Nichols Road. Could walk to Wenonah Elementary School. Lived there from age 2 in 1966, graduated from Sachem in 1982, went to Dowling College.
I graduated Sachem in 1978.
small world
my dad died young and so did his father. also- I was iinto the sauce by the time I was 14 or so.
flash forward, what have I NOT done? soup to nuts, classic labor all the way up to finance with many varied and strange stops in between.
above all, a loving, dedicated and very patient dad, which trumps any 'yab'
A.....
LUMBERJACK! - ( New Window )
''Off the grid in the wilderness'' kind of sounds fun.
Minus the whole Ted Kazinsky stuff (hey rich, sorry about that other thingy)
So? Did you?
Quote:
The first kid on my block to get a confirmed kill.
That's classifed, I'd have to see your clearance sir.
So? Did you?
Quote:
In comment 12201530 Zebra3 said:
Quote:
The first kid on my block to get a confirmed kill.
That's classifed, I'd have to see your clearance sir.
So? Did you?
Eh...let's not even talk about clearances and classification. That's my world, buddy. And I don't have to worry about getting my hands dirty. I had some scary skilled killers working for me. And I've had death and destruction rain down on pieces of shits, who needed to be killed. Just saying.
Quote:
In comment 12201631 RC02XX said:
Quote:
In comment 12201530 Zebra3 said:
Quote:
The first kid on my block to get a confirmed kill.
That's classifed, I'd have to see your clearance sir.
So? Did you?
Eh...let's not even talk about clearances and classification. That's my world, buddy. And I don't have to worry about getting my hands dirty. I had some scary skilled killers working for me. And I've had death and destruction rain down on pieces of shits, who needed to be killed. Just saying.
Careful big brother is listening, someone might want to run you for public office. Uuurah solider.
I am the Big Brother, buckaroo.
Carry on, good sir!
I think in today's economic environment, you need to figure out your direction earlier than I did. Kids who know what they want to do or have direction / goal entering college are much more successful these days. If they don't have that, get them thinking about it and direct them in accordance with their attributes.
By the late 60's I'd decided that it would be more fun to play professional football. DE to be precise. As a young adolescent, I was playing youth football and had a set of free weights and was doing regular cardio training.
As time went on it was obvious looking at my peers, that I would never be more than an average athlete. Guess for a while in the 60's the Giants D was so bad that I thought I still might have a chance.
Never played football beyond the JV team my sophomore year in HS. Somewhere around age 16 I decided that what I really was, was a poet. Carried that all the way into my freshman year at college.
Took up the drums when I got out of school and pursued a career as a club musician for 10 years. That took me to NYC for a while and eventually to LA. Lived there 25 years. Worked typical musician-like odd jobs in order to pay the bills. Everything from writing gigs to roofing gigs.
Met my wife. Became a parent. Got a job working for a consumer products entrepreneur. Became a purchasing agent, then master scheduler. Changed jobs. Had a 20-year career. Eventually VP Ops. Mid-level companies.
The rest is more personal than I'd care to relate on a public message board.
But I got no regrets.
I turn 60 next month, and am back to playing drums at bars and clubs. These days in and around Newport, RI.
If you ever get to the Gas Lamp Grille an old friend of mine and high school hockey teammate owns it.
Chef is a great guy. Once when my kids were little he took them into the kitchen and let them help prepare our plates.
I can see why that didn't work out.