My son started University this autumn. It's a big deal for him and for me, too. He's been like my best mate these past couple of years in many ways. After we got him moved into Halls, and before we set off for home, leaving him behind, he asked me for any last-minute words of advice.
My answer: "No question has a simple answer, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you. Don't trust them."
What would your pithy, one-sentence piece of life advice, father to son, have been?
What would your pithy, one-sentence piece of life advice, father to son, have been?
"Always use a condom or you'll end up like me."
AJ
I go with advice from Charlie in Two and a Half Men who said "sex with crazy chicks is great, just make sure you pick positions where you can always see their hands."
go with advice from Charlie in Two and a Half Men who said "sex with crazy chicks is great, just make sure you pick positions where you can always see their hands."
The problem with sticking your dick in crazy has nothing to do with what happens during the sex act, it has to do with what crazy does after the sex is over.
Who wants an insane stalker.
The problem with sticking your dick in crazy has nothing to do with what happens during the sex act, it has to do with what crazy does after the sex is over.
Rabbit stew! Yum, yum :-)
AJ
Rabbit stew! Yum, yum :-)
THAT is a blast from the past with way too much in common with today's almost sociopathic societal mindset. If they haven't discovered it, let's not give them ideas! lol
Life won't go as you've planned...
I went to college to be an electrical engineer ... which I'm not. I became a paramedic after failing out of my engineering college.
And just because you're intelligent (high IQ) doesn't mean you're smart...
Remember two things: It's okay to reach out if you need help, there isn't any shame in it and remember why you're there. There is a lot of new experiences and freedoms and it's okay to check those out, but you need to remember this is about your future too.
Wear sunscreen.
And no matter what a stripper tells you, there is no sex in the champagne room.
In reality, you could have just played that song for him, that has all the advice you'll need... for your early 20s.
Which one? There are actually two songs there.
The first being "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" by Baz Luhrmann. The second being Chris Rock in "No Sex (In the Champagne Room)".
Do not spend time with anyone who is incapable of saying "I might be wrong."
Do not become study partners with these people, do not work with these people, do not even go on trips with these people, and absolutely do not date these people.
If they can't admit the possibility that they're wrong, then everything will always be your fault and gaslighting is just the beginning of the hell you'll endure.
Do not spend time with anyone who is incapable of saying "I might be wrong."
I think they have to actually be wrong occasionally. Otherwise:
I thought I was wrong once," Seldom said, "but I found out later I was mistaken."
(Edward Abbey, The Monkey Wrench Gang)
;-)
AJ
one-sentence
I think there are a lot of 'C' programmers here because they start their sentence count with zero. :-)
AJ
Yep... most folks do not like truths, internal or external and avoid them.
Opinions and beliefs, no matter how farcical and disconnected from objective reality, are mentally much more comfortable.
But they're still lies.
As Nicholson's character, Colonel Nathan Jessep, said in the movie A Few Good Men, "You can't handle the truth."
And my guess is that is true for many, maybe most, humans. Lies are easier to accept no matter how they are rationalized with less harsh words.
Common misconception.
I have two STEM degrees. My knowledge and skills increased an order of magnitude after completion of each program.
If you do not already know how to learn, you will most likely fail school.
I have two STEM degrees. My knowledge and skills increased an order of magnitude after completion of each program.
I'm struggling to think of two STEM subjects that would leave someone unaware of the meaning of 'order of magnitude'. Diet and Nutrition?
AJ
Intelligence is useful for getting where you're going faster, but it doesn't make you better at what you do when you get there.
Corollary: There are more and less capable people in every field, but don't assume that one career or field of study is more or less important than any other.
Make common sense your super power... it is so rare these days no one will expect it or be able to defend against it.
common sense
ISO9000 and its descendants have outlawed common sense. If you exhibit common sense you'll be unemployable. And the way things are going, soon you'll be burned at the stake :-(
AJ
I just remembered a Bible school teacher's comment from umm, 60?years ago.
I was questioning some piece of religious instruction and I used as my argument something like "common sense says..."
Her response is part of the reason I consider myself an agnostic. "Common sense is of the devil!"
Not exactly a one-liner, but...
From Lazlo Zalezac's "The Millionaire Next Door:"
1) The Facts of Life
2) The Pursuite of Happiness
3) Take Control of Your Life
...
..
.
.
she can't get pregnant from a blow job and if you make me a grandfather before 40 the vasectomy will be free and painful.
What would your pithy, one-sentence piece of life advice
If you're a pithiful specimen of humanity, accept every pithy fuck going. ;-)
AJ
If something looks easy, it's the wrong thing to do.
Oh, and this one:
Never say famous last words! (Billy Crystal, 1995)
When choosing a doctor, remember that somebody graduated first and somebody graduated last in his med school class just barely getting by. Both are called "doctor".
The joke goes, "What do you call the guy that graduates at the bottom of his med school class?" Answer: Doctor.
The joke goes, "What do you call the guy that graduates at the bottom of his med school class?" Answer: Doctor.
Or, as my sons who served in the US Navy answered that question — "Lieutenant".
When choosing a doctor, remember that somebody graduated first and somebody graduated last in his med school class just barely getting by.
Except graduating last in class does not necessarily mean barely graduating at all.
Steer clear of the "liberal arts". Stick to proven old school courses of study.
You can't make a living or have a decent life with $100,000 in student loans and a degree in creative booger rolling.
Years back, I had a tax client that was bemoaning that she couldn't get a decent job in her chosen field after 7 years of college. I asked what her major was. She said she had a masters in contemporary history and her thesis was on black urban language...
Do you want fries with that?
What would your pithy, one-sentence piece of life advice, father to son, have been?
Just because the food hall has a ton of food does not mean that you have to sample all of it.
What would your pithy, one-sentence piece of life advice, father to son, have been?
Expect nothing, earn everything.