PhineasC

Guys, I'm sure there will be tons of people at your funeral. Like that one dude you bummed a lighter from that one time. Or that cool guy you smoked with on breaks at work. They will be there for you, I bet. I wouldn't worry about it.

If you are like most electricians, now you have people with money practically begging you to take jobs and you get to be picky.

It's very important to seize opportunities. It sounds like a cliche but it is true. It involves risk as well. Anyone who has gone from basically nothing to success had to take some big personal risks. Not talking about trust fund kids here. It's kind of hard to explain to people. It's just a gut sense you have that the time is right to make a move. I see quite a few people who want to get into the same business I am in, but they want to sit and prepare first for as long as it takes to eliminate all risk. They spend months analyzing all possible angles and trying to line up deals with customers that will be the springboard they need, only to watch it fall apart each time as someone more aggressive jumps in front of them in line. It's hard to explain to them that they can't get rich by eliminating all risk. It just doesn't work that way.

Definitely a set path for those who go into medicine. Law is the same way. There is a rite of passage period where you are absolutely beat to shit as a junior lawyer at a big firm to earn your stripes.

I've been at this for about a decade. Saw an opportunity and jumped straight off the building with no expectation there would be a net to catch me. I quit my 9-5 on a whim one evening and decided I was going to give it a shot myself. It's been incredibly stressful. Last 2 years or so I have been able to ease off of the day-to-day somewhat and start enjoying life a little more. There are many jokes and old stories about how some men spend all their lives rushing and grinding to make money so when they are old they can finally live the kind of life you are living right now. keep that in mind. https://bemorewithless.com/the-story-of-the-mexican-fisherman/

There is nothing wrong with not having kids. People shouldn't succumb to peer or family pressure on that. My post was not specifically about kids, just life in general. Whatever your goals are, the decade from mid-20s to mid-30s is really when you need to start bending things into alignment to get there. If your goal is to live and work in the mountains and enjoy outdoor experiences, then you take certain actions to make that a reality and ensure things stay that way. If your goal is to be the next Elon Musk, you take different actions to try to make that happen. I have always been a very driven and risk-taking person. I was really restless in my 20s and tried to cross off as many milestones as possible. Some people in my peer group definitely decided to have a lot more fun during that decade than I did and now they are in a small apartment living that same bachelor life and trying to jumpstart their careers well into their 40s. I find that a little sad, at least for those who are clearly unhappy with that being their lot in life. Some people are OK with a frugal, simple life and that's fine too.

Yeah, your mom sends me some good stuff.

Mid-20s to mid-30s is basically the most important decade of your life. It will set you on the path you are likely to follow for the rest of your life. You should be making major moves and rapid progressions in relationships, education, and your career. There seems to be a trend these days by some people to treat that decade as basically extended young adult party time, and I think that sets them on a less-fruitful path. Let me tell you that it is a real gut punch to suddenly wake up nearing age 40 still living basically the same life you lived when you were 23... Just my take anyway, everyone is different in terms of goals.

It doesn't really get easier to have them when you are older. It seems that way now in your mid-20s. But in your mid-30s you'll realize.

Just requires putting up a few hundred thousand on a house 600 miles away you aren’t even allowed to see in person during a pandemic. LOL Many restless nights in April.

The seller was a bit of a nut and had a terrible local agent who didn’t understand the house at all or the appeal. I was lucky that by the time she caught on and started getting bigger offers she had already accepted my offer and couldn’t back out.

I am very fortunate I got my house. I had to move fast and buy it sight-unseen at the height of the first wave, and I still almost lost out to a higher bid.

Someone told me the same thing is happening in Berlin, NH. Any decent house is being immediately snatched up. Also a lot of flipping going on which usually jacks up the price above what the locals can afford.

I am pretty sure I could post "COVID is deadly, please wear a mask" and @UMB WX would tag it with either the weenie or confused emoji.

Both COVID and the COVID lockdowns/quarantines affect people more the further down the economic ladder you go. That's why I find it pretty disingenuous for upper-middle class office worker and "journalist" types to be calling for more draconian lockdowns to "save lives." They have the money and status to ride this out in luxury. Don't even get me started on Hollywood and politician types making these calls from their mansions.

OK, I get what you mean with the "country club experience" statement. That's fine for folks like me, I'm sure. I often pay extra for primo experiences and fewer crowds. Many others won't be able or willing to do that, however.

Something will have to give if this continues. The ski resorts can try to absorb a bad season and put on a brave face, but if guest numbers remain low, ticket prices will need to rise to compensate. That's just basic business math.

That's a shame. The fear some parents have over the virus is trickling down to their kids and messing them up.

Homeschooling is a way better bet than what is happening in the schools right now, assuming you can swing it (it's a big commitment). So glad we did it. Never looking back.

I have a feeling that some school boards will use COVID as an excuse to cut staff and centralize/generalize/dumb-down the curriculum. I have already heard about layoffs for specialized teachers such as art/music teachers, special education teachers, and speech pathologists. Regular teachers could be next. It makes sense from a budget perspective, and the investments made in remote learning infrastructure will be hard to abandon even when they are no longer needed (sunk cost fallacy).

There is only so much you can do. I have seen some teachers basically begging for schools to close and insinuating pretty heavily that having schools open could literally cause them to die, but the majority of teachers are doing everything they possibly can to carry kids forward through this as well as possible.

Especially since kids are really not at risk from COVID. The global data is clear on this. The flu and car crashes while being driven to school are deadlier to kids than COVID. Shutting down schools is NOT about keeping kids safe. It is basically a conscious choice to trade children's education and mental well-being for a small, possibly dubious increase in "safety" for adults...

We pulled our kids for many reasons, but a big one was the fear and paranoia they were being taught in this "new normal." Teachers told them to not share with others, don't talk to others unless in predetermined ways at a distance, don't pick up the pencil your friend dropped, don't pick up that ball at recess, don't even turn your head to look back at students behind you (happened in our former school), and tattle on the rule breakers. It's pretty sick, if you ask me. Basically teaching them to be prison inmates. These are not good lessons. There is going to be a noticeable dent in the graph of future success for this generation of kids. It'll show up down the line. Losing a year and a half of school and social interaction is not good. I do not blame the teachers, I know they are trying within the confines of the rules. But remote learning just puts many kids further behind unless they have very diligent parents, and I'm sure you know those parents are in short-supply in many communities that historically struggle even with ample school programs and support structures in place. We are just totally done with it.

Some kids are probably doing fine. Everyone reacts differently. It also helps that you live in a fairly rural area too. My kids have been doing very well since we pulled them from the school/jail environment and brought them up to rural NH. They were OK before but I have noticed an improvement since then. An only child from a poorer family in NYC, Chicago, or other urban environment? Likely terrible for them.

Too many people are selfish and more concerned about themselves than kids. Keeping kids out of school and isolated has zero to do with keeping them safe. It is all about the adults. I feel really bad for the only-children who are doing all remote learning. Just crushing isolation since March for them.