Basic things it took me forever to learn

[yesno]

# Have to change oil in cars regularly (lesson learnt at age 18, after ruining first car)

# That the primary purpose of "food" is things like protein, fat, fiber, etc, and not "vitamins" (lesson learnt:  not sure.)

# That cheap clothes that fit well make you look better than ill-fitting clothes of any quality (mid 20s)

# That everybody is faking it (late 20s)

# pluck, don't try to shave unibrow (late teens)

# Inspiration doesn't matter, hard work does (mid to late 20s)

[jbissell]

# pluck, don't try to shave unibrow (late teens)

This is a very accurate assessment. I had a friend freshman year of high school that tried to shave his unibrow and in addition to totally messing them up, got a nasty case of razor burn.

[Matt]

# pluck, don't try to shave unibrow (late teens)

But it hurts!

[chrisfoll577]

that authority figures like parents and teachers are just as flawed and imperfect as anyone else and have a disproportionate ability to fuck things up.  (early to mid twenties)

to learn what good music is... it took me until well into my freshman year in college to go deeper than the staple beatles, kinks, dylan and neil young and the usual modern dreck.

that girls aren't all that interested in the quiet guy. (mid twenties)

[Laurie]

I don't have a unibrow, but plucking HURTS. Waxing is practically painless, and anyone who says otherwise is a pussy.

[TL]

# Inspiration doesn't matter, hard work does (mid to late 20s)

Not to get all "Oprah" up on this thread, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it doesn't matter.  You can't always sit around waiting for the bolt of lightning, but you also ought to remain open to the possibility of it striking and the value of it when it does, no?

[yesno]

# Inspiration doesn't matter, hard work does (mid to late 20s)

Not to get all "Oprah" up on this thread, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it doesn't matter.  You can't always sit around waiting for the bolt of lightning, but you also ought to remain open to the possibility of it striking and the value of it when it does, no?

Of course.  Not to get all "Yogi Berra" up on this thread, but it's probably 90% hard work, and the other half is inspiration.

[Emily]

i cant STAND using a tweezer to pluck my eyebrows. I just don't have the patience.

I use these mini Noxzema razors - they work great, no razor burn or anything.

http://www.buzzillions.com/dz_93274_womens_noxzema_eyebrow_shaper_reviews

[joanna]

this thread owns.

- there is a direct proportion between how hateful people are and how much they hate themselves.

- (this one might start fights but) a college eduction isn't really important and when an expensive college education results in a 21-year-old being 30-200K in debt, that is a serious travesty.

- credit cards are bullshit, a.k.a. don't live beyond your means.

- and when i was in my 20s, i realized that teenagers know NOTHING. and now that i'm 30, i realize that people in their 20s know NOTHING. so i'm accepting that there is a pattern in this and will not be so quick to rattle off my opinion about things, particularly subjects with which i have no personal experience, which leads me to:

- people who don't have kids should seriously shut their damn mouths about child-rearing, unless they're talking about out-and-out abuse. unless you have a kid, you have no idea what you're talking about.

[yesno]

- (this one might start fights but) a college eduction isn't really important and when an expensive college education results in a 21-year-old being 30-200K in debt, that is a serious travesty.

I don't think a formal education is necessary in terms of gaining actual knowledge.  You may have influential professors here and there, but education is a personal responsibility.  But I think having a couple of magic tickets tends to open doors.  It's a shame the way it works, because too many poor people are still excluded from college degrees while middle and upper class dimbulbs can always find a way. 

Tweezer vs. shaving issue:

You really want eyebrow stubble?  Tweezing doesn't hurt after a while.  You lose sensitivity.

Me, I have positively senatorial eyebrows.

[Phantom Hugger]

- people who don't have kids should seriously shut their damn mouths about child-rearing, unless they're talking about out-and-out abuse. unless you have a kid, you have no idea what you're talking about.

With that said (and I agree whole heartedly) I will add that if you truly do NOT want to have children, get a vasectomy and commit to that ideology. I love my friends kids and am (I think) a good influence on the next generation, but ladies sometimes don't believe you when you say that you don't want to breed. The vasectomy lays all the cards on the table from the get go and will prevent sorrow and wasted time for both parties. 

snip snip.

[Miss]

x  Almost everybody I know is so self absorbed that it has become nauseating.
x  Friends can sometimes be more family than your actual family.

[emma]

- and when i was in my 20s, i realized that teenagers know NOTHING. and now that i'm 30, i realize that people in their 20s know NOTHING.

HEY! I already know everything and I'm younger than you. So that proves you're wr...oh. Um.

Actually I don't know anything except for the fact that there should exist, somewhere or somehow, a picture of TL with the lolcats-style caption "don't make me get all Oprah up on this thread." Though I might be wrong about that, too. One never knows.

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

I don't think I ever learned the credit card thing, to my current regret. 

My list includes:

-Tying my shoes

-Riding a bike

-Driving

Also: I agree with Yesno re. college/class and TL re. inspiration.

[Fido]

-- Now that I am 40, I feel surrounded by people in their 30s who have failed to figure a lot of things out, but think they have (present company excluded).

-- My conclusion that a lot of people haven't figured out things that they should know by now is fairly subjective, if not downright solipsistic. Concluding that you have life figured out is a very illusory proposition (in other words, I realize how much I don't know and probably can't know)

-- Invest in assets as wisely as possible, e.g. real estate and securities, but DO invest, if at all possible. Make your money work for you while you are out there toiling away. No matter how old you are, it's probably not too late. Building equity in your own business seems like a great way to go, if that is an option.

-- My own experience, for what it's worth: hard work and inspiration are both needed in order to really get somewhere satisfying. It's best to have both, not to have to choose between them

-- Lotteries and casinos are great big scams, but gaming can occasionally be fun. Lotteries are for misplaced dreams.

-- Some weird shit definitely went down in Roswell, New Mexico*

-- Love and meaningful work are the two most important things in life, in that order



* haha, just kidding

Wait a minute, this sounds too much like Mitch Albom. Who am I to hand out advice? Sorry if this is too nauseating.