What did you do with your life between the ages 22 and 30?

no, my dad is great, for the most part. he raised me alone.

why am i after the "rock star?" i'm not anymore, except for fun-- good sex and i like the music. i learned my hard lesson on the 'serious' relationship one. they're fun and i like to lead an exciting life. i see the tradeoffs ans sometimes lament it. i probably am wanting for something but what am i supposed to do about it?

church is not my cup of tea. i am more into yoga-- this is helpful for me spiritually as well as physically.

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

Why aren't you asking the guys the same thing? Most of the posts on here have been about guys drinking and screwing as many women as possible and you aren't lecturing them.

I'm not lecturing anyone and I don't condone that behavior either. It's all a very self-destructive and high-risk, low-reward lifestyle. I'm honestly trying to learn here. At least I admire her candor.

RunningAntelope wrote:

It's all a very self-destructive and high-risk, low-reward lifestyle.

I think that sums up the 20's.

22: Bought a condo, (cheaper then renting at the time)

22-24: Assistant track/cc coach at a D3 school

22-25: Med school

25: Got married

26: Sold condo, bought house

26-29: Residency

30: Had 1st kid, started fellowship

Pretty much sums it up.

You're probably right, but I guess I had more focus. Or perhaps you're talking about the 1920s, which would be even more correct.

MADE DA MONEY. LOTS OF DA MONEY.

dd wrote:

22: Bought a condo, (cheaper then renting at the time)

22-24: Assistant track/cc coach at a D3 school

22-25: Med school

25: Got married

26: Sold condo, bought house

26-29: Residency

30: Had 1st kid, started fellowship

Pretty much sums it up.

Good on ya mate. Do you regret not being more reckless?

RunningAntelope wrote:

You're probably right, but I guess I had more focus. Or perhaps you're talking about the 1920s, which would be even more correct.

People are different. I don't do drugs or sleep around either, but I'm not going to judge those that do. It's part of their learning experience, their life.

21 - Left college, start 1st post-college job, got married

22 - Left 1st job for job at high-flying word processing manufacturer, worked tons of hours, got thousands in ESOP stock shares

24 - Severed medial cruciate and ACL playing bar league football, had affair, got divorced

25 - Left WP company for trucking company in the south, bought first house, got married again

26 - Former WP company spiraled drain, total stock value dropped to around $300, had 1st knee repair surgery.

28 - Got tired of mega-hours and left trucking company to start my own firm

30 - Released first software product

Actually didn't start running (semi) seriously until my 30's. I swam in college.

Now who's giving a lecture? As I said, I'm trying to learn here. I'm a parent, which is a game-changer. Presumably you're not, but if you ever are, I think you'll be looking through a different prism.

The big difference between American youth and those of emerging industrial giants it seems is attitude, education, and approach to life. They are eating our economic and educational lunch with focus, vision, and rigidity, while most American youth, if they attend college at all, spend most of that time engaging in destructive pursuits and then become statistical driftwood thereafter. It's going to be one hell of a wake-up call.

RunningAntelope wrote:

Now who's giving a lecture? As I said, I'm trying to learn here. I'm a parent, which is a game-changer. Presumably you're not, but if you ever are, I think you'll be looking through a different prism.

The big difference between American youth and those of emerging industrial giants it seems is attitude, education, and approach to life. They are eating our economic and educational lunch with focus, vision, and rigidity, while most American youth, if they attend college at all, spend most of that time engaging in destructive pursuits and then become statistical driftwood thereafter. It's going to be one hell of a wake-up call.

You are an embarrassment. An incredibly judgmental and clueless embarrassment. Maybe in your church it is alright to press your crazy and outdated views on other people, but I would hope that more people would heap additional scorn on you for your sheltered and deliberately ignorant presumptions.

I love women who have had different and interesting life experiences, and who don't have a childish view of sex like you are displaying.

Interesting assumption. Plenty of reckless things happened, but not sure they fit with the general question of "what I did with my life." Since you care: mixed in were road trips to the 2001 world champs, followed by a few weeks solo camping in the Canadian rockies, travelling on the cheap in central europe, getting caught in 3 feet of fresh snow camping on long's peak, etc. It is possible to have fun, enjoy the freedom of being young and with minimal commitments, and still have long-term goals/plans.

And you did a great job hijacking an otherwise interesting thread you cockbowl. If you want to preach at people, start another thread that says "Come listen to my antiquated views! Jebus told me I could!"

Let's get this bitch back on track.

21- Graduated college early, a better alternative to dropping out.

22- Worked shitty research job for something like $25K/yr. Thought I was rich. This was early 00s. Hit 350 pounds. Started running for the first time in my life.

23- Went to graduate school, somehow managing to make even less money. Bought condo. Ran first 5K. Blasted out a 24:XX.

24- 5K down to 21:XX. Working on PhD.

25- Ran first marathon: 3:58:high.

26- Graduated PhD. Sold condo. Started Post-Doc.

27- Hate post-doc. Ignored job, started writing book and looked for women to have sex with.

28- Published first book. Met woman I am now engaged to. Adopted a cat.

29- Post-doc adviser runs out of money. Eventually manage to get job with biotech company making literally three times what I made as a post-doc. Qualified for Boston.

30- Bought slightly nicer condo. More money than I know what to do with.

Also traveled a lot: Europe, Asia, South America, a lot of the USA. I'll quit "competitive" running if/when I break three in the marathon.

I think the thing to remember is that there are a lot of different ways to get from 22 to 30.

i've been thinking about this for awhile today. what do you mean by "low reward" lifestyle? that's a really relative term!

ps. the people busting your balls about the "church" thing have thus far seemed far more closed-minded than you. i was not offended by that comment at all, and have often wished i had been raised religious. blind faith seems like a personal blessing.

graduated from college. earned MS and PhD degrees in engineering. got married and started out at a large tech company. Time flies by.

22- full time college and full time waitressing and full time runnner (Div.1), full time husband and father.

23- graduated college, still waitressing and working on teaching credential, second son born, other was almost 2 yr.s old. married at 20 to high school sweetheart).

24- finished teaching credential, taught at high school level.

25- got hired as firefighter, third child born (daughter).

26- bought home, loving job!

27- loving job, loving wife and loving kids.

28- more of above.

29- just turned 29 and working on getting promoted.

Had it tough for awhile with work, school and family and wife also part time work and full time student, but we made it thru. I was not as fast as I used to be but I'm ok with that. The last 3 yrs. I have no excuses to not train my tail off to run fast again, maybe this yr. will be it.

22-26: Worked at the Pentagon as an Air Force officer, played in chess tournaments, ran quite a bit, competed in road races.

26-29: Went to law school, didn't run as much as I would have liked.

29: Began working in a big law firm, ran as much as my body could tolerate and my schedule would allow.

30: Broke 2:20 in the marathon for the first time.

All in all, I don't look back at those years with fondness. Although I did some things that proved useful in later years, I remember a desperate and solitary joylessness in it all. I'm trying to make up for some of that now, many years later.