these things happen

[Nute Gunray]

Every night we stand on the edge of an uncertain future. Tomorrow morning, will you wake up and go about your day like any other? Will I get up at 10:22, take a shower, and hustle over to Kochel 41, take my seat in the second seat back in the third row from the left, and hear a lecture about the final throes of the death of Rome? Will we turn on the news to find out that FBI agents raided a compound in Nebraska? Will the Very Large Array in New Mexico detect that Epsilon Eridani is blasting out prime numbers at 1.42 gigahertz? Chances are that nothing interesting will happen.

 

Indeed it is most likely I will hustle over the Kochel building and take my usual seat in room 41. A friend of mine will arrive a few minutes later and sit behind me. Roughly the same time, a cute girl will sit down beside me.

 

We’ll call her Dawn. She’s cute. Wears glasses. Any girl that’s cute, wears glasses, and actually sits through a Roman history class is good in my book. I’ve said one sentence to her ever. “Yeah, it wasn’t that hard if I got a B on it.” What wasn’t hard was the Ancient Greek History final from last semester. Yeah, she was in there too.

 

When I first saw her back in August or September (whenever fall started), I thought “Dear me, I must be getting me some of that!” However, I had other plans at the time. I was haunted by some ghosts and was still reeling from an event a month prior.

 

Oh, it gets better my droogies.

 

Every month, us lazy poli sci majors get an email newsletter. This month it listed all our graduating seniors. There was Dawn’s name. She was a senior and a political science major.

 

A cute girl. With glasses. That was almost exactly my age (I can’t stand people under 20). That took history classes. That is a political science major.

 

She was so close to perfect that you’d need a tunneling electron microscope to tell the difference. It would be about as wide as the carbon structures in ALH84001 (look it up).

 

Some people are being loud outside. I skipped from kid to 70 year old. I don’t “get” the whole college “thing.” I’m too mature for that ****.

 

A curious thing happened. Normally, I’d sit around and mope, bemoaning the horror about how I should have talked to whatever set of female attributes I am currently wishing I was sleeping with. But Dawn made me think. I dusted off my memory and traveled back in time (not literally) to that day I first saw her.

 

She looked angry. Angry people are unapproachable. Friends tell me I look angry a lot too. Maybe that’s one of the myriad of reasons why girls don’t throw their panties at me like I’m a non-musical Tom Jones. But if I’d talked to that angry girl on that angry day (it was pretty damned hot), I’d have learned much probably assuming she didn’t treat me like crap right off the bat. She can treat me like crap later. I’m pretty used to that.

 

The last…oh eight months could have been pretty different if I’d talked to that girl. If I’d walked up to that girl on that day and said “sup honey,” she might be going to PSU-UP for grad school, two years from now we might have gotten married, and a couple years after that shot out the first of my brood.

 

Or I could have been killed in a car wreck. Or she might have fallen in love with me and I not her. She might have decided that she was fed up with men and went lesbian. The two of us could have been abducted by aliens and forced to breed as a part of some kind of program to create a hybrid alien-human. Hey, anything’s possible.

 

So now you’re saying “What the hell did I just read and why?” This is the part where I tell you. You just read the account of some thinking I did. The why? I wanted to explain it to you. I encourage you, the humble reader, to do this too. Tomorrow, pick something out, like I did, and think. Maybe you saved your life by deciding Arby’s was better than Long John Silver’s. Pick something from that uncertain future that didn’t happen. Maybe you should ponder whatever you choose to ponder at the moment you need to decide. Maybe if you pick right, your uneventful average day turns out to be the best day of your life.

 

Or you choose wrong and you wind up getting killed in a hostage rescue gone bad. But, hey, whatever.

[Rebel Loyaltist]

Whenever poontang's on the line, go for the gusto.

[Jabba The Hunt]

Quite appropriate for me right now, I think my life needs some balancing.

[gmarti01]

Originally posted by Nute Gunray

Some people are being loud outside. I skipped from kid to 70 year old. I don’t “get” the whole college “thing.” I’m too mature for that ****.

 

Lemme tell you the one thing I learned while I was in college- LIVE IT UP WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE. I just graduated last year, and the real world of paying rent, waking up to go to a real job where he have to do real work are too tired at night to go out and have a beer with your friends SUCKS. If you think making sure your term paper is handed in on time is a sign of adult responsability you'll have another thing coming when you graduate

 

That kind of attitude is just gonna cost you later and your gonna find yourself in a world of "what ifs" and "if onlys" COllege can be the best 4 years of your young life and realy gives you the last chance to be an immature kid w/o screwing up your life years down the road like I know some people I know already have.

 

I like your advice about trying to take ordinary stuff and turning them into something that can be real cool. That sa better attitude to go with, esspicially in your last weeks of undergrad life.

[Flying Beastie]

Gmarti, some people just don't do the whole "living it up" thing. This is one of the things that made college (specifically, living in Res) living Hell for me; people have different ideas of what constitutes "fun."

 

For me, at least, being able to sit down with a good book or movie is every bit as fun as going out to the local pub, getting plastered out of my mind, and waking up the next morning in the alley next to the Res, with my clothes undone and smelling like urine. Maybe my definition of "fun" is odd, but it's my definition.

 

I most definitely didn't need jerks that I don't like (and who I know don't particularly like me) knocking on my door at all hours and trying to drag me with them in the hopes I'll do something they can laugh at. I got laughed at enough in high school, and before. I also don't want people playing the SAME frelling rap/funk/R&B "song" 40 times in a row with their stereos as high as they can possibly go. (Number of actual minorities in my Res: 2 (out of >40). Neither of whom liked "ghetto music." The culprit: a skinny white boy from Morrisburg. )

 

Not everyone wants to "live it up" your way.

[Nute Gunray]

I'm not much for the public or for socializing. But I have an intense hatred for people that are out of control because their own for the first time. And they're not mature, but they think they are. Morans. Plus I rather enjoy not doing anything. I don't have a job right now, so I have plenty of spare time.

 

I still have at least three semesters before I finish my B.A. (changed my major a lot). Next year I'll be swamped with a rough schedule and a job so that I can pay my rent. I think I'm the only person I know here that understands "the real world." I'm going to be busy all day long until i'm 65. I might as well sit around watching Seinfeld and practicing my putt because I'm never going to have the time to say "hey, Full House is on. Awesome" and not have to think "ugh, I have to get up in six hours for work" ever again.

 

That girl spoke up in class for the first time ever. She mentioned Hitler in a disparaging light. Good for her. Should gone after that one. Oh well.

 

But the point is that you should think about the probabilities that you never would normally consider. If you really stretch it out, it can be pretty fun.

[Jabba The Hunt]

I totally agree about fun being particular to each and everyone of us. I usually enjoy going down the pub for a few drinks, often I wont even drink alcohol, which I enjoy just as much if not more than gettting totally plastered. Yes getting drunk is great, but the next 3 days just aint worth it, and personally I dont want to have to drink anything to feel happy.

 

Oh and about regretting chances, I have never regretted anything I've done, I have always made a decision with the best knowledge I have at the time and therefore It was the best decision I could have made.

 

Happiness is about who you are, not whats in your life.

[Keyan Farlander]

Originally posted by Nute Gunray

I'm not much for the public or for socializing. But I have an intense hatred for people that are out of control because their own for the first time.

 

Agreed, although I might have put it in more charitable terms, myself. I spent every college night alone, in my room, either working (usually) or playing a quick game on the old PC. I have no regrets.

 

And don't think there aren't any ways to "screw up your life" by behaving this way. There are a plethora of ways.

 

And Nute, I read through that whole thing expecting to hear that you asked her out or she asked you out or something. Now I will not be satisfied until I know you are either greatly depressed from being shot down or happy from not being shot down. I want the end to this story. Get on it.

[Nute Gunray]

Originally posted by Keyan Farlander

Now I will not be satisfied until I know you are either greatly depressed from being shot down or happy from not being shot down. I want the end to this story. Get on it.

 

Sadly, I think this is the end of the story. I'll see this girl once more ever. Next wednesday at 10 am. Assuming that I do see her at all. The room our final is in seats like 250 people. There's five classes in there at once. I currently have a moratorium on asking girls out for a variety of stupid and bizarre reasons. Besides, this campus is 32.8% female. The hunting is very poor.

[Ikhnaton]

N00t, if you are in fact the 65 year old that you claim to be, then you should be beyond those things that would keep you from asking the woman on a date. For gosh' sake, just ask her out for coffee or lunch or whatever would be suitable. act like you have a pair!

 

 

I went to college for 2 years. I didn't really understand the party thing at first and then by the time i did, i had to enter the work force. Unfortunately for me, that's when I decided to do my partying and I ended up making a lot of mistakes. Now I'm going back to school this year after a 7 year hiatus and I just want to get done. I don't know how I would be able to party even if i wanted to.

[Keyan Farlander]

Originally posted by Nute Gunray

Sadly, I think this is the end of the story. I'll see this girl once more ever. Next wednesday at 10 am. Assuming that I do see her at all. The room our final is in seats like 250 people. There's five classes in there at once. I currently have a moratorium on asking girls out for a variety of stupid and bizarre reasons. Besides, this campus is 32.8% female. The hunting is very poor.

 

If you only see her one more time then you very literally have nothing to lose. There won't even be any akward moments since you will NEVER SEE HER AGAIN. If you like this girl then just tell her you think she's interesting and ask if you can call her. Maybe go out to lunch or something. Just do it.

[Ikhnaton]

no, don't ask to call. Ask her if she'd like to go with you to coffee or lunch TODAY (the day of the class). If you get her number after that, then that's great. But asking for her number generally implies a wait of at least a few days.

[Nute Gunray]

Originally posted by Ikhnaton

N00t, if you are in fact the 65 year old that you claim to be, then you should be beyond those things that would keep you from asking the woman on a date. For gosh' sake, just ask her out for coffee or lunch or whatever would be suitable. act like you have a pair!

 

But I never intended to ask her out. Ever. The whole thing was basically "What if I had." It was a thought experiment or something.

[Ikhnaton]

why leave it as "what if" when you can make it "what is"?

[Nute Gunray]

Originally posted by Ikhnaton

why leave it as "what if" when you can make it "what is"?

 

The most probable events are:

A) I ask her out and she declines. Two days later, I depart for home and never see her again.

B) I ask her out and she accepts. We go out once on May 6th. The next day I depart for home and never see her again.

 

In theory, its also possible that I ask her out, she accepts, we go out once, drive to Atlantic City, get married, I barely make it back in time for my final next friday, and we live happily ever after. But the odds of that are probably about as low as getting hit by a meteor as soon as I hit submit.

 

But mainly, my time here is up. Then I go home for three months and then move four hours away. Same reason I didn't consider asking her out when I first saw her. In all likelihood, I'd have to break up with her because of my policy on long distance relationships. All she did was teach me to roll the dice more often, but I didn't get teh chance to this time. I can never go back to the one moment in time when I had to decide what to do.

[Jabba The Hunt]

Nute im shocked you managed to write that amazing post and it showed something slightly different to every person who read it, though I think most people missed your point of how many different choices we make in life.

[edlib]

Just think... in a parallel universe all those things have actually happened... including the metor thing.

[Commander 598]

Wouldn't that be a meteorite?

[Nute Gunray]

Originally posted by edlib

Just think... in a parallel universe all those things have actually happened... including the metor thing.

 

Now we're getting somewhere. My original post called on you, the viewer, to think about this very thing. Think about all the possibilities, pick the one you like, and roll the dice. Who knows what's going to happen. Hey, look ma, I'm being optimistic for once.

 

In a parallel worldine, Las Vegas just got incinerated in a Soviet sneak attack.

 

And it wouldn't be a meteorite until after it hit me.

 

FUN FACT: back in...like 1994 there was an unusually bright meteor in the eastern US. Millions, literally millions, saw it because it was on a friday night in teh fall which means millions of people at high school football games saw it. I saw it myself! Some people my parents know have it on video. Such a mass sighting is unheard of. But it gets better. That meteor that everyone saw hit a car in Jersey. What are the chances of THAT happening? (apparently 1:1)

[Rebel Loyaltist]

I remember once out here in Southern Cali some missle went haywire and they had to blow it up remotely. My elementary school was amazed by the ring it left around the sun.

[edlib]

Originally posted by Nute Gunray

Now we're getting somewhere. My original post called on you, the viewer, to think about this very thing. Think about all the possibilities, pick the one you like, and roll the dice. Who knows what's going to happen. Hey, look ma, I'm being optimistic for once.

I do think about this from time to time.

 

I wonder about the alternate edlib who has made all the right choices and is now amazingly wealthly and surrounded by beautiful women. I hope he's happy... although I wonder... I know myself better than that. Although, if he has made all the right choices, perhaps he is a very different person mentally than I am. Certainly more outgoing and optimistic...

 

The other thing I think about is all the alternate me's that have died grisly, violent deaths. I don't know why I think about this,.. but I do quite often. Usually while waiting for the bus with traffic whizzing by at insane, unsafe speeds only mere inches away from where I stand.

[Jabba The Hunt]

Strangely enough I was talking about this with my Dad only last week, theres so many choices which I've made that have gone on to affect my personality, often its more than you think. For instance when I was very young (about 2 years old) my parents decided to move house so that me and my sister would go to better schools, and I suddenly thought, but what if my parents hadn't done that, would I still have made it to university? Maybe it would have made me a stronger, better person than I am now, or maybe a worse person.

[Nute Gunray]

If my parent's hadn't moved after my brother was born, I'd probably have gone to Florida State instead of Penn State. I'd be running around yelling the Seminole War Chant instead of running around yelling WE ARE PENN STATE.

 

But FSU on my list of grad schools. Eerie.

 

I suspect alternute's realities aren't that different than our own. If we ignore the absurd:

1) nute is probably still in college. Where? Either at PSU, FSU, or UVA. He may have graduated from community college though.

2) nute is single (hello ladies). In realities that are only slightly different from our, I think its safe to assume that the girls I've asked out are not single in those worldlines too. There was one girl I almost asked out but I actually held conversation with her and found out I didn't want to. Alternute would have asked her out and it wouldn't have lasted, probably.

3) nute is bitter and evil. Same but different experiences would probably happen.

 

Even if one of the alternutes made all The Right Choices, I doubt he'd be very different from me. He'd be more optimistic and probably in better shape, but that's about it I think.

[Kylilin]

Going through life second guessing every move you did or didn't make is a waste of time. Live in the moment, it's the only way to go.

[Ray Jones]

hey, it's not that bad to "review" past decisions. after all every decision ends up in experience, "good" or "bad", and finally becomes knowledge.

 

both experience and knowledge are very helpful in making up further decisions. so being aware of it maybe useful on "the way to wisdom".

 

however, past decisions are unchangeable, so what i've just said is one way to deal with it.

 

also i think the better the "what-was/could-have-been-analysis" the better the "what-if-prediction".

 

of course, it may be not a good idea to make decisions out of "what-if-predictions" only. sometimes it is inevitable to make new experiences. and sometimes it is just about doing anything at all. like for instance instead of asking her out, just get in conversation with her. the rest could have developed on it own. you dont need to ask a girl out to have *deeper* contact. and imagine you ask a girl out and she turns out to be complete err.. undoable. but that is a thing that mr. gunray already found out. but then.. why didnt you just keep on talking to the nice girl in the class? making up a friendship with her? ok she lives 4 hours away, soon, but .. a) she is a nice girl, why not be her friend? b) nice girls tend to have nice girlfriends c) she may have a nice girlfriend, who lives directly in your neighborhood d) she could say something like this to her girlfriend:

"hey ursula, you know what? there is this guy in my class. and he's living in your hood. he's soo cute. unluckily i have this thing with long distance relationships. wont you give him overwhelming sexual satisfaction? he is soo worth it."

 

 

..

 

but what is a "right" choice anyways?

a decision can be "good" for let's say 20 years until it turns out to be a fatal mistake. the other way around you can feel bad about a decision, until one day you will see that it was probably one of the best things you ever did.

 

aah.. the matters of the continuum.

 

..

 

 

 

hmm.. i think i just said nothing at all.. eyh.