Best Life Plan

raisingarizona wrote

If you have some of those positions jtg then you aren’t skiing very much. A management position in hospitality or in a restaurant is like slavery. I know Ive said this before but the best time of my life was while being a dishwasher or a bellman or a busboy. I didn’t own a car but I got by and skied six days a week and god I F-d a lot of waitresses.

You guys make it sound like to be a ski bum you gotta make sacrifices but a real ski bum sees it completely opposite.

So why did you give up “the life”?

campgottagopee wrote

My mom would joke she had my address written down in pencil.

When I skied out west, I volunteered for a 3(?) survey through the census, or something like that.  The person who had my file had to call me annually to see what I was doing.  The last time they called, I was given a hard time as it took the gov't employee "weeks" to find me.

PeeTex wrote

raisingarizona wrote

If you have some of those positions jtg then you aren’t skiing very much. A management position in hospitality or in a restaurant is like slavery. I know Ive said this before but the best time of my life was while being a dishwasher or a bellman or a busboy. I didn’t own a car but I got by and skied six days a week and god I F-d a lot of waitresses.

You guys make it sound like to be a ski bum you gotta make sacrifices but a real ski bum sees it completely opposite.

So why did you give up “the life”?

I haven’t really. I had my daughter unexpectedly and now I’m struggling to find a way to have more balance. It does get old as you approach middle age. I can tell you this though, I’m never going to move to a big city and get an office job.

Ain’t. Gonna. Happen.

campgottagopee wrote

raisingarizona wrote

If you have some of those positions jtg then you aren’t skiing very much. A management position in hospitality or in a restaurant is like slavery. I know Ive said this before but the best time of my life was while being a dishwasher or a bellman or a busboy. I didn’t own a car but I got by and skied six days a week and god I F-d a lot of waitresses.

You guys make it sound like to be a ski bum you gotta make sacrifices but a real ski bum sees it completely opposite.

QFT

No waitresses here....UVM chicks and nurses from Quebec. There's no need for a girlfriend.
We took who's ever car/truck started that day. If nothing started we skied to work and hitchhiked home.

Good times :D

Bottom line , different strokes for different folks .'Twould  be a damn boring world if we all were hard wired similarly .
 My "only " advice is  go into it eyes wide open . You dont want to wake up at 50 and wonder what the hell did i do ?

For me , a type A young guy who wanted to be married and have a family and work at a job i loved ( university life ) it worked . Great job , great bennies and income , ample consulting opportunities for side income , good vacation periods , interesting work , great campus recreation facilities , staying young at heart being around bright young kids and others IT WORKED . But some may have found that terminally irrelevant .

My wife and i set a goal  to retire young . She went back into the work after our youngest graduated HS .  So All of My consulting income and my wife's entire salary was invested and my employer had a defined benefit pension and a 403 b which i maxed out  .  .

As an undergradute " dismal science " 😄major i fully understood the miracle of compound interest . We crafted a life financial plan at 25 with annual benchmarks (  😱type A ) i retired at 51 from fulltime work and did 60 days consulting a yr. for 5 more years .  Follow your dream , but be smart about it and know what your plan b ,or c or d is and when you will " take stock of your progress" and adjust as needed . Life is  sometimes what happens to you when you are busy planning it ....

Lots of paths , lots of choices and lots of consequences , know thyself .

RA i'm  pulling for ya !

Hope that quest happens for you and your daughter !

Thanks Warp! Me too man. I’m an odd one and the things that motivate most people don’t work for me. In a lot of ways I don’t feel like I fit in in this world. I’d be happier being a hunter and gatherer or trying to survive the zombie apocalypse. The only thing I really like to do that I might be able to make money at is the trail building so hopefully that works. If it doesn’t then plan b is living in a van and spending the rest of my time outside.

RA , i think you do have a gift in  that capacity and also believe that your devotionto your daughter is both a wonderful thing and a strong motivator . You Have learned more about yourself over time and that  coupled withthe aforementioned  will enable you to "shift gears  " should that be required .

I admire your zeal and wish you both the best !

This thread reminded me of this thread:
https://forum.nyskiblog.com/Ski-Towns-and-Suicide-td4129593.html

x10003q wrote

This thread reminded me of this thread:
https://forum.nyskiblog.com/Ski-Towns-and-Suicide-td4129593.html

I post in these threads because I'm curious about different paths, but I think we've kinda all gotten the idea of how certain people have fared with their choices.

It would be interesting to hear from people that we haven't heard from yet.

One thing you don't hear much about is regret. RA doesn't regret not earning a big salary in the city. Warp doesn't regret saving a bunch of money & retiring early.

Kinda makes me think that whatever decisions I make from here on out, I'll probably find a way to get by and everything will work out fine. Lots of people seem to find ways to make things work for themselves.

MC2 5678F589 wrote

It would be interesting to hear from people that we haven't heard from yet.

One thing you don't hear much about is regret. RA doesn't regret not earning a big salary in the city. Warp doesn't regret saving a bunch of money & retiring early.

Well I know we have heard from me a bunch, but I regret not finding a way to ski with my buddies at Steamboat for a year in college. I wish I had started skiing before age 40.

I think people naturally want to feel their choices are good. Too much of Facebook is all about that.

I'm just another hamster in the wheel.

Harvey wrote

I think people naturally want to feel their choices are good. .

The more that I think about it, survivorship bias is probably at play, too. If someone tried something and failed miserably, they probably wouldn't post about it on NYSB.

MC2 5678F589 wrote

The more that I think about it, survivorship bias is probably at play, too. If someone tried something and failed miserably, they probably wouldn't post about it on NYSB.

I failed at being an artist.  My smokin GF dumped me because I was broke. Looking back on it she was kind of a nightmare though, a serial cheater.

I failed at nursing school.

I don’t really care about becoming a nurse though. That became obvious about a month into it.

I failed at art, English, foreign languages, and athletics. I was never a great skier (this being a ski board is that sacrilege?). But all that never mattered because I can still do all these things and not have to worry about being perfect.

PeeTex wrote

I failed at art, English, foreign languages, and athletics. I was never a great skier (this being a ski board is that sacrilege?). But all that never mattered because I can still do all these things and not have to worry about being perfect.

I failed Calculus and was borderline in foreign languages.

I not a great skier, maybe not even good.  (I seem to recall you pointing that out?)

Skiing is supposed fun and so I consider myself a success.

If I said you were a bad skier it was in jest, I think I only saw you ski (tele) once and that was many years ago. Don’t be so sensitive.

The most successful skier on the mountain is the one with the biggest smile at the end of the day! :D

I don't care if I am a bad skier or what anyone thinks in that regard. I vaguely remember you saying you saw me from the lift and was off balance or something to that effect. Makes sense. I think we skied together once I thought you were solid.

I'm ok but will never be great. I am getting better, but I don't think I'll ever really charge the fall line like an expert. As hard as I try, when it gets steep, I drag my uphill pole. As long as my friends wait for me at the lift I'm good with it.