[theRedNeck]

It has been said that in everyones life there is a moment when you realize your life has changed forever. For better or worse, there is no going back to the person you were the day before. I'm not talking about getting married, or having children, something more on a personal level.

I think my point of no return was when I was 21. I saw a woman get her purse snatched. I ran after the guy, and chased him for what I know was well over 1/2 mile threw alleys, yards, and over a fence. Finally he dropped the purse. I took the purse back, and the lady was gone. I went through her purse to find her ID, and noticed she has over 400 in cash, and a small hand gun. I drove to her house and returned her purse, only to be arrested as the theif. It was then I realized my life changed forever. I learned no good deed goes unpunished. When did you have your life changing moment?

[motcom]

Well she obviously not saw who snatched the purse then?

Mine was watching "zeitgeist 2" horrible how people can be towards other people and the extend they will go to...

[modi123_1]

Oh I totally hear you OP. Quick background - it was a cold December night in New Bedford, MA. Work sucked and I have been unemployed for a few months. Money was tight and resources thin. I decided to take a job on a fishing boat (w00t - Deadlest Catch east coast!). Some funny tatted up mexican was in the green horn bunk with me (he claimed to be Polynesian but I was all like what ever d00d.. you are totally mexican.. but hey' that's cool with me since I don't mind illegals - they bend a mean taco). The captain was a strange bro - totally stranger than Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie (RIP). It ended up we weren't catching Maine lobster - but a freaking white whale! Totally strange, but it makes sense why the captain was off his rocker. It was then that I realized obsession can be a dangerous thing.. and revenge still leaves you hallow (and drug out to sea!). That voyage tots sucked, they pay was okay, but wouldn't do that again. By the way, my name is Ishmael.

This post has been edited by modi123_1: 02 July 2010 - 06:58 AM

[Christoph]

I got married. Enough said.

[BenignDesign]

December 7, 2002. My 3-month pregnant self and my then 18-month-old daughter spent the previous night at a friend's house. I came home that afternoon to find the father of my children three sheets to the wind on a half gallon of Wild Turkey. He looked me in the eye and screamed, "Get your shit, get the baby's shit, and get out!"

Things changed. Just a smidge.

[theRedNeck]

modi123_1, on 02 July 2010 - 05:54 AM, said:

I decided to take a job on a fishing boat (w00t - Deadlest Catch east coast!).
...

By the way, my name is Ishmael.

So basically, you went on the boat looking for dick...

I could see how that changed your life.


To BenignDesign-

December 7, 1941 - Pearl Harbor gets bombed.
December 7, 2002 - You get bombed.

Rough day that 12/7. I think I'll put that on my calendar to stay in bed that day.

This post has been edited by theRedNeck: 02 July 2010 - 07:24 AM

[modi123_1]

theRedNeck, on 02 July 2010 - 08:04 AM, said:

modi123_1, on 02 July 2010 - 05:54 AM, said:

I decided to take a job on a fishing boat (w00t - Deadlest Catch east coast!).
...

By the way, my name is Ishmael.

So basically, you went on the boat looking for dick...

I could see how that changed your life.

Hmmm not so much. As the story implied it was *not* a f^ab_ulou^s voyage.

(Pun waaaaaaaay overly intended)

This post has been edited by modi123_1: 02 July 2010 - 07:52 AM

[Choscura]

The 'getting married and having kids doesn't count' thing is pretty stupid. realizing you are responsible for the entire life of another person for at LEAST the next 18 years is life changing. realizing it is officially completely unacceptable to, eg, go to hooters for the rest of your life, is life changing. having a criminal record for a stupid mistake is on the lower end of this scale, not the upper end.

[PsychoCoder]

My life changing moment was March 6, 1989; The day I was informed I had cancer and wouldn't live to see 25 (see how much they know)

[macosxnerd101]

Last night with BenignDesign.

[alias120]

I haven't had too much craziness in my life, but on a personal level one event did do a number on me. I had been dating my first serious girlfriend for about five years. I dropped a bunch of money on a ring, and proposed to her on Christmas day in front of my family. I was stationed overseas at the time, so I return and few months later I find out she has been banging some dude back home. What actually pissed me off the most at the time was the fact that she was doing this while my parents were letting her live with them.

The result has been somewhat of a double edged sword. On the one hand, I am not as naive as I used to be. On the other, it made me paranoid as all hell when I started dating again. My girlfriend of a couple years now is a sweetheart for putting up with it, there were times I was an idiot for no reason beyond my own. My experience changed the way I perceive things, for better and for worse.

[Christoph]

Oh yeah. And working with a buddy to run an internet scam that netted us over 40k in 2 months until we pissed off the wrong dude and had the fuzz watching us, then turning ourselves in after finding out (we knew some of the local law enforcement), ratting out a few drug dealers, wearing a wire to prove that my friends mother and boyfriend were in on the scam to lessen our punishment and working frantically to undo what we did. Ended up with 11 felony counts and 1 conspiracy to commit fraud count.

Got off with 1 year probation and it was wiped off my record.

[theRedNeck]

Choscura, on 02 July 2010 - 06:56 AM, said:

The 'getting married and having kids doesn't count' thing is pretty stupid. realizing you are responsible for the entire life of another person for at LEAST the next 18 years is life changing. realizing it is officially completely unacceptable to, eg, go to hooters for the rest of your life, is life changing. having a criminal record for a stupid mistake is on the lower end of this scale, not the upper end.

Being arrested, thrown in jail with drunks, rapists, drug dealers; having newspaper articles written about you, having friends you've known for years look at you in disbelief, family members doubting you, having people you barely know express their belief in you. Explaining your entire life to the courts and twelve people chosen to judge you. Taking a year and a half of your life to straighten it out, is low end? Yeah, that's low end, you're right. There is no way having your world turned inside out could be life changing. Definately low end.
Try it sometime. I'm sure you'll brush it right off.

Getting married, and having children is definately life changing. I agree. It's just that that answer could be a staple answer. To easy. I was hoping for maybe a experience that you thought helped define you as a person. Something a little more personal, that's all.

This post has been edited by theRedNeck: 02 July 2010 - 08:15 AM

[no2pencil]

First time I experienced irc.
First time I was shown ssh & vi.

[BenignDesign]

Because, obviously, everything else in life is infinitely more personal than squeezing a watermelon-sized clone of yourself out of your vajayjay.

While I don't doubt that prison time was traumatic for you, I highly doubt you've passed a living, breathing kidney stone the size of a baseball.