Mistakes you look back and kick yourself for

Page 4 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
SaDiZTiKStyLeZ

SaDiZTiKStyLeZ

Lifer
Apr 12, 2010
10,510
10
0
Kaido said:
I got into computers by a mistake. The company my dad worked for when I was a kid gave him a take-home engineering computer to do CAD stuff while off-site. I decided to be a good boy and "boost it up" for him and make it go faster by cleaning out some "unnecessary" files (who needs all these useless ICO and DLL files anyway??) and ending up making it unbootable (Win NT4 for the record - back in the mid to late 90's) . $700 repair bill - ouch (which back then was a LOT of money). I was pretty much grounded from ever touching a computer again, which fueled my desire to learn how they worked so that I could actually fix them properly. And now I am an IT admin. Wait a minute, I think I'm still being punished...:hmm:
Click to expand...
Your pops should have just put you to work to make up for the loss.

I accidentally broke about that same amount worth of my dad's work equipment. Punishment was to work it off. Waking up at 5am for 10-12 hour days wasn't much my idea of fun at 13y/o. But the work was tolerable most of the time. Took almost 2mo to work off what the set amount was. I continued to work a couple more weeks but I was sick of it at that pay rate.
 
Last edited:
busydude

busydude

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2010
8,793
5
76
Engineer said:
Did what I thought was very good "due diligence" and bought into a stock. Kept buying into it, though it started falling. Knew I should have been dumping it and taking the "small" loss but the emotion kept saying to hang on...going to be rich.

Well, it kept falling and I kept buying, even into $20,000 margin. Thought that I could pay the margin off and get all the benefits of the big bounceback that it just "had to do".

It didn't and I fell into a terrifying cycle of margin calls...about every two to three days. Of course, instead of dumping then, I kept saying (in a panic) that I had to make it up...it's going to make it up....it didn't.

At one point, my account went negative (because of the margin). It took a bounce and I had to unload...left me with $0.25 in my account. Had to call the broker just to ask them to not charge me margin interest meaning that I would have owed them just to get rid of the stock.

The hardest thing that I ever had to do was to go home and explain to my wife that I had just lost $59,000+ dollars. Expecting the worst, she gave me her best. The only condition for forgiveness was to promise her no more....an easy promise to make considering what I had just done.

My yearly $3,000 write off reminds me of that sad moment of my life each and every year.....for 16 more.

And what makes it even more sad is that I "KNEW" that I should dump it.....just emotion took over and lost all sense of logic. I have shed tears several times over the pain of that loss and also to the relief that my wife was far more loving and understanding that I would have give her credit for. A very painful and a true mistake that I will never forget....

:':)\:'(

I tell this painful story in hopes that it will somehow prevent someone from ever doing what I did and having the pain or the displeasure of telling your loved one that you lost so very much of what you both had worked so hard for.....
Click to expand...

Not related to this thread.. but a personal note of mine.

My dad also lost a lot of money investing in Stock.

He just returned from an overseas job in 1983.. had a lot of money to spend.. and after spending some time doing research on where to spend his money.. started investing in the stock market(Bombay stock Exchange), along with having his social network expanded, made some more money. Then started his life as a stock broker in Hyderabad by 1985, giving stock advice and tips to his friends and colleagues.. and later they started giving my dad money to invest.

All my dad's investment had to be done by a broker in BSE.. and the only way to keep in touch with him was by phone(We were the first to have a land line in our block :p).. he only got proof of the transaction next week by mail. It was smooth sailing until 1992.. in today's money his friends invested about $ 50K. In 1992.. this happened.. market fell 12% in a single day, the broker in BSE went bankrupt(He was probably involved with Mr. Mehta).. and went underground, leaving my dad to fend for himself. He was morally and financially devastated.. his only backup is his full time Government job that pays him $5K/year.

After that.. he worked his ass off for 12 years, paid everyone their dues with interest. In spite of that, he made sure his sons got a good education.. made sure not to let that affect our family life.

Although there are a few things which I don't like about him, I admire his perseverance.. the way he always tries to take the moral high ground. Now, at the age of 64, even though he got rich.. he never stops working.. I always wonder what makes him tick.

I don't think I will be able to tell him personally, but he will always be my inspiration.. and my life will be his legacy. :):'(
 
Born2bwire

Born2bwire

Diamond Member
Oct 28, 2005
9,840
6
71
highland145 said:
This one. I'm the good looking one.

fnb_v08n2_railroad_construction_crew.jpg
Click to expand...

Heh. They accidentally cut off the top part of your body in that picture. Typical of group photos I guess.
 
JujuFish

JujuFish

Lifer
Feb 3, 2005
11,437
1,053
136
HAL9000 said:
You can read, congratulations.

Also as you claim to know my name, what's my middle name?
Click to expand...
I never claimed to know your name, I claimed to be able to read your name. Maybe you can't read. Congratulations?
 
IGBT

IGBT

Lifer
Jul 16, 2001
17,974
140
106
running into the back of that VW bus when the power steering fan belt broke.
 
D

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
Regrets I've had a few, but then again too few to mention
I've been doing what I have to do and still through without exemption

I'm still on charted courses, each step along the byway
And more, much more than this, still doing it my way

Stay tuned
 
R

Rifter

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,522
751
126
I have only one major regret.

This is over 10 years ago now I broke up with one of my ex's cause she cheated on me right after it turned into a LDR, which you would think is a totally normal thing to do when someone cheats.

However looking back on it i can see now how my jealousy/actions is what brought it on, and other than the cheating we were perfect for each other. I have never found anyone since that made me feel the way i did while we were together. They were honestly the best 9 months of my life. The sex was incredible, still to this day the best i have ever had. Thats probbaly why we still see each other a few times a year to "bring back some memories" as she calls it even though she got married 9 years ago and ive been in a relationship for the last 7 years.
 
HamburgerBoy

HamburgerBoy

Lifer
Apr 12, 2004
27,111
318
126
Rifterut said:
I have only one major regret.

This is over 10 years ago now I broke up with one of my ex's cause she cheated on me right after it turned into a LDR, which you would think is a totally normal thing to do when someone cheats.

However looking back on it i can see now how my jealousy/actions is what brought it on, and other than the cheating we were perfect for each other. I have never found anyone since that made me feel the way i did while we were together. They were honestly the best 9 months of my life. The sex was incredible, still to this day the best i have ever had. Thats probbaly why we still see each other a few times a year to "bring back some memories" as she calls it even though she got married 9 years ago and ive been in a relationship for the last 7 years.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the two of you match there as well. Such a lovely couple. ^_^
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom