My Crappy life

[the shutdown man]

Was it that one they were advertising a few weeks ago where they were looking to pay someone thousands to live on an island, count the fish and write a blog about what fun you were having?

Hmmm... now that I've google it, yes it is. Well that's some of the intrigue gone anyway. But I prefer to think of it as some kind of message meant only for me; it's not some competition/reality show, it's my dream job, whetever the hell that may be....

[Buddy]

no girlfriend

Think yourself lucky there mate.

Also, with the financial mugging known as Valentines day coming up in a few weeks, think yourself very lucky your single, especially if you're skint too!

You've just saved yourself a headache and an argument.

[Richmond Clements]

no girlfriend

Think yourself lucky there mate.

Also, with the financial mugging known as Valentines day coming up in a few weeks, think yourself very lucky your single, especially if you're skint too!

You've just saved yourself a headache and an argument.

Imagine trying to run a comic convention on the same weekend..!

[Roger Godpleton]

I'm in a similar sort of predicament to Billy, although I at least have a part-time job (about 20 hours a week.) I'm fairly certain my mother wants me to be trapped in Higher Education for the rest of my life.

[TordelBack]

Batson lad, that does indeed sound very shit, but if you're lucky life is long, and everything changes.  Like most folk have said, 23 can be a bad place.

When I was 23 (and oh to be 23 again, but in someone else's life!) I had just spent three years on an 2-year MA that I had completely failed to finish, i was living with my parents, had £8000 in loans, worked just 20 hours in a kitchen, was heavily dependent on amphetamines (which used up all my money), and had alienated just about everyone who ever knew me by virtue of being a fucking prick.  I'm 37 now, and I've since had an utterly marvelous life, have a beautiful wife and fabulous son, have travelled to some amazing places, have had a few successful years in business (and a few shit ones), have a couple of interesting and rewarding hobbies, and am currently a thoroughly self-satisfied git.  

Just hang on in there mate, nothing stays the same for long, even if it always seems to.

[Peter Wolf]

Theres no way i would want to be 23 again EVER as i wouldnt want to go back to being the complete reckless basket case that i was then.I cant remember that much of my twenties.

23 is the chaos number.

List the things you like or are good at and would like to be doing and maybe we could provide some pointers that might be of help.

Do you like working with your hands and physical active work ?

If you do then the best thing you could do is learn a trade.Forget all that bollox about becoming a Plumber etc.They are all oversubscribed.The best thing you could possibly do is get some work experience [work for nothing for a bit to get your foot in the door] or an apprenticeship with a building conservation company.There is a massive skills shortage in this sector and very very few companies practising it and you will NEVER be out of work.

You need to be able to drive.

Bar work is great fun if its busy but boring if it isnt.I did it for 9 months and ran a bar in a student nightclub.This was in the days when you didnt have Idiot tills and you had to mentally add up rounds of drinks of however many.You get tips as well and the change from 20 quid that they just walk off and leave you.Help yourself to the odd drink.

[House of Usher]

Now that we're wallowing in nostalgia/slash/comparing notes, 23 for me was on the dole, settled in love (hooray!), kicked out of home by parents because I'd been away for three years and they didn't want me back now I was with someone, even whilst looking for somewhere else to live; no money to buy booze, no interest in drugs, half a dozen unemployed graduate friends, the job centre on my back about looking for work that paid enough to equal housing benefit (£80) + income support x2 (£70) when there were no jobs paying £150+ a week, thoughts of volunteering with Oxfam (seen through), and a plan to start a Master's degree as soon as possible. On the dole. In Leicester. With paranoid delusions and mild (dysthymic) depression. You can imagine how much fun that was. But at least it wasn't Palestine, as the man said.

[Trout]

Big congrats to LARF!

Fiev kids? Bloody hell!  

- Trout

[Tanky]

Batson, I think everyone feels that way at some point. Look at it as an opportunity - you don't have any commitments tying you down, what is it that you really, really want to do? It's a tricky question, I know and I was 30 before I could answer it for myself but one thing you do have right now is time to think about it and ways to make it happen.

Bar jobs are indeed a good start and are bloody good fun! Yes, some places do have a lot of student applicants, but don't forget that most of the are a) doing exams at the moment, so there might be some temp work going during which you can prove yourself. And b) they won't be around much over the hols either. Once you're in, you're in!

Now that we're wallowing in nostalgia/slash/comparing notes...

Lets see... at 23, I lived with the parental units, was on the dole and got smashed a lot. which is probably why that's about all I can remember!
You are not alone, my friend! Tx

[Judge Kirby]

im 23 no job no girlfriend live at home with my parents. if we're not in the same boat we must be sailing pretty damn close no?  ....man i suck

[Old Tankie]

Batson, and any other bored 23 year old single guys reading this, get motivated, take any crappy job for six months, earn a few quid then stick a few T-shirts, a few shreddies, couple of pairs of jeans and a pair of shorts in a rucksack, then stick it on your back and GET OUT THERE!!!  At 23 I was picking fruit in the Middle East, meeting beautiful people from many different countries, laying in the Dead Sea (reading 2000AD!!), exploring the old city of Jerusalem (fantastic place), snokelling in the Red Sea, and generally having the time of my life.

At 23 my own son had finished Uni, saved a few bob and was driving around New Zealand and Australia, after already having backpacked around Western Samoa, Fiji, travelled around Canada and driven across the United States.

They say "travel broadens the mind", it certainly did it for him.  And you don't need thousands of pounds to do this, as in countries like New Zealand and Australia, you can get casual work easily.  This time next year, you could be having a beer on Bondi Beach, instead of feeling sorry for yourself on your computer.

Go for it lads!!

[the shutdown man]

Okay, can I throw my own tale of woe into the mix here? Similar story, 25, single, crap job, etc... You know the drill.

But to add to that, I'm also very, very, epileptic. Besides the unpredictable seizures, I'm on three different kinds of meds which have many side effects including memory and concentration troubles, which meant college kind of went by the board, and learning anything new for a job is not easy. It also means I can't drive. So believe me, I'd love to travel, and end up in a tiny town in the outback, but wherever I go, I need to worry about where I can get my meds, and all that jazz. It's kind of limiting.

So, I'm fielding all suggestions at this point......

[LARF]

Hey Tankie at 20 I was working in a Cotton Mill in the Middle East, exploring the Old City of Jerusalem, wandering the shores of Galillee and watching the sun rise at Masada - were you on a Kibbutz?

[Old Tankie]

Hi LARF - yes I certainly was on a kibbutz, in fact I was on a couple of them.  One up near the Golan Heights and another by the Sea of Gallilee.  Yes, as well as doing the fruit picking, I also had to stuff chickens in crates ready to go to the slaughter house, but I didn't want to put that on my original post, in case it put the boys off!!!  And Masada, what a place.  Did you take the easy route or did you walk up?  It's such a long time ago that my memories are getting a bit blurred (and before anyone asks, I'm 112!!)  but, yeah, it really was a fantastic time.  When were you out there?

[LARF]

I was out there in 1990, stayed at Kibbutz Afeq near Haifa - very amusing place - and yes I had to do the chicken thing as well (well these were chicks) and we alos had to eat them next day, My mum was a butcher so never bothered me but we had some girls in tears. I walked up Masada - it was a fantastic place, also did Yad Vashem, went on a crazy Rabbi tour of Israel, got escorted through Jehrico by an armed patrol, went to Ein Gedi and the Negev... etc. etc. it was a wicked time. When were you there?

Here's an old pic of me at the top of masada