But trust me on the sunscreen.

[odditycollector]

On occasion of me stepping uncertainly into the wild terrains of adult existence, I thought I'd ask the advice of those who've been there before me and learned its systems of cartography. That is, the internets!

So, please share a few of the tips you've figured out along the way that have made your life just that little bit easier!

They can be simple and well known - maybe it really *is* easier if you install the toilet paper with the leading edge facing out! - or extremely, oddly specific - what *is* the best compass direction to face when writing love letters in a second story hotel room?

Who knows. Maybe they will make someone else's life just that little bit easier as well!
 

Comments

[odditycollector.livejournal.com]

Here's a handful of mine:
 

1: High heels are supposed to follow the curve of your foot, but if you've got "short"-type toes or a longer heel (like me), you'll end up with a gap under your arch. If this happens, there's a couple options. You can throw the offending footwear against the wall after about 20 minutes, insult its parentage in imaginative and unpublishable ways, and vow never to wear heels again. This is perfectly reasonable! Alternatively, you can try insoles. There are various kinds made especially for high heels and, while they won't beat out running shoes at comfort, shoe shopping will seem less like a practical joke at your expense.

2: When, after an unsuccessful cooking adventure, you're left staring in horror at a pot that looks like this (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/justiard/badly_burned_pot.jpg), break out the WD-40 (or other penetrating oil/solvent of your preference). Verily, the topologists and hammer salesmen have each told us truth, there is no fundamental difference between a pot and a nail.

3: If you've got asthma, particularly that sort of asthma that even on good days never quite entirely goes away, check out Symbicort. I am serious. It will *change your life*.

4: In the winter and summer you might be able to get away with trusting the weather patterns, but if you find yourself near the south-west coast of British Columbia in the spring or fall, always pack both an umbrella and a pair of sunglasses among your day's accessories. Always. 'Else you are going to be really irritated at 2 pm, when the torrential downpour takes a 40 minute break and the sun multiplies off the glistening streets and your fingers make a really crappy sunvisor. (Or the rain comes out and totally messes up your hair. It is the same solution!)

5: Don't eat DrainO.

 
I hope my wisdom serves you well. *nods solemnly*

[wabbitseason.livejournal.com]

1. Shoe shopping *isn't* a practical joke at my expense? Since when? I have very narrow (AAA) feet, so finding anything that remotely fits requires patience. I haven't thrown any shoes, but I've been sorely tempted. I've also cursed any number of shoemakers that have discontinued or redesigned favorite shoes, never to be seen or worn by my poor feet again.

[odditycollector.livejournal.com]

I've also cursed any number of shoemakers that have discontinued or redesigned favorite shoes, never to be seen or worn by my poor feet again.
Total sympathy. I am currently mildly distraught because I've nearly worn out my favourite shoe, but they are no longer made or sold :(

I have very narrow (AAA) feet, so finding anything that remotely fits requires patience
Sadly, I have no ready made advice by which to wow you with my genius. Wait! I know! You could... get really, really rich and buy bespoke, Y? Y?

Y?

[jarodrussell.livejournal.com]

If you let your mind wander and day dream about killing the current person who's yammering at you, it's easier to smile and nod as they yammer.

[odditycollector.livejournal.com]

Truly, wisdom of the ages!

[shadowvalkyrie.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah!

[brownbetty]

1. There is nothing wrong with asking for help.

2. Some people are never going to give back. Decide if that's okay with you and act accordingly.

3. When you find a surface that hasn't been cleaned in so long the dust has gone greasy, a little powdered laundry detergent on a rag will do more than eight hours of scrubbing with cleaning solutions.

4. On the subject of laundry detergent, lots of gross stuff will yield to a pre-soak of about an hour in one part laundry detergent to ten parts water in a small bucket.

5. Remember to eat. Food is necessary for your survival.

6. Cheese. White people love cheese.

[odditycollector.livejournal.com]

6. I KNOW I DO! :D

[teaotter.livejournal.com]

3. Thank you! I have spent many fruitless hours scrubbing greasy dust from the tops of kitchen cabinets, and am glad to hear there's an alternative!

[holyschist.livejournal.com]

6. Cheese. White people love cheese.

Even when we're lactose-intolerant and it's more of a love/hate thing.

*siiiiigh*

[v-voltaire.livejournal.com]

Never take a knife to a gun fight.

[odditycollector.livejournal.com]

Does it make me a bad person if I'm wondering, a little hopefully, if that's from personal experience? ;)

[http://users.livejournal.com/__marcelo/]

Budget well your time and money, they tend to sort of go away when you aren't looking. But don't be afraid to blow either budget when you really have to.

And good health insurance is a really good thing.

[odditycollector.livejournal.com]

Budget well your time... tend to sort of go away when you aren't looking.
That is shockingly apt. I lost an entire day this week. My brain is still convinced it is Wednesday. D:

[http://users.livejournal.com/__marcelo/]

Don't worry too much about days. There are whole years I can barely account for :/.

[petronelle.livejournal.com]

Flossing is just as good for your as your dentist always says, and takes less time than you think. It also stops hurting, and eventually you don't bleed anymore.

[brownbetty]

Oh my god, I read this TWICE as "Flossing is just as good for your ass as your dentist always--" and went back because that COULDN'T be right, and it STILL took me until the third try to read all the words.

[petronelle.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear.

I'm sorry I typoed at you.

[odditycollector.livejournal.com]

Life Tip: *do not go to Petra's dentist*.

;)

":-D

[shadowvalkyrie.livejournal.com]

1) When faced with any of the following: other people's lawyers, bitchy landlords, people who want money from you (other than shop clerks), or people who want anything at all from you that you have no intention whatsoever of providing: DO NOT SMILE. No, really. Give them a cold, blank stare and if you have to talk, talk in a matching voice. It will make at least half of them stammer and go away. Raising an eyebrow and telling silences in awkward places of the conversation can also work wonders.

2) When, on the other hand, faced with door-to-door religion-mongers, cultists etc, SMILE. Dig up your creepiest, jokerishest grin and apply it generously. In addition, spout lines like "Finally, brothers, there you are! I've had the chicken blood and virgin sacrifice ready for ages!"

3) Try not to drop full rum bottles in your bedroom. It's been two years, but as soon as the window's closed, the smell is back.

4) If you or any other family member wants to bring new pets into the household, consider beforehand whether there exists a predator-prey relationship between them and any of your pre-existing pets. It prevents tragedies.

5) Remember to always watch your baggage at the airport.

[bigelbow.livejournal.com]

Never turn down an offer of free food. Your stomach (and your wallet) will thank you for it.

[odditycollector.livejournal.com]

Hee! So, you are of the opinion that there *is* such a thing as a free lunch? ;) Well, you and Alan Moore (http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:YsilufZ7SoEJ:br.geocities.com/galeria_sombria/lyrics9.html+alan-moore+thing-as-a-free-lunch&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=ca), not such bad company.

[arcana-j.livejournal.com]

-Unless it's bleeding or on fire, NO situation is as dire as others would have you believe. This goes double when money is involved.

-Never be willfully ignorant nor willfully malicious. In the end, the price you pay for either is too high.

-Jeans can be worn several times between washings. Shirts, socks and underwear should be washed after each wearing.

-Put your t-shirt on a hanger and bring it into the bathroom when you shower. The steam will soften it up enough that tug or two should pull out most (if not all) wrinkles.

-Put lotion or moisturizers on just after the bath and while the room is still steamy. They work far better that way.

-Rinsing your mouth with a weak infusion of sage tea, two or three times per day, will clear up almost any gum problem in astoundingly short order.

-Practice reading aloud. Be mindful of your inflection and rhythm and be sure to do all the voices. It's good practice for public speaking.

[sinanju.livejournal.com]

Pay yourself first. No matter how small your income, save some of it--preferably by automatic deduction. Uncle Sam shears us of billions every year in this fashion. Out of sight really is out of mind.... Your older self will thank you one day because COMPOUND INTEREST IS YOUR FRIEND.

Within the limits of work-required decorum, be yourself. Whatever your interests, don't hide them. Sure, if you like country music and everyone else is an opera fan, they may rib you--but they're not the ones you want to find. You want to find the other country music* fans lurking beneath the surface like Superman hiding behind a pair of glasses.

*Or whatever.

know what your money situation is

[carmiel.livejournal.com]

writing down every single thing you spend money on every month. It may be scary; it may be depressing; it may not be fun, but doing this has gotten me on top of my finances. Going from money emergency to money emergency is bad, very bad. I learned this the hard way and ended up filing the big B.

[elgatocurioso.livejournal.com]

1. After your first job it really IS "Who you know" and not "What you know".

2. If you are an introvert join "Toastmasters" and learn how to act more like an extrovert. Heck, join "Toastmasters" even if you are an extrovert.

3. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you

4. But watch out for group-think: Regardless of whether it is in the board room or the construction site, people do stupid things when they let other people do the actual thinking for them.

5. Definitely don't take yourself too seriously. Don't get insulted when others laugh at the goofy thing you just did.

6. Communication is everything. Communicate your problems to others BEFORE they become other people's problems too.

7. Recognize that everyone communicates differently and there will be misunderstandings anyway. Fighting about misunderstandings (who said what and when) will not prevent them from happening the next time, so don't waste your time bothering to do so.

8. Do not get angry while the problem is still not fixed.

9. It is not your employees job to make you look good. Your job is to facilitate their, to clear the way for them to be productive, and to protect them when the personal stakes get too high.

And my most important piece of grown-up advice:

10. Never mistreat your waiter.

[foreverdirt.livejournal.com]

Keep hydrated.

[thegameiam.livejournal.com]

Verify the statements of salespeople before committing a significant amount of time, money or effort. This is particularly true in technical matters.

[elgatocurioso.livejournal.com]

Oh... this makes me think of a new piece of "grownup advice": Get a subscription to "consumerreports.com". Check it before making any major purchase. It's $26 a year, and it will save you that many times over.

[thegameiam.livejournal.com]

Agreed, although I would say that sometimes I do not agree with their weightings with regard to "best value" - there are some things where certain intangibles make a premium worthwhile for me (laptop keyboards, for instance).

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

The thing about it being who you know rather than what you know? SO TRUE.

Figure out whether your goal in a given situation is to get your way or to have people admit you were right. Both is usually not going to happen.

If you don't already know, learn how to do public speaking. Quick cheat sheet: 1) PRACTICE. Run through it all first. At least twice. 2) Talk about half as fast as you think you should. Because you're talking about twice as fast as you think you are.

Lack of prior planning promotes piss-poor performance.

People will lie about you. Especially on the internet. That's just the way it is and you don't have to pay it too much mind.

This is one I got out of Orson Scott Card, of all things, but it's actually true. In many situations, there is a certain amount of awkwardness or embarrassment that is going to be experienced. The key is, the person who is going to experience it, that may be fungible: if you refuse to accept it, there is a very good chance it will devolve upon the other person. This is equally true in regards to the excellent advice above about not smiling at people who want to make your life harder, and to being willing to make a huge fuss about getting groped on the subway.

[vagabondsal.livejournal.com]

I love this post.

[odditycollector.livejournal.com]

Me too. :)

[magista.livejournal.com]

• Never turn down a free lunch, or an opportunity to use the washroom. Courtesy of Lyndon Johnson (Because if you think you might have to go... you have to go - courtesy of me)
  
• You'll make the most reliable judgement of people by watching how they treat those under them, not how they treat their peers or superiors.
  
• When you die, your last cheque should bounce. That is, you can't take it with you. While it's good to make sure that you'll be secure for your retirement/old age/whatever, don't forget that you have to live today. Enjoy your life.
  
• The older you get, the easier it gets to believe that the only opinions you have to care about are your own and those of the people you love. About how you dress, about the music you like, about the fandoms you're in. But try starting to believe it now - you can save yourself a lot of angst.
  
• Put it back, where and how you found it. (One from my lab equipment room - true for students, but even more true for the other teachers).
  
• Ten Twelve Commandments (Golden Rules for Living) (http://sneakykitchen.com/Ten_commandments/golden_rules.htm)
  

[daegaer.livejournal.com]

The way to freeze individual portions of soup is to put a plastic food bag into a soup bowl, fill bag with soup, then freeze them together (use a freezer proof bowl) - then you can take the bowl(s) away, and have stackable neat portions of soup for using when you are just too fed up to cook.

Also, UHT milk no longer tastes like the devil's sweat. Always have a carton of it in the house for when you run out of regular milk at 3am and suddenly need it . . .

[holyschist.livejournal.com]

1. Free food tastes better.

2. Don't snuzzle cats after applying chapstick.

3. Pets are never ever cheap. But they make life better.

4. You can never have too many library cards.

5. If out in hot sun for long periods of time, for the love of god, chapstick with sunscreen. Sunburned lips are horrifying.

[kimberly-t.livejournal.com]

Just as you change your socks on a daily basis, never wear the same shoes two days in a row. Your feet perspire as you walk, and the socks don't absorb it all. Let your shoes air out and completely dry a full day and night before putting them on again, wear them every other day instead of every day, and they'll last about four times longer. (This practice also prevents athlete's foot and other such yuckies.)

P.S. I have some idea of what you go through to find shoes that fit; my feet are size 9-1/2 to 9-1/2W, depending on the shoe style. Shoes stores carry all the half sizes right up to size 9... and then most of them jump straight to 10. Some will carry an extremely limited selection of 9-1/2. So when I find a shoe that fits just right AND looks nice, I usually buy two pairs on the spot.

[kimberly-t.livejournal.com]

When leaving a job under your own volition, a job that you performed well in, ask your supervisor if they'd be willing to write you a general letter of recommendation. If he/she writes a good one on company letterhead, make about fifty full-color copies of the letter to send with résumés, and keep the original somewhere safe. Having phone numbers of former bosses for references to go with your résumé is good, but having a letter of recommendation from a former boss is ten times better.

[bigelbow.livejournal.com]

Another one I've discovered by "accident"... when balancing your checkbook, give yourself MORE debit than you actually have (not by much, mind you)... that way the next time you get stressed about finances, you have a little bit of extra nest egg to pleasantly surprise yourself with. :))


Hey, it worked for me.