Regrets - Why They Ain't, Really

Compiling that list yesterday made me re-think a lot of the items contained therein* and I've come to realise that not all of them are completely regrettable. In fact, some of them played a big hand in making me the champion guy you read before you.

Allow me to address each point separately, and list why (if relevant) they aren't complete regrets:

1. I've decided that I don't really regret the idea of not being 'tagged' in any of the blog tag games that have been going on for the past several months (or probably more). It led me to write these posts, after all. I'm happy with my lot. And like I said yesterday, this point probably didn't qualify as a regret anyway. It's more like the reason for the post being drafted in the first place, but wasn't an actual regret in-and-of itself. Thanks goes out to Elaine, though, for tagging me in support of my pain (or to shut me up). Either way, kudos! Consider me tagged.

2. Yeah, there's no getting around the fact that I forgot to specifically thank my best man in my wedding speech. This will always be a regret.

3. In regards to not bidding enough on the rare Muppet collectibles I saw on eBay, I bid what I was comfortable paying. We're on a budget, so if they were going to cost us that much, it wouldn't have been a managable expense anyway. If I'm meant to own those items, I know I'll be able to get ahold of them later, either at a cheaper price, or when I'm actually able to pay more for them.

4. Year 10 sucked; there's no getting around it. (Although that is when I met Ms Fits and had the privilege of offering imaginary chocolates to her "Eliza Doolittle"** as she sang 'Wouldn't It Be Luverly?' on stage in the school production of My Fair Lady ...) But even though the year sucked, I was introduced to bullying, intimidation, ridicule and harassment from the victim's perspective, and it helped IN A BIG WAY to form who I am today; my values and behaviours. I am a strong advocate for no bullying in the workplace (which is a full-time gig around here!), and it TURNS MY STOMACH when I see intimidation tactics being used on someone. My semi-alienation in Year 10 also meant I was thrust into a real group of friends - who didn't give me a hard time - and with whom I am still best mates now, over 14 years later. No, I mean best mates. As close a bond as it's possible to have. The year also helped me hone my bizarre brand of humour (which I did already possess, it's true), and make it such a 'weapon of mass hysteria' that I was able to reassert myself at the top of the chain-of-command by the time I reached uni and become the Magnificent Leader I always knew I could be (shut up, Riss), and of course enabling me to wow a little lady I met later, who called herself (quite perplexingly, at the time) 'Wifey'. So hey - it's all for the best, right?

5. Well, like I said yesterday, taking Roaccutane obviously helped clear up my cystic acne and probably prevented it spreading a lot further and/or being much worse. But it hit at the unfortunate time of my mid-teens (as acne often does!) and after I had just changed high schools (and states), so it was all-too-easy to be judged as The Freak without being given a chance. Still, I look sexy with a shaved head and I have very close mates whose friendships mean a lot more to me than token drinking buddies who share a love of the same football code.

6. I like to think the word missing from the sentence "I regret not having properly mourned Nanna's passing" is "yet".

7. My sister and I have a better relationship now, but we live in different states and don't see each other much. She's a stronger person for it (*denial*) ... but this is still a regret.

8. On the whole, I enjoy my job here, even if it is under threat from Howard (in more ways that one - VSU, Industrial Relations, etc) next year. I've learned new 'skills' since coming to work here, and I guess made myself more employable. Sometimes*** the managers around here are so corrupt and greedy and two-faced and cruel and bullying and self-congratulatory and rude and lazy and I wish I had a thesaurus at hand, that it fills me with The Rage. So I have my moments when I wish I'd changed jobs at some point, but the rest of the time I'm content where I am.

9. Not even having ten regrets in life is a good thing, obviously, so I ain't explain' that away.

Thanks for your comments yesterday. I'll get back to more cheerful fodder tomorrow.




* Yes, I really do talk that way.

** A character; not a euphemism.

*** For example, when it's a day ending in a 'y'.