CONTEST TIME!!!

[MyOldKentuckyHome]

Congrats! I grew up in Toronto, but no longer live there. Miss it dearly. The pandemic's made it impossible to get home this past year to visit. Things are getting rough there now (hospital ICUs are nearing capacity from what I hear). Hopefully the city manages to get through this current wave relatively quickly. And then if we're lucky maybe it won't be too long before we can all safely travel again -- you can get that trip in, and I can finally make it home.

Thanks

My wife was born and lived about 2 hours from Toronto until she was 7 and has always wanted to move "home"

We looked at Toronto and the cost of living was just too much for us

Her parents had visited PEI several times and always talked about how beautiful it was so it always held a special place in her heart and we were both able to find jobs relatively easily

I tease her we need a shirt that says from Prince Edward County to Prince Edward Island!

Yeah, we've been following the Ontario news too and it's scary. One of the things we love about PEI is how seriously they have taken the pandemic and how well contained they've been able to keep it.

I mean, she isn't enjoying quarantine all alone and it'll suck when we get there and can't get within 2m of her for 2 weeks but their case numbers show the wisdom of their approach.

The funny part for us is we live about 6 hours closer to Toronto here in VA than we will in PEI!!

But our daughters really want to go there one day to the zoo and a Blue Jays game.

 

[MyOldKentuckyHome]

Subtract 32 then multiply the answer by 5/9. My mom made me memorize the formula for converting from C to F (and back) when I was in elementary school.

Or as I'm trying to learn from F to C "Hey Google, what is 21 celsius in fahrenheit"

 

[mr_houston]

I became a friend of Bill Wilson in 2014.

Started living life on life’s terms - one day at a time. It opened up all kinds of opportunities for personal growth and contentment.

 

[Messygoon]

I’m in. Mrs. King, my high school geometry teacher. Saw me floundering, tutored me a bit, and I went on to excel in her class. I went on to college because she cared. Turned my life around. Thank you Mrs. King, wherever you may be.

 

[CzechCzar]

Very generous of you Captain. I am in!

My pivotal moment was when I went to a college reunion, and reconnected with an old acquaintance. She turned out to be my wife.

 

[BradWorld]

I’m in. I will keep this shaving related. Years ago, I grew tired of crappy shaves and ingrown hairs from my electric razor. So one morning I pulled out a multi-blade cart razor that I had picked up, and had a shave. It felt like pulling a cheese grater across my face. After that shave I was sitting there pondering what to do next, when the advert for the cheapo Pawn Stars razor came on TV. It immediately brought back long lost memories of my grandfather teaching a 7 year old me how to shave with a Super Speed with no blade. I went to the web to research this Pawn Star razor, and that led me directly here. Of course the feedback on that razor was poor, so I immediately ordered a 34C, a tub of TOBS Sandalwood, the matching gel aftershave, an Escali badger brush, and a blade sampler from Amazon. This led me down a path the would ultimately cost me thousands of dollars, and endless hours... but one that also has brought much relaxation and joy to my life.

 

[gvw755]

I am definitely in!

About 20 years ago, I took a job in WA state which required me to leave HI and my job of 20 years. I got to my new job in a time of turmoil and change of leadership and despite doing a great job managing my department, I was let go. I spent the next three years taking jobs related to my skill set and eventually worked my way back into my profession but at a lower level and a daily 180 mile commute. After two years, I got a call from the folks in HI telling me that there is an opportunity to rebuild a department and guide it into a future expansion. I returned to HI and spent the next seven years building the department and the organization, and retired with full benefits and knowing that the adversity I went through since being fired from my job for doing good work only prepared me for the final position and my subsequent success.

 

[SterFry]

I'm in.

I recently (2019) moved to Alaska after I got sober to basically restart my life. I was doing pretty well and, for the first time in a long time, was in a position to go on a short vacation to asia with a friend from work who goes there every year. He invited me to go with him and I was all for it. I saved for months for a ticket my SO at the time had a bit of a personal tragedy and asked me to stay, which l did, but only after days of deliberation. My coworker still went, though. This was right before COVID-19 really took off and, long story short, the guy gets stuck in asia in for, months because borders started closing like 72 hours after he landed. He lost his job and had to spend a large part of his life savings. The same thing would have happened to me, only I don't have a life savings to fall on and I doubt my sobriety would have survived that level of stress for that long a period.

I get the chills just thinking about it.
Pretty close...shave (da dum - tsch)

 

[SterFry]

I became a friend of Bill Wilson in 2014.

Started living life on life’s terms - one day at a time. It opened up all kinds of opportunities for personal growth and contentment.

Atta boy, guy. Well done. Stay strong.

 

[hairless wonder]

Haha, it's either that or I pull up a weather app on my phone.

Lol! That works, too. Unfortunately, when I was a boy, phones were connected to the walls and had cords connecting a headset to a base. The only smart thing about those phones was the pain one felt when slamming down the headset and catching one's finger between the headset and base.

 

[hairless wonder]

Or as I'm trying to learn from F to C "Hey Google, what is 21 celsius in fahrenheit"

Does Google ignore you since you didn't use the right voice prompt to get its attention? Or does it get angry with you for confusing it with Siri?

Incidentally, 21° C is 69.8° F. I'm telling you, some of the lessons I learned as a kid really stuck.

 

[Pressroll]

I'm in!

I graduated from college in May of 2009 and moved back to my hometown. Jobs were hard to find at that point but a guy at my church made a casual comment to my Dad that he was aware of a job I might be interested. Well, I applied and now I have been here ever since and have been able to work my way up to a management position. It certainly was not the career path I was expecting but I often think about how if that guy at church would have never made that passing comment who knows where I would be.

Thanks for the chance Cap.

Matthew

 

[gwsmallwood]

Summer of 2013. I quit chewing tobacco after 7 years of daily use (I smoked for about 5 years before that) and I quit drinking after about 10 years of alcoholism. I think the catalyst was an Andy Stanley sermon I heard. Basically he said your daughters will grow up to marry you and your sons will grow up to be you. My son was born that year, and my daughter was almost 3. Praying about that statement led to some very big, very positive changes in my life.

 

[borwish]

I'm in. On my 15th birthday I walked to my first job. Having my own money was an incredibly freeing experience. I could purchase the clothes I wanted instead of old hand me downs, afford to do things with friends, and purchase my first car at 17. My great boss impressed on me, however, that money is one of the least important things in life. It's much better to live simply and have less stress, a better family life, and true friends.

 

[Rhody]

I’m in great pif thanks captain and I liked reading the posts. I’m not that articulate but a turning point I try to think of each day is thinking and remembering compassion. It’s easy to forget it to just not think about in the day to day grind. Remembering compassion is so hard but worthwhile.

 

[Snargle]

I'm in. My pivot was when I got bounced out of college. I was an excellent high school student, smart, and easily got good grades. Once I got to college, I figured I could just coast through as I did in high school After a year-and-a-half, they "suggested" I take a semester or two off and come back when I had my act together. This was in the middle of the Vietnam War and I lost my student deferment. I got my draft notice, got called in for a physical, and was told that Uncle Sam wanted me. As I had these allergies to rice paddies and bullets, I ended up enlisting in the Navy for four years. Needless to say, the Navy straightened me out quite quickly! When I got out, I started working, enjoyed working, and never stopped working. I'm retired now, but I'm still working, although it's different kinds of work and I don't get paid for it!

 

[woodwzrd]

I'm in. After starting to feel the aches and pains of 20+ years in the trades and observing how badly the trades took a tole on my grandfathers body I made the decision to go to college and make a drastic career change. I ended up being the first person in my family to receive a bachelors degree at 39. It set a great example for my five kids on setting goals and doing what ever it takes to achieve them.

 

[haggis]

In. Quit drinking summer of 2009. One brother had just dropped dead of a heart attack in May (at 56) and the other one was in hospital with some pancreatic misadventure. I was a rather, uh, enthusiastic drinker and decided to taper down, and the leveling off point turned out to be … nothing. And there it has stayed. I did it thinking about long term health but it turned out to be the start of a brand new life — I'm a happier, more generous, less judgmental person (of others and myself), and hopefully a wee bit healthier. Plus I can now apply my wine, scotch, and stout budget to RAD, BAD, and SAD

 

[SterFry]

Lol! That works, too. Unfortunately, when I was a boy, phones were connected to the walls and had cords connecting a headset to a base. The only smart thing about those phones was the pain one felt when slamming down the headset and catching one's finger between the headset and base.

Holy smokes. Did you fight in the civil war?

 

[hairless wonder]

Holy smokes. Did you fight in the civil war?

Lol! I was a little too young for that.