What's the hardest thing you've ever done?

[Thomas]

Originally Posted by Hannerhan

Burying my firstborn.

Holy Hell that sucks. I'm sorry to hear that.

...

My initial answer was the marathon I ran in '04, but afterward I hobbled to my car, got a cheeseburger at the Whataburger on the way home, showered, and then went to Mrs. T's grandmother's birthday party, where I stood for another hour or so. So it couldn't have been all that hard.

 

[TheSauceBoss]

Originally Posted by Hannerhan

Burying my firstborn.

I'm sorry. Nobody should go through that.

 

[Thomas]

Dealing with our adopted son. That's the hardest thing I've done, and it's still a daily thing for us. These days are better than a few months back, but I've also quit bitching about it as well.

 

[West24]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Toronto needs to fix their zoning and allow developers to flatten all the ****** low-rent buildings near the city core. The thing I hate the most is all the pockets of poor people in between nice areas. In some places, you go from nice, to totally ghetto, to nice in the space of 4 blocks. There are all these crappy buildings sitting on prime real-estate just off the downtown core and it boggles my mind that it hasn't been developed.

I don't know what you're talking about re: garbage though. Teh downtown core and all along the waterfront is pristine, as is the area I live in. Montreal doesn't even come close in cleanliness imo. Even yonge st. is pretty clean these days.

Montreal is nice to live in but it's got significant downsides too, especially as it relates to career mobility. If you just want to chill and be happy, it's probably a better city though.

yeah i also dont know what hes talking about dirty wise etc. its a big city its going to have some dirt. nothing compared to the states etc. and to your point of poor housing mixed in good areas, i think one thing the city tries to do is mix co ops with normal areas to try and not make massive areas of pure goverment housing. which seems to be not a bad idea as you dont have any areas in downtown which you would definately not want to walk through. other then regent but its also now going through some massive development etc.

 

[thinman]

Originally Posted by Hannerhan

Burying my firstborn.
My condolences. Telling my ex- it was time to get a divorce...and then following up.

 

[ektaylor]

Completing three 30+ page research papers in a 40 day period at a flagship research university.

 

[globetrotter]

hanerhan, sorry to hear that , that is horrible. my biggest fear is the death of a child.


I've had a couple of challenges in life - the selection process for the unit I was in in the army was insanely difficult. the first cut one in 5 made it, the second cut one in 25 made it - so, essentially, there were 125 applicants for every position. the second "test" was 6 days, intensive physical activity all day (one example - picture a cliff over a sea shore, you have a bag, and you need to bring up a pile of wet sand from the beach and pile it on the top of the cliff. no indication of how big the pile is, you just have to keep carrying wet sand up until the pile is big enough) , less than an hour sleep every night, and they would run us through a creek that carried sewage twice a day, so that our blisters and cuts would get infected. it was very easy to drop out at any time.

ironically, the training was much harder, and lasted a long, long time.

moving to the states was very hard - I gave up a good job and good status for 3 years of uncertainty and financial struggle, on the gamble that it would pay off and I would be able to give my kids a better life.

 

[DerekS]

correction...hardest thing ive ever done is ejaculating while drunk and after a few lines of blow.

 

[Hannerhan]

Originally Posted by thinman

My condolences.

Thanks all for the kind words. I wouldn't wish the experience on my worst enemy, but I have three other healthy children and I think the whole experience has made me appreciate them more than I ever would have otherwise.

 

[Stewbone]

graduating college.

 

[FLMountainMan]

Shooting my dog after I accidentally ran him over

A really difficult hike along the Apalachicola I did this past summer. I wanted to be the first person to hike from one park to another and back (there will soon be a trail between the two but that's a year or two off). The hike was miserable, almost all off-trail and a sucky routine - wade through a swamp, climb up a 250+ft hill, slide down, wade through swamp, repeat...Eventually had to turn back, I just couldn't do it. I was getting heat chills and the last two hours, every time I bent my legs a little, they'd immediately cramp up. The heat index was over 110 degrees.

Was stupidly climbing a cliff in the Badlands. Got stuck about forty feet up. Was in the summer, hot as ****, etc.... I knew I'd have to let go and hope for the best. Thankfully, there was a slight slope, but I still got beat to ****. Actually had to cut off a pencil-sized ribbon of skin that had been sliced into a curlicue by a rock. Used my pocketknife. Broke my ankle, dislocated my finger, had a black eye, bloody nose, bloody lip, cut up everywhere. Had to hike eight miles back to my car. ******* miserable. So so very stupid. To this day I don't know what the hell I was thinking.

Calling my sister after she'd been arrested for a crime that was covered nationwide.

Hiked thirty six miles in one day in the blue ridge mountains (but twenty-four miles were without a pack, but in the dark, so....)

A couple of other personal ones.

 

[Dibidoolandas]

Considering I've graduated College, gotten a competitive job, and lost my dad to alcohol at 18, I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing that I consider some of the hardest things I've done to be based in video games.

 

[fredfred]

Physical: Making it down a double-black diamond ski run. A female friend was a ski patrol and said she would get me down it. People were at the bottom looking up saying "OMG, there are people coming down that run!". If you fall you get injured, probably at least semi-seriously. Definitely keeps you awake.

Otherwise: Creating a new business out of my own brain. Getting national press coverage for it. Hiring people and paying their wages. Dealing with the infinite **** of the Federal, State, and local government ordinances and taxes. Having to PAY the US government taxes so they get THEIR cut, before I make a ******* penny. That is as close to insane as I can get.

It was hard in that it took a TON of shoe leather to make it all happen.

 

[TyCooN]

Originally Posted by Hannerhan

Burying my firstborn.
sorry to hear

Originally Posted by Neo_Version 7

I've said this multiple times, my apartment is open to any and all SFers who want to crash.

Originally Posted by globetrotter

hanerhan, sorry to hear that , that is horrible. my biggest fear is the death of a child.


I've had a couple of challenges in life - the selection process for the unit I was in in the army was insanely difficult. the first cut one in 5 made it, the second cut one in 25 made it - so, essentially, there were 125 applicants for every position. the second "test" was 6 days, intensive physical activity all day (one example - picture a cliff over a sea shore, you have a bag, and you need to bring up a pile of wet sand from the beach and pile it on the top of the cliff. no indication of how big the pile is, you just have to keep carrying wet sand up until the pile is big enough) , less than an hour sleep every night, and they would run us through a creek that carried sewage twice a day, so that our blisters and cuts would get infected. it was very easy to drop out at any time.

ironically, the training was much harder, and lasted a long, long time.

moving to the states was very hard - I gave up a good job and good status for 3 years of uncertainty and financial struggle, on the gamble that it would pay off and I would be able to give my kids a better life.
Were you given any training on how to disinfect them yourself?

Originally Posted by FLMountainMan

Shooting my dog after I accidentally ran him over

A really difficult hike along the Apalachicola I did this past summer. I wanted to be the first person to hike from one park to another and back (there will soon be a trail between the two but that's a year or two off). The hike was miserable, almost all off-trail and a sucky routine - wade through a swamp, climb up a 250+ft hill, slide down, wade through swamp, repeat...Eventually had to turn back, I just couldn't do it. I was getting heat chills and the last two hours, every time I bent my legs a little, they'd immediately cramp up. The heat index was over 110 degrees.

Was stupidly climbing a cliff in the Badlands. Got stuck about forty feet up. Was in the summer, hot as ****, etc.... I knew I'd have to let go and hope for the best. Thankfully, there was a slight slope, but I still got beat to ****. Actually had to cut off a pencil-sized ribbon of skin that had been sliced into a curlicue by a rock. Used my pocketknife. Broke my ankle, dislocated my finger, had a black eye, bloody nose, bloody lip, cut up everywhere. Had to hike eight miles back to my car. ******* miserable. So so very stupid. To this day I don't know what the hell I was thinking.

Calling my sister after she'd been arrested for a crime that was covered nationwide.

Hiked thirty six miles in one day in the blue ridge mountains (but twenty-four miles were without a pack, but in the dark, so....)

A couple of other personal ones.
You are extreme. Great stories and memories for the future.

Originally Posted by Dibidoolandas

Considering I've graduated College, gotten a competitive job, and lost my dad to alcohol at 18, I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing that I consider some of the hardest things I've done to be based in video games.
You're awesome.

Originally Posted by fredfred

Physical: Making it down a double-black diamond ski run. A female friend was a ski patrol and said she would get me down it. People were at the bottom looking up saying "OMG, there are people coming down that run!". If you fall you get injured, probably at least semi-seriously. Definitely keeps you awake.

Otherwise: Creating a new business out of my own brain. Getting national press coverage for it. Hiring people and paying their wages. Dealing with the infinite **** of the Federal, State, and local government ordinances and taxes. Having to PAY the US government taxes so they get THEIR cut, before I make a ******* penny. That is as close to insane as I can get.

It was hard in that it took a TON of shoe leather to make it all happen.
How is your business doing today?

 

[the.chikor]

Originally Posted by TyCooN

Climb a mountain? Go to war? Be a father? Give birth? Create a successful business?

Sandman. Oh yeah, and Iraq was pretty tough too!