The Questions-Not-Worth-Their-Own-Thread Question Thread II!

Firstlady said:

How'd you guys (and Lucy) decide what you wanted to do with your life career-wise? A good amount of you have already finished college and have careers, and I'm pretty sure an equal amount of you are finishing up college and have a pretty good idea of what you're going to do.

When did you decide? How did you decide? How long did you go through college having no clue what you were going to do, or did you go to college with a set plan already in mind...?

I don't know. I feel like I have absolutely no idea what I really want to do and I'm kind of worried that I'll never find anything I could see myself doing for the rest of my life.

Click to expand...

I think this is a question worth its own thread

But anyway, I finished my degree 2 years ago, and I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up.

I applied to 6 different universities, and a different subject in each... I failed the Cambridge interview, so I ended up going to Imperial (which meant I studied Physics). Three years later, armed with a solid degree from what was now the 5th best university in the world dubious, I went job-hunting. I applied for a bunch of different jobs, mostly "to do with numbers". It took 6 months of interviews before I perfected my BS-ing technique and finally landed a job. It was a computery statisticy type job, where I used databases and spreadsheets to analyse how effectively the company was winning new customers. I got bored of this quite quickly, so I got a new job - again, computery statisticy in nature. I'm now bored of this job.

I really don't know what I want to do. But at least at the moment I'm overpaid and underemployed, rather than the other way around. I always thought I wanted a job where I was paid to sit around on the internet all day. But I've had TWO of those jobs, and I am bored of both.


How old are you?

How are Singles Charts actually calculated?

I mean, I don't know anybody who's ever bought a Single in his life, most just buy the whole CD/Album. Of course, with the rise of iTunes an other Musicportals this will probably become more common but still, it doesn't strike me as specifically good metric to calculate a songs success.

Are Album sales somehow calculated into the singles charts as well?

Like Mise, I graduated 2 years ago and still don't know what the heck I am going to do. I do get paid to surf the internet, but being lazy I have not yet gotten bored.

KaeptnOvi said:

How are Singles Charts actually calculated?

I mean, I don't know anybody who's ever bought a Single in his life, most just buy the whole CD/Album. Of course, with the rise of iTunes an other Musicportals this will probably become more common but still, it doesn't strike me as specifically good metric to calculate a songs success.

Are Album sales somehow calculated into the singles charts as well?

Click to expand...

Its different in every country, some just go purely off sales, some take airplay into account as well. by some utterly bizarre calculation, that dirge called "apologise" by one Republic is apparently the most popular song of the last decade

ansar said:

So, Worcester is pronounced as something like "wustuh".

Are there any other names in New England I should know have a weird pronunciation?

Click to expand...

Cheezy the Wiz said:

Worcester is pronounced "Wurster." It's the English pronounciation.

Leicester is pronounced "Lester."

Likewise, anything ending in "shire" is pronounced like the word "sure," so Lincolnshire is pronounced "Link-un-shurr."

Click to expand...

It's wusta. The u is like bull, the a is like... any other thing that ends in r that New Englanders don't pronounce. We don't take kindly to rs in New England.

VRWCAgent said:

The thing I absolutely love to do when in New England is refuse to acknowledge their pronunciations and just say it like it looks. Really pisses them off.

Click to expand...

Who gets pissed? I just laugh at you weird ignorant foreigners.

Our Coventry is not like England's. Theirs is "coven-tree". Ours is "KAH-vin-tree".

East and West Greenwich are East and West "grenich".

Glocester is "glaw-sta".

Portsmouth is "pawt-smith".

Cumberland is "CUM-ba-lind". Any time there's an r at the end of a word, and most times there's an r at the end of a syllable, pretend it's not there. That's what we do.

If you're ever going to visit, this will be useful.

If you've noticed the pattern, you're all set.

Firstlady said:

How'd you guys (and Lucy) decide what you wanted to do with your life career-wise? A good amount of you have already finished college and have careers, and I'm pretty sure an equal amount of you are finishing up college and have a pretty good idea of what you're going to do.

When did you decide? How did you decide? How long did you go through college having no clue what you were going to do, or did you go to college with a set plan already in mind...?

I don't know. I feel like I have absolutely no idea what I really want to do and I'm kind of worried that I'll never find anything I could see myself doing for the rest of my life.

Click to expand...

Don't call me out! Guys is gender-neutral!

I figured out what I ought to do by screwing up what I thought I should do. I had no idea what I wanted to do when I graduated, the university that offered me the most money was WPI (Worcester! Polytechnic Institute), a very techy school, so I said "hell, math will work". Then I totally screwed that up, for a lot of reasons I don't need to go into. I came back home and took a bunch of random crap at local CC, figured out somewhere along that road that language didn't lose my interest, did some research and found that URI has a great program for speech therapists, and figured that'll work. Unfortunately that was about the time where I ran out of money, and now I'm meandering along, working and not going to school (miserable), trying to save enough money to go back. Now that I'm 22 with only about two and a half years worth of credits, I'm going to have to make it work even if I decide it's not what I'm absolutely in love with. No more luxury of major-switching. Gotta pay rent. Don't do what I did. If what you're doing isn't working, stop doing it and go do something else. It's better to bop around than to stagnate.

Firstlady said:

How'd you guys (and Lucy) decide what you wanted to do with your life career-wise? A good amount of you have already finished college and have careers, and I'm pretty sure an equal amount of you are finishing up college and have a pretty good idea of what you're going to do.

When did you decide? How did you decide? How long did you go through college having no clue what you were going to do, or did you go to college with a set plan already in mind...?

I don't know. I feel like I have absolutely no idea what I really want to do and I'm kind of worried that I'll never find anything I could see myself doing for the rest of my life.

Click to expand...

They have a good number of tests and other things that you can take. You give them your skills, hobbies, and other things and they can calculate what the best career path would be for you and what type of environment you'd most prefer to work in.

It shouldn't be your end all be all decision, but it can get you on the right path.

Trajan12 said:

They have a good number of tests and other things that you can take. You give them your skills, hobbies, and other things and they can calculate what the best career path would be for you and what type of environment you'd most prefer to work in.

It shouldn't be your end all be all decision, but it can get you on the right path.

Click to expand...

IME, those things are absolutely useless...

Is it wrong to give advice to people who post in random rants?

Bigfoot3814 said:

Is it wrong to give advice to people who post in random rants?

Click to expand...

Nope. If it warrants a new thread, though, start a new thread!

Firstlady: You don't have to do a desicion and hold to it for your life. You can always change your mind, even though it is easier if you don't. Just do what you want to do most. Classical music maybe?

I kind of had no choice when I graduated high school, I was very competitive about maths at that time and it was something I had to do. After master's degree I kind of lost the passion for it, and now I'm rethinking what I'd like to do, but I don't regret a bit for studyig it, because it taught me not only maths but very much other things also. If I choose to do something else, I don't think that I have lost anything, but instead gained something by not doing the same thing for the whole of my life. The most important thing is that I have been having a lots of fun doing what I have done. You should too.

RedRalphWiggum said:

Its different in every country, some just go purely off sales, some take airplay into account as well.

Click to expand...

I've heard that it's because most music sold as singles are nowdays some sort of black metal and they want to play pop instead. And I kind of understan that if that single list is meant to present what people are listening, although it's wrong captioned then.

Atticus said:

Classical music maybe?

Click to expand...

Well, that could be an idea if you really like it, but unless you really dislike things like food and water, you'd better have a second plan other than that.

In the "Manbearpig" episode of South Park, why does Al Gore say "cereal" instead of "serious"? It's funny, I just don't understand it.

Firstlady said:

How'd you guys (and Lucy) decide what you wanted to do with your life career-wise? A good amount of you have already finished college and have careers, and I'm pretty sure an equal amount of you are finishing up college and have a pretty good idea of what you're going to do.

When did you decide? How did you decide? How long did you go through college having no clue what you were going to do, or did you go to college with a set plan already in mind...?

Click to expand...

I knew a long time ago I was going to be an accountant for a while at least. I was interested in business, good with numbers and don't have any personality. Also I am from a farming background and any professional / desk job is seen as being good. I studied Business & French in Uni.

Unlike many of my class mates I didn't go straight into work but bummed around for a while. I took a very low level job in a multinational. They offered me a place on the graduate program in the UK and I am still with the same company 3 years and 4 countries later. I am glad of my choices and enjoy what I am doing now.

Edit: Except for the 12 hour days, those aren't nice.

Bigfoot3814 said:

In the "Manbearpig" episode of South Park, why does Al Gore say "cereal" instead of "serious"? It's funny, I just don't understand it.

Click to expand...

I understood it as "serial", so i think it referred to An Inconvenient Truth and Gore self-promoting.

When is Labo(u)r day in the US, and why isn't it on May 1st?

Gooblah said:

I understood it as "serial", so i think it referred to An Inconvenient Truth and Gore self-promoting.

Click to expand...

I had the closed captions on, and it definitley said "cereal". Those things aren't always exactly right all the time though.

really said:

When is Labo(u)r day in the US, and why isn't it on May 1st?

Click to expand...

Labour day here (kanata) is the first monday of september.

there was a labour festival in July in canada, that an american came to. from there, he had one in september in the states. grover cleveland adopted it in the states to COMBAT may day and those blasted commies it represents.

it is also when the argos and ti-cats play, as do the stamps/eskimos, and roughriders/blue bombers in the 3 labour day classics (montreal, bc, and ottawa when they play are shunned on this holiday)

My friend told me to speak a French accent, grunt at the Rs...I cant do it. Any suggestions?

Bigfoot3814 said:

I had the closed captions on, and it definitley said "cereal". Those things aren't always exactly right all the time though.

Click to expand...

It got translated here as "serial", and it would be a refence to the internet and computerry stuff, which al gore also got some fame on.

My friend told me to speak a French accent, grunt at the Rs...I cant do it. Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

you are from singapore right? Maybe you should get a mouth-surgery first before you can pronounce a proper "r"?

(and for those who think i'm flaming, such surgeries exist and are well-known in south korea)

Cheezy the Wiz said:

Likewise, anything ending in "shire" is pronounced like the word "sure," so Lincolnshire is pronounced "Link-un-shurr."

Click to expand...

Shire as a suffix can be shurr (yokle speak) or shear (poncy southern fairy speak). Oddly when said on it's own it is said as written.

LucyDuke said:

It's wusta. The u is like bull, the a is like... any other thing that ends in r that New Englanders don't pronounce. We don't take kindly to rs in New England.

Click to expand...

Old England drops the r too. Wus-ter-shur / wus-ter-shear

LucyDuke said:

Glocester is "glaw-sta".

Click to expand...

Glos-ter

LucyDuke said:

Portsmouth is "pawt-smith".

Click to expand...

Ports-m'th. Emphasis on the O and m'th like azimuth.