Ever been really lucky?

benjamin d

The company I used to work for are in serious difficulty and all my ex colleagues are basically working day to day and expecting the hammer to fall at any time, with quite a few already laid off. I just happened to get to know a manager in a similar company by chance and a few months later they offered me a permanent contract with even a small pay rise. Looking back at all the people I used to work with, loads of jobs have been decimated and the rest will possibly be gone in a few months, and with no one in the industry hiring I know it was sheer dumb luck that saved me from being in the dole queue and probably even having to move back in with my parents.
So have you ever looked back on something that happened to you and realised how lucky you were that things turned out as they did?

Specialun

You should email them all and tell them how fantastic your job is and how you hope they dont get the chop until after xmas

benjamin d

Specialun wrote: »

You should email them all and tell them how fantastic your job is and how you hope they dont get the chop until after xmas

Trust me I don't feel any glee about it, hence me saying I realise how lucky I was! The guys I left behind were and still are friends, and I was no more qualified than anyone else there to get offered a route out. Which is the point of what I'm saying.

topmanamillion

I entered a competition a few years back and won a trip to America.
Entered same competition next year and won a trip to Paris.
That the kind of thing you're talking about OP?

benjamin d

topmanamillion wrote: »

I entered a competition a few years back and won a trip to America.
Entered same competition next year and won a trip to Paris.
That the kind of thing you're talking about OP?

Well I suppose that was lucky so I can't really say that's not what I'm talking about, but I meant more along the lines of something in your life that happened by chance that in hindsight you see you would have been in a more difficult position if it didn't happen.

ejabrod

Yes, I was really lucky once.

pinkbear

Yes.... in my first year in college I failed one exam which I hadn't worked for, by a few %. No big deal, I had planned to get it in the repeats, easily. I studied hard for the repeats and was confident of a high score. The night before the exam I got very ill, and though I sat the exam, I was seriously ill and had to leave after an hour, knowing I had failed. When I recovered a few days later, I was in a panic, and starting looking into other courses that hadn't filled with the CAO. I grabbed one of those just so I'd have something to do. Amazingly I loved the new course, and ended up with my whole study and career path taking a bit of a turn from where I expected, and all definitely worked out for the best for me. I ended up marrying a work colleague who I may never have met if I had passed that exam, so my life would really be very different now!

King George VI

Found €5 on the ground the other day. I nearly cried.

The_Valeyard

Like the legend of the Phoenix
All ends with beginnings
What keeps the planets spinning
The force from the beginning


We've come too far to give up who we are
So let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars

She's up all night to the sun
I'm up all night to get some
She's up all night for good fun
I'm up all night to get lucky

We're up all night to the sun
We're up all night to get some
We're up all night for good fun
We're up all night to get lucky

Mr. CooL ICE

Once won a travel voucher worth £1500, a signed English football jersey and a manicure voucher. And I'm not even an English girl.

mathie

The_Valeyard wrote: »

Like the legend of the Phoenix
All ends with beginnings
What keeps the planets spinning
The force from the beginning


We've come too far to give up who we are
So let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars

She's up all night to the sun
I'm up all night to get some
She's up all night for good fun
I'm up all night to get lucky

We're up all night to the sun
We're up all night to get some
We're up all night for good fun
We're up all night to get lucky

That you Linda?

KungPao

I won €20 (in one go) in those machines where you have to navigate a key shape through a hole. A little kid was playing it just before I had a go and he stayed to see me hit the jackpot :pac:

That's about as far as my luck goes.

eviltwin

Meeting my husband, he's the best thing that ever happened to me.

KungPao

The_Valeyard wrote: »

Like the legend of the Phoenix
All ends with beginnings
What keeps the planets spinning
The force from the beginning


We've come too far to give up who we are
So let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars

She's up all night to the sun
I'm up all night to get some
She's up all night for good fun
I'm up all night to get lucky

We're up all night to the sun
We're up all night to get some
We're up all night for good fun
We're up all night to get lucky

We'll rob a Mexican!

The_Valeyard

mathie wrote: »

That you Linda?

Its meeeeeeeeeee


THE VALEYARD

benjamin d

pinkbear wrote: »

Yes.... in my first year in college I failed one exam which I hadn't worked for, by a few %. No big deal, I had planned to get it in the repeats, easily. I studied hard for the repeats and was confident of a high score. The night before the exam I got very ill, and though I sat the exam, I was seriously ill and had to leave after an hour, knowing I had failed. When I recovered a few days later, I was in a panic, and starting looking into other courses that hadn't filled with the CAO. I grabbed one of those just so I'd have something to do. Amazingly I loved the new course, and ended up with my whole study and career path taking a bit of a turn from where I expected, and all definitely worked out for the best for me. I ended up marrying a work colleague who I may never have met if I had passed that exam, so my life would really be very different now!

This is the kind of stuff I'm talking about

Yes but then i lost it all on the next race

Exclamation Marc

I hurt my knee playing football on Astro and went to the doctor to get it seen to.

Asked him to check this small painless lump on my neck which after loads of tests turned out to be Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer.

Started chemo in April and got the all clear (full remission) last month after 7 months of it.

If i hadn't hurt my knee I probably would have put off going to the doctor and maybe I would have been in hospital over Christmas or maybe the outcome would have been different.

So, lucky in a way (I like to think so anyway)

NachoBusiness

Sometimes..

Backed a horse the other day that had no chance coming to the last but the leader hit it and fell and so I won!

But then the next day I backed the following horse and was counting my money after he jumped the last ten lengths clear, but then, buckaroo.

https://twitter.com/TheIrishField/status/676040325127905280

fleet_admiral

I gave up the horses over a year ago and hadnt done a bet since then. My mother in law died at halloween and we had the afters in a pub. Got chattig to her brother who asked me was I doing a bet. I said no im finished with them but got a bit of a goo for a bet.
Ended up backing a load of horses at all kinds of prices and didnt have one loser, even a 33/1 shot won that I had backed e/w obviously

SEPT 23 1989

first race 10 euro to win 5/1

second race 50 euro to win 10/1

Raytown Rocks

I won on the National Lottery in Australia years ago.

Antar Bolaeisk

ejabrod wrote: »

Yes, I was really lucky once.

When you were conceived?

GLaDOS

Had no intention of doing biology for the leaving cert, but my preferred subject (technical drawing) wasn't being run due to lack of interest so I got biology instead, mainly 'cause it was either that or accounting. Ended up loving the subject, aceing it in the leaving and continuing it at both under-grad and now post-grad level. Feel very lucky to have ended up doing something I enjoy when I very nearly missed out on it.

wardides

Ordered 6 Chicken nuggets. Got 7.


Close the thread.

mattaiuseire

I got lucky in April this year with a footy accumulator, spent €2.50 on 8 teams to either win, lose or draw and won €4396.82!

OU812

Was born a white male in Western Europe, that's about as lucky as you can get.

AnonoBoy

A few years ago I had two girls at the same time.








Yours,

One Cup.

KatW4

Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be a teacher. I didn't get the points in my Leaving Cert (mainly cos I didn't bother studying) and I was devastated. I studied English and Music and pretty much hated it.

Myself and my friend, still wanting to be teachers, went to London to do it. Best experience of my life. I got a job straight away over there and made friends for life. I've left it now but I'll always be happy that I went there to study and work rather than in Ireland. I feel very lucky to have done that!

When I was a student, I'd lost one part time job and although I found another one quickly, I was really on my uppers waiting for my first weeks pay. I had to drive to and from the job and was really down to pennies, I didn't want to bother my parents with this kind of stuff, so I was eating dry toast and cornflakes for days trying to stretch out the cash. In the middle of the week I had to put petrol in the car and figured I couldn't put more than £3.25 worth in without starving, and that would get me to and from the job for the few days. The weather was crazy stormy, really blustery and windy, and leaves and trash were swirling on the eddies of the wind as I put the nozzle in the tank, then something slapped me in the face. It was a £50 note.

There was no one else on the forecourt on a secondary road with nothing else around, it just arrived in my face in the wind. A little miracle I've never forgotten.

Besides that, I've a family I love, a roof over my head and food in the fridge, a job I enjoy and friends I can rely on. That's as lucky as it gets.

harry Bailey esq

fleet_admiral wrote: »

I gave up the horses over a year ago and hadnt done a bet since then. My mother in law died at halloween and we had the afters in a pub. Got chattig to her brother who asked me was I doing a bet. I said no im finished with them but got a bit of a goo for a bet.
Ended up backing a load of horses at all kinds of prices and didnt have one loser, even a 33/1 shot won that I had backed e/w obviously

I popped in for a quick pint to kill a half hour one day,grand national day. Normally if I'm going solo I'll carry a paper under the arm.That day however, I didn't, and the poker machine(my usual method of gambling)was in use.Someone had left a copy of the sun on the bar so I flicked through the middle to the have a look at horses running in the national later on that day.In the front page of the racing section Boyle's had a free €5 bet.As there was a Boyle's two doors down I said feck it,and filled out a docket.Fiver straight forecast on the Grand national, numbersixvalverde and hedgehunter.Got €295 off a free bet from a newspaper I didn't even buy.Happy effin days!

cantdecide

I cheated death in a road accident. Not like 'oh myyyy God, that was lucky' kind of thing. If you replayed the accident 100 times, I would say 95 times would result in decapitation/ serious head injury/ death. It was a life and perspective changing moment. The Guard said he'd never seen anyone walk away from an accident like it.

raze_them_all_

I came back to my hometown for the holidays, was here less than 24 hours, went to a pub I've been in maybe 3 times in 5 years and managed to hook up with a czech stripper, I consider that lucky

PTH2009

Got 5 numbers up on the lotto once got 1500 Euro

Found 20 Euro once on the ground

Saw most of the bands I wanted to see live

Not lucky in life in general in love, friends etc

benjamin d

PTH2009 wrote: »

Not lucky in life in general in love, friends etc

Aww dude, I'm sure it's not so bad
You have AH to cheer you up

Hammer89

I nearly made an unnecessary journey to Galway last week but my mate pulled out at the last minute. Had he not, I think it's obvious I wouldn't be here to tell the tale.

smurra3

benjamin d wrote: »

The company I used to work for are in serious difficulty and all my ex colleagues are basically working day to day and expecting the hammer to fall at any time, with quite a few already laid off. I just happened to get to know a manager in a similar company by chance and a few months later they offered me a permanent contract with even a small pay rise. Looking back at all the people I used to work with, loads of jobs have been decimated and the rest will possibly be gone in a few months, and with no one in the industry hiring I know it was sheer dumb luck that saved me from being in the dole queue and probably even having to move back in with my parents.
So have you ever looked back on something that happened to you and realised how lucky you were that things turned out as they did?

What makes you think it was luck.
You obviously made a good impression on the guy so he hired you.
That's not luck, it's hard work paying off, fair play to you.
I had a friend tell me I was "lucky" as I have a nice house, nice car and get to go on a couple of holidays a year, I told him it wasn't luck, it was years of hard work by my wife and myself.

benjamin d

smurra3 wrote: »

What makes you think it was luck.
You obviously made a good impression on the guy so he hired you.
That's not luck, it's hard work paying off, fair play to you.
I had a friend tell me I was "lucky" as I have a nice house, nice car and get to go on a couple of holidays a year, I told him it wasn't luck, it was years of hard work by my wife and myself.

Ah well it's nice to think that but a large part of it was a fairly random introduction to my new boss. I could say that I made an impression and that I deserve it - and it's very easy to start to think like that - but to be honest with the way the industry is I think it's much healthier for me to believe that at least a big chunk of luck was involved. If I were to start thinking I got there purely on merit then I'd be saying I'm better than my ex colleagues and get a big head. Don't get me wrong I reckon I'm good at my job, but I have good friends on the dole who could do it just as well. Knowing that I was (and could be again) so close to disaster makes me more appreciative of my position and sensible with my money.

smurra3

benjamin d wrote: »

Ah well it's nice to think that but a large part of it was a fairly random introduction to my new boss. I could say that I made an impression and that I deserve it - and it's very easy to start to think like that - but to be honest with the way the industry is I think it's much healthier for me to believe that at least a big chunk of luck was involved. If I were to start thinking I got there purely on merit then I'd be saying I'm better than my ex colleagues and get a big head. Don't get me wrong I reckon I'm good at my job, but I have good friends on the dole who could do it just as well. Knowing that I was (and could be again) so close to disaster makes me more appreciative of my position and sensible with my money.

I don't know you and I hope i don't seem like i'm talking through my arse, but if you can make a good enough impression on a relative stranger so he hires you, you probably had what it would take to bounce back had you of lost your job.
You probably would have went back to college for example and re-skilled and eventually got a different job.
But then the original post would have been about how lucky you were to lose your job as it gave you that opportunity.

Luck is for the lotto:)

J Mysterio

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Had no intention of doing biology for the leaving cert, but my preferred subject (technical drawing) wasn't being run due to lack of interest so I got biology instead, mainly 'cause it was either that or accounting. Ended up loving the subject, aceing it in the leaving and continuing it at both under-grad and now post-grad level. Feel very lucky to have ended up doing something I enjoy when I very nearly missed out on it.

And now youre a science nerd and everything!

J Mysterio

This thread has given me a serious hankering for an ol bet!

GAAman

Know how people say cats are useless? Mine saved three lives.

I was watching a film with the girlfriend, about matt Damon and the afterlife with my cat doing her usual running about mad behaviour. All of a sudden she stops still and stares at a spot on the wall. Very unusual behaviour for her especially when she stayed there in that spot stating for a further five minutes.

I kept looking at her and decided literally as i was about to go to bed something was up so went to check and got this acrid smell. It was coming from the heating panel which is mounted on a wooden partition wall. I decided to disconnect the electricity and isolate it to be safe.

The following morning I got an electrician out and he reconnected it to see the craic, and it caught fire.... He said in 20 years he's never seen anything like it and I was blessed cos the house would've went up in flames.

Three days later having supposed to be going to Dublin I missed the bus and stayed, went for a walk cos I was annoyed and ended up stopping a guy committing suicide by jumping from a high bridge on the route I walk.

Wasn't our time to go obviously

benjamin d

smurra3 wrote: »

I don't know you and I hope i don't seem like i'm talking through my arse, but if you can make a good enough impression on a relative stranger so he hires you, you probably had what it would take to bounce back had you of lost your job.
You probably would have went back to college for example and re-skilled and eventually got a different job.
But then the original post would have been about how lucky you were to lose your job as it gave you that opportunity.

Luck is for the lotto:)

Maybe, but who knows how a knock like that would affect my confidence and drive to re-skill, I just can't tell until it happens, and hopefully it never will!
Thanks for the little ego boost though!:p

mattaiuseire

Here's an old Chinese parable which is a favourite of mine, I hope others appreciate it:

Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a beautiful white horse. Even the king coveted his treasure. A horse like this had never been seen before — such was its splendor, its majesty, its strength.

People offered fabulous prices for the steed, but the old man always refused. “This horse is not a horse to me,” he would tell them. “It is a person. How could you sell a person? He is a friend, not a possession. How could you sell a friend?” The man was poor and the temptation was great. But he never sold the horse.


One morning he found that the horse was not in his stable. All the village came to see him. “You old fool,” they scoffed, “we told you that someone would steal your horse. We warned you that you would be robbed. You are so poor. How could you ever protect such a valuable animal? It would have been better to have sold him. You could have gotten whatever price you wanted. No amount would have been too high. Now the horse is gone and you’ve been cursed with misfortune.”

The old man responded, “Don’t speak too quickly. Say only that the horse is not in the stable. That is all we know; the rest is judgment. If I’ve been cursed or not, how can you know? How can you judge?”

The people contested, “Don’t make us out to be fools! We may not be philosophers, but great philosophy is not needed. The simple fact that your horse is gone is a curse.”

The old man spoke again. “All I know is that the stable is empty, and the horse is gone. The rest I don’t know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can’t say. All we can see is a fragment. Who can say what will come next?”

The people of the village laughed. They thought that the man was crazy. They had always thought he was a fool; if he wasn’t, he would have sold the horse and lived off the money. But instead, he was a poor woodcutter, and old man still cutting firewood and dragging it out of the forest and selling it. He lived hand to mouth in the misery of poverty. Now he had proven that he was, indeed, a fool.

After fifteen days, the horse returned. He hadn’t been stolen; he had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses with him. Once again, the village people gathered around the woodcutter and spoke. “Old man, you were right and we were wrong. What we thought was a curse was a blessing. Please forgive us.”

The man responded, “Once again, you go too far. Say only that the horse is back. State only that a dozen horses returned with him, but don’t judge. How do you know if this is a blessing or not? You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge? You read only one page of a book - can you judge the whole book? You read only one word of one phrase - can you understand the entire phrase?”

“Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. All you have is one fragment! Don’t say that this is a blessing. No one knows. I am content with what I know. I am not perturbed by what I don’t.”

“Maybe the old man is right,” they said to one another. So they said little. But down deep, they knew he was wrong. They knew it was a blessing. Twelve wild horses had returned. With a little work, the animals could be broken and trained and sold for much money.

The old man had a son, an only son. The young man began to break the wild horses. After a few days, he fell from one of the horses and broke both legs. Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and cast their judgments.

“You were right,” they said. “You proved you were right. The dozen horses were not a blessing. They were a curse. Your only son has broken both his legs, and now in your old age you have no one to help you. Now you are poorer than ever.”

The old man spoke again. “You people are obsessed with judging. Don’t go so far. Say only that my son broke his legs. Who knows if it is a blessing or a curse? No one knows. We only have a fragment. Life comes in fragments.”

It so happened that a few weeks later the country engaged in war against a neighboring country. All the young men of the village were required to join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he was injured. Once again the people gathered around the old man, crying and screaming because their sons had been taken. There was little chance that they would return. The enemy was strong, and the war would be a losing struggle. They would never see their sons again.

“You were right, old man,” They wept. “God knows you were right. This proves it. Your son’s accident was a blessing. His legs may be broken, but at least he is with you. Our sons are gone forever.”

The old man spoke again. “It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. No one knows. Say only this. Your sons had to go to war, and mine did not. No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one is wise enough to know.”

_Brian

I married a wonderful woman, punching way above my weight. Every day she makes me a better person. Have two fantastic healthy children. I look around me and can't believe how lucky I've been.
All the material junk can go to hell.

dickdonk14

Not lucky in anyway.in the last few years my son died aged 1,mum died from cancer. I Had appendix removed, hernia operation, kidney stones and then to top it off I've recently had a heart attack.

_Brian

dickdonk14 wrote: »

Not lucky in anyway.in the last few years my son died aged 1,mum died from cancer. I Had appendix removed, hernia operation, kidney stones and then to top it off I've recently had a heart attack.

Wow

dickdonk14

dickdonk14 wrote: »

Not lucky in anyway.in the last few years my son died aged 1,mum died from cancer. I Had appendix removed, hernia operation, kidney stones and then to top it off I've recently had a heart attack.

Thats very tough, you've had a really rough time, and I'm sorry to hear that. I hope the new year brings better times for you, and for all the family.

Exclamation Marc

_Brian wrote: »

I married a wonderful woman, punching way above my weight. Every day she makes me a better person. Have two fantastic healthy children. I look around me and can't believe how lucky I've been.
All the material junk can go to hell.

Have to agree, a wonderful other half is a great slice of luck given how horrendous some relationships can end up.

blue note

I had an horrendous relationship for 9 years. Finally broke free of it and to be honest felt a bit sour about the whole thing. Particularly after seeing how much fun the single life could be, I was sour that I had wasted so much time. Then I went on a tinder date after being pushed into it bya friend. I've been with that Tinder date for a year and a day now and whatever cr@p I went through to get to this placeI no longer regard as wasted time because it got me to here.

It's corny, but I regard this as luckier than any raffle or bet.

benjamin d

blue note wrote: »

I had an horrendous relationship for 9 years. Finally broke free of it and to be honest felt a bit sour about the whole thing. Particularly after seeing how much fun the single life could be, I was sour that I had wasted so much time. Then I went on a tinder date after being pushed into it bya friend. I've been with that Tinder date for a year and a day now and whatever cr@p I went through to get to this placeI no longer regard as wasted time because it got me to here.

It's corny, but I regard this as luckier than any raffle or bet.

It is corny alright but your experiences make you who you are