What's the best lucky escape you've ever had

Airyfairy12

As the title says, have you had any or heard of some really good lucky escapes? happy accidents?

poisonated

You go first

Airyfairy12

poisonated wrote: »

You go first

Ok, so years ago when I was in my early 20's there was a guy on my college course who was really interested me, ill call him Mark although its not his real name. He was really cool, everyone liked him, he was quiet and seemed really sweet, he was also a very talented guitar player and was in a local band.
There where a few nights at college parties and nights out where he would walk me home or hang out with me and he was sweet and I liked him, I never saw him with any other girls but for some reason I just got this really strong feeling that I shouldnt go out with him or let things go further and I had a personal rule of not dating people from college as if we had a falling out/broke up it could make things really awkward. The course had a very small number of students and lots of interaction so no avoiding each other. I just wanted to keep things platonic.
About a year or 2 later I started going out with this new guy who unknown to me happened to be best mates with Mark. As I got closer to my new boyfriend and started hanging around with him and his friends I learned that Mark was a sex addict, he had multiple girlfriends, cheated on every girl he went out with, treated his girlfriends really badly and was overall a complete d!ck who regularly slept with prostitutes and gave atleast one his exes and who knows how many others an STD.

He was a typical street angel/house devil that I could have got caught up with if it wasnt for my random 'no classmates' rule.

L.driver12345

I always wanted to be a teacher and when i finished school I applied to undergrad courses in the subject I wanted to teach. I got into my chosen course and planned out the next 4 years. I was going to get my BA and then apply to the Hdip in post primary teaching, at this time to become a secondary teacher it was a requirement to have a 3 year level 7 to apply to the teaching course.
In my first year of my undergrad everything was really difficult, I couldnt deal with the adjustments and changes, it was my first time leaving home and I had moved across the country. The tutors on my course were really mean and the students were clicky and unfriendly. I wasnt coping and failed first year of the course but I was determined so I went back and repeated first year. This pushed my plans back a year.
I made it to 3rd year but shortly after this an announcement was made by the department of education and skills that it was now a requirement to do 4 years level 8 instead of just 3 years to get into the Hdip, justbefore i finally got into 4th year It was decided the Hdip was being changed to a full time 2 year masters. There was allot of annoyed students at the time because the fees for the new teaching masters had increased from 3k to 10k and new teachers pay had been massively cut. I knew that I wouldnt be able to afford it straight after college but I was still determined it was what I wanted to do. after my degree I saved all my money for 2 years and then applied to the teacher training, in the mean time I volunteered in special schools and worked in Summer camps thinking it would help me get into the course.
Finally in 2014 I applied and got an interview. There were two parts to the interview, a written part where we had write a critical reflection of a piece of work within 20 minutes and a group interview. The group interview went well but when I tried to write my critical reflection the pen they gave me wasnt working. I always have pens in my bag, its one thing ive always never been without so took a pen from my bag but this pen to not work either, I tried everything to get it to work. I tried and find the interviewers to borrow another pen but they were no where to be found. I eventually had to leave. I didnt get a place as I hadnt completed the written reflection.

I applied for a postgrad dip in further education instead as a backdoor into second level teaching, with this qualification I worked in a few adult ed settings but couldnt get anything secure or in my subject and was still determined to get into secondary teaching but it just felt like there were always so many road blocks stopping me from getting onto the course and was beginning to think that maybe its not meant to be because anytime I even considered it something beyond my control happened to delay it or put a stop to it.
I decided id give it one last try thinking my postgrad dip and experience would get me a place. I got my interview and felt really prepared but then Covid hit and the interview was rescheduled to take place over a zoom call.
I downloaded Zoom, did a sound check, all was working fine. I was too nervous to sleep the night before but the interview was early the next morning so I knew id be feeling ok & not too tired. The time came for the interview and I logged in exactly on time for when the interview was scheduled, I was connected to the interview but my sound wouldnt work, I wasnt on mute, I have high speed internet and never had trouble with a live call before or since but on this occasion it wouldnt work. The interviewers became really frustrated and cut me off the interview. They rescheduled it for later that day but by that time id been awake for well over 24 hours and I was finding it hard to focus, I was feeling really tired, I was already stressed about the interview but now I was feeling sick with anxiety.

In the interview they asked me questions that by this stage I didnt have the mental capacity to answer. Instead of having a written part of the interview they asked me to critically reflect and describe a piece of work on the spot and talk about and criique a museum I had recently visited. I hadnt been to a museum in probably a year and a half or more. They didnt care one bit about the previous teaching experience id gained or my qualifications, all they cared about was how well I could articulate an on the spot critical reflection piece under pressure. Needless to say I messed it up and didnt get a place.

Forward on to when schools reopened I got some subbing work in a local secondary school teaching my subject after 12 or so years of trying to get into secondary teaching. When I started this new subbing position I was over the moon until I met the 4 other substitute teachers who were fully qualified and the 2 final year student teachers all teaching my subject. One of the substitutes was in her 40's and had been subbing for 15 years without any permanent job, another 9 years, another 6 years and the other one subbing for 10 years. I asked why they dont try and get a job in something else they said they cant get work in anything other than civil service jobs working behind a desk. One tried to get a job in a museum but was told she was over qualified.
Then the reality of the job set in, it wasnt what I thought it would be like at all, the entire curriculum is so regimented it sucks all joy out of the subject, subs are forced to compete with each other for any hours available and the hours go to whoever the principal or vice principal gets on with best or sometimes hours are given to managements family members/family friends who trained as teachers, most contracts are zero hour and subs are at the beck and call of school management. We had to go to work everyday and perform for staff & kids, making sure everyone likes us so we get called back for more subbing. Management & staff constantly compare subs to each other, SNA's would undermine teachers infront of the kids and try to take over the class.
I wanted to be a teacher to encourage teenagers, help them reach their potential, inspire and support them in more than their education, I cared about the students but theres no time for getting to know the kids, everything you do as a teacher has to be about results and if the kids dont get good results its a reflection on the teacher, if youre too kind to the kids other teachers and staff belittle you and theres school/staff room politics that all staff must adhere to its more draining than the job itself.
Add to this behavior issues from students, monotonously repeating the same classes over and over and over, spending weeks filling out reports & correcting half arsed homework and planning lessons, dealing with parents and the teacher bashing in the media. In short the job was not for me in the slightest its just a pity it took so long for me to realise it.

I was never one for believing that things happen for a reason but I tried for 12 years to get into this profession and every time something outside of my control would get in my way to stop it from happening no matter how determined and dedicated I was.
If I had gotten onto the secondary teacher training course not only would it have cost me 10k and fees and another 10k+ on additional costs I would have completed it only to end up stuck in an insecure job that I dislike for the rest of my working life making kids miserable forcing them to do work theyve no interest in and will never even have to think about once they finish school. I have a teaching qualification that means I can sub & earn money but its a side gig im using to fund the career I want and know im good at.

Never thought id see the day id say this but I am so happy I never got a place on the Post primary PME.

zell12

Escaping from Mammy's womb.

Ficheall

I'm not surprised your pen ran out, L.Driver.

Danonino.

I’ve had a few, the one that sticks out the most was around age 9 or so we went to Clara Lara in the late 90s. Good collection of siblings, cousins, two uncles and my dad. On the way back we stopped at a waterfall, can’t remember the name of it but it took a while to get there and it was fecking massive. We were up the top and there was a wooden fence and signs saying do not pass this point and I think warning we were on private property and it wasn’t a tourist site etc. But the edge was a loooong way away from the fence and within minutes every one of us were on the grass/rocks further on.

Usual cries of be careful and no further than that etc. None of us were thick enough to even dare go further mostly because it would mean being bundled in the car and having to wait for everyone else in shame.

I slipped, and landed on my arse, but probably a good 18foot or more from the edge and water but everything between me and the edge was wet mossy grass or at least I thought it was. Noone seen me fall except my uncle who was at the fence a long way away. I landed on my arse but when I put my legs out to stand up I was already sliding, I ended up rolled over onto my belly and trying to get a grip on anything. It was all rock covered in a layer of moss that was like butter. Was pretty terrifying. My hands and feet were just stripping it to bare rock and I was in free slide for what felt like a year ha ha

I slid till I was about 4 foot or less from the edge, broke nail or two on the rocks and was filthy. I remember thinking how the wet rocks near the edge were way grippier than the mossy ones further away, but I must have been close to the edge and close to zipping over into freefall because it was all smooth as hell and eroded. The entire time my uncle was frozen roaring and gone a weird yellow colour and I remember thinking ‘I’m dead, this is it I guess’. All he could say was how I wasn’t stopping after we got back to the cars.

We packed up the cars and weren’t aloud mention it ever again ha ha. We also drive to Sally’s gap that day. That was probably the most disappointing destination I’ve ever arrived at. It was a crossroads and two sheep. Was cracking.


EDIT: can’t figure out where the waterfall was, Glenmacnass makes sense location wise (maybe not far enough away) but isn’t steep enough, powerscourt is too steep looking. Meh one to ask the folks next time I visit.

White_hills

Was on one of those fast boats you get between islands in Indonesia. Safety records wouldn't be great. I'd been on them before so knew they were a bit dodge but felt grand. Anyways...

Boat breaks down whilst we're out at sea. Weather starts to change. Crew were fine at first and then start to panic a bit. They spend bones of an hour trying to get boat going as we just drift and what was a flat sea turns into a wavey mess with waves coming over the top of the boat and lashing rain/wind.

Some passengers are violently sea sick at this stage vomiting all around us and some English girl is crying and her boyfriend keeps shouting at the crew who now appear to no longer speak English.

They eventually get boat going but it can only go around in circles.... so we do this for a while.

Eventually got back to shore 4 hours later than planned going really slow. Checked to see if I'd phone reception a few times as I thought about calling home just in case.
.

nialler1978

Ficheall wrote: »

I'm not surprised your pen ran out, L.Driver.

I couldn’t read it, my lucky escape was when I started scrolling down, it just kept going and I’m thankful I didn’t invest the time into reading it.

Shoelaces

Danonino. wrote: »

I’ve had a few, the one that sticks out the most was around age 9 or so we went to Clara Lara in the late 90s. Good collection of siblings, cousins, two uncles and my dad. On the way back we stopped at a waterfall, can’t remember the name of it but it took a while to get there and it was fecking massive. We were up the top and there was a wooden fence and signs saying do not pass this point and I think warning we were on private property and it wasn’t a tourist site etc. But the edge was a loooong way away from the fence and within minutes every one of us were on the grass/rocks further on.

Usual cries of be careful and no further than that etc. None of us were thick enough to even dare go further mostly because it would mean being bundled in the car and having to wait for everyone else in shame.

I slipped, and landed on my arse, but probably a good 18foot or more from the edge and water but everything between me and the edge was wet mossy grass or at least I thought it was. Noone seen me fall except my uncle who was at the fence a long way away. I landed on my arse but when I put my legs out to stand up I was already sliding, I ended up rolled over onto my belly and trying to get a grip on anything. It was all rock covered in a layer of moss that was like butter. Was pretty terrifying. My hands and feet were just stripping it to bare rock and I was in free slide for what felt like a year ha ha

I slid till I was about 4 foot or less from the edge, broke nail or two on the rocks and was filthy. I remember thinking how the wet rocks near the edge were way grippier than the mossy ones further away, but I must have been close to the edge and close to zipping over into freefall because it was all smooth as hell and eroded. The entire time my uncle was frozen roaring and gone a weird yellow colour and I remember thinking ‘I’m dead, this is it I guess’. All he could say was how I wasn’t stopping after we got back to the cars.

We packed up the cars and weren’t aloud mention it ever again ha ha. We also drive to Sally’s gap that day. That was probably the most disappointing destination I’ve ever arrived at. It was a crossroads and two sheep. Was cracking.


EDIT: can’t figure out where the waterfall was, Glenmacnass makes sense location wise (maybe not far enough away) but isn’t steep enough, powerscourt is too steep looking. Meh one to ask the folks next time I visit.

Powerscourt?

Wildly Boaring

I was driving to my then girlfriend's and I was late.
It was her aunt's 60th and I was driving her and both siblings so couldn't be late.

Coming over the road I spotted a car with a puncture. I'd always stop to ask if someone needs help and they looked like the were struggling. But I really couldn't. Anyway as I was dithering the car behind me threw on the indicator and as I drove on I could see they stopped to help.

Anyway I drove on. Picked up my 3 passengers and headed to the party.
Had to pass the same spot.

Blue lights everywhere!!!
Bits of cars everywhere. Fire brigade, gaurds and 3 ambulances.

A car had driven at speed into the car that stopped to help. It was now mangled into the car with the puncture.
(It was alsoa blue A4, just like mine)

Paramedics were dealing with 2 people on the ground near the tyre.

I rang the garda station the next day. Nobody killed but serious injury, that's all he could tell me.

Mister Vain

Airyfairy12 wrote: »

Ok, so years ago when I was in my early 20's there was a guy on my college course who was really interested me, ill call him Mark although its not his real name. He was really cool, everyone liked him, he was quiet and seemed really sweet, he was also a very talented guitar player and was in a local band.
There where a few nights at college parties and nights out where he would walk me home or hang out with me and he was sweet and I liked him, I never saw him with any other girls but for some reason I just got this really strong feeling that I shouldnt go out with him or let things go further and I had a personal rule of not dating people from college as if we had a falling out/broke up it could make things really awkward. The course had a very small number of students and lots of interaction so no avoiding each other. I just wanted to keep things platonic.
About a year or 2 later I started going out with this new guy who unknown to me happened to be best mates with Mark. As I got closer to my new boyfriend and started hanging around with him and his friends I learned that Mark was a sex addict, he had multiple girlfriends, cheated on every girl he went out with, treated his girlfriends really badly and was overall a complete d!ck who regularly slept with prostitutes and gave atleast one his exes and who knows how many others an STD.

He was a typical street angel/house devil that I could have got caught up with if it wasnt for my random 'no classmates' rule.

Meh. You could get the clap off anyone.

xzanti

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

I was driving to my then girlfriend's and I was late.
It was her aunt's 60th and I was driving her and both siblings so couldn't be late.

Coming over the road I spotted a car with a puncture. I'd always stop to ask if someone needs help and they looked like the were struggling. But I really couldn't. Anyway as I was dithering the car behind me threw on the indicator and as I drove on I could see they stopped to help.

Anyway I drove on. Picked up my 3 passengers and headed to the party.
Had to pass the same spot.

Blue lights everywhere!!!
Bits of cars everywhere. Fire brigade, gaurds and 3 ambulances.

A car had driven at speed into the car that stopped to help. It was now mangled into the car with the puncture.
(It was alsoa blue A4, just like mine)

Paramedics were dealing with 2 people on the ground near the tyre.

I rang the garda station the next day. Nobody killed but serious injury, that's all he could tell me.

We have a winner.

xzanti

Mister Vain wrote: »

Meh. You could get the clap off anyone.

Hi Mark.

the-island-man

Not sure of the exact age but definitely under 10 years old. I fell from a treehouse into a clump of nettles. My head landed next to a concrete block. Only ended up with a minor fracture in my left wrist.

Also fell into a stream really young. Remember opening my eyes and seeing water rush past my face. Luckily my older brother plucked me out pretty quickly.

passatman86

Going to work one morning over the mountain roads took turn too bad with damp conditions "no excuse". Car went over the ditch into a fied onto its roof and only 2 windows in the whole car didnt smash - car broke up and wrote off. I was blessed really and came out without a scratch.

Another time a passenger in a friends car coming down mountain raods a few of us in the car - same again - onto its roof and over a ditch we all got out fine.

Both times cars fully insured taxed nct'd but that doesn't make up for careless driving on our part does it. Looking back we didnt have enough driving experience to be honest

Ficheall

Ficheall wrote: »

I'm not surprised your pen ran out, L.Driver.

Awwwww. I thought it was a good story L. Driver. Never mind the bollix! I liked it.

One escape I had was driving home one day and in the distance on the twisty road I could see three big bright yellow articulated trucks, one after another, and I thought odd to see them all like that in a row. As they came round the bend towards me I hit an oil slick, the steering wheel became possessed and wrenched itself from my hands and the car started to spin, completely 360 degrees, one time for every truck that passed me.
Time was going really slowly inside the car, and I could see quite clearly as I spun round again to see the side flank of the next yellow truck.
3 perfect spins, 3 trucks passed, and then my car shot off into the ditch and I had to climb out the window - not a scratch on me.
The driver from the last yellow truck had by now pulled in and came running back towards me and he was absolutely frantic. Said he had never seen anything like it - how my car spun perfectly on the narrow road, never passing the middle line, missing each truck by a few centimetres.

Doublebusy

This was pure stupidity and dangerous
Friday finishing work on site - only new to the job and starting out in the trade. Getting ready to leave for the day. I had to wrap up an extention lead. It was plugged in - i didnt know. So i couldn't un tangle it and thought - i know ill cut it and wire the plug back on monday. Well i cut the wire near the end but a bright spark appeared and i felt a zap in my hands. Nearly sh1t myself and left it altogether. Looking back it was so careless of me - could have blown myself up

I almost died from meningitis as a young adult. I felt the world dimming around me, and in me, and I wanted the darkness because of the pain. I wasn't afraid. But I recovered and here I am.

The experience changed me for the better, I think.

Housefree

Fella near hacked me to death with a hatchet. He went to jail a while later for GBH.

Edit: The GBH was for a different Incident on another person, I got away with minor scratches

Housefree

Housefree wrote: »

Fella near hacked me to death with a hatchet. He went to jail a while later for GBH.

That's awful

I hope he's away for a very long time.

I too liked L.Driver’s story.

None of my stories are that great. At the age of 12 while visiting country cousins I was chased by a bull and basically had to dive into a briar patch, to not get gored or trampled.

Blitzkrieger

Mister Vain wrote: »

Meh. You could get the clap off anyone.

Bit OT, but - yeah.

For god only knows what reason I was discussing prostitution with a work colleague once, and I was of the opinion that 'you'd never know what you'd catch'. He quite reasonably pointed out that if you sleep with someone from a club, they could be quite promiscuous and you could catch something off them. Around the same time (about 15 years ago now) I read a short article stating that college age people were having so much sex and STDs were so rife, that you were a statistical freak if you were that age and hadn't had one.

Reminds me of that time I didn't go home with a lady from a Dublin nightclub because there was no johnny machine in the toilets. Always be safe people!

Graces7

The one that haunts me is the far too close "encounter" with the speeding bin lorry on a blind bend on a Kerry lane.

Had I slammed on the brakes... at the speed he was going..I can still " see" the nuts etc in the huge wheel centre as I sped past into the ditch. Right against my window.

My fifty -plus years of safe driving in deep rural places etc saved me with that reflex evasion.

Graces7

… then there was the totally insane landlady I escaped from when I came here.:eek:

Lockheed

16 years old, desperate for money for summer I went handing CVs to all local restaurants and hotels. Thought a job washing pots or dishes or collecting glasses etc would be a good place to start off. Apply to one place and they stuck their nose up at me. 'Too young, no experience'

Apply to another and get the job. KP in a nice local hotel with a good boss and work colleagues. After a year, one of the other pot washers left and got a job at the first place i applied to. From what she told us, it was a horrendous position with no dishwashing equipment, one small sink, and an overbearing boss that had so many people on staff that people were competing for hours. She was begging to come back to work at the hotel. I like to think I dodged a bullet there!

vriesmays

I once got offered a job as a labour inspector in Shannon but turned it down.

Antares35

My friend nearly drowned me at Carlingford lake. We were on a school tour and our canoe capsised. We seemed to be miles away from anyone. Stupid b*tch couldn't swim, her parents were more interested in sending their kids to ballroom dancing and buying them grotesque gowns for competitions than they were in teaching them basics such as swimming. She panicked and tried to drag me down with her. I'll never forget it. Managed to not die but what amazes me to this day is the teachers supposedly looking after us didn't even notice and I had to tell them we'd almost drowned.

L.driver12345

Ficheall wrote: »

I'm not surprised your pen ran out, L.Driver.

No ones forcing you to read it.

Chuzzle7

Had a date a couple of years ago. Met up at a nice park with coffee. He showed up a bit late and I should have left because it normally shows a lack of respect. But things happen and I gave him the benefit of the doubt. We sat down and all he wanted was to go to a quieter park. I was scared but knowing how these psychos work they don't like people telling them no. So I sent a friend a quick message asking them to ring me and after the call, I made my excuses and left. The day after he sent me a message saying I was nice but I need to change my style and wear a dress and to give him my address and he will call around. Who was he to tell me to change and inviting himself to my place after a day. Well I spotted the red flags and I was right about him, he would have been too controlling. I instantly blocked him.
A few weeks later he sent me another message from a new number and saying he fell off his bicycle and had no help. This was at midnight. I'm guessing he was hoping I'd save him. But that wasn't my job to. If he was bad, it would be a job for an ambulance. Either way, I ignored him and honestly didn't care if he died. A few weeks later, I saw him on his bicycle and he and his bike were fine. Thankfully he didn't see me.

FGR

L.driver12345 wrote: »

I always wanted to be a teacher and when i finished school I applied to undergrad courses in the subject I wanted to teach. I got into my chosen course and planned out the next 4 years. I was going to get my BA and then apply to the Hdip in post primary teaching, at this time to become a secondary teacher it was a requirement to have a 3 year level 7 to apply to the teaching course.
In my first year of my undergrad everything was really difficult, I couldnt deal with the adjustments and changes, it was my first time leaving home and I had moved across the country. The tutors on my course were really mean and the students were clicky and unfriendly. I wasnt coping and failed first year of the course but I was determined so I went back and repeated first year. This pushed my plans back a year.
I made it to 3rd year but shortly after this an announcement was made by the department of education and skills that it was now a requirement to do 4 years level 8 instead of just 3 years to get into the Hdip, justbefore i finally got into 4th year It was decided the Hdip was being changed to a full time 2 year masters. There was allot of annoyed students at the time because the fees for the new teaching masters had increased from 3k to 10k and new teachers pay had been massively cut. I knew that I wouldnt be able to afford it straight after college but I was still determined it was what I wanted to do. after my degree I saved all my money for 2 years and then applied to the teacher training, in the mean time I volunteered in special schools and worked in Summer camps thinking it would help me get into the course.
Finally in 2014 I applied and got an interview. There were two parts to the interview, a written part where we had write a critical reflection of a piece of work within 20 minutes and a group interview. The group interview went well but when I tried to write my critical reflection the pen they gave me wasnt working. I always have pens in my bag, its one thing ive always never been without so took a pen from my bag but this pen to not work either, I tried everything to get it to work. I tried and find the interviewers to borrow another pen but they were no where to be found. I eventually had to leave. I didnt get a place as I hadnt completed the written reflection.

I applied for a postgrad dip in further education instead as a backdoor into second level teaching, with this qualification I worked in a few adult ed settings but couldnt get anything secure or in my subject and was still determined to get into secondary teaching but it just felt like there were always so many road blocks stopping me from getting onto the course and was beginning to think that maybe its not meant to be because anytime I even considered it something beyond my control happened to delay it or put a stop to it.
I decided id give it one last try thinking my postgrad dip and experience would get me a place. I got my interview and felt really prepared but then Covid hit and the interview was rescheduled to take place over a zoom call.
I downloaded Zoom, did a sound check, all was working fine. I was too nervous to sleep the night before but the interview was early the next morning so I knew id be feeling ok & not too tired. The time came for the interview and I logged in exactly on time for when the interview was scheduled, I was connected to the interview but my sound wouldnt work, I wasnt on mute, I have high speed internet and never had trouble with a live call before or since but on this occasion it wouldnt work. The interviewers became really frustrated and cut me off the interview. They rescheduled it for later that day but by that time id been awake for well over 24 hours and I was finding it hard to focus, I was feeling really tired, I was already stressed about the interview but now I was feeling sick with anxiety.

In the interview they asked me questions that by this stage I didnt have the mental capacity to answer. Instead of having a written part of the interview they asked me to critically reflect and describe a piece of work on the spot and talk about and criique a museum I had recently visited. I hadnt been to a museum in probably a year and a half or more. They didnt care one bit about the previous teaching experience id gained or my qualifications, all they cared about was how well I could articulate an on the spot critical reflection piece under pressure. Needless to say I messed it up and didnt get a place.

Forward on to when schools reopened I got some subbing work in a local secondary school teaching my subject after 12 or so years of trying to get into secondary teaching. When I started this new subbing position I was over the moon until I met the 4 other substitute teachers who were fully qualified and the 2 final year student teachers all teaching my subject. One of the substitutes was in her 40's and had been subbing for 15 years without any permanent job, another 9 years, another 6 years and the other one subbing for 10 years. I asked why they dont try and get a job in something else they said they cant get work in anything other than civil service jobs working behind a desk. One tried to get a job in a museum but was told she was over qualified.
Then the reality of the job set in, it wasnt what I thought it would be like at all, the entire curriculum is so regimented it sucks all joy out of the subject, subs are forced to compete with each other for any hours available and the hours go to whoever the principal or vice principal gets on with best or sometimes hours are given to managements family members/family friends who trained as teachers, most contracts are zero hour and subs are at the beck and call of school management. We had to go to work everyday and perform for staff & kids, making sure everyone likes us so we get called back for more subbing. Management & staff constantly compare subs to each other, SNA's would undermine teachers infront of the kids and try to take over the class.
I wanted to be a teacher to encourage teenagers, help them reach their potential, inspire and support them in more than their education, I cared about the students but theres no time for getting to know the kids, everything you do as a teacher has to be about results and if the kids dont get good results its a reflection on the teacher, if youre too kind to the kids other teachers and staff belittle you and theres school/staff room politics that all staff must adhere to its more draining than the job itself.
Add to this behavior issues from students, monotonously repeating the same classes over and over and over, spending weeks filling out reports & correcting half arsed homework and planning lessons, dealing with parents and the teacher bashing in the media. In short the job was not for me in the slightest its just a pity it took so long for me to realise it.

I was never one for believing that things happen for a reason but I tried for 12 years to get into this profession and every time something outside of my control would get in my way to stop it from happening no matter how determined and dedicated I was.
If I had gotten onto the secondary teacher training course not only would it have cost me 10k and fees and another 10k+ on additional costs I would have completed it only to end up stuck in an insecure job that I dislike for the rest of my working life making kids miserable forcing them to do work theyve no interest in and will never even have to think about once they finish school. I have a teaching qualification that means I can sub & earn money but its a side gig im using to fund the career I want and know im good at.

Never thought id see the day id say this but I am so happy I never got a place on the Post primary PME.

Fair play to you for your positive drive to not let anything stop you. That drive will definitely get you places in your new chosen field.

I have no doubt that if you had given up sooner it would have worked out worse as you'd still be thinking 'what if' - oblivious to how dissatisfying the teaching role actually is.

L.driver12345

FGR wrote: »

Fair play to you for your positive drive to not let anything stop you. That drive will definitely get you places in your new chosen field.

I have no doubt that if you had given up sooner it would have worked out worse as you'd still be thinking 'what if' - oblivious to how dissatisfying the teaching role actually is.

Thanks and because I saved so hard for it I had enough money to do the Hdip course, buy and insure my first car and had enough left over with the added savings from subbing to apply to a masters in an area that suits me more and is related to my degree. I just got accepted onto this masters yesterday! with my Hdip Ill be able to teach throughout my masters so I can fund my living costs and when I qualify ill be fully qualified to set up my own QQI course in any college in the country or even set up my own private practice if I want to. It all worked out in the end.

tiegan

Rescuing my dobermann from under the slats of a full slurry tank. I had two choices, watch her drown or go in after. Stupid, yes, very. But I defy anyone to turn away from a pet or worse still family in the same situation - in my defence I had a neighbour at the top of the ladder with a rope on me. When I swam down and caught the dog he pulled me back to the ladder. HArdest bit was getting 30kg of helpless slippery dog back up the ladder. Would have been harder if tank was not full. So grateful to neighbour, I would not have managed on my own. We both collapsed with the shock after!! But both lived to tell the tale.

Danonino.

Graces7 wrote: »

The one that haunts me is the far too close "encounter" with the speeding bin lorry on a blind bend on a Kerry lane.

Had I slammed on the brakes... at the speed he was going..I can still " see" the nuts etc in the huge wheel centre as I sped past into the ditch. Right against my window.

My fifty -plus years of safe driving in deep rural places etc saved me with that reflex evasion.

Similar experience with a Lorry and one of the backroads on the way into New Ross. We were late for my grandads funeral coming from Meath. Just myself and my dad, I was 11 or so in the passenger seat. He was 100% going too fast, all four wheels had left the ground a few times ha ha. Rounded the corner and his only option was to mount the ditch.

Looking back any other action, slamming on, slowing down, etc would have meant a serious impact. Instead we were almost completely sideways passing the truck with every nettle and branch flying in the open open windows on the left and the right wing mirror missing by mms. Felt like ages but would have been a second or two at the most.

It’s one of the only times I’ve seen my father shook to the core. He pulled in and checked the left side to see what damage was done, nothing but some light scratches and then sat on the bonnet for probably 30minutes. We drove slow the rest of the way and missed the funeral mass.

He brings it up every now and then. Usually wondering how different it would have been if there was a rock or a pillar in the ditch we mounted. One large rock in those brambles and I guess it would have been game over. Or if the ditch didn’t have the incline it had. Scary stuff.

Antares35

tiegan wrote: »

Rescuing my dobermann from under the slats of a full slurry tank. I had two choices, watch her drown or go in after. Stupid, yes, very. But I defy anyone to turn away from a pet or worse still family in the same situation - in my defence I had a neighbour at the top of the ladder with a rope on me. When I swam down and caught the dog he pulled me back to the ladder. HArdest bit was getting 30kg of helpless slippery dog back up the ladder. Would have been harder if tank was not full. So grateful to neighbour, I would not have managed on my own. We both collapsed with the shock after!! But both lived to tell the tale.

Something similar has happened to me twice in a decade. My dog is now on notice that if she gets into such a situation again she's on her own

brianregan09

Okay here's my one

about 15 years ago , i was dating my now partner and we went to some friend of a friends 21st , I was driving , about a 1/3 of the way through the night we decided i'd have a few and we'd sleep in the car and drive home next morning so i went on the vodka's to catch up with everyone else , i was absolutely battered drunk , it was in a strange pub aswell ,our usual local would often stay open well beyond regular hours , so the pub closed at about 12.30/1 am i think

the 21st was moving on to someone's house , all the lifts there (was about a half hour away) were full , so sat there for about 20 mins with my oh and her friend who was freaking out cos she was trying to get off with one of the lads gone back to the party, Long story short I decided to chance it

So off we went on the main dublin road in Limerick , was driving along fine or so I thought , my missus says to me pull over your on the wrong side of the road , i argued she was wrong and that it was the hard shoulder that was over there not the other side of the road, eventually i realised and pulled over , not 10 seconds later a big arctic lorry came around the bend beeping like mad on the other side of the road, I had to pull over instantly I think I puked all over the place with the fright

I never drank and drove after that frightened the absolute **** out of me

hairyslug

Wife came home early from our eldest school play to find me having my first seizure and choking on my vomit.

Wildly Boaring

hairyslug wrote: »

Wife came home early from our eldest school play to find me having my first seizure and choking on my vomit.

Yep. That's the definition of a close one

DJIMI TRARORE

I have twice being hit by a moving car, luckily the 1st was crawling 10-15mph,poor driver crapped himself, igot thrown across the bonnet, not a bother on me, local shopkeeper brought me home, quickly followed by driver.
2nd time,driver ging a bit faster, got a broken leg and a bit of bruising ,virtually identical incidents

Not sure if this counts as a near-miss, but spent a lot of years in my teens riding-out (just exercising) racehorses for local trainers. Often involved doing stupid things, away from the eye of my boss, and took a lot of falls at speed — once trying to cut around someone at such a stupid angle, going uphill, the horse came down on top of me. Or taking young horses over obstacles they weren't yet schooled for, and luckily only landing on my arse or my elbow — I never knew which.

I sometimes think about how vulnerable the human body is. There is a small, I think 5mm, shell protecting our brains, and if that is smashed you are in for a life of catastrophic injury, or instant death. Or how, if a 450kg horse lands on your neck instead of your lower body, that flimsy cord, the size of a bit of twine, might snap and you will be in a wheelchair for life.

I never came close to any long-term injury that I know of, except it was always only inches away, when it did happen. Whereas my parents sort of egged us on in these activities, I don't think I'll ever be able to watch my child risk her neck, but that's just part of childhood. Still, it is very strange when you get older and think back to risky behaviour, and can appreciate the danger.

Leg End Reject

Have we all had a lucky escape after a tyrant metamorphosised into a little lamb?

Leg End Reject

Leg End Reject wrote: »

Have we all had a lucky escape after a tyrant metamorphosised into a little lamb?

I've had a bad run of criticism in the radio forum. Surveys suggest "tyranny" is unpopular.

Leg End Reject

A Lamb Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I've had a bad run of criticism in the radio forum. Surveys suggest "tyranny" is unpopular.

Meh, never give in to critics. Your posts are rather eloquent, and as such, warrant a certain level of tyranny.

JupiterKid

Well, there was this boating accident I was in on the river Danube between Vienna and Bratislava in 2008...

Motivator

I was in Daytona on our family holidays when I was about 15 or 16. Myself and my father were driving to collect the others from shopping or something and were stopped at a red light. It was a 4 way crossing so we were going straight and as the light changed green for us, a map fell off the dashboard and instead of me picking it up, my dad did and delayed taking off by about 2 seconds. We pulled forward and about 20 foot in front of us a car coming from our right broke a red light doing about 100 mph. If my dad hadn’t picked the map up the car would have ploughed straight into us and it would have been on my side of the car. Absolutely the most frightening thing I’ve ever seen because if it had hit us, it would have t boned our car and without a doubt both of us would have been killed instantly. It’s probably coming up to 20 years ago since it happened but we’d often bring it up how lucky we were. Literally 2 seconds and we were dead.

Potential-Monke

In my dating life, I've had 2 long term partners (both 7 years, that's long to me!). Anyway, soon after we split up both of them got pregnant with their next partners. Dodged bullets there! Makes me think I'm firing blanks, but that's actually a positive thing for me!

BalcombeSt4

Airyfairy12 wrote: »

Ok, so years ago when I was in my early 20's there was a guy on my college course who was really interested me, ill call him Mark although its not his real name. He was really cool, everyone liked him, he was quiet and seemed really sweet, he was also a very talented guitar player and was in a local band.
There where a few nights at college parties and nights out where he would walk me home or hang out with me and he was sweet and I liked him, I never saw him with any other girls but for some reason I just got this really strong feeling that I shouldnt go out with him or let things go further and I had a personal rule of not dating people from college as if we had a falling out/broke up it could make things really awkward. The course had a very small number of students and lots of interaction so no avoiding each other. I just wanted to keep things platonic.
About a year or 2 later I started going out with this new guy who unknown to me happened to be best mates with Mark. As I got closer to my new boyfriend and started hanging around with him and his friends I learned that Mark was a sex addict, he had multiple girlfriends, cheated on every girl he went out with, treated his girlfriends really badly and was overall a complete d!ck who regularly slept with prostitutes and gave atleast one his exes and who knows how many others an STD.

He was a typical street angel/house devil that I could have got caught up with if it wasnt for my random 'no classmates' rule.

Are you not a bit pissed off with your new fella for being best mates with a scuffy pimp?

Airyfairy12

BalcombeSt4 wrote: »

Are you not a bit pissed off with your new fella for being best mates with a scuffy pimp?

He turned out to be a bit of a scuffy pimp too, we're not still together

PMBC

Was snorkelling with a friend on a Good Friday many years ago and it wasn't the usual beach where there would be a few others. The place was deserted as our usual companion 'snorkellers' were very religious! Usually we were in about 5-8 feet of water but at this place the reef was in deeper water, maybe 10 to 12 feet. My companion decided because of the deeper water we needed flotation vests. So we lounged away, face down for an hour until he decided to return to shore to have a rest. The underwater life was amazing scene of colours, striped tropical fish and way below to the front of me, some baby sharks. After a while I looked back to the beach to see Id moved out about 10m further which was a bit frightening as Im just an OK swimmer. So I decided to swim back to the beach but try as I might I wasnt getting any closer. The outgoing tide and the flotation vest were counteracting my swimming. I shouted and screamed at my friend and waved but he just waved back.
After some time, probably only a few minutes but it felt like a long time I decided to give up trying and just float on my back which I did. It was only then I realised that it was the lifejacket that was keeping me from progressing so....
I took it off and swam easily back to shore to be met by my friend entering the water with mask and flippers. "Well", he said, "isn't it exciting"

Ironman76

In the early 80s my biological father gave me to his sister and her husband to look after when I was two. Was supposed to be a temporary arrangement. But they really took to me and were happy to take care of me until he got more settled.

Fast forward four years and my father was emigrating to the US with his new wife who was a compete and utter c**t. Despised me and hated the sight of me (still does to this day). Only for my new family to put up a fight to keep me I would have ended up in the US and God only knows the horrendous life I would have had.
(Even last year she made a joke about how she wanted to get co vid so she could infect our family to get rid of us ðŸ˜)

Scribbler100

Ironman76 wrote: »

In the early 80s my biological father gave me to his sister and her husband to look after when I was two. Was supposed to be a temporary arrangement. But they really took to me and were happy to take care of me until he got more settled.

Fast forward four years and my father was emigrating to the US with his new wife who was a compete and utter c**t. Despised me and hated the sight of me (still does to this day). Only for my new family to put up a fight to keep me I would have ended up in the US and God only knows the horrendous life I would have had.
(Even last year she made a joke about how she wanted to get co vid so she could infect our family to get rid of us ðŸ˜)

:eek: What a weapon! Thank goodness for your aunt and uncle. Sounds as though you brought them great happiness too. Your life in a parallel universe doesn't bear thinking about.