Wednesday 16 July 2008

Je Ne Regrette That Much

‘I wish I’d done things differently,’ said my shifty, kinda racist, pseudo-Chinese landlord Dudley this morning.

Aha! I thought. At last. At last a sign of humanity. A sign of something beyond the money-grubbing rule-worshiping arch-stickler I’ve come to know and kind of loathe. What was he going to say, I wondered. That he wishes he’d gone to a kibbutz? That he wishes he’d travelled through South America as a youth, maybe joining forces with Chico Mendez to try and help save the rainforests? Or maybe just that he wishes he’d concentrated his efforts on something more rewarding, less soulless than property and trade...

‘What would you have done?’ I asked, breath bated.

‘I’d have bought property in Weybridge,’ he said. ‘Prices have gone through the roof,’ he said. ‘I’d be sitting pretty now.’

‘Oh,’ I sighed. ‘Well, never mind.’

It got me wondering though, what would I do differently, if I could?

Well, firstly, I’d have stood up to my parents sooner rather than later. Secondly, I’d have started living – and therefore blogging – at least five years ago. If I had, for sure, I’d be sitting pretty now.

Ah, well. Never mind.

That's probably it though. Which makes me feel OK really. You know? Life's not bad. Good old life.

And you? Yes, you, go on, indulge me. If you had your time again, what would you do differently?

PS. Bon chance, Little Sparra!



Share on Facebook! Digg this

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

shouldn't have sold the microsoft stock at $8... or, perhaps more lucratively, sneered when little billy gates wanted to hold my hand on the playground.

Glamourpuss said...

Hmmm, the only thing I really regret is getting involved with Evil Ex - took me years to feel clean again.

Puss

Anonymous said...

Tried harder at skool. Seriously, it's my biggest regret. I'd assumed I was stoopid. Turns out I was just really immature.

Runaround Sue said...

regrets are pointless, you can't change the past, but I really wish I'd not got married either time. I'm not really the marrying kind ;0)

BenefitScroungingScum said...

Same as you actually, my one major regret is not having had the ability to stand up to my parents earlier in life, but I'm proud of finally doing it. Bendy Girl

curly said...

Shouldn't have allowed myself to be such a pathetic victim at school and with my mum. Should have tried harder, gone to uni. Should have moved out much earlier. Should have had a lot more sex and been a bit bolder. (Gosh am on a roll) Wish i had gone into a useful 'profession' rather than meander along. Shoulda whooped a few arses along the way and played others at their own game instead of being Miss Nice. Shoulda seen my ex for the huge egotistical wankbag he was. I'm beginning to laugh now...this is ridiculous. Regrets just make you sad and you end up beating yourself up. I am what I am; not everything in my past was within my control and although I didn't do the best job of 'me' that I could have done, I'm not that bad either - and hurrah! I didn't turn into my mother. So Bete, well done on coming this far - you did it when you were ready and no sooner and so far so flipping damn good. Perhaps some of us regret not being more like you.

Anonymous said...

My only regret is that curly doesn't have a blog. Generally speaking, I hate blogs and all who blog in them (apart from Bete, obviously). But I'd make an exception for curly. She's so lovely.

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

shoulda. woulda. coulda. (hey that would make a superb epitaph). I'm trying very hard to focus on the future, I wasted some time already on regrets and excuses. So, perhaps my biggest regret lies in not starting sooner, not tossing regrets to the wind and leaping before looking once in a while.

I'm making up for lost time. And merci beaucoup, ma bête de mystère.

Michael said...

I regret everything from the moment I turned down that scholarship to Georgetown on, (i.e.the last 10 years).

Anonymous said...

I regret not spending even more time with my dog, now that I have to give her away and I regret anything that I could have done differently in the past to improve the current situation.

Yet, how do I know what miniscule or major act was the deciding factor to the fate I've arrived at? That's the question, what good is regretting, if you don't know for sure making a different decesion, will have made a difference at all...

Life,

Today you've defeated me...know that I'll be broken for a long, long, while- but know that when I do make it back from my heart ache, it will be with avengence. I'll grab you by both hands and love and live like I've never done before. All because of a little black dog that I had to give away.

Anonymous said...

I know regrets are a pointless waste of energy, and generally don't bother with them.But I do really, really regret that I started smoking.Twenty years on I'm still struggling to stop.I hope you're having more success,BDJ.

Anonymous said...

Oh God...I regret so much. I squirm inwardly on a daily basis while cycling to/from work at the memory of some small indiscretion or mistake that comes to me from some indefatigable well of misery.

I regret working so hard at school. It made no difference. That said I regret not going to Cambridge Uni. I regret being such a hypocrite. The list is endless.

Michael said...

"I regret working so hard at school. It made no difference."

THAT is the post of the decade. I hope the editors of the ODQ are reading.

Stuart Galligan said...

I mean, I know it was the eighties and everything, but really, a pony tail?

Photos still crop up.

Anonymous said...

I'd only do things differently if I could see a "preview" of what my life would be like. Otherwise, I'd be afraid I'd fuck it up even worse. Like "The Butterfly Effect." (That movie with Ashton Kutcher.)Not that it's really fucked up, but I'm 42 and I'm finally realising my goals for the first time in my life, and if I hadn't married my ex I would've achieved it all so much sooner. But I don't regret marrying him, because he is a lovely, sweet man.

Maria