Pelican Parts Forums - Did your life end up anything like you expected, or planned?

Pelican Parts Forums (http://forums.pelicanparts.com/)

- Off Topic Discussions (http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/)

- - Did your life end up anything like you expected, or planned? (http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/621868-did-your-life-end-up-anything-like-you-expected-planned.html)

Run White Water in Between

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1312042850.jpg

Marry Well and Take Her White Water Rafting With Your Vietnam Helicopter Pilot XO

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1312042919.jpg

Great photos, to bad life isn't that simple these days.

My life has been interesting. Sometimes complicated and sometimes disappointing but I triumphed over a number of challenges. One wife, one son, now one great DIL and too date one beautiful granddaughter. Always kept my head down, tried to do what was ethical and right and probably succeeded beyond my expectations as a younger man. Still working at finding the "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow. I've always been happy but continue to want more out of life.

One of my goals in life is to shoot my age on a legit golf course, I know I can achieve that someday.

I never had big plans as I was growing up.
When I met my wife my career was not good but she turned out to be a great wife and give me my son and step daughter (that I raise as my own).
Now my wife is very sick, step daughter has turned on me but my son remains to be my greatest gift. (and I'm very thankful for that.)
So my personal life has turned but the career has made its turn for the better.
So who knows how all this is going to end up.

While the end of our journey is absolute, the milestones along the way are predicated on us.

Stopping to pee in a CH-53 on a Mesa in Colorado:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1312044478.jpg

My plan as I finished high school was to get a mechanical engineering degree at UT and then get a medical degree. I started engineering at UT and found I enjoyed hanging out partying with friends more than I liked going to class. That cost me an engineering degree but I stayed at UT and got an economics degree.

After a year in the real world I decided to give engineering another shot. I figured if school didn't work out I'd shoot for a job as a Porsche mechanic. Since I'd matured a lot since my time at UT, engineering at UH went much better.

So now my life's plan was to get a mechanical engineering degree and then try to get a job with an Indycar team knowing the pay wouldn't be what I could get working as an engineer for a chemical or petroleum plant in Houston but I was OK with that.

Then life took another turn and I started a family. So much for life on the road as an Indycar engineer. I started working for the local electric utility while in school and stayed in the same industry after graduation.

Of course I still wish I made it as an engineer in racing but I'm very happy with my life as a family man and turbine engineer. I get paid enough to do just about any thing I want to do within reason and get to stay home and enjoy my family and toys most of the time.

I guess I should add: I have the car I dreamed of as a kid, the 930, and the car I dreamed of as an adult, the 997S, so on that front things turned out just as planned :D

As a kid one of the things that I really wanted to be was a pilot. Here I am now, 44, commercial helicopter pilot, fantastic wife and kids. As much as I love flying (beats a desk job), I read 'IROC's' professional background and think how frigging cool that would be...

The grass is always greener.

No complaints ! Beautiful low maintenance Wife, . Smart, healthy, balanced kids. Living in Gods country. Pretty frickin lucky ! This is exactly what I was looking (hoping) for.

Pretty blessed I am.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1312085149.jpg

Pinch Me ! Oh wait the economy did that a few years ago.
Nothing we can't handle. Luck again !

Not at all. I wanted to be an Architect, but found out well before pursuing it that the traditional career path involved churning out 500 home subdivisions with 5 standard models and myriads of nearly imperceptible variations. Having spent enough time at a drafting board by then, that wasn't my idea of a fun job.

Somehow I ended up in Govt. contracting. I've see some amazing technology developed. I've traveled to a good portion of the countries I've ever wanted to see. Lived in a foreign land. Been able to afford some fun toys that have transported me around those places. But best of all, I made some amazing lifelong friends along the way.

I've checked off enough items that would make a decent bucket list, so I'll consider the rest of my life's experience as the cherry on top.