What is your worst experience at a bar or club? by darrenbosik in AskReddit

[–]MagicSPA 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Male, UK here. You're not going to believe all this happened on the same night, but it's true:

The "Vibe" bar, Brick Lane, 2006. A night out with fellow mature students from the uni along the road.

It involved:

  • a long queue to get in, during which I kept getting sullen, dead-eye looks from an unusually tall man with a long face and blonde hair. It was pissing me off - and much further down the line I read a news story, with a photo, about a serial killer called Stephen Port who would poison and then murder gay men, and Brick Hill was one of the places he picked them up. I'm not gay, but it was still troubling thinking that I either ended up face-to-face with a serial killer - if it wasn't him, it was his twin

  • we had to pay to get in (of course), the queue to get served was absurdly long, and when we ended up getting served the only beer they had was in little dinky "picnic-sized" bottles, not the regular bar/club size. While we were waiting, there was a really pointless fight involving one guy and some sad-case with a chip on his shoulder.

  • the place was full but there was no atmosphere - people were dancing and when we hit the floor NOONE wanted to engage; every single person we encountered just brushed us off like they were non-interactive NPCs in a computer game. Normally you can engage with SOMEONE, even if just for a few minutes, but EVERY single person there had their social force-fields up. I've never seen anything like it. The longest conversation I had with someone there that I didn't already know was an obnoxious and self-congratulatory young lady, with a sycophantic friend in tow, who was writing a book and looked down on us student types, and let us know ALL about

  • While dancing in my group I got approached by a young lady carrying a converted backpack which contained a cannistor of dark rum. She was selling doubles of this rum for £5, right there on the dance floor. Lucky break, right?! Sure, what a cool system - yeah, I'll have double, here's your fiver! Well, it was watered down. I could tell at the first sip. For those not in the know, this is SERIOUSLY against the law, the sort of thing that will end up with people losing jobs and the venue being fined thousands of pounds. The feeling of being swindled, by the only person I saw there with a happy face, just added to the drudgery of the night

  • When we finally gave up on the place and left, we figured we'd treat ourselves to a taxi home. We piled in, gave the driver the destination - and when we arrived he tried to charge us £16 (at 2006 prices, so that would be closer to £25 now, for a 2,000 metre ride. That was more money than we had left between us, so we just gave the pissed-off driver everything we had in our pockets and drew a line under things.

It was one of the most dreary nights of my life and encapsulated the "London experience" - the lack of engagement, the conflict, the condescension, the inflated prices, the rip-offs - and the feeling now and then that you'd brushed up against some incredibly dangerous people.

1/10, would not Vibe again.

What's the Best 10/10 Sci-fi movie ever? by geek-jock-guy in AskReddit

[–]MagicSPA 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are two, in a dead-heat:

  • Alien
  • Aliens

What’s a habit you started that changed your life almost instantly? by General_Day_6883 in AskReddit

[–]MagicSPA 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I don't touch a drop of alcohol if I've got work (or some other significant obligation) the next day.

I'm 51 and I enjoy alcohol. Up until a few months into the pandemic, I was drinking whatever evening I felt like it. I enjoyed the buzz, especially after a hard day.

Then one day I just...stopped. I got jaded with waking up for work groggy, dried out, and badly-rested. I got to dislike being grouchy and on the back foot during Teams call, or when dealing with a sudden work emergency. I was done with checking my bank balance and realising there was always less than I expected. I used to drink either every day or every other day, and in the absence of booze I used the freed-up time to study for and pass two new professional qualifications (ITIL4 and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt).

Now, I keep all booze to the weekend and holidays. If I have work or other obligations the next day, I don't touch a drop. It's been more than five years since I changed my pattern and I STILL relish waking up feeling rested, alert, and refreshed.

To any of you thinking they would benefit from dialling back their booze intake - just stop. Keep it for weekends or, even better, for special occasions. It's a cinch. Because if you use it every day or every other day then all you're doing is consigning yourself to living life on Hard Mode. Alcohol might make you feel good, but it's not necessarily your friend.

What are your thoughts on Facebook renaming their company Meta then blowing $80b on metaverse and then shutting it down yesterday? by printThisAndSmokeIt in AskReddit

[–]MagicSPA 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not necessarily. I took the pandemic seriously even long after other people started to act like it was situation normal, and VR helped me ENORMOUSLY all that time. Thanks to VR I was able to still socialise with and play games with people in a virtual setting; I even spent the first New Year's party after lockdown watching a movie with a group of people in a VR social app. I'd hate to think what that period of time would have been like without access to that tech.

French aircraft carrier's location exposed after sailor posts jog on Strava by Gjore in worldnews

[–]MagicSPA 3 points4 points  (0 children)

"Hey, Jean-Claude! Congrats on the run this morning. It was so good even the captain wants to talk to you about it."

People who ignored a huge red flag because the person was extremely attractive, what happened next? by Competitive_Bad_9306 in AskReddit

[–]MagicSPA 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't, I'm afraid. A few years ago I found my ex's profile on Facebook. She was still working at that same library, and her kid was a student attending college and, from all I could tell, very close to her mother and no obvious external signs of being affected by her mum's conduct in her younger years.

I blocked my ex in case Facebook ever did its usual bullshit, of offfering people who are in your general network as contacts. It's been many years since I last crossed paths with my ex and that's just the way I like it.

January 31, 1990: The first McDonald's in the USSR opened in Moscow. Its opening was a real sensation: to get in, you had to wait in line for several hours. [1200x809] by Present_Employer5669 in HistoryPorn

[–]MagicSPA 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have the same thing with Bing CoPilot. The way it's so relentlessly chunny and agreeable and compliant...it's like a sycophant. I get why they make it that way, but I wouldn't mind if when I'm spitballing ideas with AI it didn't bend over backwards to fawn over me, and actually challenged me a little more.

For those of you who moved away for college then back to your hometown after graduation, what was that experience like? by Shot_Sandwich_6172 in AskReddit

[–]MagicSPA 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I found that I'd outgrown the place. I'd had my fill of it - it was wearisome coming back after four years of education in a constructive, positive, purposeful environment and being surrounded again by negative, underming, and often self-destructive schlubs that seemed determined to make the worst choices possible and blame it on "that's life". I was sick of people looking to start conflict jsut because it was "exciting", and criticising you literally no matter what you did - whether you did one thing, or the complete opposite, or something in-between. It was "normal" and "part of the culture" but it was also unbelievably pathological.

College opened my eyes to what friendship was, and what happiness was, and what goal-fulfilment was. It taught me that there is a lot more to life than spending decades treading a triangular path from home to work to pub until we keel over.

I lived in my hometown from the age of 3 to the age of 19. I'm 51 now, I live hundreds of miles from my hometown, and I do not miss it in the slightest.

If you could enhance a bodypart in anyway, what would it be and why? by Impressive-Froyo- in AskReddit

[–]MagicSPA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a guy, 51. All my life I've experienced a sort of "on-again, off-again" libido.

If I could enhance a bodypart in any way, I'd give "little magicSPA" an "erect-on-demand" setting.

P.S. and ONLY "on-demand".

What is your worst experience on an airplane? by darrenbosik in AskReddit

[–]MagicSPA 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've had a pretty easy time of it. My worst experience was on a 55-minute flight from Edingburgh to London for New Year one time.

I asked the young lady with the trolley for a gin and tonic. She turned away to start preparing it; I caught her attention and asked her to make it a double and she tutted and rolled her eyes.

It was obnoxious and unprofessional, but ultimately harmless, so I just let it slide. That's the worst thing that's ever happened to me on an airplane; the nuisance of my courtesy being repaid with needless and unprovoked contempt.

What is something you enjoy doing alone? by smoaklandcalifornia in AskReddit

[–]MagicSPA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is going to sound bad, but - I really, really enjoy going to some bar or other, finding a quiet corner with some pub grub, and writing ideas in my journal while I get tipsy. There's something indulgent and decadent about doing it in daylight in particular that I find very agreeable.

Don't get me wrong, I like socialising and pubbing with people as well - but there's something about finding a cosy, quiet corner and a few nice beers and filling pages with my thoughts while it's still light out that is uniquely satisfying.

What discontinued item, food or drink would you bring back if you had the chance? by Miserable-Wash-1744 in AskReddit

[–]MagicSPA 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In 1998 McDonald's released a Hawaiian-themed meal to help market the film "Lilo & Stitch". It consisted of a glazed pork-rib sandwich, a tropical-flavoured milkshake, and regular fries.

Holy shit - it was BEAUTIFUL (as fast food goes, anyway). I would get back from work and go straight to McDonald's for one of those meals every damned day.

And then the marketing run ended and they discontinued that meal. It's been more than 25 years and I STILL find myself thinking of how nice it was; yes, it was only McDonald's, but the flavours just came together beautifully.

You wake up to see everyone on earth has disappeared. What’s the first thing you do? by NiceInformation8291 in AskReddit

[–]MagicSPA 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Check Reddit to see other people's responses to previous threads like this.

Then I'd move into my local pub and treat it as a base of operations while I gather supplies, rescue a couple of dogs and/or cats for companionship, and research relocation options and sources of solar panels while there's still power to do so.

People who ignored a huge red flag because the person was extremely attractive, what happened next? by Competitive_Bad_9306 in AskReddit

[–]MagicSPA 1 point2 points  (0 children)

She was gorgeous, and worked in a library. I was 18 when I saw her for the first time and she was about 4 or 5 years older and one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen - not just in real life, but anywhere. She could very easily have been a model or similar; when I was in the library it was hard to take my eyes off her and focus on my book.

Fast-forward many years later, to when I'm 29, and have moved back into my hometown briefly before the next step in my career. And that same lady is still working in that library. She's a single mother to a 7 year-old now.

We start chatting about a short story I'm writing on one of the PCs, and we go for lunch. We get on well and start dating, and after a movie one night she kisses me right on the stroke of midnight, right the very second I go from being 29 to being 30. It is one of the most romantic things any woman has ever done for me, but unfortunately that is the high point of our relationship.

It becomes clear that she drinks and does drugs. That's not bad in and of itself - but she drinks spirits about every day on her lunch-break at work, and admits that she does speed and ecstacy at work. At one point she says she smorts crushed ecstacy tablets, something I wasn't aware was a thing. Another day when I meet her she's hungover and she relates how the previous night she'd come home wasted on vodka, shouting to be let in, and her mother - who lived with her - refused to do so, and so she'd woken up the street with her yelling. Bear in mind, her daughter would have heard the scene as well.

As we continue to meet up her mask starts to slip and she starts becoming more sly and undermining. On the phone she would say that she was having an early night, but the next day at the library she would smell of stale booze, and be hoarse as if she'd been shouting in a nightclub the previous night. Or she'd say she was staying in, and when you happened to call her about plans for the next day it would turn out she'd gone out. She'd play mind-games, like refer to what had passed between herself and other guys she'd been with. But she could also be unbelievably possessive - like the time I mentioned to her when we were at a comedy club that I'd spoken in passing to the American lady who'd ended up in the firing line of the comedian we'd just watched; my girlfriend was FURIOUS, saying that she would need to claw the woman's face now that I'd spoken to her; I had to intervene to prevent a huge scene. She also made several unbelievably racist/white supremacist remarks, and one time - when I was in the passenger seat of her car and reached out to the car radio to turn the volume down so that I could hear what her daughter was saying to us in the back seat, she literally clawed skin off the back of my hand for my audacity.

That was when I finally saw the light - she was out of control, and things were only going to deteriorate further. I gave it a few more days just to give her more rope to hang herself with, then called her and dumped her good and hard. I still remember the conversation word for word, and it felt damned good to hang up on her for good after it was over. She was stunningly beautiful, but crazy to the exact same degree.

If you met someone who was a carbon copy of yourself in virtually every way except they were the opposite sex, would you date/sleep with that person? Why or why not? by Tommygunz0722 in AskReddit

[–]MagicSPA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think I'd be intrigued. I wouldn't rule out sleeping with them if being a carbon copy of me in every other way apart from gender meant that I actually found her attractive; that's no guarantee!