We all want to be good people. We all want to help. At least I pray that's true. The problem, is that sometimes we can get burned when we help or step up. The old adage... "no good deed goes unpunished," well that's a true story. But that is the risk one takes when one is doing the Lord's work. If you feel an impulse to do good for others and help brighten the day of another, do it. If it turns out to be a big disaster... talk to reddit about it.
Redditor u/enho224 wanted to see who needed to share about the times they wish they hadn't gone as above and beyond by askingRedditors, was there a time when you helped someone, and you ended up regretting it?
Had a friend who went through a rough breakup, and then a month or so later needed to move. I offered our spare room in Tahoe for the time before my stepson was due to move into it after the summer. Figured she could use some nature to help her reset.
Everything was great for the first few months... then she went legitimately bat crazy when her mom died. Pacing and talking to herself, thought the CIA had bugged the apartment. We helped as much as we could, but needed her GONE when she started thinking my husband and I were undercover agents. That's when I worried she'd feel like she needed to protect herself from us. Had the cops and paramedics out several times, but they wouldn't take her because she didn't want to go to the hospital. Took two tries to get a restraining order, but not before she trashed our bedroom and stole some money we had in a drawer.
About two weeks after she was out, I got a text from a friend with a news report of a woman who had run her car fully into the conference room of a business the next city over (no one was hurt). Bystanders said she got out of the car with her little dog and a bible, and just started walking down the road like she had simply parked her car.
So Much Drama
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After my brother and I moved out I covered his half of the rent and let him owe me. He owed me more and more as time went on. He was not a great roommate otherwise. I also let him move in when I bought a house. He owed me money for rent constantly. When my now wife moved in and I asked him to move out, all hell broke loose. It took him a year to move out and his lies and dramatics caused so much drama between me and my parents.
Co-Worker Evil.
One of my co-workers was up for a big promotion and I gave him a pep talk and tips and pointers for the interview. I told him our work has a real "the behavior you see is the behavior you accept" type policy so they'll want to hire someone who doesn't let the work place run unprofessionally.
Anyway he took this as opportunity to lie to supervisors about me saying how I was doing the wrong thing, dressing bad, feet on the desk etc in hopes that him not accepting and reporting this behavior would make him look like a better candidate. I got fired and he got the job.
That's No Mary & Joseph....
I rented a room to a pregnant girl and her boyfriend because they were about to be homeless. I learned the hard way why they couldn't get a place. Trash all over the room, the back of the door had a hole punched into it, incense or some sort of unfortunately scented thing had been used to the point it took months to get the smell out. I had a litterbox in the closet and didn't bother to protect the carpet.
They left a LOT of stuff behind, including a nasty AF mattress. Failed to pay rent at the agreed to rate which was significantly lower than the going rate anywhere within 50 miles. failed to pay for damages. carpet messed up with nasty stuff. failed to do their share of housekeeping and left me to do it during their stay.
The Strays
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You give to a campaign or charity once and they will hit you up for more every week for the rest of your life. They are like stray animals with food, once they see you have some and are willing to share, they never leave you alone.
BJ & Mr. O...
In 1st grade Brian (who went by BJ) glued a bunch of glitter to Mackenzie's chair, so she would sit on it and get glitter on her butt. I tried to wipe it all off before she sat back down, and Mr. O. decided that I was rubbing glue on her chair as a prank. He sent me to time out and then I went home crying, and my parents were like Mr. O. why did you do this and he called me a liar.
BJ, or Mr. O, if you're reading this I hate you.
Bad Sister....
I've got a lot of friends who are managers at restaurants and although I don't work there anymore, I did end up getting them to give my sister a chance there as she "really needed a job" (her words). Welp, she didn't last long at pretty much every one of them because, in the words of my good friends, she told them "I don't like being told what to do", "I don't know why they're complaining to you, I'm just telling them how it is," and her reasoning for calling out was "I can't come in, there's a raid tonight."
A raid, I recently found out was a fight term on a video game. It embarrassed me and I regretted it every time she was fired. Now she just sits on her butt eating junk food and playing video games all day and complaining she has no money and I don't feel bad at all.
"massages"
I helped a girl that had an abusive father and she worked with me. My wife and I brought her into our home and gave her a month to get her shit together. Next thing I know my wife and I are pulling up after going to dinner with a crap ton of narcotics unit cops in our apartment. She had been giving "massages" and was suspected of dealing opiates. We got evicted and I will beat that woman if I ever see her again.
I'll Snap YOU!
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One time in school, a friend of mine asked if I could loan him a pencil. I had recently bought myself some really nice pencils (smencils, I believe?) from the school store that came around once a week, and I decided to loan him one of them and asked him to return it to me after class.
So, after class, I meet up with him and ask him to return it to me. He hands it back, but it's snapped clean in half and broken beyond repair. I was so pissed off and angry.
Never Lie.
Person I was friends with started telling me all about how abusive their partner was, how they couldn't be themselves around him, and how he was pressuring them into doing very triggering things. They were prepared to warp their whole identity to please him, but would also come to me and our other friends for support. Now, I believed them because they'd been in an actually abusive relationship before and had also been assaulted, so I didn't think they would lie about either of those things. I offered emotional support, resources, and urged them to get out.
They absolutely did lie. And it about ruined my friendship with a solid chunk of my friend group because they were all friends with the partner and the friend who lied told me that if they saw me around any of them that they'd call the cops for harassment. Once the relationship finally imploded I was able to rekindle some of those friendships.
I'll take Cold.
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I once bought a sub for a homeless guy who was asking for change outside of a sub shop, and when I offered it to him he said, "Yeah how 'bout we go to the men's room and I'll give YOU a hot lunch?"
...TF?
Never again.
I was at the park playing with my kids. A neighbor drove past, saw us and the mom asked if her kids could join mine while she went to the grocery store for a second. Two hours later, my kids are ready to go home and I've still got the neighbor's kids. I cram everyone (7 kids total) into my vehicle without nearly enough seats or seat belts and proceed to drive home. The neighbor's car is in her driveway. I knocked on the door to drop off her kids. She's watching TV. There wasn't even a thank you. Never again.
Move Away.
Any time I've agreed to help somebody move, only to show up and find they hadn't really boxed up anything yet.
Happened to me once and I took it as a lesson. Now when someone asks me to help them move I say yes absolutely! But then immediately proceed with bringing up the subject of people not organized the day they move.
I'll say something like: "oh yeah I will help you for sure 'cause you don't strike me as the kind of person that doesn't get ready to move to make it as easy as possible for everybody the day of the move. I play the hypothetical card when really, I'm warning them that they better be organized and ready the morning I show up to help.
For Life.
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Yes. I used to help friends and family with computer problems. Now I "don't know anything about these new devices, I'm out of date"
Apparently helping once makes you their personal IT guy for life.
"go to court"
A lady that worked for my family asked for a early paycheck so she could bail herself out of jail on a DUI charge. I took the money in, not knowing that I had to sign paperwork to be responsible for her while out on bail. I signed it, but received no info on when her trial was scheduled. She lied to me about when it was. I covered her shift so that she could "go to court." A month later, she and her boyfriend skipped town in the middle of the night.
A week after that, I got a call from the bail bondsman, asking where she was, as she hadn't showed up for court. Had to pay back the bond of $5000 if they couldn't find her. I lucked out, though, because they got caught committing another crime 1000 miles south, and went straight into custody.
Walking in Darkness...
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There was a blind man in the road near a crosswalk, stumbling around, blocking traffic. Thinking he would be killed, my wife hopped out to guide him to the side of the road. Once out of the road, he wouldn't let go of her and aggressively demanded money.
He was faking blindness and this was his scam. My wife pulled away from him, hopped back in the car and we took off. We came back the other a few minutes later and he was in the road again blocking traffic and pretending to be blind. It was very scary!
Burning Bridges....
I was drained dry by someone who I thought was my best friend. Gave her gas money, my old car that still ran well, babysat her kids constantly, paid for and altered her wedding dress, etc... When I realized how bad she was treating me, I very politely cut ties.
She then went around and told all our mutual friends I owed her so much money and I was abusive to her kids. Her 600lb+ husband broke my front passenger seat so it wouldn't sit straight anymore (which is why I gave it to them when I could afford a new one), but they had the audacity to call me a "fat pig". I just... Ugh
Last I heard, they burned literally every contact they have here and had to move to a new state to start over again... Again...
I Saw Nothing.
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I saw my classmate stealing a calculator from another. This guy who lost his calculator, was worried as he had borrowed it from someone. So I told him what I had seen. Things turned out quite serious, there was a violent fight and both my classmates got expelled out from the college.
HELP!!!
Holy crap!! Moving is one of my biggest pet peeves. My family moved a lot when I was growing up so I have always been good at this. I would never ask someone to "help us move" without having everything boxed up to load on the truck. My in laws asked my husband to help them move and he spent 8 hours helping his dad pack up and they still weren't done.
Cash Only.
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Friend of mine broke his phone screen, I offered to try and fix it/told him I know a good repair shop to fix it if I couldn't. Ended up bringing it to a repair shop and getting it fixed for him. Gave it back to him and told him he doesn't have to pay me back right away and he can pay in installments or whenever he's financially ready with no pressure (because I had it repaired for him) He drops the "I don't have the money for this man" and never ended up paying me back.
2 weeks later don't I see that his brand new screen is completely shattered, worse than before. Not only that but he's talking about "buying a new phone anyway" while he was also looking at a new car to buy. He can buy a $1000 phone and a $3500 car But he doesn't have $100 to pay me back.
When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.