OT: Your greatest accomplishment
Okay, saw this thread idea on another site and thought it was worth copying since there are a lot of interesting people on this board. What is your greatest or most interesting accomplishment? Looking for specific interesting things, not generic sappy things. Here is your chance to brag without bragging (since you were asked).
Answers of the acceptable type: Held future NBA Player X to 5 points in a high school basketball game; Started and sold a business for $XXX; Rescued your brother from drowning in an icy pond; Did wonderful humanitarian thing that helped people; achieved life/career dream despite hard upbringing
Answers of the unacceptable type: Marrying spouse (unless said spouse was famous); being a good parent; etc
Pretty sure that's why he had to specifically say NOT to list that. So in other words, what comes after meeting the love of your life and having kids?
For some people (a fair amount, actually), that particular contribution should have been avoided.
SRJK is not one of those people.
can't believe folks are neg'ing his post. very sorry that people have such a depressing/defeatist view of having children. it doesn't have to be that way.
Paid off my house at 36 without any kind of inheritance / windfall / gift from family.
First place finisher in what I guess you'd consider a mid-major level (i.e. non Boston / New York type) marathon.
Very well done. In the words of Dave Ramsey "you're weird!" How much is the house worth?
Ha, big Dave fan here, in fact I did a debt-free scream on his show as well after paying off said-house. :)
It's probably around ~280k or so.
Ok, I'll bite.
That's a lot of nickels!!!
I created a TV show. It's called "Danger Force" and the second episode airs on Saturday, 8p/7c on Nickelodeon. It's a spin-off of another show called "Henry Danger" which ran on Nickelodeon for five seasons.
If you have kids that are six or older, maybe try getting them to watch it. They'll like it. It's funny.
You should watch it with them, too, because it's something you can watch together that they'll like and you won't hate. According to the initial ratings report that I got earlier in the week we were something like "the most co-watched show on cable for the week." I believe "co-watched" refers to when kids 6-11 and adults 18-49 watch the same show. Yay for all sports being cancelled! (Sorry... I hate it as much as everyone else around here does... but there's kind of a silver lining for me... sorry... was that bad to say? That was probably bad to say.).
Anyway... I created a TV show. And even more unlikely, I woke up oddly proud of myself today. Then I saw this and thought I'd throw my two cents in.
This is great! Henry Danger was one of the only shows I actually enjoyed watching with my child. Captain Man has gotta be my favorite superhero. She's a little older now so probably won't watch this, but I'll be sure to check it out. Anyway, nice work!
Thanks for watching! That’s what we’re going for — kids will like it, parents will at least not hate it.
In my Freshman year of HS I was put into a Varsity baseball game and took a future Atlanta Brave's pitch over the fence (just foul). My tactic was to close my eyes and swing as hard as I could. After that he struck me out with 2 straight strikes.
Obviously being an MGoBlog member since 2008. Though I began reading it in Jan of '08, I didn't interact much with the board until the time I created an account. I'm certainly not longest tenured member here, but man, it's nuts to think about how much crap has happened around here in that time.
All State basketball, track, and cross country in Michigan. Made it to the state semifinals in basketball. Played basketball and ran track in college. Got two master degrees and a PhD in five years of graduate school.
I’m most proud of graduating from the U.S. Border Patrol Academy at the age of 20 while also expecting the birth of my daughter. These last 13 years have had plenty of ups and downs, including a divorce, but I can say I’ve learned plenty in that time period.
I beat Super Mario Brothers on the NES under 6 and a half minutes once.
Not bad! Brings back good memories. We had a contest in our dorm for this in college. My good friend set the record that no one would touch that year at 5 mins 15 seconds. I know it was legit because I was the one who timed it. Not too far off the all-time record some YouTuber did in 4 mins 55 seconds.
Wow that's really impressive. I think I was technically like 6:15 when I timed it. 5 minutes and 15 seconds is insane. A couple of levels in world 8 usually trip me up and slow me down somewhat still.
- literally saved brother from drowning in frozen pond when he fell through
- stopped Mr. Gower from poisoning this one kid at the apothecary (turns out he was saddened by his own kid's death, and not paying close attention to what he was doing)
- saved the building and loan from a bank run by using money that was meant for my own honeymoon (!)
- turned down Mr. Potter's offer at a lucrative salary to keep running the building and loan
What's weird is that the end of all that, I was pretty poor, but my friends kept saying that I "was the richest man in town".
hey george, clarence called. said his new wings are working great, and that you did a fine job.
Just cleaning groth has me really giddy.
Family members bragging who has cleanest shower wall...stupid shit to amuse.
My family, no ifs, ands or buts... and that includes professional achievements and saving a friend from drowning when we were 10 years old.
I once blocked my grade's Michigan Mr. Basketball in a game of intramural volleyball. Felt good.
Raised 2 badass kids. They’ve never been in trouble and are both National Honors Society members as Biochem majors.
Professionally? Umm. Got a PhD from Berkeley and hung out with some Nobel prize winners. Smoked pot and drank tequila with one of them at his Christmas party. Talked a lot with Jennifer Doudna about CRISPR back when it was mostly a thought.
Won a bunch of professional awards from national societies (best published peer reviewed article for toxicology a few times, and some others). Published over 20 papers in peer reviewed journals in ~12 years, which is pretty good considering I’m not an academic.
Given presentations on my work all over America and the EU.
I am up for the Lush prize this year as I developed a in vitro skin irritation assay using human tissue to replace animal testing for the medical device field that is now an ISO 10993 guideline.
Designed an assay to assess biocompatibility of bone cement, then once validated, sent it up to the ISS. Got to spend a week as a NASA employee @ Kennedy Space Center. Worked in NASA labs. Got to go to all the museums for free and see all the shit only employees get to see. Basically, had free reign on the base. Then got to watch the launch from the VIP deck and help the astronauts perform the experiments properly. Nice folks.
My dude, this is all incredible! Did you even dream during undergrad or grad school you'd ever do all of this?
I just wanted a job in science. First year at Berkeley I was convinced they’d realize I was a fraud and kick me out. Same with my first job.
Right on, sir. I think we all feel like that going up through the ranks. I got put on academic probation when I was at Ann Arbor. Fortunately that meant I had my shit together when I was at Madison and had a fairly straightforward path to the PhD. Lucked out with multiple international newsworthy discoveries while an assistant professor - whenever I'm invited to give talks, I talk about imposter syndrome.
Obtaining all my flight qualifications in the AH-1W and leading Marines in Combat, OIF.
I overcame my fear of heights to successfully jump out of a perfectly good airplane...twice. My mom told me I was nuts, but skydiving is amazing. These were static line jumps that seemed very WWII paratrooper. Our instructor actually was a paratrooper in WWII.
They still do static line jumps at Benning's School for Boys in Georgia.
Put your knees to the breeze. Nothing like it. Well done.
My High School girlfriend for real had a body (and face) that would make a Playboy model jealous.
Username really checks out.
Athletically, Michigan all-state basketball my sophomore year-especially considering that I am a towering 5'2"...was nice. Academically I was in the top of the class group but I wasn't smart enough to not play football...the junior year injury limited me going forward. But I earned 9 letters in 4 different sports-even with sitting out the Fall of my senior year in an attempt to recover better from that football injury. Loved athletic competition...wonderfully fond memories!
Vocationally, my 20+ years as a pediatric oncology nurse was a deeply moving/rewarding experience. Being married to an incredible woman isn't too shabby either-we are soulmates.
Turning a camp full of fat kids into skinny winners.
My greatest accomplishment is that I come to MGoBlog in the immediate aftermath of crushing OSU defeats and it doesn't cause me to drive my car off a cliff, Thelma & Louise style.
Honorable mention: I engineered viral vectors to carry anti-cancer genes into the immune systems of patients with extremely aggressive tumors, and they survived. Good news: I got stellar publications and a PhD out of it. Bad news: the patients were mice. Good news: if you're a mouse with cancer we can probably cure you. Bad news: you're not a mouse. Good news: it's a good time to be a virus expert.
I saved the life of a young boy.
While tied up at Mackinaw Island marina on my boat, strong waves caused by the ferry boats, knocked a young boy into the water.
I got to him in time to grab him by the hair as he bobbed between his boat and the dock.
The look on his moms face as I pulled him out of the water, was all the thanks I needed.
Kudos!
Two presidencies at the same time.
Vermin control through starting wildfires in Australia
Professionally, helped take two companies public on the NASDAQ through my personal sales efforts; had my own company for 13 years and started several others. One of the NASDAQ companies sold for $2.8 billion (after I left, of course).
Politically, ran and won 6 local campaigns, including being elected three times; ran our local public school district's $200 million bond campaigns to modernize our schools, and hired the right personnel to completely revolutionize our school district, changing the life prospects of tens of thousands of kids for a generation plus. Stopped the rampant overdevelopment of our town by winning two more ballot measures.
Otherwise, not a lot else.
I won a first place blue ribbon for our elementary school in 6th grade interzonal tournament. It's been downhill ever since ?
Was a high school state champion in Track, and two time all big ten while running for Michigan.
Speaking of nannies . . . I and two friends had just finished the Huntington Ravine trail on Mt. Washington (NH), taking a break before continuing to the summit when a young woman, the nanny, and the three kids she was in charge of came streaming past us, heading down the route we had just come up. Huntington Ravine trail is by far the most difficult non-technical trail I've ever hiked, with a few places where you're clinging to a steep rock wall, searching for hand and foot holds. It's generally regarded as the most difficult trail in the White Mountains, if not New England. In short, it's not a trail for a descent, and especially not for 8 - 10 year old kids who looked to be inexperienced hikers. On a map, however, it looks like the fastest way down off the mountain and that's apparently what they were trying to do. I asked her where she was going as the kids sped past us and found out they were all Quebecois and spoke no English at all. I mustered my best high school French and told her "Il y a beaucoup de gens qui ont tombe a mort sur ce route; c'est trop dangereux pour descendre." She called the kids back and we pointed them to the much safer, but longer, Tuckerman Ravine trail. A great accomplishment? Meh, but I'm glad I was there at that time.
I once went to Costco and made it from my car to the house in one trip with all my stuff.
Momma didn't raise no two trip bitch
my Y2K preparedness plan was made the model for an entire state.
Of course, as it happens none of it was actually needed, but I did beat out over a hundred other plans.
Other than that, when I nailed my first backside ride on a 6 foot wave. Kowabunga Dudes, it were knarly! On top of that, I happened to look down and saw a 6 foot black tip shark swimming right beside me and I didn't even poop my board shorts.
Were it a barrel? Still looking for my first barrel ride, it'll probably be a while.
Nah, ain't caught a legitimate barrel yet but I have been put in the washing machine numerous times trying to get in the barrel. Only been hit by my board twice, and once I got pearled into the bottom pretty hard.
Haha, pearling. Yep, I do a lot of that. I'm a kook. Couple broken bones, a few head thumps. Nothing too serious. Good luck.
I cleaned house on 5th grade field day back in 1990. Beat Carlos Brown’s ex Michigan player flag football team every time we faced them. That’s about it.
Writing a novel. Seriously.
I'm writing other works as well, also on Amazon and smashwords.com.
It's not my best work by far, but I'm pleased to have completed it.