Final Fantasy Hacktics

I'm finally 21 and "legal" (in the U.S. anyway).

I should feel happy. But instead of feeling excited, now I'm just a little down for being a year older. At least I have good plans for today.

So how was your 1st birthday at the legal age?

EDIT: Quite a few folks here from outside the U.S., so I changed the post up a little.

Well, I was legal at 19 here in Canada, so 21 was (or should say, 'is', I'm 21 now) just another year for me

I don't think I did anything...

I plan to go to Atlantic City, if my monetary situation allows it, I've always been a gambling man and I'd love to see what it's actually like to be there! That would be the tail end of this summer, actually. Hopefully I can bring a couple of my friends (because I will not feel safe there alone...)

I forgot about that. I was only thinking about alcohol, but now I can gamble as well. I have awful luck, so I probably won't do that any time soon though.

You become major at the age of 18 in Canada so...

In the end I really didn't do a thing. Oh wow fuck compared to yesterday you're one day older... OH CRAP!!/"!/

Seriously people should stop thinking about their age that is only based on earth's orbit around the sun.

Mine was pretty awesome.

I used to live in an old bed and breakfast downtown that got converted into an apartment complex.  This was nice because there were two bars about a block away.  Some of the guys came over a little bit earlier, we had dinner together and whatever.  Got our pre-party drink on, went to a bar where a friend of ours was a bartender so I got hooked up with free drinks (mostly long island iced teas, love that shit).  Meanwhile, a whole bunch of my friends are here we we're all having fun drinking, dancing, talking, what have you.  

Well, turns out friends have friends and my roommate from my freshman year is friends with this chick Molly (no, we didn't have sex).  I know Molly too!  Only I'm basically her tutor so when she saw me double-fisting drinks the look on her face was so priceless.  But we do talk chemistry for a bit and share a few stories between Lance (my old roommate) and myself, like our pet hamburger and how our windows got broken a few times.  Needless to say she never saw me the same way again :p

Anyways, bar closes at midnight because dammit, thats our town, so we go back to Lances place for some after party action, only to find that his neighboors were also throwing a party so there was massive swappings between people and socializing had all around.  Met yet -another- one of my chemistry students at the second party and made him go all "wtf" for a bit too.  At about 2 in the morning the grass is good and wet from dew so we busted out the cardboard box sleds and raced down the hills for a while.  

Met some guy who was a big fan of lucky boys confusion (I was wearing their shirt from a concert I had been to) and talked with him about music inbetween the two parties for another good hour+.

Got dropped off back at my place at around four or so in the morning to find some neighbors still up playing texas hold em and doing some drugs and joined in on both of those ventures.

Went to bed at seven or so that morning and woke up sometime in the afternoon with no hangover.

I should however note that after I was 21 I noticed I drank a little more regularly, but didn't get drunk as often.

Edit:  There was a trip planned to louisiana for some gambling but that fizzled.  Still a casino virgin  

Edit2:  HAPPY BERFDAY DOMINIC

It's not necessarily my age I'm worried about. Not biologically anyway, since people always tell me I look younger than I actually am. It's more about trying to meet my goals by a certain age. I'm one year older, so I'm just a little worried about getting to where I want to be by the time I'm say, 25.

I'm not really as saddened by today as my first post probably sounds. I actually kept forgetting about my birthday until my girlfriend reminded me of it a few days ago.

Thanks Philsov. That's a great story.

QuoteIt's more about trying to meet my goals by a certain age. I'm one year older, so I'm just a little worried about getting to where I want to be by the time I'm say, 25.

Setting standards based on age is a bit folly.  Shit happens and some things become more important than others.  What's important is that if you do have have a goal you should always be actively working toward it.  Whether you get there at 25 or 27 or even 23 or whatever is inconsequential imo.  I took an 18 month hiatus or so which pushed a lot of other things back as well, but in the end I'm glad it happened and am a better person because of it.

Moral:  never ever fall behind in school, or your senior year will suck balls because most of your friends have moved on.

It's probably a lot less stressful if I think of it in that way. I've just always set goals like that. Or that's the way I was taught to set goals. Old habits die hard, I guess.

I'll probably change my major in the short term though. I like politics, but political science just isn't for me.

happy birthday

*hands a cookie*

Happy Birthday Dom!

Seeing as I am not old enough to do anything except drive... I did nothing.

Happy birthday!

(can't really say anything else because I'm still a minor)

Quote from: "Zodiac"You become major at the age of 18 in Canada so...

In the end I really didn't do a thing. Oh wow fuck compared to yesterday you're one day older... OH CRAP!!/"!/

Seriously people should stop thinking about their age that is only based on earth's orbit around the sun.

Indeed, people should pay more attention to their psychological and biological age, which seldom match the chronological age .

........what's the difference between a biological and chronological age?

You should do what most people I know do when they turn 21: stop drinking.

I also suggest realizing the following:

The next birthday you have to look forward to is 25, because it means LOWER CAR INSURANCE.

wild times are ahead!

Quote from: "philsov"I also suggest realizing the following:

The next birthday you have to look forward to is 25, because it means LOWER CAR INSURANCE.

wild times are ahead!

Lowered car insurance payments rock!  When I hit 25, my insurance dropped by more that 66%.

Happy birthday Dom. Luckily, i'm not even an adult yet here in Canada =)

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I pigged out today, so I certainly enjoyed it.

Quote from: "Kuraudo Sutoraifu"You should do what most people I know do when they turn 21: stop drinking.

I actually had my first drink today. I hated the taste though, so I certain won't be doing it on a regular basis.

Quote from: "Philsov"I also suggest realizing the following:

The next birthday you have to look forward to is 25, because it means LOWER CAR INSURANCE.

wild times are ahead!

Thanks for the heads up.

Now I just need to get a car. And my license...

Oh yeah I forgot about that car insurance thing going down...that is going to be super exciting in a couple weeks.

Happy B-Day Dom. I actually just never started drinking haha.

Quote from: "Dominic NY18"I'm finally 21 and "legal" (in the U.S. anyway).

I should feel happy. But instead of feeling excited, now I'm just a little down for being a year older. At least I have good plans for today.

So how was your 1st birthday at the legal age?.

Exactly the same as yours, not exciting at all

as you know I was born in Puerto Rico, and kids here start getting used to alcohol as early as 15 and 16 yrs of age

we never go through the whole "college rush" of getting as hammered as possible every weekend as soon as we turn 18/19 and go to college

so turning 21 simply meant being able to drink legally when I happen to be in the USA

which is cool I guess, but no real biggie..

IMO USA drinking age should be 18, you guys would avoid tons of drinking issues if children there started learning / respecting alcohol from a way earlier age

Yeah, 21 is a ridiculous age in my opinion. I don't even drink anymore but I think if you are old enough to vote, drive, etc, then you are old enough to purchase your own alcohol. It should be 18/19 at the latest.

QuoteIMO USA drinking age should be 18, you guys would avoid tons of drinking issues if children there started learning / respecting alcohol from a way earlier age

But the reality of the situation is that through either school or sports or some sort of social activity, it's very likely to know someone 21 when you're 18 or 15 when you're 18.  (Or steal from parents etc.)  So really the effective age for easy access to many goods is lower than what legislation states.

I do agree about the learning/respecting thing, but that's more a social/societal/parental issue than a legislative one.  If the drinking age were reduced to 18 the "college rush" would become the "high school rush" and it'd be tweedledum to tweedledee.

The interesting part of the law is as Phil stated all in the parental control. What I mean is that as long as a child's parent gives their consent they can drink at whatever age they want. Of course if they are too young child's services will get involved but that is only to be expected. I have been drinking since 15(not binge just casual), why, because my parents wanted me used to alcohol by the time I got into the real world. 21 is way to late of an age because if you went to cc then you are now in you own apartment/house with a respectable job (and a child's mentality), and you have just been given legal recognition to start piling them on. This is not very productive and leads to people ruining their life, pretty much as it starts.

I think that there should be legislation in the works that allows 18 year old or even 16 year old to buy alcohol (and consume it) in small amount. Like say a bottle of beer. Though then you would have to crack down on minors being caught too drunk for comfort.

Quote from: "philsov"........what's the difference between a biological and chronological age?

Not all people age equally . Some people look (and actually are, metabolically-wise) a lot younger than what their ID number says, and viceversa.

In some people the natural aging process is delayed by several factors, and the same is true for the opposite.

QuoteI have been drinking since 15(not binge just casual), why, because my parents wanted me used to alcohol by the time I got into the real world. 21 is way to late of an age because if you went to cc then you are now in you own apartment/house with a respectable job (and a child's mentality), and you have just been given legal recognition to start piling them on. This is not very productive and leads to people ruining their life, pretty much as it starts.

I think that there should be legislation in the works that allows 18 year old or even 16 year old to buy alcohol (and consume it) in small amount. Like say a bottle of beer. Though then you would have to crack down on minors being caught too drunk for comfort.

^ this

Quote from: "Neuromancer"

Quote from: "philsov"........what's the difference between a biological and chronological age?

Not all people age equally . Some people look (and actually are, metabolically-wise) a lot younger than what their ID number says, and viceversa.

In some people the natural aging process is delayed by several factors, and the same is true for the opposite.

I'm not worried about my biological age. Everyone tells me I could pass for a 17 year old.

Quote from: "darthpaul"The interesting part of the law is as Phil stated all in the parental control. What I mean is that as long as a child's parent gives their consent they can drink at whatever age they want. Of course if they are too young child's services will get involved but that is only to be expected. I have been drinking since 15(not binge just casual), why, because my parents wanted me used to alcohol by the time I got into the real world. 21 is way to late of an age because if you went to cc then you are now in you own apartment/house with a respectable job (and a child's mentality), and you have just been given legal recognition to start piling them on. This is not very productive and leads to people ruining their life, pretty much as it starts.

I think that there should be legislation in the works that allows 18 year old or even 16 year old to buy alcohol (and consume it) in small amount. Like say a bottle of beer. Though then you would have to crack down on minors being caught too drunk for comfort.

I agree about the minimum drinking age being lowered to 18. It would be interesting to see how it would happen though, considering how it got to where it is now. The somewhat screwy part about the minimum drinking age is that before 1984, the minimum age varied from state to state. But since the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed, any state that didn't prohibit the sale to or public possession of alcohol by folks under the age of 21 can lose some of their federal highway funding. Don't know why highway funding of all things was involved, but then again, political things have been done in stranger ways.

Regardless of it all, I definitely wouldn't want to drink outside of social occasions.

Personally, I think the legal drinking age should be a few years below the driving age. (maybe 18 and 20 [I very much think that 16 is far too young to give people a driver's license])

Quote from: "Kaijyuu"Personally, I think the legal drinking age should be a few years below the driving age. (maybe 18 and 20 [I very much think that 16 is far too young to give people a driver's license])

but in this day and age you really need to be able to drive at a younger age

I think the driving age needs to stay where it is because at the age of 16I had a job(Too far away to walk/ride bike).


Also if you are old enough to pay taxes you should be allowed to drink to take away the pain from the kick in the balls that is paying said taxes.

I had to pay taxes this year.........430 bucks......I didn't have a real job year......what the fuck.....any money I made was under the table.....I need a beer now.....

Quote from: "darthpaul"I think the driving age needs to stay where it is because at the age of 16I had a job(Too far away to walk/ride bike).

Public transportation.


If your city/town doesn't have a good system, then iI understand it's a significant problem. It'd be a good excuse though to force places to improve their public transportation rather than building more highways, though...

We have very good public transportation. Problem is I live about 6 miles from a buss stop.

Which on a funny coincidence was within 100 feet of my place of employment.

I was 17 before I got my license.  I don't see a need to have a lowered age to get it, as you can get a learner's permit at fifteen and the earliest legal working age is 14 (at least in Missouri).

I could really use a job,and I live 20 miles from town,and so when I turn 16 I can get a job,if they raised the driving age any higher I would never have any money

plus there's no public transportation out here (but there IS high speed internet   )