Older people - what career would you have pursued, if you had support, money and resources?

I wonder how many of us were unsupported and never knew what options were available?

I think for many of us older people we were held back by gender and class.

In my case it was lack of understanding of autism and likely ADHD that held me back. Although I also received daily misogynistic messages that usually contained a “women are useless “ comment in them somewhere. Being told you are lazy and that a parent is “slaving away to keep me … “ didn’t help. Perhaps I would have been a late developer anyway, who knows? We can change only how we are in the present (positive message to self).

I think I would still be in a similar situation due to my inability to do maths, tech and art. Back in the day you needed an art O level to do hairdressing, a maths O level to work in a shop as you had to add everything up in your head before ringing it into the till. 

I can't remember the word I used but for some reason they '***' 'it!! Also, I drew a diagram in powerapoint, converted it to a jpeg, but for some reason this too has gone to the administrator. It's like being in the naughty corner at school andnot knowing why . 

I already write manuals and have done so for 20 years. Aching arms and ageing mean I prefer to potter around these days. Writing books is hard work, even when you love writing.

Is there a church choir you could join? It seems a pity to have a talen unused.

ArchaeC said:

I had cataracts removed

I've had one removed and it's excellent, though very uncomfortable being awake as the surgeon loomed over me.Can't wait to get the other done.

TheCatWoman said:

gloss paints used to go yellow because of the linseed oil

This is making me me smile. My bathroom door and frame which had been painted with oil based gloss in brilliant white had become quite yellow. I was considering getting it repainted but in the meantime I had cataracts removed. My yellowing door and frame instantly became brilliant white without intervention on my part.

Its not just the lighting, but what mix of pigments are used in the make up of the paint, crown paints for example use much more pigments in their paints than others in a similar price point. I agree some whites are really sickly looking and others are blindingly brilliant. It also depends on what sort of paint you have, gloss paints have got better but I remember older gloss paints used to go yellow because of the linseed oil.

TheCatWoman said:

I'm the annoying person in a paint aisle who can tell the difference between half a dozen shade of white

A useful thing to be able to do. 

I can’t stand certain shades of ‘white’. They may appear to change in different lighting but some are very obviously yellow or green and they can make me feel green. 

I wish someone would tell our council that then, all the lights in the library are awful and thats where the public use computers are and where the woman who did tech support are located.

TheCatWoman said:

Is that just in England?

It’s all of the UK, although there may be a grace period for buildings which had fluorescent lighting installed before the ban. 

Is that just in England? Because most of the public buildings here seem to have flourescents, although I'm not a fan of some of the halogen bulbs or whatever they are now, the light is so white and harsh. 

I remember black screens with green writing, they were horrible!

My friend has recently got a smart tv and I think it's awful, I can see huge blocks of pixels around the edges. Fortunately it's stopped working, maybe because the screen wasn't working properly to begin with. Maybe a lot of my problems with screens is a mix of light sensititivty and very good colour vision, I'm the annoying person in a paint aisle who can tell the difference between half a dozen shade of white.

I'm not sure I would of sung for the WNO as I'm not Welsh, but it's a nice thought, although I dont' know if I would of chosen to sing opera.

Marianne72 said:

Wow, I'd forgotten what a *** it was to learn

I’m so glad that it wasn’t just me, not that I would wish this for others because it was as you appropriately describe.

You and I could get new careers as authors of ‘Dummy’ style manuals/instructions. I wouldn’t use such negative terminology to describe them and they would be better than the ‘Dummies’ manuals. Some of those manuals aren’t very helpful anyway.

TheCatWoman said:

one of my biggest stumbling blocks with tech is that I can see the screen flicker, when I'm in a room with flourescent lights which most class rooms seem to be

Thank goodness it has been illegal to sell or install fluorescent lighting in buildings since 2024. Most, if not all public buildings in my area have switched to more economic and inoffensive lighting. I remember sitting in classrooms with fluorescent tubes flickering and humming and I wanted to run away.

Modern computer screens are improving all the time and most don’t have such a visible flicker. The first computer screen I used was in black and white and the corners of the screen moved about of their own accord.

TheCatWoman said:

I was in a singalong with a guy who's been a monastic choir master and he couldn't believe how good my voice was and said I had an operatic range and he couldn't find a note I couldn't sing

That would have been an interesting career. You might have ended up in the Welsh National Opera. I’m not good at singing but I sometimes sing to myself.

TheCatWoman said:

one of my biggest stumbling blocks with tech is that I can see the screen flicker, when I'm in a room with flourescent lights which most class rooms seem to be

Thank goodness it has been illegal to sell or install fluorescent lighting in buildings since 2024. Most, if not all public buildings in my area have switched to more economic and inoffensive lighting. I remember sitting in classrooms with fluorescent tubes flickering and humming and I wanted to run away.

Modern computer screens are improving all the time and most don’t have such a visible flicker. The first computer screen I used was in black and white and the corners of the screen moved about of their own accord.

TheCatWoman said:

I was in a singalong with a guy who's been a monastic choir master and he couldn't believe how good my voice was and said I had an operatic range and he couldn't find a note I couldn't sing

That would have been an interesting career. You might have ended up in the Welsh National Opera. I’m not good at singing but I sometimes sing to myself.

Is there a church choir you could join? It seems a pity to have a talen unused.

ArchaeC said:

I had cataracts removed

I've had one removed and it's excellent, though very uncomfortable being awake as the surgeon loomed over me.Can't wait to get the other done.

TheCatWoman said:

gloss paints used to go yellow because of the linseed oil

This is making me me smile. My bathroom door and frame which had been painted with oil based gloss in brilliant white had become quite yellow. I was considering getting it repainted but in the meantime I had cataracts removed. My yellowing door and frame instantly became brilliant white without intervention on my part.

Its not just the lighting, but what mix of pigments are used in the make up of the paint, crown paints for example use much more pigments in their paints than others in a similar price point. I agree some whites are really sickly looking and others are blindingly brilliant. It also depends on what sort of paint you have, gloss paints have got better but I remember older gloss paints used to go yellow because of the linseed oil.

TheCatWoman said:

I'm the annoying person in a paint aisle who can tell the difference between half a dozen shade of white

A useful thing to be able to do. 

I can’t stand certain shades of ‘white’. They may appear to change in different lighting but some are very obviously yellow or green and they can make me feel green. 

I wish someone would tell our council that then, all the lights in the library are awful and thats where the public use computers are and where the woman who did tech support are located.

TheCatWoman said:

Is that just in England?

It’s all of the UK, although there may be a grace period for buildings which had fluorescent lighting installed before the ban. 

Is that just in England? Because most of the public buildings here seem to have flourescents, although I'm not a fan of some of the halogen bulbs or whatever they are now, the light is so white and harsh. 

I remember black screens with green writing, they were horrible!

My friend has recently got a smart tv and I think it's awful, I can see huge blocks of pixels around the edges. Fortunately it's stopped working, maybe because the screen wasn't working properly to begin with. Maybe a lot of my problems with screens is a mix of light sensititivty and very good colour vision, I'm the annoying person in a paint aisle who can tell the difference between half a dozen shade of white.

I'm not sure I would of sung for the WNO as I'm not Welsh, but it's a nice thought, although I dont' know if I would of chosen to sing opera.