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Post by crimsoncat05 on Jun 4, 2015 16:17:02 GMT
what is the most impulsive thing you have ever done?? did it turn out to be a good thing or a regret? It wasn't exactly spur of the moment, but I was invited to go away for the weekend with a guy I had only known for a few weeks (I met him online). This is NOT the kind of thing I would ever have done before that time, but I decided to go, and we've been together for 11.5 years, now! We also moved across the country from the Chicago suburbs to the Phoenix area and did NOT have jobs lined up, which might not have been how other people would have chosen to do it, but we wanted to move regardless so we figured it would be easier to find the jobs once we got here. Oh-- we also bought our cats all on the spur of the moment (more or less). The first time, we went to the pet store just to look around, and ended up leaving with two kittens. I did the same thing when we got the third cat-- I went to the pet store at lunchtime on a Friday just to look around and saw the cutest kitten, went back again after work to look at her again, and we went and got her the next day. I tend to way overthink things so being impulsive is typically not in my wheelhouse.
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Post by scrapmaven on Jun 4, 2015 16:17:07 GMT
I am suddenly feeling like I cheated myself out of some great adventures. I was always way too nervous to be impulsive. I over think everything. One time when I was 19 I impulsively called my parents and told them I was coming home for a visit since I didn't have classes that week. I packed up a bag and got in the car and was home that night for a few days. Is that reckless?
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jun 4, 2015 16:18:14 GMT
I'm not very impulsive at all. I'm a planner by nature. Most things, even stupid mundane things, tend to be well thought out. However, I really, REALLY dislike being clotheslined by the unpredictable especially if it WOULD have been predictable if any prior thought had been given. My DH on the other hand is much more impulsive, so we tend to balance each other out. A good recent example was our kid's birthday party. I had planned a fairly simple BBQ get together for the neighbor families and a couple families from DD's school for her party, and bought or made nice favors based on what we would have spent if we had taken all the kids somewhere. On the day before the party, DH decided to go to the local rental place and rent a big bouncy castle with a slide, effectively doubling the cost of the party overnight! We can afford it so that wasn't the issue at all and the kids all loved it, but to me it was kind of over the top for my sensibilities and setting a bit of a precedent with our DD for future parties. Most of the time I don't object to what he decides because he does end up making life more fun for us with his crazy last minute ideas!
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georgiapea
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,846
Jun 27, 2014 18:02:10 GMT
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Post by georgiapea on Jun 4, 2015 16:28:20 GMT
I don't even want to go there.
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Post by padresfan619 on Jun 4, 2015 16:32:00 GMT
Well, I was already in bed for the night when I got a phone call from a friend BEGGING me to come out to this karaoke bar. I had just moved back to my hometown a couple of months before after a bad break up, so I was definitely up for some partying. I got up, got dressed again and went out wayyyyyy past my bed time. It ended up being a great night and I'm so happy I went out when I would have normally just said I was home and in bed for the night. My best friend who called me and begged me to come out that night introduced me to this very handsome man who kept me laughing and dancing all night. I eventually married that handsome man, we've pretty much been inseparable since that night.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 1, 2024 10:53:30 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2015 16:43:03 GMT
Once when I was 19 I quit a job and drove 6 or so hours in my little VW Golf with 3 guy friends to go to a concert. We slept in the car. I'm not sure if that was impulsive, or just irresponsible!
Most recently I walked into a place I want to work, asked to speak to the CEO and handed him my resume, CV, and some other stuff. It wasn't impulsive in the sense I just decided one minute to do it, but it was impulsive in it's own way. I'm also not sure it worked out so well since I didn't get a job there. ;(
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rickmer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,125
Jul 1, 2014 20:20:18 GMT
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Post by rickmer on Jun 4, 2015 17:08:44 GMT
great responses peas! there are some really amazing things you people have done! I noticed that some people refer to "impulsive" as I did in my OP but others refer to it as being "spontaneous". I think I prefer spontaneous - sounds more positive.
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Post by monklady123 on Jun 4, 2015 17:24:16 GMT
I can think of a few. One, which was sort of planned and sort of spontaneous, was traveling around Europe on a Eurail Pass back in the days when it was really cheap. The planned part was buying the pass before I left the States. The spontaneous part was when I got there. lol. I made NO reservations anywhere, and didn't even have a real plan except for my round trip plane ticket from Heathrow, and my train pass. I had the book "Let's Go Europe", a backpack, and that's it. Oh, and I was by myself. If that were my dd today I'd be lol. I'm sure my parents were also, but they never discouraged me. And that was the day before internet and cell phones. And since I had no itinerary there was no way for them to ever get in touch with me if something had happened. On a trip filled with spontaneity one event stands out even more. Pope John Paul I had just been elected, and one day I heard on the news that the pope had died. My first thought was "why are they reporting old news?" Turns out, of course, that it was the death of John Paul I that they were reporting. John Paul II was elected very quickly, and so on the spur of the moment several of us from the hostel in Germany jumped on a train for Rome to go see his installation in St. Peter's Square. Of course there wasn't a single hotel room anywhere so we just curled up on the steps in the square and slept that way, along with a lot of other people. The police questioned us but let us stay when they heard we were there for "il papa". My return ticket was a standby one since I didn't know exactly when I'd be returning. So toward the end of my pass time (I think it was two months) I got ready to head back to England, taking the train to Calais and then the boat from there to England. Except -- everything in France was on strike! So I ended up taking the long way around to Belgium and then to England from there. Then I had to sleep at Heathrow for a day till something came up standby. So that whole trip was pretty much spontaneous. lol
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Post by MichyM on Jun 4, 2015 17:28:20 GMT
Getting married. On December 2, 1989 my then boyfriend and I decided to get married. We had only been dating about 5 months. Some of his family was going to be in town over the holidays so in order to take advantage of that we settled on December 29 as the date. Granted, it was a small wedding (about 35 people), but getting it together in under 4 weeks (while working full time and in school) was quite the feat! We had a lovely wedding in a downtown B&B, and as it turned out all of his immediate family came to town for it unfortunately after 23 years together he is now my ex.
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Anita
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,647
Location: Kansas City -ish
Jun 27, 2014 2:38:58 GMT
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Post by Anita on Jun 4, 2015 17:29:27 GMT
Climbed on a plane to visit/get to know a guy I'd met during my summer vacation. He bought me a ticket and asked me to fly out, which I did, only I never went back home. Did I mention I was technically still engaged to someone else when I climbed on that plane? But when I met this guy, I just knew. We've been married 24 years. Our wedding was also impulsive. He had the weekend off, I had the weekend off, so we drove to the store to buy me a dress, then drove from L.A. to Mesa, AZ and got married that afternoon. Spent the night and drove back the next day. Both those things are totally out of character for me. I'm such a planner. But sometimes in life you just have to go with your gut.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 1, 2024 10:53:30 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2015 17:30:23 GMT
Bought a BMW right before I retired. A very pretty dark steel gray 330i named Charlotte (I named her before Chelsea Clinton or Kate Middleton)
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Post by 950nancy on Jun 4, 2015 17:33:03 GMT
I like adventure, planned adventure. I will do almost anything on vacation. I have two boys, so anything they want to try is fine by me. Swimming with some sharks in Mexico is probably the most impulsive. I don't know what it is about being away from home that makes me up for adventure. My life is usually pretty calculated and planned. I stayed in one job for 28 years and prior to that in high school and college had the same job. Thankfully I was able to retire early due to those two things. Perhaps now I have to time to be more impulsive.
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StephDRebel
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,666
Location: Ohio
Jul 5, 2014 1:53:49 GMT
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Post by StephDRebel on Jun 4, 2015 17:38:47 GMT
I'm going to go with move 10 hours from home. There was a drug bust in my neighborhood, I got pissed off and realized that I was spinning my wheels working three jobs to afford the cost of living and support myself and three kids in Northern Virginia. I went to work the next day and put in for a transfer request and promised myself that if it was meant to be it would come back approved (usually a 6 month process to find placement). It was approved 14 minutes later, it just so happened they had a position where I wanted to move that fit my special qualifications perfectly and they'd been interviewing for ages.
I went home, called my dad to see if he could get the kids registered in Ohio for me and pick them up while I trained my replacement. He hung up on me and doesn't have a cell phone so I wasn't sure what his response was until he knocked on my door in his slippers 12 hours later to pick them up. I sold everything we owned in the next 2 weeks, put what we needed in my nissan sentra with the cat in the front seat and here we are.
Best decision EVER .
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 1, 2024 10:53:30 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2015 17:39:05 GMT
Getting pets.
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Post by genny on Jun 4, 2015 17:54:24 GMT
Probably get married! Met my DH and he asked me to marry him that night. I said yes and three months later it was a done deal. We celebrated 20 years in March, so it worked out pretty good!
The next was opening this business. DH had a good job and my dad (whom I worked for for years) had just closed his doors. I had found a new job, and a pretty good one considering my limited qualifications, but Dh had always wanted to run his own shop. He just 'decided' it was time. I thought it was the worst possible timing with a toddler and an infant and me working a new job (making less than i had been, btw), no money in the bank and a fairly new house, but I knew the opportunity for him was ripe so I held my tongue. We took the plunge and we are still here! There's been some SUPER scary times when I didn't think we'd make it, but so far we've held in there!
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mallie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,253
Jul 3, 2014 18:13:13 GMT
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Post by mallie on Jun 4, 2015 18:17:33 GMT
That's a hard one. I do a lot of stuff spontaneously. When the kids were young and it was just them and me together for a day, my oldest would ask, "So what's the adventure for today going to be, Mommy?"
My dh and I were recently having a conversation about this recently because he never wants to do anything impulsively and when he does -- as he did on this particular day -- IMO, he sets himself up to fail by not doing easy, basic research like checking times and locations. He then uses the resulting problems as his reason for not doing anything impulsively. I fixed the problem on that day by finding an alternative. He later made the comment that I do things impulsively because I am confident that if something goes wrong, I'll find a way to make it go right. That's probably true. I have faith in my problem solving abilities, but I also think I do things spontaneously because I'm flexible, I understand the bare minimum of info you need to achieve success, and I can generally find something positive in a situation even if it doesn't go as planned/hoped. I like to think I taught my kids those skills by the way I took them on adventures of mine and their choosing starting at a young age and on to today.
I guess the biggest impulsive thing I did was agree to go to fancy schmancy private fundraiser across the country with about a week's notice. A friend of mine worked in this industry and was given two free tickets at the last minute. She called me up and said, "I want you to come to this fundraiser with me. I know you probably can't go, but this is going to be great!" While she was talking about what the event was going to be like (the line up of performers was mind-boggling), I thought, "You know, I never do anything for myself. My entire life is in service to others 24/7." So I looked up airline tix, luckily found a super cheap fare, emailed my boss for the time off, got his approval, booked the flight, and while she was still talking said, "So, you're going to be able to pick me up at the airport at 8:15pm on Friday, right? Or do I need to rent a car?" She literally dropped the phone. So did my husband when I told him that he was going to be solely responsible for picking up the kids from daycare, etc for 4 days. I have zero regrets. (I would normally never just throw a bomb at him like that, but I think I really needed that break and I was feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated at the time.) That trip was AWESOME. One of the best times of my entire life. (And my husband and kids appreciated me much more when I got home.)
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Post by gmcwife1 on Jun 4, 2015 18:18:31 GMT
I am a planner, I feel like I plan, think and over analyze everything before I do it. Usually. There were two times I've done something major on impulse. I moved to San Diego when I was younger because an ex boyfriend was moving to California and asked if I wanted to go. He wasn't moving to San Diego, he was going to Lancaster but said he'd give me a ride to SD. So I moved down there to room with a friend. I lived there for two years and loved it. The second and probably last time I did something impulsive was when I married dh. We had only dated for a week or so and then long distance dated for a few months. I had been divorced for 10 yrs and was very comfortable being single and just dating. We have been married for 17 yrs now and I'm glad I just did it and didn't over analyze it like I normally would
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Post by gmcwife1 on Jun 4, 2015 18:23:37 GMT
what is the most impulsive thing you have ever done?? did it turn out to be a good thing or a regret? It wasn't exactly spur of the moment, but I was invited to go away for the weekend with a guy I had only known for a few weeks (I met him online). This is NOT the kind of thing I would ever have done before that time, but I decided to go, and we've been together for 11.5 years, now! We also moved across the country from the Chicago suburbs to the Phoenix area and did NOT have jobs lined up, which might not have been how other people would have chosen to do it, but we wanted to move regardless so we figured it would be easier to find the jobs once we got here. Oh-- we also bought our cats all on the spur of the moment (more or less). The first time, we went to the pet store just to look around, and ended up leaving with two kittens. I did the same thing when we got the third cat-- I went to the pet store at lunchtime on a Friday just to look around and saw the cutest kitten, went back again after work to look at her again, and we went and got her the next day. I tend to way overthink things so being impulsive is typically not in my wheelhouse.I notice we like and/or agree on a lot of things posted. Sounds like we have a lot in common I do feel lucky most times that dh is very impulsive because it does help me not overthink so many of my decisions. He is ADHD and there is no waiting in his world. I might say outloud, I wonder if the couch would look good over there. The next time I walk in the door the couch is moved to over there If it weren't for his impulsiveness I would still be picking out paint colors - to me that is a HUGE commitment and something I would tend to overthink and mull over for a long time!
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Post by Karmady on Jun 4, 2015 18:41:52 GMT
I was a bit impulsive in my 20s My roomate in university and I decided to go to Florida the Wednesday night before spring break. We packed, slept for a few hours and left early Thursday morning for our 24 hour drive. We were teenagers and drove straight through My boyfriend at the time and I went on spontaneous vacations and weekends away often!!! I remember going out for dinner and he'd just picked up an new edition of Outside Magazine with an article about the best spots to hike in the US. We saw really pretty pictures of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. He said he wanted to go. I asked when? He said...tomorrow. So...we both booked a personal day at work and drove 14 hours to New Hampshire for the long weekend. We also took the Tuesday off. We loved New Hampshire so much that we went back 6 times LOL. On one occasion, we planned to hike Mt. Washington and sleep on the side of the mountain. Looking back, not the brightest idea, people die on that mountain due to extreme weather conditions. We picked our route up the mountain and it was such a hard trail. We got up to the tree line and retracted a bit to set up the tent. We did make it to the top and we did live to tell about it Later on we read that we chose the most arduous trail. I went to Europe for 8 weeks with a Eurorail pass, a plane ticket home, a hostel pass and $1000. I had no plans on where to stay, no reservations and didn't know a soul. Luckily, I met a fantastic girl my age on the plane and we travelled together for a few weeks and met up for a week near the end. I did a volunteer work camp for a few weeks the Czech Republic (communist at the time) and met some fantastic people including 2 university guys from England. On the way back to London (my plane was leaving from Gatwick), I had no money and ended up staying at their apartment for a few days :0 They were incredible guys, so polite and thoughtful. Kinda crazy when you think about it. On the same trip, I went to visit my grandparents village and relatives in Slovakia. A very small village. I hadn't met them and didn't tell them I was coming. I just wanted to go see the village. I started talking to a young lady who spoke a bit of English and found out she was related to me, so I stayed at their house. It was all great, even the shot of Russian Whiskey at 7 am each day. My friends and I would pop on a plane last minute and fly to Alberta to visit Jasper National Park for a 4 day weekend LOL. Or New York City. My husband and I applied for our marriage licence on a Thursday. Got engaged on Saturday and an hour later we eloped, in our hometown. Still together 21 years later. I'm a bit better now that I'm older. My dh holds me back a bit LOL. I signed up for a 1/2 marathon on impulse, it's this weekend and damn, I'm going to finish that thing. My kids have the "adventurous", "impulsive" itch too. My dd almost slid off a section of Mt. Etna for a photo op, she was 16. She decided that she wasn't going to wear pants to St. Peter's and was escorted out by two men in black suits. Having said the above, I tend to be an overplanner in many elements of my life. Old age I guess.
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blue tulip
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,987
Jun 25, 2014 20:53:57 GMT
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Post by blue tulip on Jun 4, 2015 19:00:10 GMT
once in college I was with a guy I was casually dating, at a party at his rooming house. at 3am, everyone decided to drive 5 hours to Cleveland later that morning (after sobering up) to see jimi Hendrix get inducted into the hall of fame. when we got there, it turned out Hendrix was getting inducted the NEXT weekend, but we still had fun.
when I was looking for my internship, I noticed a posting online from a hotel in Italy looking for a stable manager/trail ride & lesson instructor. I could do all those things, but couldn't speak any Italian. I applied anyway, they liked me, we worked out a deal that I would work for free if they would pay for my and then-boyfriend (now Dh)'s plane fare to and from. calling my parents to tell them I was going to Italy in 2 weeks and staying there for 3 months was crazy. my mom and dad had never flown, never gone to a foreign country, etc. my mom was so scared for me lol. it was a wonderful experience!
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Post by papersilly on Jun 4, 2015 19:00:11 GMT
When we decided to move. DH said he planned on living out his days at the old house. One day, he said "we could move" and that was that. 3 months later we were in a new house.
Oh, getting a second dog.. I was at the SPCA helping my friend find a dog. She was a widow. When she went into the office to inquire about a dog,I walked around the kennels are found my dog. Love at first sight.
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,942
Location: PNW
Jul 20, 2014 21:57:23 GMT
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Post by breetheflea on Jun 4, 2015 19:02:58 GMT
On Tuesday I went to get my tires rotated. They said I needed new tires. I bought new tires, then told DH afterwards. That's about as impulsive as I get...
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Post by bostonmama on Jun 4, 2015 20:02:53 GMT
The Summer after high school I met a guy while working a job at a hotel. We emailed & kept in touch, and he mentioned coming back for Thanksgiving. I was a naive 17 yr old college Freshman & didn't realize he meant coming back to spend the holiday WITH me. He asked me to pick him up from the airport & then came back to my college. I don't recall where he slept, as I was in a girls only dorm. We went back to my family's home for the long weekend, where it was very uncomfortable. I became annoyed with him & frustrated that I didn't understand what he had intended. He was probably at least late 20s and saw this as a romantic arrangement. I was too young and naive to realize that! I believe my mother took him back to the airport, because it got to the point I refused to be alone with him.
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back to *pea*ality
Pearl Clutcher
Not my circus, not my monkeys ~refugee pea #59
Posts: 3,149
Jun 25, 2014 19:51:11 GMT
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Post by back to *pea*ality on Jun 4, 2015 20:08:35 GMT
Gosh, I cannot think of anything that doesn't date back 30+ years. The choices I made brought responsibilities. Maybe it's time to be more impulsive as we move towards our 3rd act!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 1, 2024 10:53:30 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2015 20:11:47 GMT
Moved to a country I'd never been to with no idea how it was going to turn out (it turned out ok!) Asked a complete stranger in a nightclub if I could buy him a drink (that turned out ok too ) Quit jobs without having another one lined up.
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peaname
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,389
Aug 16, 2014 23:15:53 GMT
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Post by peaname on Jun 4, 2015 20:13:59 GMT
Walked out on my job at 17. I worked at McDonalds and usually worked drive through. They tried to put me on buns for an 8 hour shift and I decided I was too good for buns. I was young and dumb and I regret it.
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Post by giatocj on Jun 4, 2015 20:19:07 GMT
Our friends from Iowa made a trip out to Gettysburg and Washington, DC a few years ago. We go to Gettysburg all the time, but it is an 8 hour drive for us...we went anyway just to visit them for 1 1/2 days and then drove home. We decided to do it at 11 a.m. Friday morning and left an hour later...it was FANTASTIC!! I would never do it again, ever, but it was so worth it that one time.
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Post by peasapie on Jun 4, 2015 20:20:57 GMT
Well now I"m feeling like a very dull person indeed. My most impulsive move is buying an expensive purse. I used to think of myself as quite a firebrand. Bleh.
If I plan to be impulsive soon, does that count as impulsive or planned...
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peasquared
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,472
Jul 6, 2014 23:59:59 GMT
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Post by peasquared on Jun 4, 2015 20:26:21 GMT
Got married! We decided at 11 a.m. that we'd get married that day. It was Friday the 13th (my lucky day) and raining. Because of the rain my now DH couldn't work, so why not? That was 22 years ago and the best, and probably only time I was that impulsive.
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scrapaddie
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,090
Jul 8, 2014 20:17:31 GMT
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Post by scrapaddie on Jun 4, 2015 20:39:53 GMT
I booked a trip to Italy! Didn't think about it for even a minute!
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