I recently scrolled the internet’s front page when I saw this question, “What was your “it can’t be that easy but it was that easy“ moment in your life?“ Here are the top-voted responses.
1. Found a TV by the Dumpster
A Redditor shared, “Found a 60“ tv by the dumpster. Plugged it in, didn’t turn on. Looked up common problems with the model number, bought a part on eBay for $20, replaced part, had a huge TV.’’
Another added, “When I was a kid, we used to regularly dumpster dive for electronics. The vast majority of electronics are thrown away because some minor part has broken. Oftentimes it’s as simple as a fuse. Learn how to use a multimeter and do basic soldering and you’ll be able to do a ton of home repairs.’’
2. Easily Got an Internship
Someone said, “In college the professor advertised an internship and wrote the info on the board. Out of a class of 150 students, I was the only one to apply and I fulfilled my internship requirement for graduation.’’
Another added, “Managed to get a scholarship in a country where most scholarships disallow having concurrent ones. My university has an entire office staff dedicated to helping you apply, and it seems to be a service barely used by the students. No idea why. A two-page application is all it takes in most cases and they can net you thousands of euros over the years. Man how I’d love to just apply to all of them.’’
3. Life Was So Easy After Being Broke
A Redditor said, “Honestly, I remember how easy everything suddenly seemed when I had money after being incredibly broke. Car broken? Get it fixed. Sick? Go to the doctor. Need a babysitter? Hire one. Money makes everything so much easier and less disruptive to life. I knew I’d made it when I put my bills on auto-pay.’’
Another added, “Money doesn’t buy happiness but it buys stability, and stability leads to happiness. Life is so much more enjoyable when your number one focus isn’t survival.’’
4. Changing My Bathroom Faucet
Redditor CABGX4 said, “Changing my bathroom faucet. I’m a 56 year old woman that’s never done any plumbing before. Turns out YouTube is a wealth of knowledge. It really wasn’t that hard! I get joy every time I wash my hands knowing I did that.”
Another added, “My nearly complete luddite friend often says that the how to videos on YouTube ALMOST makes up for the rest of the internet lol.’’
5. Salary Request When Applying for a Job
Redditor ahjteam said, “Got a salary request when applying for a job, accidentally wrote double what I meant to write since the number keys were right next to each other. They accepted anyway.’’
Another added, “Not me, but someone I know, got a new job, asked for 60, thinking $60k per year, employer agreed thinking $60/hour. This is how they found out they were severely underpaid at previous job.’’
6. Worked as a Junior on a Job
Redditor Firerobe said, “Worked on an almost 5 million dollar lighting rig for a concert as a junior guy on the job. We got it all plugged in and patched but none of it would turn on. All the guys were freaking out trying to figure out why. The team collectively had about 150 years of experience.
“No one checked to see if the generators were turned on. I was like no way this is why but I’ll just go check if the generators are good. Flipped stuff on and viola.’’
7. I Was Just in the Right Place at the Right Time
Redditor Luck_Beats_Skill said, “In a bar on a work night just for a couple of drinks with a mate. Briefly talked to a girl at the bar when I was ordering a drink. I left an hour later and said goodbye to her as I was walking out.
She asked if she ‘could come with me’ I was like ‘oh I’m just going home’ and she said ‘yes I know’. Completely hit me out of the blue, I was like ‘oh right…. Ah.. yeah sure, you can absolutely come with me’.
I was sus and confused about it. But all went well. Turns out she had been stood up for a date and sat there for an hour or so by herself. And I was just in the right place and the right time.’’
8. I Had a Loose Hinge on My Door
Redditor captain_flak said, “I had a loose hinge on my door. It kind of drove me crazy for three years, but I had no idea how to fix the wood that had been stripped. Then I found a product on Amazon for $10 where you shove on a sleeve, break it off and then screw in the new screws. Bought two new hinges that don’t squeak. Took about 10 minutes and cost $20 and it’s no longer a problem!’’
Another added, “Toothpicks and wood glue can work really well for filling a stripped screw hole.’’
9. Got a Job That Required Full-Time Field Work for Minimal Pay
Redditor Orangutanengineering said, “Got a job that required full time field work for minimal pay…in AZ. On my first day they asked about other skills. I saw other people using Autocad so I said I used it in college but I was really rusty….. This was a lie. I had only ever used it once to draw some circles.
“They were excited and got me a 4-day refresher class. I learned AutoCAD and haven’t been in the field in over a year. I later asked for more pay since I wasn’t a field tech anymore. They said no. I got another job using AutoCAD for double the salary. Pro tip: learn AutoCAD C3D. It’s not that hard, and boomers will think you’re a tech god.’’
Another added, “Learn how to use google. Everyone will think you’re a god.’’
10. I Was Recently Looking for an Apartment and Rent in My City
A Redditor said, “I was recently looking for an apartment and rent in my city, like most cities currently, is outrageous. So after three days of looking I found this 2 bedroom apartment with a price that normally would get you a roach infested one bedroom/studio shithole in a bad part of town.
“But these apartments look nice, they’re in a good part of town, the reviews online are all positive, I can’t figure out the catch– then I see there is a year long wait list for this place, but I decide to go to the leasing office and after talking to the property manager, I get bumped to the top of the list for an apartment that becomes available next month.
“I keep waiting for the bottom to drop out. Most people spend months looking for places in my city and they’d be paying a third more than I’m paying at a minimum for a similar place. I looked for 3 days and found this place but I think I just got lucky and it was just that easy.’’
Did these Redditors give you any insight into how easy life sometimes can be, or do you have an example from your own experience?
This article was published and syndicated by Radical FIRE.
