It's all a bit meh. Sorry.
One of my biggest disappointments are my own expectations of others. I try really hard to have realistic expectations but why should I be impressed by the bare minimum?

I turned 28 a couple of weeks ago and I've never had a maternal bone in my body or any interest in getting married. But lately, I feel a little pull whenever I see a happy couple or a family.

I have a lovely boyfriend, nice friends, a good job and no real responsibilities. Some might think that's an enviable position but sometimes I think that's not enough. It all feels so transient and uncertain.

So, I guess my other biggest disappointment is that I didn't choose more wisely over the years because I might have more of the things that would give me a real sense of purpose.
(GirlOfTheWorld, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 14:20, 9 replies)

I'll be disappointed when this doesn't get on 'best'
Ho hum.
(MattWPBS, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 14:04, 17 replies)

Mobile Phones...
I've never been one of your early adopters; those people who are the first to buy, say, an ipod, then ditch that in favour of an ipod with a colour screen, then ditch that for one with a slightly bigger screen or video or a toaster or whatever Mr Jobs and his crazy friends come up with next.

Nope, that's not me. And the same is true of mobile phones... I didn't get one until almost everyone else in the world had one. Indeed, the only reason I got one then was because someone had upgraded their phone and, no doubt out of pity, donated their old one to me.

The only reason I've then replaced one for another is because I've lost it, or it has been stolen by the filthy smack heads that robbed my house, or during less than sober occasions I've managed to put a perfectly round hole in the screen (which I still can't explain to this day). Never, you understand, in pursuit of the latest technological breakthrough.

And so we reach the point of disappointment. They're never very good. They promise the world, but in reality they never live up to the hype. I have a camera, which is great at being a camera; my phone is shit at being a camera. I have an mp3 player (not one of your new fangled "itouch" things, just a little plastic thing that plays music), and it's great at being an mp3 player; my phone is a shite mp3 player. I have a computer for the internet, and a job with free internet, these both provide me all the internets I need; my phone? Yep, rubbish internet. The same goes for almost every feature beyond making calls and sending texts occasionally (even if it does it's best to suggest text speak... bastard).

I shouldn't really complain as I've never paid a penny for one, but if they're going to build these features into them, can't they make them so they're at least a bit good?
( Moey, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 13:53, 13 replies)

right
i've just been out to pret-a-minger for a sarnie (shandwick place, edinburgh, ok weewitch? - *winks and makes that noise people use to summon small horses*)

two young officy type bints were walking towards me - one had more breastage on display than the top shelf of mr patels, further enhanced with some fancy bra cunningly designed by highly advanced space-pervs to ensure a delightful 'double jiggle' effect with each spike heeled step.

now i try not to perv where possible but 60% of my little numbskulls work in the penis department

so inevitably i get busted having a sly peek.

A LOOK OF SHEER DISGUST

I'm not disappointed that she just about shoved her nipples up left nostril then glares at me - but the fact that two seconds later it starts PISSING down

so i missed them flecked with dewey moistness


!
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 13:45, 16 replies)

Been done? Probably.
There I was at the tender age of four, sat on the floor playing with my extensive collection of hammers, when I heard it.

That beautiful sound. Those dulcet chimes that sounded like someone was playing a harp in heaven. My heartrate quickened and my mouth salivated as I excpectantly ran out of the front door and shot accross the road at warp speed.

You can imagine my disapointment when I found out that the ice cream van had run out of ice cream.
(Half of Stephen Fry's right buttock pissed on your dog on, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 13:43, 3 replies)

Non-stop disapointment
I read all these tales of disappointment with a knowing smile and sympathetic nod. I have a disappointment that has come to rule my life. Not a day goes by when this monster of woe fails to creep into my consciousness and bring the best of days slamming down into a pit of despair. There are times when I just want to sit in a corner and cry, times when I want to scream and shout until the pain goes away. And those who don't understand. Oh, they know not how close they walk to feeling the full physical force of the wrath that builds inside me every time they make a glib comment about this thing that crushes my very soul. It has been with me all my life and no amount of therapy, drugs or self help will ever force it from my personality, I'm stuck with it, forever. It's terrible.

You see, I'm a Liverpool FC fan. On paper, they should be winning just about everything they turn their hand to but on the pitch is a different story.

Disappointment: I name thee Liverpool!

And don’t even get me started on the England team.
(ScousersPet, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 13:31, 8 replies)

I and I been havin a real busy day
Jah had a whole lot in store for me but I and I be kept bein distracted by Babylon.

So I and I wrote a list of tings to do:

8:00: Tend ta dreadlocks
9:30: Smoke da gange
13:00: Go on b3ta

Out of all da tings I and I be doing today, dis appointment be ma biggest.
(tarbin tarbis, tarbit, tarbamus, tarbimus, tarbant, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 13:23, 4 replies)

Payday
No matter how much more you earn, it's never enough. Or moreover, it's never worth it.
(bazmorningstar efil4nat3b, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 13:04, Reply)

Let's have some single word/phrase answers from our collective past
Channel 5
( Wet-chinned bag shanker Cannot parse Wogan, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 12:59, 37 replies)

My biggest disappointment
was when I realised I'd never be thin or pretty.

Damn.
(man_d is being watched by experts on, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 12:52, 2 replies)

DAB
I've ranted on about this before, but a few years ago I believed the 'digital' hype and bought a DAB tuner for my hi-fi.

Talk about disappointment. Despite living in a good signal area and getting 100% signal quality, DAB sounded noticeably worse than FM, even allowing for the very slight hiss of the latter.

I'll not bother going into the technical details (codecs, MP2, bitrates, etc etc) but suffice to say DAB is crap. It's not as good as FM (although a good DAB signal will sound better than a poor FM signal on a portable radio) and the whole thing's a waste of public and private money.

I hardly used the tuner and sold it three years later to some mug a willing buyer on ebay who bid a very good price.

Don't believe the digital radio hype. It'll disappoint you if your ears work.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 12:47, 11 replies)

I watched 'Jurassic Park III' last night.
What an unmitigated pile of shite that is.

Not that I was disapointed - the others were shite too.
(Half of Stephen Fry's right buttock pissed on your dog on, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 12:35, 8 replies)

Prozac
Doesn't actualy make you any happier - more's the pity. Oh well.
(Fredz A graveyard of hopes, a dump of ambition, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 12:28, 1 reply)

Almost!
Many moons ago when I was but a 20 something I hung about with a great crowd of people.

After much discussion of things we could do that were adventurous we decided that we would jump out of a plane!

So after months of organisation the weekend of the training and jump finally arrive. We all drive from London down to a small airfield just outside of Bristol. Saturday goes swimmingly, with the training in the classroom, and in the hanger, and the finally with a mock jump out of the side of a raised Cesna.

Saturday night, we're all celebrating the fact that we had all passed our training with a few beers (Read a lot of beers.) finally getting our heads down very late!

Sunday morning rolls up, we have breakfast everybody is excited and nervous except the ex para who’s done it all before. We get out to the airfield and get kitted up for the jump. Hours go by with no sign of when we’ll be jumping. Finally at about 2pm the jump master sidles up to us and tells us that due to the weather conditions we’ll not be jumping! WTF it was a fine summers day with no wind and not a cloud in the sky.

To say we were all disappointed would be an understatement! To this day I’ve never had the guts to do it all again, but I would if I did!
(Herr Doktor Lemminge Is bored, so cheer me up!, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 12:22, 6 replies)

Boy- I feel pretty lucky
Generally life has been kind to me and reading some of the more heartfelt efforts here has served to remind me of this.

My only dissapointment that I'd count as lasting is the damage to my ankle I sustained as a kid. This has left it teeming with pins and vulnerable to further damage. This means that ever since, I've been loathe to do mad endorphin laden things like leap out planes and "action" holidays because it might be the bit that gives up and suffers further damage. In the great scheme of things this is not the end of the world.

I am a pessimist though- in August I will start a new job as a manager for the first time (the youngest in the company no less), staying in an industry I love for more money and my commute reduced from 104 miles a day to 12. I should be elated but instead I'm terrified I'm going to blow it instead.
(Leonard Hatred briefly did some work on, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 11:48, 3 replies)

Cunting twat-calved face-boning fuckabout
Fishing.

That's it.

Fucking years, YEARS, I've been engaging in that fucking pursuit. And I'm still completely fucking useless.

An off the cuff, impromptu trip is just about bearable when you inevitably catch absolute shit-all.

But having spent a fucking week daydreaming, against all logic and experience, about the fucking gargantuan scaled ape of the depths you'll land to the applaud and envy of everyone, the false modesty as you smugly feed ten people around the kitchen table ... then on the day, that slowly tightening knot of pathetic self-loathing as the drizzle-soaked grey hours plod by and you realise, once again, that you're unremittingly fucking shit at something you 'love'.

Nothing quite fucking like it.
( Wet-chinned bag shanker Cannot parse Wogan, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 11:37, 9 replies)

Foul Language Learning
I refer to latin-based only here..

The french have some great foul language...
Foutez le camp, bordel, putain..

The spanish have some okay foul language...
joder comes to mind..

The italians are a bit rubbish

but the romanians bitterly disappoint me :-(
Its funny though cos if you say lemon wrong you're actually saying blowjob.
(Grim Repairer, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 11:36, 2 replies)

Rathen
He works the self-service tills at Tesco apparently.

I'll bet good money that hes a disappointment to his parents.

Edit: In hindsight, I reckon my parents hold a special bit of disappointment for my academic failures - 6 years of further and higher education and bugger all for it.
( SpikeyPickle wishes he was mabazaritchie, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 11:24, 22 replies)

Birthdays.
These are the biggest disappointment ever, the last good one i had was when i was about four and that was only because i got a little mermaid cake! I kept the figures of that cake in the fridge for months i loved them that much! Was a disappointment to come home from school one day to find they had been thrown in the bin.

Every other birthday was either so uneventful i dont actually remember it or so eventful i want to forget it.

For my 18th it was such a mess. Ok mainly due to the fact i was upstaged as the birthday girl by my friend picking that moment to stand up and announce to the world he was gay and another friend climbing over the railing of a bridge and threatening to jump as he wasn't happy said newly gay friend would not go out with him. I ended up walking the two miles back home on my own at about 11. The sad thing is no one noticed i had gone.

My 21st was just as bad. Family party back home the peace lasted no more than about 2 hours before "uncle knobhead" arrived picked a fight with my dad. My dad left to keep the peace so as not to ruin my day. Which wasn't what you want at your 21st the supposed turning point in your life. There then was a huge fight over the previously mentioned gay friend in which one of my uncle knob head's tag along mates thought it was a good time to tell him if he had been his son he would have drowned him at birth. I'm 5' 1" and managed to drag a 6' plus fat man out of my house through the back garden and push him out onto the street i was that angry. By half 9 the party was over and i was walking the esate crying.

I now can't stand my own birthday. I go all out for everyone else and have done some cool things for my friends and family but my own scares me. Too much disappointment has totally taken the joy out of it. Even this year my boyfriend had to remind my own aunt it was my birthday to which i got a "thats nice. well done".

Argh!! Birthdays who needs them?!?!
(Ferrelcat, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 11:22, 3 replies)

Who you gonna call?
I know that ghosts do not exist. There is no afterlife, there’s no returning from beyond the grave to sort out unfinished business like tax returns or pointing at the person who murdered you going ‘OooooOOOooooOOOOooooh!’.

And yet.

Should I happen to watch ‘Most Haunted’ (or something of the like), I will happily sit there and pick it to pieces. It’s clearly faked. Derek Acorah has even been exposed as a fake by the production team. Sometimes, it’s actually funny.

And yet.

After seeing such a programme, I’ll go to bed. And it’s only then, in the cold darkness, that I believe in ghosts. Every creak is a ghost coming to shake its chains at me. Every groan of the pipes is a monster on its way to devour my head.

My disappointment? I’m 28 years old, and I still sleep with the hallway light on. Well, it’ll make for a quick escape!
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 11:15, 9 replies)

Off topic posts
Just reading the QOTW and noticing an increasing amount of off topic posts.

I've opened a place for this stuff - www.b3ta.com/questions/offtopic/

Please use it, so we keep the QOTW readable for those who come here to read stories.

Cheers.
( rob, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 11:01, 10 replies)

Am I the only one
Who is disapointed by the new series of Top Gear?
(Half of Stephen Fry's right buttock pissed on your dog on, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 10:23, 6 replies)

so
the people's favourite rathen said last night that all my posts are fiction. now although i couldn't give a fuck what he thinks, as it happens they're not - they either happened to me or to friends/family.

on the other hand, they are usually exaggerated for "comic" effect. for instance, i did fall off my chair, my top and skirt flew up, and i flashed my boss. but he was up to the eyeballs in volume iv of woodfall's landlord and tenant, so i doubt he noticed.

anyway, the point is, i couldn't give a fuck whether something on here is truth or fiction so long as it's reasonably well written and not either illiterate or just a string of expletives slagging off other people.

what does everyone else think? and if you would be disappointed to find that everyone's stories are fiction, which particular mendacious story/post would disappoint you the most??
( rachelswipe with a fork, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 10:11, 32 replies)

Arse biscuits
This morning Mrs North suggested that we should call in sick to our respective employers and do naughty stuff to each other in bed all day. I declined because I've got a shedload of work on and I'd end up working the weekend if I don't get through it.

Now I'm in work I've found out that my boss isn't in today and before he left yesterday he sent me an email telling to stop what I'm working on. I have nothing to do today and I could be snuggling with the better half. Now that is disappointing :-(
(I Was a Teenage Spaceship, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 9:43, 8 replies)

Quit moaning
One thing i've noticed with people that suffer from disappointments is, people are split quite cleanly into two categories when big disappointment hits....
There are the people that such events make them stronger; and there are people that such events sink them.

The fact is, the vast majority of people, at some point gets their hopes and dreams smashed and shattered into pieces - right in front of their eyes, it's shit, and for everyone it hurts.

I could recount numerous reasons why I myself should be a failure. Indeed, if we held a "B3tan most depressing history" compo; photoshops and all, I sincerely believe I'd be in the top 10 somewhere. I know others that constantly bitch why they're stuck in the mud and going no-where fast, and frankly I have no sympathy, you are what you make yourself ultimately, not a product of fate.

The key is to learn from it, pick yourself off the floor, be fucking happy that you'll never let whatever it was that bitch-slapped you ever happen again, and move the fuck on - you've just got wiser, now it's time to get stronger.
( slippery doctore, Wed 2 Jul 2008, 9:34, 1 reply)