Lessons I Learned The Hard Way

My father used to talk about students for whom he had to treat the lesson like a nail, and their heads like a wall, and just keep hammering away at it until they got it.
Throughout my life, I have had to learn certain things, some I got right away (i.e. It's just easier to get the stuff you don't like done first, and, pay your bills on time) and some I had to have beat into me. Several times.
The following is a list of things that I (eventually) learned the hard way:

• Cheap shoes will cost you in every single step you take. And, if your feet hurt, everything hurts. Buy good shoes that fit.
• No matter how good a potential mate "looks on paper", the reality is far more important. You can't conjure up chemistry, no matter hard you try.
• If food tastes "kinda off", don't keep eating it anyway.
• Take the pain-killer way before you really need it.
• Long distance relationships are awful. They will remain awful, as long as they are long distance. Sometimes even after.
• If you are at a party or a bar, stop drinking when that little voice in your head says "you should stop drinking now". In fact, pour the rest of the drink in your hand down the drain, and go home.
• Take care of your teeth. Not flossing is very expensive later.
• If everyone else in your life doesn't like your new boyfriend, pay attention. They can't all misunderstand him.
• Just say "no" to KFC.
• My mother says that "nothing good happens after two o'clock in the morning". She is right.
• Living debt-free is way better than having more stuff.
• Plastic and stoves do not mix.
• If someone says they are not good enough for you, you should first listen, and then run.
• Babies and cats do not care anything at all about what you want.
• This one is from my dad, called "O'Sullivan's Rule of Travelling: Eat when there's food and use the bathroom when there's one available, whether you need either one or not."
• When your much more athletic, active friend Wendy suggests a bike ride, ask how far it will be before you leave.
• Don't climb on the rocking chair to hang drapes.
• Put on the white shirt last thing before heading out the door.
• Do not attempt to cook all new recipes for a dinner party.
• Carry kleenex.