The Ten Latest

Ten more things I think I've learned by now:

1. True enough, things sometimes end up being different from what they seemed. Often this is because people unintentionally misrepresent themselves. Then new information, or new weight given to old information, appears to make such people change and shifts your relationship with them. It pays to be tolerant of this constantly recurring human foible and not to mistake it for malice or treachery.
2. Installing beta programs on your computer isn't a good idea. There's a reason the designer wants you to serve as a guinea pig: to see how loudly poorly tested features and tweaks will make you squeal. Wait until the others have squealed and it's been properly fixed.
3. People are rarely interested in the totality of another human being. Something, or some things, might at first interest, fascinate, absorb, or attract. Almost always hidden aspects will later counterbalance the first features that were observed and admired. Most relationships and friendships must and should therefore remain superficial. Rarely will one emerge that can survive the plunge into both parties' depths.
4. If you have a mustache, or a beard with a mustache component, it will smell like butter for hours after you've eaten corn on the cob unless you wash it with soapy water.
5. If you learn how to keep the muscles of your lower back fully relaxed at all times (especially when sitting, lifting, or bending over), you'll avoid a lot of down time from excruciating spasms.
6. Many people won't benefit from a second chance for the same reason they didn't benefit from the first one. Giving second chances is a necessary part of living with others, but expect nothing and be pleasantly surprised if the outcome differs from the first time. Be wary of third chances. Don't give fourth chances.
   
7. Always look backward every few seconds when moving down an unfamiliar path. The reverse perspective may well prove invaluable sooner than you think.
8. Very little in politics is to be taken seriously. The part that is actually important is dangerous to ignore. Learn the difference and live accordingly.
9. Tipping outrageously high feels great.
10. Never assume you know what another human being is thinking or what is motivating him or her. Just don't.