Google Books claims 17,300 instances of it’s not as if I had and 11,700 of it’s not as if I have, which I think suggests that the short answer for OP is “both tenses are fairly common” in such constructions. Read why?

I have money and today I am a rich man. Some native speakers use the verb form ” I was born” instead of “are you born” when having money and even if I was rich I

still wouldn’t help In practice many native speakers today

would use ” was instead of were there”, but in neither case is there any suggest of past. Also note this example……my throat

feels swollen as if I had cancer in it; my guts feel as if I had cancer in them too.

Where clearly the speaker/writer is talking about an “unreal” situation now here, not in the past.

In practice, most native speakers probably would use present tense in OP’s specific example, if only to reflect the preceding I don’t want to help. Is it wrong to use the subjunctive (?)? (i.e in this case it looks just like the past “tense” anyway.

Google Books claims 17,300 instances of it’s not as if I had and 11,700 of it’s not as if I have, which I think suggests that the short answer for OP is “both tenses are fairly common” in such constructions. Read why?

I have money and today I am a rich man. Some native speakers use the verb form ” I was born” instead of “are you born” when having money and even if I was rich I

still wouldn’t help In practice many native speakers today

would use ” was instead of were there”, but in neither case is there any suggest of past. Also note this example……my throat

feels swollen as if I had cancer in it; my guts feel as if I had cancer in them too.

Where clearly the speaker/writer is talking about an “unreal” situation now here, not in the past.

In practice, most native speakers probably would use present tense in OP’s specific example, if only to reflect the preceding I don’t want to help. Is it wrong to use the subjunctive (?)? (i.e in this case it looks just like the past “tense” anyway.

Google Books claims 17,300 instances of it’s not as if I had and 11,700 of it’s not as if I have, which I think suggests that the short answer for OP is “both tenses are fairly common” in such constructions. Read why?

I have money and today I am a rich man. Some native speakers use the verb form ” I was born” instead of “are you born” when having money and even if I was rich I

still wouldn’t help In practice many native speakers today

would use ” was instead of were there”, but in neither case is there any suggest of past. Also note this example……my throat

feels swollen as if I had cancer in it; my guts feel as if I had cancer in them too.

Where clearly the speaker/writer is talking about an “unreal” situation now here, not in the past.

In practice, most native speakers probably would use present tense in OP’s specific example, if only to reflect the preceding I don’t want to help. Is it wrong to use the subjunctive (?)? (i.e in this case it looks just like the past “tense” anyway.

Google Books claims 17,300 instances of it’s not as if I had and 11,700 of it’s not as if I have, which I think suggests that the short answer for OP is “both tenses are fairly common” in such constructions. Read why?

I have money and today I am a rich man. Some native speakers use the verb form ” I was born” instead of “are you born” when having money and even if I was rich I

still wouldn’t help In practice many native speakers today

would use ” was instead of were there”, but in neither case is there any suggest of past. Also note this example……my throat

feels swollen as if I had cancer in it; my guts feel as if I had cancer in them too.

Where clearly the speaker/writer is talking about an “unreal” situation now here, not in the past.

In practice, most native speakers probably would use present tense in OP’s specific example, if only to reflect the preceding I don’t want to help. Is it wrong to use the subjunctive (?)? (i.e in this case it looks just like the past “tense” anyway.

What do I get when someone else orders another round of toast or the usual beer? In such constructions, for approximately corresponds to is in favour of (or wants which might not always mean exactly the same thing).

Who’s up for another beer? What is the correct usage of “straw poll”? What is it like if the bar they’re at is about to close, and the speaker is calling for a “collective decision” because they’d need to move to an all night bar if they want to continue drinking?

What isn’t to say that OP’s cited version is “incorrect”, but it’s just less common. As opposed to being up for something, for is very much an informal usage, and for is very much an interesting form for was for something. to me the plain form to be for something has significant formal connotations (in

a debate say, We are for the motion, and they are against it).

If you don’t want people to know about these desires (especially if they worry you), that’s because you’re ashamed of and tormented by them. In which case they’re your…

demons
a persistently tormenting person, force, or passion
a person, habit, obsessive, etc. , thought of as evil, cruel, or persistently tortured.,

thought of as evil, cruel, or persistently tortured.

If you don’t want people to know about these desires (especially if they worry you), that’s because you’re ashamed of and tormented by them. In which case they’re your…

demons
a persistently tormenting person, force, or passion
a person, habit, obsessive, etc. , thought of as evil, cruel, or persistently tortured.,

thought of as evil, cruel, or persistently tortured.

If you don’t want people to know about these desires (especially if they worry you), that’s because you’re ashamed of and tormented by them. In which case they’re your…

demons
a persistently tormenting person, force, or passion
a person, habit, obsessive, etc. , thought of as evil, cruel, or persistently tortured.,

thought of as evil, cruel, or persistently tortured.

How do I catch a nethead – an enthusiastic/obsessive user of the Internet*?

I do recognise the alternative netizen, but for me at least that implies much about a person’s attitudes to, and active participation in, the emerging global society embodied in the Internet.

My 87-year-old mother, for example, is online for many hours every day playing “solo” online games. She almost never uses the Net for interactive communication in any form (maybe 3 emails a year), so whilst I would call her a nethead, I would not call her a netizen.

How do I catch a nethead – an enthusiastic/obsessive user of the Internet*?

I do recognise the alternative netizen, but for me at least that implies much about a person’s attitudes to, and active participation in, the emerging global society embodied in the Internet.

My 87-year-old mother, for example, is online for many hours every day playing “solo” online games. She almost never uses the Net for interactive communication in any form (maybe 3 emails a year), so whilst I would call her a nethead, I would not call her a netizen.