Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13252706 times)

I'm a red panda

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20800 on: September 12, 2018, 08:39:17 AM »
My employer has made an app that you can install on your mobile phone. The job offers mobile phones, which are heavily taxed. I have a 4 year old private mobile phone that is now so old, that it doesn't get supported by those apps. Fine for me, I don't need these apps, because I don't want to read work e-mail at home on my phone. But according to one of the managers in my department, I should wish for a new phone for Christmas, so I can install those apps. No way.

The app my employer uses is too large for my phone, even if I delete every single other app on it. I think it is also no longer supported, but it might have been supported last year on the operating system.

So a year ago I told them I'd no longer get email on my phone.  My boss put in for me to get a company issued phone (they used to do that for everyone)- but was told I don't qualify.
So I don't get emails on my phone.  I'm pretty happy with that.

I am willing to receive texts and calls on my personal phone even though I no longer get the BYOD supplement.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20801 on: September 12, 2018, 10:33:00 AM »
I have no cable, no netflix, nothing, just a digital antenna for OTA. I have a 55" TV i bought a few years ago that I turn on about 10 hrs a year. At the time I was using it for xbox, but i do not use that anymore either. Just sits on the shelf and collects dust.

Growing up my family had the TV on all day long. Before I woke up until after I went to sleep. TV in every bedroom. We watched an INSANE amount of TV, hours and hours a day. On top of that I was a serious video game addict for a long time. When I was in college I lived in a house with no TV for a year and it was life changing. A couple years later I was watching the Superbowl with a bunch of people and having so many people in one room staring mindlessly at the TV not communicating with each other for long periods of time really freaked me out. Haven't watched TV since really - the brain washing aspect of it is too much for me. Luckily my wife does not watch TV or movies either.

Finally on a low/no media & no social media lifestyle. I do read the news feed on google, read MMM forums, and BiggerPockets forums daily. Otherwise it is just getting info 2nd hand from people at work.


I just moved 4 miles and went from having 25+ OTA channels to 0!  Sucks big time.  I used to be able to see all of the antennas from my house, now I guess there's a hill in between?  Is there anyway to get reception will hills between antenna & house?  Maybe a better antenna?  My antenna is one of the old style rabbit ears.  Worked fine at my old place.

slugline

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20802 on: September 12, 2018, 10:49:37 AM »
I have no cable, no netflix, nothing, just a digital antenna for OTA. I have a 55" TV i bought a few years ago that I turn on about 10 hrs a year. At the time I was using it for xbox, but i do not use that anymore either. Just sits on the shelf and collects dust.

Growing up my family had the TV on all day long. Before I woke up until after I went to sleep. TV in every bedroom. We watched an INSANE amount of TV, hours and hours a day. On top of that I was a serious video game addict for a long time. When I was in college I lived in a house with no TV for a year and it was life changing. A couple years later I was watching the Superbowl with a bunch of people and having so many people in one room staring mindlessly at the TV not communicating with each other for long periods of time really freaked me out. Haven't watched TV since really - the brain washing aspect of it is too much for me. Luckily my wife does not watch TV or movies either.

Finally on a low/no media & no social media lifestyle. I do read the news feed on google, read MMM forums, and BiggerPockets forums daily. Otherwise it is just getting info 2nd hand from people at work.


I just moved 4 miles and went from having 25+ OTA channels to 0!  Sucks big time.  I used to be able to see all of the antennas from my house, now I guess there's a hill in between?  Is there anyway to get reception will hills between antenna & house?  Maybe a better antenna?  My antenna is one of the old style rabbit ears.  Worked fine at my old place.

In the old analog broadcast days, distance from the tower would introduce progressively fuzzier reception on TVs. In the digital era, there's a "sharp cliff." Reception is crystal clear out to a certain point where it drops out completely. If the problem is not distance (verifiable via a site like antennaweb.org) then look out for obstacles that interfere with electromagnetic line-of-sight -- buildings, metal (window films, radiant barrier), and leafy tree canopies (high water content).

I'm a red panda

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20803 on: September 12, 2018, 11:10:43 AM »
I have no cable, no netflix, nothing, just a digital antenna for OTA. I have a 55" TV i bought a few years ago that I turn on about 10 hrs a year. At the time I was using it for xbox, but i do not use that anymore either. Just sits on the shelf and collects dust.

Growing up my family had the TV on all day long. Before I woke up until after I went to sleep. TV in every bedroom. We watched an INSANE amount of TV, hours and hours a day. On top of that I was a serious video game addict for a long time. When I was in college I lived in a house with no TV for a year and it was life changing. A couple years later I was watching the Superbowl with a bunch of people and having so many people in one room staring mindlessly at the TV not communicating with each other for long periods of time really freaked me out. Haven't watched TV since really - the brain washing aspect of it is too much for me. Luckily my wife does not watch TV or movies either.

Finally on a low/no media & no social media lifestyle. I do read the news feed on google, read MMM forums, and BiggerPockets forums daily. Otherwise it is just getting info 2nd hand from people at work.


I just moved 4 miles and went from having 25+ OTA channels to 0!  Sucks big time.  I used to be able to see all of the antennas from my house, now I guess there's a hill in between?  Is there anyway to get reception will hills between antenna & house?  Maybe a better antenna?  My antenna is one of the old style rabbit ears.  Worked fine at my old place.

Our antenna is about the size of a small car, and we also have an extender. That allows us to get 5 OTA channels.  For a long time we kept it in our basement utility room, and I'd pull it out into the living room for NBC (who carry my favorite sport)- 8 times a year.  Now it is under our deck.


jinga nation

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20804 on: September 12, 2018, 11:51:46 AM »
I have no cable, no netflix, nothing, just a digital antenna for OTA. I have a 55" TV i bought a few years ago that I turn on about 10 hrs a year. At the time I was using it for xbox, but i do not use that anymore either. Just sits on the shelf and collects dust.

Growing up my family had the TV on all day long. Before I woke up until after I went to sleep. TV in every bedroom. We watched an INSANE amount of TV, hours and hours a day. On top of that I was a serious video game addict for a long time. When I was in college I lived in a house with no TV for a year and it was life changing. A couple years later I was watching the Superbowl with a bunch of people and having so many people in one room staring mindlessly at the TV not communicating with each other for long periods of time really freaked me out. Haven't watched TV since really - the brain washing aspect of it is too much for me. Luckily my wife does not watch TV or movies either.

Finally on a low/no media & no social media lifestyle. I do read the news feed on google, read MMM forums, and BiggerPockets forums daily. Otherwise it is just getting info 2nd hand from people at work.


I just moved 4 miles and went from having 25+ OTA channels to 0!  Sucks big time.  I used to be able to see all of the antennas from my house, now I guess there's a hill in between?  Is there anyway to get reception will hills between antenna & house?  Maybe a better antenna?  My antenna is one of the old style rabbit ears.  Worked fine at my old place.

Go to antennaweb.org. Plug in your address, shop for the color-coded antenna type that matches your viewing preferences/TV stations.
SolidSignal.com is a good place to buy antennas. You may need a pre-amp.

I have an outdoor antenna sitting in my attic, strong enough to pick up signals form 25-35 miles away. No pre-amp for me.

markbike528CBX

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20805 on: September 12, 2018, 12:03:27 PM »
Antenna gain(roughly size), height above ground are crucial.

A high gain antenna is directional, so use tvfool.com and do a"signal analysis" to get radar plot to determine pointing directions.

Don't believe the claims that a palm sized device will pull a signal in.  It _might_ help in urban areas.

For one months cable cost , you can buy the biggest antenna winguard sells.

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20806 on: September 12, 2018, 12:08:44 PM »
There's something remarkably obnoxious about hinting that you should spend your own money to make it easier for your employer to reach you outside of working hours. I've just started a new role with my employer that requires that I be reachable when not in the office, but they handed me a phone and a laptop on day one.
I'm old enough to remember this shift.  20 years ago, I worked for a company that had pagers, and in certain positions you were required to have one.

Of course, I didn't have a cell phone, so I often found myself looking for a pay phone near the farmer's market on Saturday morning.  It stressed me out.  I blew up at my husband one day because he wanted to go to a movie with me and I realized - belatedly - the world won't end if I leave the damn thing at home for 3 hours.

I trained the folks when they called me to figure things out for themselves.  Calling me is a last resort.

Then eventually I got a cell phone.  For awhile, the companies that I worked for would, if you requested it, pay $20 a month towards your bill if you were using it for work.  Eventually both companies stopped doing that.

I still, to this day, do not have my work email on my cell phone (and it's gmail, so it would be easy).  Only two of my coworkers (who used to be my bosses) have my cell phone number.  Yes I am a dinosaur.

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20807 on: September 12, 2018, 12:11:10 PM »
I have no cable, no netflix, nothing, just a digital antenna for OTA. I have a 55" TV i bought a few years ago that I turn on about 10 hrs a year. At the time I was using it for xbox, but i do not use that anymore either. Just sits on the shelf and collects dust.

Growing up my family had the TV on all day long. Before I woke up until after I went to sleep. TV in every bedroom. We watched an INSANE amount of TV, hours and hours a day. On top of that I was a serious video game addict for a long time. When I was in college I lived in a house with no TV for a year and it was life changing. A couple years later I was watching the Superbowl with a bunch of people and having so many people in one room staring mindlessly at the TV not communicating with each other for long periods of time really freaked me out. Haven't watched TV since really - the brain washing aspect of it is too much for me. Luckily my wife does not watch TV or movies either.

Finally on a low/no media & no social media lifestyle. I do read the news feed on google, read MMM forums, and BiggerPockets forums daily. Otherwise it is just getting info 2nd hand from people at work.


I just moved 4 miles and went from having 25+ OTA channels to 0!  Sucks big time.  I used to be able to see all of the antennas from my house, now I guess there's a hill in between?  Is there anyway to get reception will hills between antenna & house?  Maybe a better antenna?  My antenna is one of the old style rabbit ears.  Worked fine at my old place.
My house has zero cell reception (we are on the side of a hill), so I still have a land line.
And there is only a single OTA station that we can get here.  So we don't bother.  We have internet.

Imma

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20808 on: September 12, 2018, 12:29:25 PM »
Sorry I disagree here. I doubt MMM watches any TV at all. TV is about as anti MMM as you can get. You sit on your arse slowly getting fatter, being fed your entertainment while your brain cells die horrible painful deaths absorbing commercials or product placements, subconsciously driving you towards paying for more shit that you don't need.

Not saying I don't watch any TV (mostly news and sport), but I recognise that makes me a bit unmustachian.

Coming here saying "I bought a TV and its kosher because I'm consciously deciding to spend money on it" is not MMM. That's simply basic budgeting for your circumstances.

I think MMM once wrote he didn't watch "normal" TV for month and only sometimes uses netflix.

I only watch "normal" (aka private) TV once a week or so, but state ones far more often (documentations). All in all 4 days a week?
Of course I also play computer games, which are an even greater time waste ;)

Yes, it is about concious choices. What is the best for you, not necessarily the cheapest option. And yes, that can even include butt-sitting mindless consuming once in a while.
If nothing else it tells you how f**** **** most people are who do this every day for several hours  "to relax from my stressy job".

What the heck is "normal" TV? Why is Netflix okay to watch, but whatever "normal" TV is isn't? (I've never understood why Netflix seems to get a pass, both as a pay subscription service and as a time-suck of television. It's the same thing as TV.)
You define "normal" tv as private- what does that mean?  What is private TV? Does that mean paid? Isn't netflix private?

We only have access to public channels (CBS, NBC, ABC, a few others)- is that not normal TV?

With my toddler, I rarely watch TV anymore. Our TVs are mostly used to play video games on.  Mostly because I haven't gotten into any shows in years. Maybe I'm just getting old, but it all seems like crap. That includes Netflix- we don't subscribe to it, but occasionally friends login at our house so we see what is available.  I do still have a lot of older DVDs I like to watch, but we don't want it on around our toddler.

As LennStar is from Europe, I assume normal/private TV is commercial TV instead of public.

We have a 40 inch screen now, but we've never had a TV subscription. My s/o is a gamer and we share a Netflix account with a relative (which we pay €6 month for). I think what's on Netflix is different in every country as well, but in my country there's plenty of non-crap on Netflix (although you're right there is plenty of crap on it, that we do not watch). There are lots of good documentaries on Netflix. I always make sure I have something to do while watching, like some hand sewing, darning, or peeling vegetables. I know that makes me sound like an old lady, but it's the truth :)

All public TV shows are available online where I live and there's only one show I always watch - but whenever it suits me, not on a set time every week. Other than that I might watch the (public) documentary channel when I'm not feeling well. I have a chronic illness so I spend a bit more time than others feeling not so sick I want to stay in bed but not well enough to get up and do something.

AMandM

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20809 on: September 13, 2018, 08:34:35 AM »
My employer has made an app that you can install on your mobile phone. The job offers mobile phones, which are heavily taxed. I have a 4 year old private mobile phone that is now so old, that it doesn't get supported by those apps. Fine for me, I don't need these apps, because I don't want to read work e-mail at home on my phone. But according to one of the managers in my department, I should wish for a new phone for Christmas, so I can install those apps. No way.

At my old work, back when people with cell phones were still a minority, the owner kept bugging the director of operations to get one.  He insisted he didn't need it.  She offered to buy him one. He still declined.  "But I can never get ahold of you when you're not at work!"
He just looked at her for a couple of seconds, then answered, "Right."

Cool Friend

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20810 on: September 13, 2018, 09:48:52 AM »
There's something remarkably obnoxious about hinting that you should spend your own money to make it easier for your employer to reach you outside of working hours. I've just started a new role with my employer that requires that I be reachable when not in the office, but they handed me a phone and a laptop on day one.
I'm old enough to remember this shift.  20 years ago, I worked for a company that had pagers, and in certain positions you were required to have one.

Of course, I didn't have a cell phone, so I often found myself looking for a pay phone near the farmer's market on Saturday morning.  It stressed me out.  I blew up at my husband one day because he wanted to go to a movie with me and I realized - belatedly - the world won't end if I leave the damn thing at home for 3 hours.

I trained the folks when they called me to figure things out for themselves.  Calling me is a last resort.

Then eventually I got a cell phone.  For awhile, the companies that I worked for would, if you requested it, pay $20 a month towards your bill if you were using it for work.  Eventually both companies stopped doing that.

I still, to this day, do not have my work email on my cell phone (and it's gmail, so it would be easy).  Only two of my coworkers (who used to be my bosses) have my cell phone number.  Yes I am a dinosaur.

The erosion of the boundary between home/work life is, of course, a symptom of the imbalance of power between capital and labor; the employer wants to squeeze uncompensated value from their employees.  I think the boundary you've set up is healthy and I resist the idea that it's an outdated, dinosaur attitude. I'm young, and I catch a lot of shit at work for not making myself available 24/7.  But I signed a contract when I was hired that says my hours are 9-5.  If they want me to work beyond those hours, they have to compensate me.  My coworkers make themselves available at all times and frown on my refusal to do this, so there's pressure from all sides.

Dianalou

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20811 on: September 13, 2018, 12:36:56 PM »
My employer forced me to take a cell phone from them even though I told them I wouldn't use it past 5:00 pm. They insisted. I used it a few times, mostly when I was working at events and legitimately wanted to check my email. I moved to a different position and never needed the phone again. Tried to give it back, they refused. I told them I haven't used it, it is sitting, battery dead in a drawer. They kept saying keep it, 'just in case.' In sat in a drawer, unused, but being paid for, for over two years. Despite my periodic reminder that I never use it. They finally cancelled it around the 2.5 year mark. This was also during the time period where they said they couldn't find $400 in the budget to get me a standing desk ....

LennStar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20812 on: September 13, 2018, 12:51:28 PM »
My employer forced me to take a cell phone from them even though I told them I wouldn't use it past 5:00 pm. They insisted. I used it a few times, mostly when I was working at events and legitimately wanted to check my email. I moved to a different position and never needed the phone again. Tried to give it back, they refused. I told them I haven't used it, it is sitting, battery dead in a drawer. They kept saying keep it, 'just in case.' In sat in a drawer, unused, but being paid for, for over two years. Despite my periodic reminder that I never use it. They finally cancelled it around the 2.5 year mark. This was also during the time period where they said they couldn't find $400 in the budget to get me a standing desk ....
Budget is the point here.
The phone is a planned expenditure in the budget.
A standing desk???? Is that even something you can put into furniture or is it a machine??

Dianalou

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20813 on: September 13, 2018, 12:55:05 PM »
Quote
Budget is the point here.
The phone is a planned expenditure in the budget.
A standing desk???? Is that even something you can put into furniture or is it a machine??

And I'm sure along the line that was their excuse. If you budget burning $80 a month it doesn't matter, IT WAS IN THE BUDGET.

The standing desk thing is just a platform that sits on top of your existing desk and then has hydraulic lift up and down. It took me three years of asking and doing all the research on my own before they considered it.

ketchup

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20814 on: September 13, 2018, 01:32:19 PM »
Quote
Budget is the point here.
The phone is a planned expenditure in the budget.
A standing desk???? Is that even something you can put into furniture or is it a machine??

And I'm sure along the line that was their excuse. If you budget burning $80 a month it doesn't matter, IT WAS IN THE BUDGET.

The standing desk thing is just a platform that sits on top of your existing desk and then has hydraulic lift up and down. It took me three years of asking and doing all the research on my own before they considered it.
Ah, the classic "spend $1000 of company time to justify a $400 purchase" fun.

Dianalou

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20815 on: September 13, 2018, 01:42:30 PM »
Quote
Budget is the point here.
The phone is a planned expenditure in the budget.
A standing desk???? Is that even something you can put into furniture or is it a machine??

And I'm sure along the line that was their excuse. If you budget burning $80 a month it doesn't matter, IT WAS IN THE BUDGET.

The standing desk thing is just a platform that sits on top of your existing desk and then has hydraulic lift up and down. It took me three years of asking and doing all the research on my own before they considered it.
Ah, the classic "spend $1000 of company time to justify a $400 purchase" fun.

Exactly exactly exactly this.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2018, 04:51:34 PM by Dianalou »

aceyou

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20816 on: September 13, 2018, 04:49:17 PM »
Lunch today:

Coworker #1: Yeah, I had a friend that sold their house and bought a more expensive one every three years.  Great move financially...now they live in a really expensive place!

Coworker #2: Wow, that's a great idea!  Plus, I should do that so I wouldn't have to accumulate so much stuff in the house!

Me: My wife and I accomplish that by just not buying things.

Coworker #2: (Laughing) Yeah, that doesn't seem to work for me:)

Freedomin5

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20817 on: September 14, 2018, 01:02:30 AM »
The previous discussion about budgets reminds me of a story that happened a few years ago.

One of my friends received a grant for a certain amount of money, but instead of just receiving a cheque, she needed to submit receipts of purchased items to receive reimbursement. The grant only specified that it had to be equipment related to the study that she was conducting. Following the completion of the study, she was allowed to keep all of the equipment. She was only able to spend about 50% of her grant, so she asked me to go shopping with her. We went to the local Best Buy and spent a good hour selecting a top of the line laptop, laptop case, external hard drive, USB keys, printer, and a shredder, as she was going to lose her funding (and qualify for less funding the next time around) if she did not use up all the money in the budget.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20818 on: September 14, 2018, 06:01:00 AM »
Quote
Budget is the point here.
The phone is a planned expenditure in the budget.
A standing desk???? Is that even something you can put into furniture or is it a machine??

And I'm sure along the line that was their excuse. If you budget burning $80 a month it doesn't matter, IT WAS IN THE BUDGET.

The standing desk thing is just a platform that sits on top of your existing desk and then has hydraulic lift up and down. It took me three years of asking and doing all the research on my own before they considered it.
Ah, the classic "spend $1000 of company time to justify a $400 purchase" fun.

In the old building, some people who were accepted to need it, got their normal desk rebuilt to make it a flexible sitting/standing desk. You had to be lucky and get a doctor's assignment. Now we are in a new building with new furniture and now we all have desks with flexible height. Hurray. I love to be able to left med desk up in the morning when I'm fresh and to lower it in the afternoon when I get saggy. And of course, stand, when I feel for it.

Kahooli

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20819 on: September 14, 2018, 11:32:30 AM »
In the checkout line at Walmart:
I was in the line longer enough to learn this family's structure. Man is just dating the girl for her section 8 house. Girl has two kids from two different men. Kid one is a toddler, kid two is maybe 4-8 (I dont know what kids look like at what age)

Man to kid 2:
"If ya wanna be a balla, gotta spend them dollas"

Mesmoiselle

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20820 on: September 14, 2018, 03:53:41 PM »
Over the radio at the gym I heard an advertisement:

Ad "it's Terrible to lose a job isn't it?"
My thought: "uh, not really. Probably sucked anyway"
Ad "especially when you know you have bills right around the corner-"
My thought: ".. isn't that what savings and unemployment is for?"
Ad: "now for just $10 a month, you can get the peace of mind you need."
Me: "what the hell? Couldn't they just save that money and more to cover themselves during a gap?"

It's like saving is so impossible that people need to spend money to have someone else save it for them...

Kitsune

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20821 on: September 14, 2018, 04:56:34 PM »
Over the radio at the gym I heard an advertisement:

Ad "it's Terrible to lose a job isn't it?"
My thought: "uh, not really. Probably sucked anyway"
Ad "especially when you know you have bills right around the corner-"
My thought: ".. isn't that what savings and unemployment is for?"
Ad: "now for just $10 a month, you can get the peace of mind you need."
Me: "what the hell? Couldn't they just save that money and more to cover themselves during a gap?"

It's like saving is so impossible that people need to spend money to have someone else save it for them...

... but... they already have the unemployment program to do exactly that? We all pay in a small amount, and it's a safety net if we all need it? Why would you pay extra for another safety net (which I'm assuming doesn't cover all that much at 10$/month...?) The logic, I don't find it.

Kahooli

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20822 on: September 14, 2018, 07:39:40 PM »
Bless your heart.

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20823 on: September 14, 2018, 10:48:29 PM »
In the checkout line at Walmart:
I was in the line longer enough to learn this family's structure. Man is just dating the girl for her section 8 house. Girl has two kids from two different men. Kid one is a toddler, kid two is maybe 4-8 (I dont know what kids look like at what age)

Man to kid 2:
"If ya wanna be a balla, gotta spend them dollas"

Unless the mother of the two children was under the age of 18 herself, she is a woman, not a "girl". It is belittling to infantilize women by calling them children when they are adults.

In this day and age she might have been.

Even if she wasn't, and notwithstanding the fact that it IS kind of infantile to be in a relationship with someone only interested in your accommodations, you're right: it's pretty dergatory and on par wilt calling an African-American man "Boy". I do notice that the equally infantile male adult is referred to as a "man".

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20824 on: September 15, 2018, 08:04:30 AM »
In the checkout line at Walmart:
I was in the line longer enough to learn this family's structure. Man is just dating the girl for her section 8 house. Girl has two kids from two different men. Kid one is a toddler, kid two is maybe 4-8 (I dont know what kids look like at what age)

Man to kid 2:
"If ya wanna be a balla, gotta spend them dollas"

Unless the mother of the two children was under the age of 18 herself, she is a woman, not a "girl". It is belittling to infantilize women by calling them children when they are adults.

In this day and age she might have been.


The perpetually poor parts of the South and Appalachia have been churning out 16 year old parents and 30 YO grandmas well before "this day and age". It's a poverty, education, and opportunity issue, not a generational one.

Nederstash

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20825 on: September 15, 2018, 09:26:46 AM »
In the checkout line at Walmart:
I was in the line longer enough to learn this family's structure. Man is just dating the girl for her section 8 house. Girl has two kids from two different men. Kid one is a toddler, kid two is maybe 4-8 (I dont know what kids look like at what age)

Man to kid 2:
"If ya wanna be a balla, gotta spend them dollas"

Unless the mother of the two children was under the age of 18 herself, she is a woman, not a "girl". It is belittling to infantilize women by calling them children when they are adults.

You must be fun at parties.

Imma

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20826 on: September 15, 2018, 01:37:20 PM »
In the checkout line at Walmart:
I was in the line longer enough to learn this family's structure. Man is just dating the girl for her section 8 house. Girl has two kids from two different men. Kid one is a toddler, kid two is maybe 4-8 (I dont know what kids look like at what age)

Man to kid 2:
"If ya wanna be a balla, gotta spend them dollas"


Unless the mother of the two children was under the age of 18 herself, she is a woman, not a "girl". It is belittling to infantilize women by calling them children when they are adults.

You must be fun at parties.

I can assure you it's so much fun as a woman to be called a girl all the time (meisje, in Dutch) by the men at work that you're trying to educate about tax law - and not because you're a smartass know-it-all like they say you are (oh don't get mad at me, it's just a joke, women don't have a sense of humour) but because that's what you went to university for.

Kyle Schuant

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20827 on: September 15, 2018, 06:39:00 PM »
I can assure you it's so much fun as a woman to be called a girl all the time (meisje, in Dutch) by the men at work that you're trying to educate about tax law - and not because you're a smartass know-it-all like they say you are (oh don't get mad at me, it's just a joke, women don't have a sense of humour) but because that's what you went to university for.
One of my pet hates is that in my fitness profession and strength specialty, the women are referred to as "girls" - indeed by themselves, too. For example, Girls Who Powerlift, a group run by and for women. I joke, "girls don't lift heavy weights, but women do", but we can say the same for many aspects of life, women who've had children or done university degrees or the like, doing difficult things is a mark of passing from childhood to adulthood.

So I don't like it, but there it is. When women themselves - and quite feminist women, at that, since lifting heavy weights is quite literally empowering - are referring to themselves as "girls", you can't blame men too much for assuming it's acceptable.

Megma

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20828 on: September 15, 2018, 07:52:00 PM »
I can assure you it's so much fun as a woman to be called a girl all the time (meisje, in Dutch) by the men at work that you're trying to educate about tax law - and not because you're a smartass know-it-all like they say you are (oh don't get mad at me, it's just a joke, women don't have a sense of humour) but because that's what you went to university for.
One of my pet hates is that in my fitness profession and strength specialty, the women are referred to as "girls" - indeed by themselves, too. For example, Girls Who Powerlift, a group run by and for women. I joke, "girls don't lift heavy weights, but women do", but we can say the same for many aspects of life, women who've had children or done university degrees or the like, doing difficult things is a mark of passing from childhood to adulthood.

So I don't like it, but there it is. When women themselves - and quite feminist women, at that, since lifting heavy weights is quite literally empowering - are referring to themselves as "girls", you can't blame men too much for assuming it's acceptable.

No I think you can. Some women wrongly referring to adult women as girls doesn’t make it ok for men to also do it. It’s a sign of a broader cultural issue.

Also marketing fail, “ladies who lift” has a really nice ring to it.

runbikerun

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20829 on: September 15, 2018, 11:51:18 PM »
So I don't like it, but there it is. When women themselves - and quite feminist women, at that, since lifting heavy weights is quite literally empowering - are referring to themselves as "girls", you can't blame men too much for assuming it's acceptable.

And yet it's reasonably easy for white people to remember that no matter how much they love NWA, they don't get to use the N.

Kyle Schuant

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20830 on: September 16, 2018, 02:42:31 AM »
And there's also a continuing trend of black social leaders telling other black people not to use that word.


White people not using it is simply part of the modern trend that it's alright to actually be racist, sexist and so on, you just can't use rude words.

Silverado

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20831 on: September 16, 2018, 06:14:34 AM »
In the checkout line at Walmart:
I was in the line longer enough to learn this family's structure. Man is just dating the girl for her section 8 house. Girl has two kids from two different men. Kid one is a toddler, kid two is maybe 4-8 (I dont know what kids look like at what age)

Man to kid 2:
"If ya wanna be a balla, gotta spend them dollas"

Unless the mother of the two children was under the age of 18 herself, she is a woman, not a "girl". It is belittling to infantilize women by calling them children when they are adults.

Hey babe, go whine in Off Topic. There's already plenty of traffic in threads there.

[Mod Note: Warning Issued]
« Last Edit: September 16, 2018, 07:09:11 AM by FrugalToque »

Imma

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20832 on: September 16, 2018, 06:43:24 AM »
I can assure you it's so much fun as a woman to be called a girl all the time (meisje, in Dutch) by the men at work that you're trying to educate about tax law - and not because you're a smartass know-it-all like they say you are (oh don't get mad at me, it's just a joke, women don't have a sense of humour) but because that's what you went to university for.
One of my pet hates is that in my fitness profession and strength specialty, the women are referred to as "girls" - indeed by themselves, too. For example, Girls Who Powerlift, a group run by and for women. I joke, "girls don't lift heavy weights, but women do", but we can say the same for many aspects of life, women who've had children or done university degrees or the like, doing difficult things is a mark of passing from childhood to adulthood.

So I don't like it, but there it is. When women themselves - and quite feminist women, at that, since lifting heavy weights is quite literally empowering - are referring to themselves as "girls", you can't blame men too much for assuming it's acceptable.

I think it's stupid when women do it as well, and I correct all women under the age of 75 when they call me a girl (if you're over a certain age, I imagine everyone is a kid to you.

I do notice that women calling each other girls is something they tend to do in their private lives (like 'going out with the girls', 30-year old instagram 'fitgirls' etc) and not so much at work. I still don't like that. I outgrew the word girl like I outgrew my pigtails and my dolls.

I did once ask at work if they'd call a professional man in his late twenties a boy, but they thought it was a strange question.

As a white person, I would not use the N-word, but I do agree with you that it's just a mask of political correctness for most people instead of trying to not be racist. It was really funny when this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG_dA32oH44  song was big a few years ago and all the radio DJ's were trying to find ways to announce the song without offending anyone.

To keep this slightly on topic, Jay-Z's song the Story of OJ might have a lot of rude words, but I think this is the most mustachian rap song I've heard. I don't know any other songs about the magic of compounding interest. 


Apple_Tango

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20833 on: September 16, 2018, 09:36:12 AM »
At work on Friday my team had our monthly meeting and the topic of expense reports came up. Turns out I have a coworker who hasn’t submitted an expense report in 6 months! On one hand, good for them for clearly not living paycheck to paycheck. But on the ther hand, I routinely get $450 back per month from mileage and parking fees. So this guy has about $2700 just waiting for him....think of how much compound interest he’s missing out on (quick calculation says $80,000 would be accumulated in 10 years and $25000 of that is interest).  Plus the longer you go without submitting, the more likely you are to lose a receipt or not recall the trip you forgot to write down. MADNESS!
« Last Edit: September 16, 2018, 09:52:44 AM by Apple_Tango »

onlykelsey

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20834 on: September 16, 2018, 10:26:55 AM »
At work on Friday my team had our monthly meeting and the topic of expense reports came up. Turns out I have a coworker who hasn’t submitted an expense report in 6 months! On one hand, good for them for clearly not living paycheck to paycheck. But on the ther hand, I routinely get $450 back per month from mileage and parking fees. So this guy has about $2700 just waiting for him....think of how much compound interest he’s missing out on (quick calculation says $80,000 would be accumulated in 10 years and $25000 of that is interest).  Plus the longer you go without submitting, the more likely you are to lose a receipt or not recall the trip you forgot to write down. MADNESS!

Oh, man.  I am that guy.  I bet I get reimbursement for probably 50% of what I'm eligible to get reimbursed for.  To be fair, I don't have a traveling role, so it's more "lunches with client" or "cab ride home", but it is a hole in budget this post reminded me to plug.

TomTX

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20835 on: September 16, 2018, 11:56:23 AM »
One thing I don't get at all are big weddings with honeymoons and big gifts and a wedding registry etc. Although I've personally never been to a wedding like that, in our social circle people tend to have really low-key weddings. I only hear other people's horror stories. Half of people get divorced anyway, and sometimes I think that there might be a correlation between big expensive weddings and divorce statistics.

We had a cheap-ass wedding (lots of friends, lots of fun) and still going strong decades later.

OtherJen

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20836 on: September 16, 2018, 12:10:12 PM »
One thing I don't get at all are big weddings with honeymoons and big gifts and a wedding registry etc. Although I've personally never been to a wedding like that, in our social circle people tend to have really low-key weddings. I only hear other people's horror stories. Half of people get divorced anyway, and sometimes I think that there might be a correlation between big expensive weddings and divorce statistics.

We had a cheap-ass wedding (lots of friends, lots of fun) and still going strong decades later.

Sometimes it’s cultural. I have an enormous extended family, and it’s pretty much expected that every wedding, baptism, first communion, high school graduation, etc. will be marked by a giant party to which second and third cousins and everyone above that level will be invited. When husband and I were planning our wedding, I wanted something small: just immediate families, grandmas, and closest friends. My mom and MIL nixed that (“It just isn’t done! What will your aunts think?!”), and husband thought that he might like to have his cousins there. As our parents were offering to pay for it, I got them to compromise on a morning ceremony followed by lunch (much cheaper and saner), spice cake and lemon bars for dessert, and a guest list restricted to no family beyond first cousins (of which I have 28) and some good friends. It was still 160 people.

Oh well. It was pretty, nobody got drunk, the cake was really good, we avoided the garter and bouquet tosses (no DJ), were back in our apartment by 5 pm, and are still married 15 years later. And our moms didn’t have strokes over our perceived gaffes in etiquette.
« Last Edit: September 16, 2018, 01:07:52 PM by OtherJen »

TomTX

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20837 on: September 16, 2018, 12:51:30 PM »

2. The aesthetics of an office is very important, not only to the customers but also to the employees. 
Not a bad selling point imho.

Not that I care about brand-name designers, but yes - office design is critical. Our Fearless Leaders want to move us from our current building with 100% offices (1 to 3 per office, depending on role) to a nearly completely "open" design. Eff that. I need quiet to concentrate. If we need to do "team" things - that's why the managers have larger offices (up to maybe 6 can meet) and conference rooms.

TomTX

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20838 on: September 16, 2018, 01:03:52 PM »

Our antenna is about the size of a small car, and we also have an extender. That allows us to get 5 OTA channels.  For a long time we kept it in our basement utility room, and I'd pull it out into the living room for NBC (who carry my favorite sport)- 8 times a year.  Now it is under our deck.
Why not just put it up in your attic?

Kitsune

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20839 on: September 17, 2018, 07:16:14 AM »
One thing I don't get at all are big weddings with honeymoons and big gifts and a wedding registry etc. Although I've personally never been to a wedding like that, in our social circle people tend to have really low-key weddings. I only hear other people's horror stories. Half of people get divorced anyway, and sometimes I think that there might be a correlation between big expensive weddings and divorce statistics.

We had a cheap-ass wedding (lots of friends, lots of fun) and still going strong decades later.

Sometimes it’s cultural. I have an enormous extended family, and it’s pretty much expected that every wedding, baptism, first communion, high school graduation, etc....

This. I was all like 'city hall, vacation, yay?' and my husband was like '... but family? Wedding?' so we had a wedding. 130 people. Sigh. Legitimately fun, and overall I'm glad we did it (though I will never spend that much on a party ever again, honestly), it was a great country wedding, good food, open bar, great location, and we spent under 4K. We could have saved half of that by cutting down on the number of guests/eloping, but in the end, these are people who live in the same village where we settled, who we see regularly and count on in a variety of ways. Saving 2K that we had (key point!!) by sacrificing community ties would have been cheap, not frugal. (Spending 30K would have been ludicrous, mind. There's a balance!!)

I'm a red panda

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20840 on: September 17, 2018, 07:24:07 AM »

Our antenna is about the size of a small car, and we also have an extender. That allows us to get 5 OTA channels.  For a long time we kept it in our basement utility room, and I'd pull it out into the living room for NBC (who carry my favorite sport)- 8 times a year.  Now it is under our deck.
Why not just put it up in your attic?

The way our attic is insulated, it isn't really designed to have stuff in it. We wouldn't have easy access to adjust it when necessary.
 It works really well under the deck.

jinga nation

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20841 on: September 17, 2018, 02:50:15 PM »

Our antenna is about the size of a small car, and we also have an extender. That allows us to get 5 OTA channels.  For a long time we kept it in our basement utility room, and I'd pull it out into the living room for NBC (who carry my favorite sport)- 8 times a year.  Now it is under our deck.
Why not just put it up in your attic?

The way our attic is insulated, it isn't really designed to have stuff in it. We wouldn't have easy access to adjust it when necessary.
 It works really well under the deck.

You must have a high deck or be at an elevation.
Attic adjustments? I haven't done any after I set mine up in 2010. A few minutes of work and years of free OTA PBS broadcasts. So Much Winning!

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20842 on: September 18, 2018, 08:04:49 AM »
In the checkout line at Walmart:
I was in the line longer enough to learn this family's structure. Man is just dating the girl for her section 8 house. Girl has two kids from two different men. Kid one is a toddler, kid two is maybe 4-8 (I dont know what kids look like at what age)

Man to kid 2:
"If ya wanna be a balla, gotta spend them dollas"

Unless the mother of the two children was under the age of 18 herself, she is a woman, not a "girl". It is belittling to infantilize women by calling them children when they are adults.

In this day and age she might have been.


The perpetually poor parts of the South and Appalachia have been churning out 16 year old parents and 30 YO grandmas well before "this day and age". It's a poverty, education, and opportunity issue, not a generational one.

So have the cities all across the country. Its not regionally unique.

onlykelsey

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20843 on: September 18, 2018, 08:14:14 AM »
The perpetually poor parts of the South and Appalachia have been churning out 16 year old parents and 30 YO grandmas well before "this day and age". It's a poverty, education, and opportunity issue, not a generational one.

So have the cities all across the country. Its not regionally unique.

You're right it's not unique, but it is a HELL of a lot more common in certain regions.  https://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-development/reproductive-health-and-teen-pregnancy/teen-pregnancy-and-childbearing/trends/index.html  33 per 1000 births are to 15-19 year olds in Oklahoma, for example, versus 8 in Massachusetts.  That is a huge differential. 

I'm a red panda

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20844 on: September 18, 2018, 09:10:06 AM »

Our antenna is about the size of a small car, and we also have an extender. That allows us to get 5 OTA channels.  For a long time we kept it in our basement utility room, and I'd pull it out into the living room for NBC (who carry my favorite sport)- 8 times a year.  Now it is under our deck.
Why not just put it up in your attic?

The way our attic is insulated, it isn't really designed to have stuff in it. We wouldn't have easy access to adjust it when necessary.
 It works really well under the deck.

You must have a high deck or be at an elevation.
Attic adjustments? I haven't done any after I set mine up in 2010. A few minutes of work and years of free OTA PBS broadcasts. So Much Winning!

It's a 2nd story deck- over a walkout.
Our broadcast stations come from quite a distance. We usually have to make an adjustment in the summer and winter.

FIRE@50

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20845 on: September 18, 2018, 09:26:12 AM »
CW: "We are all only a couple paychecks away from being homeless."

Everyone in the room makes over $80k/year. No one questioned the statement.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20846 on: September 18, 2018, 09:39:46 AM »
CW: "We are all only a couple paychecks away from being homeless."

Everyone in the room makes over $80k/year. No one questioned the statement.

Well, it might be a true statement.

oldladystache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20847 on: September 18, 2018, 10:17:51 AM »
CW: "We are all only a couple paychecks away from being homeless."

Everyone in the room makes over $80k/year. No one questioned the statement.
You didn't question it?  No one else did for the same reason.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20848 on: September 18, 2018, 11:43:15 AM »
CW: "We are all only a couple paychecks away from being homeless."

Everyone in the room makes over $80k/year. No one questioned the statement.
You didn't question it?  No one else did for the same reason.

Say something to CW privately.  Keep your mouth shut about finances in a room full of coworkers

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #20849 on: September 18, 2018, 12:11:02 PM »
CW: "We are all only a couple paychecks away from being homeless."

Everyone in the room makes over $80k/year. No one questioned the statement.
You didn't question it?  No one else did for the same reason.

Say something to CW privately.  Keep your mouth shut about finances in a room full of coworkers

It may depend on the company and its culture, but I've never found it unsafe to say something about "it depends on your priorities, I suppose, but I wouldn't want to live that way because it sounds stressful.

I mean, *homelessness*? Unless the group is predominately early-career, low-asset, student-loan-burdened people in their 20s, or people who are recovering from horrific setbacks, being that close to homelessness is a sign of extremely bad planning and spending decisions.

Nobody on this forum really foresees a day when our level of frugality becomes mainstream, however I don't see anything wrong with suggesting that living on the financial edge is really messed up.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!