Author Topic: Overheard at Work 2  (Read 1112864 times)

LennStar

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1250 on: August 16, 2019, 09:45:24 AM »
This thread digresses a lot! Make your kids walk to school in oncoming traffic, take them, make them ride this bus, do what you need to do.

Let's just get the damn kids to school and talk about stupid people we work with!

Okay, here's another one:

So my boss mentioned that when he got married (for the second time), they spent over $20,000, but 'It's not *that bad* when you think about how much money other people spend on weddings.'

Uhh, okay, what? I think it is pretty bad. I don't really know if rationalizing a cost based off other people's budgets is a good thing either.

Depends on how many people there are. When my grandmother had her 75th birthday, there were more people than years - and only (extended) family. The party alone was nearly 6K I think, what with renting a big room, paying a buffet etc.
If you also pay for 100 people's hotel, for 2 or 3 nights, you might end up with 20K without trying.

fattest_foot

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1251 on: August 16, 2019, 09:50:44 AM »
Unfortunately no. The PreK-1 school doesn't allow kids to ride their bikes to school (unless a parent rides with them) as it has been a safety concern. The 2-5 school is 1.4 miles from our home, crosses the 3 busiest streets in town, and the most direct paths go through/around a college campus which makes for more distracted drivers overall and a ton of street parking which limits viability. Several of the kids that live on the south side of town do ride their bikes to the 2-5 school as they don't have to cross all the busy roads. Our town is also sprawling quite a bit with more new building on the far north, far west, and far east parts of town. We used to drop the kids off but each school has separate drop off times due to playground staffing. The hardest part was trying to pick them up on early dismissal days when all schools dismiss at the same time and one vehicle obviously could not be in different parts of town at the same time. Busing the kids has been a tremendous help for us with scheduling but it does come at a cost.

This is just crazy to me. I used to walk home from elementary school. I had to cross a 6 lane road (it had a crosswalk).

It's no wonder everyone is so helpless nowadays. We put the kid gloves on until they're in their mid-20's and expect them to be well adapted.

Kris

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1252 on: August 16, 2019, 10:22:09 AM »
It's something I've never understood - folks that don't "have time" to make coffee at home, so they stop on their way to work to pick it up.   Two minutes tops to set up the coffee maker the night before (programmable ones can be had for $20), pour the coffee in the morning....even adding in washing the coffee pot and travel mug, it still has to be faster than going through the drive thru for coffee.....If if it cost the same (and we know if doesn't), making the coffee at home seems SO much easier and faster.  Plus I know I washed my hands (bit of a germaphobe)

Right? I'm wondering now how much my being an introvert has contributed to my frugality. For me, the process of driving to a place and waiting in line/in the drive-thru, having a superficial interaction with a total stranger, standing around with a bunch of other strangers, etc. is WAY less appealing to me than just making my own coffee.

I do on occasion go to a coffee shop, but on those rare occasions, I do it because I work from home and sometimes I just need to get out of the house and work somewhere else. In those instances, a $3 coffee drink is an acceptable amount to pay to "rent" a table for a while and have a slightly fancier hot beverage. (Not at Starbucks, though. Their coffee always tastes burnt, and the people who go there are loud and obnoxious in my experience.)

bluebelle

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1253 on: August 16, 2019, 10:52:28 AM »
Dude I work with is refinancing his home to roll outstanding debts he has into his mortgage. Don't know the specifics of how this works as I am an ignorant renter. We briefly talked about it and he was ho hum about his debt and knew that it was a problem he was doing this.

Cut to lunch time -
I don't have lunch this day and decide to use it on my 1x weekly lunch outing with this same guy. During lunch he says yeah, I could cut my lunch habit and save $350 a month but I don't want to... He does eat lunch out every single day and I know he eats out a lot outside of lunches.

I want to feel bad for the guy, but this is knowingly self-destructive behavior. I would shudder to see their monthly spend and how much is seeping out daily between him and his wife.
it is hard to feel sorry for someone that knows they're wasting $350/mth because he "doesn't want to".....I can see that brick wall coming up fast, but I don't want to take my foot off the gas.....

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1254 on: August 16, 2019, 11:11:02 AM »
I remember my wife's friend spending $20k on just the wedding dress. A Vera Wang dress.

My wife spent around $250 for her dress. I think I married the right one :)

You sure did. 20k is a lot. Nosy me now wants to know if her friend really could 'afford' that!

Recent conversation with coworker...

Coworker: I’m ordering Starbucks. Would you like me to get you something?
Me: No thanks. I’m good.
Coworker: You don’t drink coffee?
Me: I do, but I prefer cold brew made from Cambodian beans.
Coworker: That’s delicious!
Me: Yup, and so easy to make! I make my coffee at home and drink it before I get to work.
Coworker: Oh, that’s so much work. I’m going to order on the Starbucks app and get them to deliver it to the office.

The local Starbucks knows coworker’s order by heart since they go in every morning for a coffee.

I, on the other hand, soak ground coffee in cold water in the fridge overnight, and the next morning, I have a lovely non-bitter, mellow, cold brew coffee. I bought a metal washable Thai coffee filter to strain the grounds. No coffee maker necessary.

People always want everything to be so convenient. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that line when I am getting out the fruity arils from a pomegranate at the office kitchen sink. Never fails to illicit a slew of unsolicited commentary. Yeah, it's a few minutes of 'work' but it's worth it.  I wonder if your coworker ever even tried making coffee at home because it's really quite easy.

Boss makes a dollar while I make a dime

That’s why I remove fruity arils from pomegranates on company time!

bluebelle

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1255 on: August 16, 2019, 11:23:25 AM »
People always want everything to be so convenient. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that line when I am getting out the fruity arils from a pomegranate at the office kitchen sink. Never fails to illicit a slew of unsolicited commentary. Yeah, it's a few minutes of 'work' but it's worth it.  I wonder if your coworker ever even tried making coffee at home because it's really quite easy.
I want things to be convenient too.....and the older I get, the more 'convenient' I find it to cook at home than go out to a restaurant or pick up take out.  The more 'convenient' I find it to pack a cooler with drinks and snacks when we go on a road trip compared to finding something somewhere on the road.

honeybbq

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1256 on: August 16, 2019, 11:58:00 AM »


Boss makes a dollar while I make a dime

That’s why I remove fruity arils from pomegranates on company time!

I love your haiku. <3

honeybbq

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1257 on: August 16, 2019, 11:59:51 AM »
People always want everything to be so convenient. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that line when I am getting out the fruity arils from a pomegranate at the office kitchen sink. Never fails to illicit a slew of unsolicited commentary. Yeah, it's a few minutes of 'work' but it's worth it.  I wonder if your coworker ever even tried making coffee at home because it's really quite easy.
I want things to be convenient too.....and the older I get, the more 'convenient' I find it to cook at home than go out to a restaurant or pick up take out.  The more 'convenient' I find it to pack a cooler with drinks and snacks when we go on a road trip compared to finding something somewhere on the road.

Right? I have friends who go out to eat with their kids almost every night. In Seattle, there are 30 minute waits every night of the week and 60+ on the weekends. I can't imagine sitting around in some loud lobby waiting to be seated for an hour, waiting for someone to take my order, cook it, etc. I can make something way faster and easier in 30 minutes, and multi-task, spend time with my kid, run a load of laundry, play with the dogs, etc.  So much more convenient just to stay home.

imadandylion

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1258 on: August 16, 2019, 12:50:03 PM »

Boss makes a dollar while I make a dime

That’s why I remove fruity arils from pomegranates on company time!

I've found my new standard response for next time I'm having a pomegranate at work.

I want things to be convenient too.....and the older I get, the more 'convenient' I find it to cook at home than go out to a restaurant or pick up take out.  The more 'convenient' I find it to pack a cooler with drinks and snacks when we go on a road trip compared to finding something somewhere on the road.

Yep, I'm with you. People always fail to understand the time component involved in eating out and being waited on. I think what they really want is not to have to manually go through the 'effort' of dishes, clean up, etc. But most people also have dishwashing machines, so they need to start practicing that thing where they say something isn't a priority instead of saying they don't have time for it.

I've also heard an argument from a coworker that they go out to eat because they "can't make it at home." I find that hard to believe that in this 'information age' where recipes are basically free with a simple internet search that they cannot figure out how to do something, lol.

Raenia

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1259 on: August 16, 2019, 01:09:27 PM »
I've also heard an argument from a coworker that they go out to eat because they "can't make it at home." I find that hard to believe that in this 'information age' where recipes are basically free with a simple internet search that they cannot figure out how to do something, lol.

To be fair, there are a lot of things that are difficult to make at home.  I've tried to make spring rolls, and egg drop soup, but they just don't come out like restaurant food.  I make my own pizza every week, but you just can't replicate the effect of a real brick oven at 800F with a 400F home oven.  I can't make sushi rice with that perfect sticky texture.  My bagels never get that smooth shiny crust, and donuts just aren't the same if they aren't deep fat fried.

The difference being, of course, that I've tried to make those things, and learned that I don't have the tools or techniques to do it well.  I've decided it's cheaper to buy the occasional donut, rather than buying and storing a deep fat fryer that would be used 2-3 times a year.  I still make pizza and bagels, and just accept that they'll never be as good as commercial - and occasionally, we'll have a craving for really good pizza, and go out for it.  But that makes it a special occasion when we do go, just a few times a year.

Now, if they're saying they can't make a burger or Olive Garden pasta, that's just laziness.

OtherJen

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1260 on: August 16, 2019, 01:29:40 PM »

Boss makes a dollar while I make a dime

That’s why I remove fruity arils from pomegranates on company time!

I've found my new standard response for next time I'm having a pomegranate at work.

I want things to be convenient too.....and the older I get, the more 'convenient' I find it to cook at home than go out to a restaurant or pick up take out.  The more 'convenient' I find it to pack a cooler with drinks and snacks when we go on a road trip compared to finding something somewhere on the road.

Yep, I'm with you. People always fail to understand the time component involved in eating out and being waited on. I think what they really want is not to have to manually go through the 'effort' of dishes, clean up, etc. But most people also have dishwashing machines, so they need to start practicing that thing where they say something isn't a priority instead of saying they don't have time for it.

I've also heard an argument from a coworker that they go out to eat because they "can't make it at home." I find that hard to believe that in this 'information age' where recipes are basically free with a simple internet search that they cannot figure out how to do something, lol.

I will go out to eat if it's something that I genuinely cannot make as well or as cost-effectively at home. That's pretty much limited to sushi and authentic shawarma. I'm happy to support our good, locally owned restaurants a few times a year for those meals.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1261 on: August 16, 2019, 02:09:35 PM »
I've also heard an argument from a coworker that they go out to eat because they "can't make it at home." I find that hard to believe that in this 'information age' where recipes are basically free with a simple internet search that they cannot figure out how to do something, lol.

To be fair, there are a lot of things that are difficult to make at home.  I've tried to make spring rolls, and egg drop soup, but they just don't come out like restaurant food.  I make my own pizza every week, but you just can't replicate the effect of a real brick oven at 800F with a 400F home oven.  I can't make sushi rice with that perfect sticky texture.  My bagels never get that smooth shiny crust, and donuts just aren't the same if they aren't deep fat fried.

The difference being, of course, that I've tried to make those things, and learned that I don't have the tools or techniques to do it well.  I've decided it's cheaper to buy the occasional donut, rather than buying and storing a deep fat fryer that would be used 2-3 times a year.  I still make pizza and bagels, and just accept that they'll never be as good as commercial - and occasionally, we'll have a craving for really good pizza, and go out for it.  But that makes it a special occasion when we do go, just a few times a year.

Now, if they're saying they can't make a burger or Olive Garden pasta, that's just laziness.

While there are plenty of things that are a pain to make at home, egg drop soup is not one of them IMO.  I think you just need a good recipe if its lacking the flavor you seek.  I do one with chicken bouillon, soy sauce, chives (freeze dried or fresh), and sesame oil.  Bring to boil, Pour in the beaten egg slowly while stirring.  Maybe I’m missing something but it works for me.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1262 on: August 16, 2019, 02:12:15 PM »
I love me a good Indian buffet. I can make most of those dishes, but at a buffet I can get a little bit of everything.  Plus it’s really fast... no waiting.  Price is usually ok at lunch, even if it’s 5 times the cost of making at home it’s still fun to go out occasionally

bluebelle

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1263 on: August 16, 2019, 02:33:46 PM »
I love me a good Indian buffet. I can make most of those dishes, but at a buffet I can get a little bit of everything.  Plus it’s really fast... no waiting.  Price is usually ok at lunch, even if it’s 5 times the cost of making at home it’s still fun to go out occasionally
I've heard that even folks of Indian decent go to Indian buffets, that alot of the foods on the menu are just too complicated or time consuming to make at home.   

imadandylion

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1264 on: August 16, 2019, 02:44:42 PM »
I will go out to eat if it's something that I genuinely cannot make as well or as cost-effectively at home. That's pretty much limited to sushi and authentic shawarma. I'm happy to support our good, locally owned restaurants a few times a year for those meals.

I like to think I'm pretty good at cooking and it's a hobby, so I feel like it's that much of a trouble to me.

partgypsy

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1265 on: August 16, 2019, 02:55:46 PM »
Another bonus of eating in, or preparing at home, is limiting the paper, styrofoam etc packaging used in take out. I enjoy eating out, take out but the amount of waste bugs me (especially when they throw tons of those condiment packets into the bag without asking! my pet peeve).

OtherJen

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1266 on: August 16, 2019, 03:23:11 PM »
I will go out to eat if it's something that I genuinely cannot make as well or as cost-effectively at home. That's pretty much limited to sushi and authentic shawarma. I'm happy to support our good, locally owned restaurants a few times a year for those meals.

I like to think I'm pretty good at cooking and it's a hobby, so I feel like it's that much of a trouble to me.

Oh yeah, if we’re going there, I cook almost all meals from scratch. It’s a major hobby. Given the time (and lack of excessive heat as we don’t have central AC), I prefer to make fresh tortillas from masa, cook dried beans, braise my own pot roasts and carnitas, make marinara sauce in large batches from fresh Roma tomatoes, make my own curry blends, etc. Husband has a carbon steel wok and propane burner and makes all of our Asian stir-fries at home. It’s all good. I spent years learning how to bake gluten-free cakes and cookies that are largely indistinguishable from their wheat-filled counterparts. And thanks for reminding me that this is a good time to stock up on eggplant for homemade baba ganoush.

Still, I don’t have a good source of sushi-grade fish, nor am I willing to install the appropriate rotisserie/spit for proper shawarma since my house is only 950 sq. ft. My area also has a huge Middle Eastern population, so I’m happy to leave the shawarma to the experts with professional kitchens every 3 months or so.

BFive55

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1267 on: August 16, 2019, 06:18:54 PM »
Not overheard but seen.

I make the same as another guy. I'm pretty certain he leases cars. He leased an expensive German luxury car and a few weeks ago came to work in a different luxury car. I don't know his home situation and how much his wife makes, but if it was just him I don't see how he affords the car. Since we both work for the government he has mandatory pension contributions, so at least that's good... but still, I just don't see how he can afford it. The lease payments have got to be like $500/month if not slightly more... it is a very nice car.

AnnaGrowsAMustache

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1268 on: August 16, 2019, 06:44:44 PM »
I love me a good Indian buffet. I can make most of those dishes, but at a buffet I can get a little bit of everything.  Plus it’s really fast... no waiting.  Price is usually ok at lunch, even if it’s 5 times the cost of making at home it’s still fun to go out occasionally
I've heard that even folks of Indian decent go to Indian buffets, that alot of the foods on the menu are just too complicated or time consuming to make at home.

A lot of the food you get in Indian restaurants is nowhere near an ordinary Indian meal. It's festival and wedding food, or some bastardised version of that. Dhal makhani and roti, or some vegetable dishes are Indian staples. Moderately spiced, simple and quite often vegan.

Imma

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1269 on: August 17, 2019, 04:06:29 AM »
Unfortunately no. The PreK-1 school doesn't allow kids to ride their bikes to school (unless a parent rides with them) as it has been a safety concern. The 2-5 school is 1.4 miles from our home, crosses the 3 busiest streets in town, and the most direct paths go through/around a college campus which makes for more distracted drivers overall and a ton of street parking which limits viability. Several of the kids that live on the south side of town do ride their bikes to the 2-5 school as they don't have to cross all the busy roads. Our town is also sprawling quite a bit with more new building on the far north, far west, and far east parts of town. We used to drop the kids off but each school has separate drop off times due to playground staffing. The hardest part was trying to pick them up on early dismissal days when all schools dismiss at the same time and one vehicle obviously could not be in different parts of town at the same time. Busing the kids has been a tremendous help for us with scheduling but it does come at a cost.

This is just crazy to me. I used to walk home from elementary school. I had to cross a 6 lane road (it had a crosswalk).

It's no wonder everyone is so helpless nowadays. We put the kid gloves on until they're in their mid-20's and expect them to be well adapted.

I knew you Americans were crazy about cars but this kind of shocked me.

In my primary school, it was completely the other way round. Due to limited space in the vicinity of my primary school, parents were advised to only bring your kids to school by car if you lived more than 5km away from school and only let them bike if you lived more than 1km away. If you were closer you were supposed to walk. (I lived around 2km away so I could cycle to school)

And most kids walked and without parental supervision, not usually alone but with siblings or neighbourhood kids, the older ones looking after the younger ones. At dangerous crossings there were lollipop ladies. I live near a primary school now and while I see more kids dropped off by car, a lot of kids still walk to school.

Freedomin5

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1270 on: August 17, 2019, 05:36:47 AM »
Does cold brewed coffee have a different taste than cold coffee? 

Tastes exactly the same to me, but without the bitterness. But then I’m not a coffee connoisseur. The differences in taste comes from the beans used. The Cambodian ones I like kind of taste like chocolate.

And back on topic...

There is a furniture store two bus stops (20 min walk) away from where we live. Most expats here don’t have cars and don’t really know their way around town. So instead of mapping it and using GPS, the savvier ones will call a taxi for the five minute ride to the store. Or they will ask their company to provide a driver and van to drive them there, wait for them to shop, and then drive them home. The drivers charge on a per hour basis. I can’t remember the exact cost, but it was almost $200 for the day. Just to go window shopping at the mall.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1271 on: August 17, 2019, 08:13:27 AM »
I will go out to eat if it's something that I genuinely cannot make as well or as cost-effectively at home. That's pretty much limited to sushi and authentic shawarma. I'm happy to support our good, locally owned restaurants a few times a year for those meals.

I like to think I'm pretty good at cooking and it's a hobby, so I feel like it's that much of a trouble to me.

Oh yeah, if we’re going there, I cook almost all meals from scratch. It’s a major hobby. Given the time (and lack of excessive heat as we don’t have central AC), I prefer to make fresh tortillas from masa, cook dried beans, braise my own pot roasts and carnitas, make marinara sauce in large batches from fresh Roma tomatoes, make my own curry blends, etc. Husband has a carbon steel wok and propane burner and makes all of our Asian stir-fries at home. It’s all good. I spent years learning how to bake gluten-free cakes and cookies that are largely indistinguishable from their wheat-filled counterparts. And thanks for reminding me that this is a good time to stock up on eggplant for homemade baba ganoush.

Still, I don’t have a good source of sushi-grade fish, nor am I willing to install the appropriate rotisserie/spit for proper shawarma since my house is only 950 sq. ft. My area also has a huge Middle Eastern population, so I’m happy to leave the shawarma to the experts with professional kitchens every 3 months or so.

Do you know for sure that your sushi provider has a good source of sushi grade fish? My DH sometimes catches fresh fish and I rather eat that as sushi than buying from a sushi store. But I'm generally sceptic. I guess you can rely on a sushi place's reputation.

Sugaree

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1272 on: August 17, 2019, 09:51:32 AM »
People always want everything to be so convenient. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that line when I am getting out the fruity arils from a pomegranate at the office kitchen sink. Never fails to illicit a slew of unsolicited commentary. Yeah, it's a few minutes of 'work' but it's worth it.  I wonder if your coworker ever even tried making coffee at home because it's really quite easy.
I want things to be convenient too.....and the older I get, the more 'convenient' I find it to cook at home than go out to a restaurant or pick up take out.  The more 'convenient' I find it to pack a cooler with drinks and snacks when we go on a road trip compared to finding something somewhere on the road.

Exactly.   You know what's convenient?  Going into the office and having the coffee already brewing.  Or, on the weekends, rolling over and telling Alexa to make coffee.  Yeah, I have to set it up and clean it out, but how hard is that, really?

imadandylion

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1273 on: August 17, 2019, 11:21:44 AM »
I will go out to eat if it's something that I genuinely cannot make as well or as cost-effectively at home. That's pretty much limited to sushi and authentic shawarma. I'm happy to support our good, locally owned restaurants a few times a year for those meals.

I like to think I'm pretty good at cooking and it's a hobby, so I feel like it's that much of a trouble to me.

Oh yeah, if we’re going there, I cook almost all meals from scratch. It’s a major hobby. Given the time (and lack of excessive heat as we don’t have central AC), I prefer to make fresh tortillas from masa, cook dried beans, braise my own pot roasts and carnitas, make marinara sauce in large batches from fresh Roma tomatoes, make my own curry blends, etc. Husband has a carbon steel wok and propane burner and makes all of our Asian stir-fries at home. It’s all good. I spent years learning how to bake gluten-free cakes and cookies that are largely indistinguishable from their wheat-filled counterparts. And thanks for reminding me that this is a good time to stock up on eggplant for homemade baba ganoush.

Still, I don’t have a good source of sushi-grade fish, nor am I willing to install the appropriate rotisserie/spit for proper shawarma since my house is only 950 sq. ft. My area also has a huge Middle Eastern population, so I’m happy to leave the shawarma to the experts with professional kitchens every 3 months or so.

I feel a Mustachian dinner party coming on.

OutToLunch

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1274 on: August 17, 2019, 02:05:17 PM »
Graduate engineer at work (been working full-time about 6 months) has just bought a brand new Audi S4. Circa $72k here in Oz. Expensive move for someone that best case would be on $75-80k. I think he still lives at home with his parents so that's something.

There's more though. He's a graduate at a mining company.  Meaning they get rotated through several roles to give them exposure to different departments, sites etc. Having been placed in head office for this rotation, he will be in a site role for at least one, probably both of his two remaining (8 month ish) rotations. Which means living in a sharehouse in the middle of nowhere with one sealed road in & out of town. Sharehouse is generally with other grads, and will almost certainly not have undercover parking for cars. Best case, might have one or two car spots to fight over. And the road to the mine (work) is always unsealed and rough as guts.

I'd say he hasn't really thought this through, but that was apparent the moment he bought the car...

OtherJen

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1275 on: August 17, 2019, 03:36:03 PM »
I will go out to eat if it's something that I genuinely cannot make as well or as cost-effectively at home. That's pretty much limited to sushi and authentic shawarma. I'm happy to support our good, locally owned restaurants a few times a year for those meals.

I like to think I'm pretty good at cooking and it's a hobby, so I feel like it's that much of a trouble to me.

Oh yeah, if we’re going there, I cook almost all meals from scratch. It’s a major hobby. Given the time (and lack of excessive heat as we don’t have central AC), I prefer to make fresh tortillas from masa, cook dried beans, braise my own pot roasts and carnitas, make marinara sauce in large batches from fresh Roma tomatoes, make my own curry blends, etc. Husband has a carbon steel wok and propane burner and makes all of our Asian stir-fries at home. It’s all good. I spent years learning how to bake gluten-free cakes and cookies that are largely indistinguishable from their wheat-filled counterparts. And thanks for reminding me that this is a good time to stock up on eggplant for homemade baba ganoush.

Still, I don’t have a good source of sushi-grade fish, nor am I willing to install the appropriate rotisserie/spit for proper shawarma since my house is only 950 sq. ft. My area also has a huge Middle Eastern population, so I’m happy to leave the shawarma to the experts with professional kitchens every 3 months or so.

I feel a Mustachian dinner party coming on.

That would be so much fun! I get tons of meal ideas from other posters here. I suspect we have many excellent home cooks on site.

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1276 on: August 17, 2019, 03:39:40 PM »
I will go out to eat if it's something that I genuinely cannot make as well or as cost-effectively at home. That's pretty much limited to sushi and authentic shawarma. I'm happy to support our good, locally owned restaurants a few times a year for those meals.

I like to think I'm pretty good at cooking and it's a hobby, so I feel like it's that much of a trouble to me.

Oh yeah, if we’re going there, I cook almost all meals from scratch. It’s a major hobby. Given the time (and lack of excessive heat as we don’t have central AC), I prefer to make fresh tortillas from masa, cook dried beans, braise my own pot roasts and carnitas, make marinara sauce in large batches from fresh Roma tomatoes, make my own curry blends, etc. Husband has a carbon steel wok and propane burner and makes all of our Asian stir-fries at home. It’s all good. I spent years learning how to bake gluten-free cakes and cookies that are largely indistinguishable from their wheat-filled counterparts. And thanks for reminding me that this is a good time to stock up on eggplant for homemade baba ganoush.

Still, I don’t have a good source of sushi-grade fish, nor am I willing to install the appropriate rotisserie/spit for proper shawarma since my house is only 950 sq. ft. My area also has a huge Middle Eastern population, so I’m happy to leave the shawarma to the experts with professional kitchens every 3 months or so.

Do you know for sure that your sushi provider has a good source of sushi grade fish? My DH sometimes catches fresh fish and I rather eat that as sushi than buying from a sushi store. But I'm generally sceptic. I guess you can rely on a sushi place's reputation.

We have a couple of good local places that we’ve been visiting for many years, and I trust them. I do tend to be skeptical about restaurants that I don’t know well.

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1277 on: August 17, 2019, 05:04:43 PM »
Graduate engineer at work (been working full-time about 6 months) has just bought a brand new Audi S4. Circa $72k here in Oz. Expensive move for someone that best case would be on $75-80k. I think he still lives at home with his parents so that's something.

There's more though. He's a graduate at a mining company.  Meaning they get rotated through several roles to give them exposure to different departments, sites etc. Having been placed in head office for this rotation, he will be in a site role for at least one, probably both of his two remaining (8 month ish) rotations. Which means living in a sharehouse in the middle of nowhere with one sealed road in & out of town. Sharehouse is generally with other grads, and will almost certainly not have undercover parking for cars. Best case, might have one or two car spots to fight over. And the road to the mine (work) is always unsealed and rough as guts.

I'd say he hasn't really thought this through, but that was apparent the moment he bought the car...

That's a good one. Just thinking about driving a brand new S4 on corrugated dirt makes me cringe.

horsepoor

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1278 on: August 18, 2019, 06:13:59 AM »
Graduate engineer at work (been working full-time about 6 months) has just bought a brand new Audi S4. Circa $72k here in Oz. Expensive move for someone that best case would be on $75-80k. I think he still lives at home with his parents so that's something.

There's more though. He's a graduate at a mining company.  Meaning they get rotated through several roles to give them exposure to different departments, sites etc. Having been placed in head office for this rotation, he will be in a site role for at least one, probably both of his two remaining (8 month ish) rotations. Which means living in a sharehouse in the middle of nowhere with one sealed road in & out of town. Sharehouse is generally with other grads, and will almost certainly not have undercover parking for cars. Best case, might have one or two car spots to fight over. And the road to the mine (work) is always unsealed and rough as guts.

I'd say he hasn't really thought this through, but that was apparent the moment he bought the car...

That's a good one. Just thinking about driving a brand new S4 on corrugated dirt makes me cringe.

Just watch, he'll have to buy a second "beater" care to take out there and keep the Audi in mom and dad's garage.

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1279 on: August 18, 2019, 11:52:49 AM »
A lot of the food you get in Indian restaurants is nowhere near an ordinary Indian meal. It's festival and wedding food, or some bastardised version of that. Dhal makhani and roti, or some vegetable dishes are Indian staples. Moderately spiced, simple and quite often vegan.
This sent me down a very pleasant rabbit hole reading about Dhal Makhani! Thank you.  Now to convince my wife to eat a meal where most of the mass is beans and lentils. 

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1280 on: August 18, 2019, 06:06:16 PM »
A lot of the food you get in Indian restaurants is nowhere near an ordinary Indian meal. It's festival and wedding food, or some bastardised version of that. Dhal makhani and roti, or some vegetable dishes are Indian staples. Moderately spiced, simple and quite often vegan.
This sent me down a very pleasant rabbit hole reading about Dhal Makhani! Thank you.  Now to convince my wife to eat a meal where most of the mass is beans and lentils.

Western people eat far too much meat. In most of the world, a meat dish is padded out with vegetables, grains and pulses. Meat is expensive to raise and hard to catch. Now that we're entirely divorced from the effort of raising meat, we treat it like the meal and not an ingredient. If you want to do something for the planet, something actually tangible, something that will lower greenhouse gases, carbon footprints, reduce waste, contribute to animal welfare, open up land for growing and settlement and reforestation, eat less meat. If you are going to eat meat, eat the small species - small fish, not predators like tuna. Small animals like chickens that take less space and less time to grow. Go for goat instead of sheep or cow. And make sure they're free range. Have small amounts of very good quality meat, cooked with love.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1281 on: August 18, 2019, 07:03:15 PM »
A lot of the food you get in Indian restaurants is nowhere near an ordinary Indian meal. It's festival and wedding food, or some bastardised version of that. Dhal makhani and roti, or some vegetable dishes are Indian staples. Moderately spiced, simple and quite often vegan.
This sent me down a very pleasant rabbit hole reading about Dhal Makhani! Thank you.  Now to convince my wife to eat a meal where most of the mass is beans and lentils.

Western people eat far too much meat. In most of the world, a meat dish is padded out with vegetables, grains and pulses. Meat is expensive to raise and hard to catch. Now that we're entirely divorced from the effort of raising meat, we treat it like the meal and not an ingredient. If you want to do something for the planet, something actually tangible, something that will lower greenhouse gases, carbon footprints, reduce waste, contribute to animal welfare, open up land for growing and settlement and reforestation, eat less meat. If you are going to eat meat, eat the small species - small fish, not predators like tuna. Small animals like chickens that take less space and less time to grow. Go for goat instead of sheep or cow. And make sure they're free range. Have small amounts of very good quality meat, cooked with love.

Unfortunately modern farming practices for grains and legumes (I am familiar with soy) are just as damaging as CAFO is. 

AnnaGrowsAMustache

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1282 on: August 18, 2019, 08:07:59 PM »
A lot of the food you get in Indian restaurants is nowhere near an ordinary Indian meal. It's festival and wedding food, or some bastardised version of that. Dhal makhani and roti, or some vegetable dishes are Indian staples. Moderately spiced, simple and quite often vegan.
This sent me down a very pleasant rabbit hole reading about Dhal Makhani! Thank you.  Now to convince my wife to eat a meal where most of the mass is beans and lentils.

Western people eat far too much meat. In most of the world, a meat dish is padded out with vegetables, grains and pulses. Meat is expensive to raise and hard to catch. Now that we're entirely divorced from the effort of raising meat, we treat it like the meal and not an ingredient. If you want to do something for the planet, something actually tangible, something that will lower greenhouse gases, carbon footprints, reduce waste, contribute to animal welfare, open up land for growing and settlement and reforestation, eat less meat. If you are going to eat meat, eat the small species - small fish, not predators like tuna. Small animals like chickens that take less space and less time to grow. Go for goat instead of sheep or cow. And make sure they're free range. Have small amounts of very good quality meat, cooked with love.

Unfortunately modern farming practices for grains and legumes (I am familiar with soy) are just as damaging as CAFO is.

I was thinking more of rice and lentils. Everyone already knows soy is costly to produce in terms of resources. It always has been. That's why there are so many asian recipes for preserving it and utilising it as a meat substitute.

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1283 on: August 18, 2019, 08:46:39 PM »
A lot of the food you get in Indian restaurants is nowhere near an ordinary Indian meal. It's festival and wedding food, or some bastardised version of that. Dhal makhani and roti, or some vegetable dishes are Indian staples. Moderately spiced, simple and quite often vegan.
This sent me down a very pleasant rabbit hole reading about Dhal Makhani! Thank you.  Now to convince my wife to eat a meal where most of the mass is beans and lentils.

Western people eat far too much meat. In most of the world, a meat dish is padded out with vegetables, grains and pulses. Meat is expensive to raise and hard to catch. Now that we're entirely divorced from the effort of raising meat, we treat it like the meal and not an ingredient. If you want to do something for the planet, something actually tangible, something that will lower greenhouse gases, carbon footprints, reduce waste, contribute to animal welfare, open up land for growing and settlement and reforestation, eat less meat. If you are going to eat meat, eat the small species - small fish, not predators like tuna. Small animals like chickens that take less space and less time to grow. Go for goat instead of sheep or cow. And make sure they're free range. Have small amounts of very good quality meat, cooked with love.

Unfortunately modern farming practices for grains and legumes (I am familiar with soy) are just as damaging as CAFO is.

I was thinking more of rice and lentils. Everyone already knows soy is costly to produce in terms of resources. It always has been. That's why there are so many asian recipes for preserving it and utilising it as a meat substitute.

Rice and lentils are grains and legumes

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1284 on: August 18, 2019, 08:54:02 PM »
A lot of the food you get in Indian restaurants is nowhere near an ordinary Indian meal. It's festival and wedding food, or some bastardised version of that. Dhal makhani and roti, or some vegetable dishes are Indian staples. Moderately spiced, simple and quite often vegan.
This sent me down a very pleasant rabbit hole reading about Dhal Makhani! Thank you.  Now to convince my wife to eat a meal where most of the mass is beans and lentils.

Western people eat far too much meat. In most of the world, a meat dish is padded out with vegetables, grains and pulses. Meat is expensive to raise and hard to catch. Now that we're entirely divorced from the effort of raising meat, we treat it like the meal and not an ingredient. If you want to do something for the planet, something actually tangible, something that will lower greenhouse gases, carbon footprints, reduce waste, contribute to animal welfare, open up land for growing and settlement and reforestation, eat less meat. If you are going to eat meat, eat the small species - small fish, not predators like tuna. Small animals like chickens that take less space and less time to grow. Go for goat instead of sheep or cow. And make sure they're free range. Have small amounts of very good quality meat, cooked with love.

Unfortunately modern farming practices for grains and legumes (I am familiar with soy) are just as damaging as CAFO is.

I was thinking more of rice and lentils. Everyone already knows soy is costly to produce in terms of resources. It always has been. That's why there are so many asian recipes for preserving it and utilising it as a meat substitute.

Rice and lentils are grains and legumes

Yes, I realise that, thanks for pointing that out. They're also grains and legumes that have traditionally been grown in large quantities to feed people in large quantities as a staple main food ingredient. I can't give you the numbers, but I believe they're easier and faster to grow than soy, which is predominantly used for oil and animal feed. It uses a huge amount of resources to grow and it doesn't even feed folk!

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1285 on: August 19, 2019, 04:49:29 AM »
Rice is not as good as you think, sadly, due to modern farming practices.  Also incredibly water intensive.

https://www.earth.com/news/rice-farming-environmental-impact/

Quote
However, cultivation of rice requires a large amount of land and water and has the highest climate impact of any crop per unit calorie, according to an analysis released by the EDF.

AnnaGrowsAMustache

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1286 on: August 19, 2019, 05:03:02 AM »
Rice is not as good as you think, sadly, due to modern farming practices.  Also incredibly water intensive.

https://www.earth.com/news/rice-farming-environmental-impact/

Quote
However, cultivation of rice requires a large amount of land and water and has the highest climate impact of any crop per unit calorie, according to an analysis released by the EDF.

That's the thing. Rice doesn't need to grow in water. The water is used to prevent weeds growing. Now recalculate.....

Raenia

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1287 on: August 19, 2019, 06:52:17 AM »
Rice is not as good as you think, sadly, due to modern farming practices.  Also incredibly water intensive.

https://www.earth.com/news/rice-farming-environmental-impact/

Quote
However, cultivation of rice requires a large amount of land and water and has the highest climate impact of any crop per unit calorie, according to an analysis released by the EDF.

That's the thing. Rice doesn't need to grow in water. The water is used to prevent weeds growing. Now recalculate.....

But they do grow it in water.  You'll note that Retiredat63 mentioned that modern farming practices can be as damaging as CAFO...

Dicey

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1288 on: August 19, 2019, 08:47:15 AM »
At the risk of sending insufFIcientfunds into another rage post by going off topic:
I noticed this too. They registered in March and have 48 posts at this moment. Seems a tiny bit presumptuous to be disciplining people here. Maybe they don't realize we have awesome mods and they don't really need to be a self-appointed one. Who cares if a thread meanders a bit? If a response fails to hit the target, it's faster and easier just to skip it, IMO.

Also, huge props to @dragoncar for handling it so gracefully when he was called out. Messing with a dragon is always tricky.

LennStar

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1289 on: August 19, 2019, 10:07:52 AM »
At the risk of sending insufFIcientfunds into another rage post by going off topic:
I noticed this too. They registered in March and have 48 posts at this moment. Seems a tiny bit presumptuous to be disciplining people here. Maybe they don't realize we have awesome mods and they don't really need to be a self-appointed one. Who cares if a thread meanders a bit? If a response fails to hit the target, it's faster and easier just to skip it, IMO.

Also, huge props to @dragoncar for handling it so gracefully when he was called out. Messing with a dragon is always tricky.
Because you end up crispy and nice tasting with ketchup?

A Fella from Stella

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1290 on: August 19, 2019, 10:21:15 AM »
At my office, I heard this:

"Everyone should go to law school."

Pretty sure everyone already is. It's part of the problem.

Dicey

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1291 on: August 19, 2019, 10:23:24 AM »
At the risk of sending insufFIcientfunds into another rage post by going off topic:
I noticed this too. They registered in March and have 48 posts at this moment. Seems a tiny bit presumptuous to be disciplining people here. Maybe they don't realize we have awesome mods and they don't really need to be a self-appointed one. Who cares if a thread meanders a bit? If a response fails to hit the target, it's faster and easier just to skip it, IMO.

Also, huge props to @dragoncar for handling it so gracefully when he was called out. Messing with a dragon is always tricky.
Because you end up crispy and nice tasting with ketchup?
Even without ketchup would be my guess.

Imma

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1292 on: August 19, 2019, 10:49:59 AM »
I have to say I have never regretted getting a degree in law, it's really useful in daily life as well as in my line of work and in my country it's not as expensive as it is in the US. But there are far too many mediocre lawyers already, we certainly don't need more.

One of my coworkers is currently pushing their kid to go and get a college degree while they already know this will be really difficult for the kid. There is absolutely no shame in learning a trade or getting a vocational degree if you're more talented for practical work rather than theoretical work. It's certainly much better than struggling through college and then having difficulty performing in the workplace while they could maybe be a very good electrician or plumber (and those people make €€€ nowadays!).

insufFIcientfunds

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1293 on: August 19, 2019, 11:58:47 AM »
At the risk of sending insufFIcientfunds into another rage post by going off topic:
I noticed this too. They registered in March and have 48 posts at this moment. Seems a tiny bit presumptuous to be disciplining people here. Maybe they don't realize we have awesome mods and they don't really need to be a self-appointed one. Who cares if a thread meanders a bit? If a response fails to hit the target, it's faster and easier just to skip it, IMO.

Also, huge props to @dragoncar for handling it so gracefully when he was called out. Messing with a dragon is always tricky.

was not meant to call anyone out. sorry if it came off that way, wont happen again.

Dicey

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1294 on: August 19, 2019, 12:03:27 PM »
At the risk of sending insufFIcientfunds into another rage post by going off topic:
I noticed this too. They registered in March and have 48 posts at this moment. Seems a tiny bit presumptuous to be disciplining people here. Maybe they don't realize we have awesome mods and they don't really need to be a self-appointed one. Who cares if a thread meanders a bit? If a response fails to hit the target, it's faster and easier just to skip it, IMO.

Also, huge props to @dragoncar for handling it so gracefully when he was called out. Messing with a dragon is always tricky.

was not meant to call anyone out. sorry if it came off that way, wont happen again.
Apology appreciated. I just don't want you to be eaten by a dragon so early in your FIRE journey. That would be terrible. And probably quite painful, especially without ketchup.

DadJokes

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1295 on: August 19, 2019, 12:28:18 PM »
At the risk of sending insufFIcientfunds into another rage post by going off topic:
I noticed this too. They registered in March and have 48 posts at this moment. Seems a tiny bit presumptuous to be disciplining people here. Maybe they don't realize we have awesome mods and they don't really need to be a self-appointed one. Who cares if a thread meanders a bit? If a response fails to hit the target, it's faster and easier just to skip it, IMO.

Also, huge props to @dragoncar for handling it so gracefully when he was called out. Messing with a dragon is always tricky.

was not meant to call anyone out. sorry if it came off that way, wont happen again.
Apology appreciated. I just don't want you to be eaten by a dragon so early in your FIRE journey. That would be terrible. And probably quite painful, especially without ketchup.

Forget being eaten by the dragon. I can see what the dragon is doing to that car in the avatar.

TVRodriguez

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1296 on: August 19, 2019, 12:49:53 PM »
At my office, I heard this:

"Everyone should go to law school."

Pretty sure everyone already is. It's part of the problem.

Like @Imma , I've never regretted my law degree.  In fact, I may have said something similar to your co-worker's comment in the past, Fella.  Not saying that everyone should be a lawyer, but that first year (first semester, especially) is so incredibly informative (and quite honestly not that difficult to learn) that I remember wishing that they had covered lots of it in middle or high school Civics classes. 

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1297 on: August 19, 2019, 01:10:31 PM »
I imagine a lot comes down to tuition and opportunity cost. An acquaintance who went to law school in the US had a lot to say on the subject of how law school was a big scam here, costing a ton and promising big salaries when most just graduated with a ton of debt and had a hard time finding a mediocre job.

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1298 on: August 19, 2019, 01:23:02 PM »
I imagine a lot comes down to tuition and opportunity cost. An acquaintance who went to law school in the US had a lot to say on the subject of how law school was a big scam here, costing a ton and promising big salaries when most just graduated with a ton of debt and had a hard time finding a mediocre job.

I imagine the point is that everyone should have a basic legal education.  If everyone took a constitutional law class we’d be better off as a society

jinga nation

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1299 on: August 19, 2019, 03:15:53 PM »
I love me a good Indian buffet. I can make most of those dishes, but at a buffet I can get a little bit of everything.  Plus it’s really fast... no waiting.  Price is usually ok at lunch, even if it’s 5 times the cost of making at home it’s still fun to go out occasionally
I've heard that even folks of Indian decent go to Indian buffets, that alot of the foods on the menu are just too complicated or time consuming to make at home.

A lot of the food you get in Indian restaurants is nowhere near an ordinary Indian meal. It's festival and wedding food, or some bastardised version of that. Dhal makhani and roti, or some vegetable dishes are Indian staples. Moderately spiced, simple and quite often vegan.
Correcto!
Indian buffet is a misnomer. It's either Mughlai (North Indian) or South Indian. Very rarely you'll have a Gujarati buffet (more common in NYC/NJ or parts of London). Or you'll have Bengali cuisine (India/Bangladesh). In South Indian cuisine, it can vary from Goan to Madras.

Any Indian buffet/restaurant food is very rich. Even my Punjabi/North Indian friends don't eat that on a daily basis.
I'm of Gujarati descent; the thalis in restaurants consist of wedding/festival fare.