Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13252810 times)

I'm a red panda

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15100 on: September 30, 2016, 12:15:25 PM »
Quote
doesn't know his interest rate.

I think this is the part that hurts my brain the most.

I don't know the interest rate on any of my credit cards.

It's an irrelevant piece of information to me, I've never looked to find it out, or my limits.  I do know which ones charge foreign transaction fees though.

tallen

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15101 on: September 30, 2016, 12:21:30 PM »
The "only makes" was to point out he's not making a hefty salary where most people are expected to drive new expensive cars and such, didn't mean it in a negative way. Union shop, we're all paid the same which is how I know what he makes, it's the same as what I make.

No Name Guy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15102 on: September 30, 2016, 01:16:06 PM »
Okay, after months of covertly observing a coworker, I have enough material to share this.

...[lots of funny stuff]...
When I not-so-subtly tried to warn him that performance improvement plans can mean firing, he dismissed it saying he would get unemployment insurance. Unemployment insurance caps out at about $1,300/month in this state.


Sounds like a classic case of the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

I actually feel sorry for the guy.

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15103 on: September 30, 2016, 01:37:08 PM »
Okay, after months of covertly observing a coworker, I have enough material to share this.

...[lots of funny stuff]...
When I not-so-subtly tried to warn him that performance improvement plans can mean firing, he dismissed it saying he would get unemployment insurance. Unemployment insurance caps out at about $1,300/month in this state.


Sounds like a classic case of the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

I actually feel sorry for the guy.

"The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent full of doubt."
-Bertrand Russell


Beaker

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15104 on: September 30, 2016, 05:11:11 PM »
"The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent full of doubt."
-Bertrand Russell

Whereas Bertrand Russell's problem seems to be brevity.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15105 on: September 30, 2016, 07:22:01 PM »
A coworker got rear ended and his car was totaled. He said "they're only going to give me $8k for it so now I'm going to have to have another car payment again and I'm trying to buy a house!". I said $8k is plenty to get you a good reliable car. The look of disdain on his face is was priceless as he exclaimed "I couldn't drive something THAT cheap!"
I think the proper response at that point would be "until the accident, you *were* driving something that cheap."

bacchi

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15106 on: September 30, 2016, 10:20:41 PM »
<snip>
Mario is also highly delusional and convinced that he is hot shit, despite the fact that we basically kicked him off our team to move him to another team within the same project where he could hopefully gain from a gentler learning curve doing less cutting edge stuff.

He is also a member of the local toastmasters chapter, which, upon further inspection and attendance of the after-mentioned session that I attended, is about as interesting and mentally stimulating as a trip to the DMV. Two months ago he made a presentation and invited us all to watch, where he basically bragged about being financially responsible and buying a home at "only" 26 years of age. Now to his credit, the idea is that he is getting roommates and basically living for free (not sure if that's actually panned out yet). Upon pressing for details, he revealed that he is doing the 3.5% percent down mortgage with high PMI... on a 120k house.

Mario is primo first-level management material. Engineers who aren't good on the technical side but love public speaking end up there.

I know Mario's older brother, who I'll call Luigi. On Linkedin and confluence, he gave himself a title, "Lead Developer," when he had only 1 year of experience. He would leave work unfinished (=not compiling) and, when pressed, begrudgingly fix it and then ask us, his peers, to test it for him. At his college internship at Facebook, he assured us that he worked with "really elite developers."

It was a first-hand look at someone vying for insta-manager. He was a total git but, still, it was a fascinating look into how shitty developers become shitty managers. In the end, management saw through him and he got the axe.

crispy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15107 on: October 01, 2016, 07:36:50 AM »
We have had some layoffs and a restructuring at work so many of us are job searching. One coworker is really stressed about a potential layoff because he has a child in college. He then proceeds to tell me that his son's fraternity costs $800 a month for fees plus he is paying tuition out of pocket. I applaud him for not getting student loans but the son would have to drop the frat house or get a job. In the last year this coworker has bought a new car for himself and his son and mentioned taking out a large line of credit on his house.

Goldielocks

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15108 on: October 01, 2016, 02:01:19 PM »
We have had some layoffs and a restructuring at work so many of us are job searching. One coworker is really stressed about a potential layoff because he has a child in college. He then proceeds to tell me that his son's fraternity costs $800 a month for fees plus he is paying tuition out of pocket. I applaud him for not getting student loans but the son would have to drop the frat house or get a job. In the last year this coworker has bought a new car for himself and his son and mentioned taking out a large line of credit on his house.

Not too outrageous if Frat house is also accommodation...?

crispy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15109 on: October 01, 2016, 07:41:09 PM »
We have had some layoffs and a restructuring at work so many of us are job searching. One coworker is really stressed about a potential layoff because he has a child in college. He then proceeds to tell me that his son's fraternity costs $800 a month for fees plus he is paying tuition out of pocket. I applaud him for not getting student loans but the son would have to drop the frat house or get a job. In the last year this coworker has bought a new car for himself and his son and mentioned taking out a large line of credit on his house.

Not too outrageous if Frat house is also accommodation...?

No, living at the frat house was a whole other expense. His sdon !ives in the dorm. This is just the monthly fee to be in it. (I might be messing up some of the terminology because we didn't have fraternities and sororities at my school).

camry78

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15110 on: October 02, 2016, 02:12:54 PM »
I'm only about halfway through the posts on this thread.  I've been reading for a while.  But I wanted to contribute.

So a coworker of mine who makes a lot more money than I do was talking about going to a professional conference that is later this month.  He has worked in this job for >20 years, and less than a year ago, all of the people who held similar job positions as he got a huge salary increase (or so I heard from a colleague of his who had been working in the same type of job for about 4 years).  I am not sure what he makes, but it is over $150k because the starting salary is that.  We live in a very low cost-of-living area.  He was lamenting that the employer didn't pay up front for the cost of the plane ticket, because he has to buy the plane ticket and get reimbursed after the conference.  Then he mentioned he had to pay the conference registration fee, which was several hundred dollars, with his credit card, which he is paying interest on, and he would have to pay interest on the charge associated with buying the plane ticket.

I took this to mean that he doesn't pay off his credit cards every month.  You'd think after 20+ years of a steady income that had a fairly recent increase in salary that he would have a hold on his spending.

ender

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15111 on: October 02, 2016, 04:23:00 PM »
I'm only about halfway through the posts on this thread.  I've been reading for a while.  But I wanted to contribute.

So a coworker of mine who makes a lot more money than I do was talking about going to a professional conference that is later this month.  He has worked in this job for >20 years, and less than a year ago, all of the people who held similar job positions as he got a huge salary increase (or so I heard from a colleague of his who had been working in the same type of job for about 4 years).  I am not sure what he makes, but it is over $150k because the starting salary is that.  We live in a very low cost-of-living area.  He was lamenting that the employer didn't pay up front for the cost of the plane ticket, because he has to buy the plane ticket and get reimbursed after the conference.  Then he mentioned he had to pay the conference registration fee, which was several hundred dollars, with his credit card, which he is paying interest on, and he would have to pay interest on the charge associated with buying the plane ticket.

I took this to mean that he doesn't pay off his credit cards every month.  You'd think after 20+ years of a steady income that had a fairly recent increase in salary that he would have a hold on his spending.

Meanwhile over here, I'd love to have that problem since I could trivially max out my CSR travel bonus without any manufactured spending :P

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15112 on: October 02, 2016, 04:24:20 PM »
We have had some layoffs and a restructuring at work so many of us are job searching. One coworker is really stressed about a potential layoff because he has a child in college. He then proceeds to tell me that his son's fraternity costs $800 a month for fees plus he is paying tuition out of pocket. I applaud him for not getting student loans but the son would have to drop the frat house or get a job. In the last year this coworker has bought a new car for himself and his son and mentioned taking out a large line of credit on his house.

Not too outrageous if Frat house is also accommodation...?

No, living at the frat house was a whole other expense. His sdon !ives in the dorm. This is just the monthly fee to be in it. (I might be messing up some of the terminology because we didn't have fraternities and sororities at my school).

YIKES. My fraternity charged $550/month in rent, which included all utilites and is an even better deal when factoring that the lease was for 9 months, summer's were $100/month. I don't recall what dues were, but they weren't unreasonable at all.

SeaEhm

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15113 on: October 02, 2016, 05:52:58 PM »
I'm only about halfway through the posts on this thread.  I've been reading for a while.  But I wanted to contribute.

So a coworker of mine who makes a lot more money than I do was talking about going to a professional conference that is later this month.  He has worked in this job for >20 years, and less than a year ago, all of the people who held similar job positions as he got a huge salary increase (or so I heard from a colleague of his who had been working in the same type of job for about 4 years).  I am not sure what he makes, but it is over $150k because the starting salary is that.  We live in a very low cost-of-living area.  He was lamenting that the employer didn't pay up front for the cost of the plane ticket, because he has to buy the plane ticket and get reimbursed after the conference.  Then he mentioned he had to pay the conference registration fee, which was several hundred dollars, with his credit card, which he is paying interest on, and he would have to pay interest on the charge associated with buying the plane ticket.

I took this to mean that he doesn't pay off his credit cards every month.  You'd think after 20+ years of a steady income that had a fairly recent increase in salary that he would have a hold on his spending.

Great story!  These things boggle my mind!  I would try to use my credit card to pay for everything work related knowing that I would get reimbursed.

Heck, I did about $3000 in purchases last month on my credit card that are not personal charges.  That's an easy $30 in rewards at 1% or if I cash in for gift cards I could get more in return.


Primm

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15114 on: October 02, 2016, 09:04:09 PM »
Seen over a work lunch at a fast service place:

Woman in scrubs and sneakers and a new pink Michael Khors (?sp?) bag.

It did NOT match the outfit, so why?????just why????

Because it matches her non-scrub outfits and she doesn't want to buy another bag specially for work, but she still needs to carry her wallet and keys etc. when she's at work? It probably stays in her locker when she's in the hospital.

boarder42

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15115 on: October 03, 2016, 05:43:56 AM »
We have had some layoffs and a restructuring at work so many of us are job searching. One coworker is really stressed about a potential layoff because he has a child in college. He then proceeds to tell me that his son's fraternity costs $800 a month for fees plus he is paying tuition out of pocket. I applaud him for not getting student loans but the son would have to drop the frat house or get a job. In the last year this coworker has bought a new car for himself and his son and mentioned taking out a large line of credit on his house.

Not too outrageous if Frat house is also accommodation...?

No, living at the frat house was a whole other expense. His sdon !ives in the dorm. This is just the monthly fee to be in it. (I might be messing up some of the terminology because we didn't have fraternities and sororities at my school).

YIKES. My fraternity charged $550/month in rent, which included all utilites and is an even better deal when factoring that the lease was for 9 months, summer's were $100/month. I don't recall what dues were, but they weren't unreasonable at all.

800 isnt bad at all ... when i started school 11 years ago it was 400 a month included room and board - 4 months per semester of payments. (try finding 8-9 month rentals in college towns you cant for a reasonable price)  at the time dorms were 800-900 for room and board per month.  now our fraternity is over 1k per month b/c they renovated.  about 2x what i paid inflation adjusted. but if 800 includes room and board thats not that bad.

With This Herring

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15116 on: October 03, 2016, 08:27:51 AM »
We have had some layoffs and a restructuring at work so many of us are job searching. One coworker is really stressed about a potential layoff because he has a child in college. He then proceeds to tell me that his son's fraternity costs $800 a month for fees plus he is paying tuition out of pocket. I applaud him for not getting student loans but the son would have to drop the frat house or get a job. In the last year this coworker has bought a new car for himself and his son and mentioned taking out a large line of credit on his house.

No, living at the frat house was a whole other expense. His sdon !ives in the dorm. This is just the monthly fee to be in it. (I might be messing up some of the terminology because we didn't have fraternities and sororities at my school).

800 isnt bad at all ... when i started school 11 years ago it was 400 a month included room and board - 4 months per semester of payments. (try finding 8-9 month rentals in college towns you cant for a reasonable price)  at the time dorms were 800-900 for room and board per month.  now our fraternity is over 1k per month b/c they renovated.  about 2x what i paid inflation adjusted. but if 800 includes room and board thats not that bad.

I think crispy is saying that the $800 per month is JUST fees and doesn't give the kid room and board in a frat house.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15117 on: October 03, 2016, 08:55:06 AM »
We have had some layoffs and a restructuring at work so many of us are job searching. One coworker is really stressed about a potential layoff because he has a child in college. He then proceeds to tell me that his son's fraternity costs $800 a month for fees plus he is paying tuition out of pocket. I applaud him for not getting student loans but the son would have to drop the frat house or get a job. In the last year this coworker has bought a new car for himself and his son and mentioned taking out a large line of credit on his house.

I want to borrow a pair of Google glasses for a week that super impose a person's income, debt and profession over their heads as they walk by. For years I've wondered how many of the 'fat cats' that I mix with in a given week are setup like this character.   
« Last Edit: October 03, 2016, 08:57:25 AM by Joe Lucky »

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15118 on: October 03, 2016, 10:29:22 AM »
We have had some layoffs and a restructuring at work so many of us are job searching. One coworker is really stressed about a potential layoff because he has a child in college. He then proceeds to tell me that his son's fraternity costs $800 a month for fees plus he is paying tuition out of pocket. I applaud him for not getting student loans but the son would have to drop the frat house or get a job. In the last year this coworker has bought a new car for himself and his son and mentioned taking out a large line of credit on his house.

No, living at the frat house was a whole other expense. His sdon !ives in the dorm. This is just the monthly fee to be in it. (I might be messing up some of the terminology because we didn't have fraternities and sororities at my school).

800 isnt bad at all ... when i started school 11 years ago it was 400 a month included room and board - 4 months per semester of payments. (try finding 8-9 month rentals in college towns you cant for a reasonable price)  at the time dorms were 800-900 for room and board per month.  now our fraternity is over 1k per month b/c they renovated.  about 2x what i paid inflation adjusted. but if 800 includes room and board thats not that bad.

I think crispy is saying that the $800 per month is JUST fees and doesn't give the kid room and board in a frat house.

Possibly, and it varies a lot depending on the location. Back in late 2014 USA Today published some statistics about what it costs to be in that kind of club.

http://college.usatoday.com/2014/11/17/how-much-does-it-really-cost-to-go-greek/

Apparently fraternity fees average about $600 per term (not per month) and sororities cost more than double that. (The gigantic fees for sororities are not necessarily a cunt tax so much as a reflection of how fraternities tend to be far older, bigger, and more financially established). There's also a bunch of mandatory clothing and gifts that apply to sororities but not fraternities. In exchange for all of this, apparently there are networking opportunities. People from fraternities and sororities believe they're being groomed as leaders. In historically Black colleges this might actually be true.

The comments cite some studies that apparently reflect that the probability of being a rape victim is higher if you're in a sorority, and that the probability of being a rapist is higher if you're in a fraternity. Apparently fraternity and sorority members have an increased probability of graduating on time compared to the general university population, however the studies that reflect this might not necessarily correct for the disparity in income between people who can afford the fees and people who can't. I didn't read the studies cited by the commenters so I can't give you my take on it.

Overall, with the exception of HBCs, the "Greek" experience sounds horribly overrated to me.

Papa Mustache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15119 on: October 03, 2016, 10:38:53 AM »
Maybe coworker's son is paying $800 per term and then pocketing the other $800 per month for spending money.

I heard a story of a kid going to a SEC school that convinced his mother that he needed (NEEDED) a new car to drive at college.

Not only was it new, it had to be a Porsche 911 Turbo. And she bought him the car.

All I could think of was door dings and chipped paint from uni parking lots.

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15120 on: October 03, 2016, 11:01:07 AM »
We have had some layoffs and a restructuring at work so many of us are job searching. One coworker is really stressed about a potential layoff because he has a child in college. He then proceeds to tell me that his son's fraternity costs $800 a month for fees plus he is paying tuition out of pocket. I applaud him for not getting student loans but the son would have to drop the frat house or get a job. In the last year this coworker has bought a new car for himself and his son and mentioned taking out a large line of credit on his house.

No, living at the frat house was a whole other expense. His sdon !ives in the dorm. This is just the monthly fee to be in it. (I might be messing up some of the terminology because we didn't have fraternities and sororities at my school).

800 isnt bad at all ... when i started school 11 years ago it was 400 a month included room and board - 4 months per semester of payments. (try finding 8-9 month rentals in college towns you cant for a reasonable price)  at the time dorms were 800-900 for room and board per month.  now our fraternity is over 1k per month b/c they renovated.  about 2x what i paid inflation adjusted. but if 800 includes room and board thats not that bad.

I think crispy is saying that the $800 per month is JUST fees and doesn't give the kid room and board in a frat house.

Possibly, and it varies a lot depending on the location. Back in late 2014 USA Today published some statistics about what it costs to be in that kind of club.

http://college.usatoday.com/2014/11/17/how-much-does-it-really-cost-to-go-greek/

Apparently fraternity fees average about $600 per term (not per month) and sororities cost more than double that. (The gigantic fees for sororities are not necessarily a cunt tax so much as a reflection of how fraternities tend to be far older, bigger, and more financially established). There's also a bunch of mandatory clothing and gifts that apply to sororities but not fraternities. In exchange for all of this, apparently there are networking opportunities. People from fraternities and sororities believe they're being groomed as leaders. In historically Black colleges this might actually be true.

The comments cite some studies that apparently reflect that the probability of being a rape victim is higher if you're in a sorority, and that the probability of being a rapist is higher if you're in a fraternity. Apparently fraternity and sorority members have an increased probability of graduating on time compared to the general university population, however the studies that reflect this might not necessarily correct for the disparity in income between people who can afford the fees and people who can't. I didn't read the studies cited by the commenters so I can't give you my take on it.

Overall, with the exception of HBCs, the "Greek" experience sounds horribly overrated to me.

Gah, this is crazy.  I joined a women's fraternity as a junior because I was an engineer and I had no girlfriends (and by soph year, my "guy" friends' girlfriends didn't want them to have friends who were female).

Anyway, I realize this was 1990, but it was WAY cheaper.  Fees on order of $200 a YEAR.

And housing?  At the time our house only had room for 16.  Seniors got first choice. (and you could be forced in if there was a vacancy.  We had 50 members, so that never happened).  So I moved in as a senior.

Junior year costs: a shared studio apartment: main room 14 ft x 15 ft, with a one-butt kitchen, a bathroom, and hall closet.  $440 a month (for me).  Plus of course $440 for my roommate.

Senior year costs: a shared room in the house.  One roommate.  Room size about 11x17?  First floor: kitchen, dining, living, half bath, patio.  Second and third floors: 4 bedrooms (2 people each) and 2 bathrooms. (On each floor).  Cost: $260 a month.

It was a no-brainer to move in.

boarder42

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15121 on: October 03, 2016, 11:17:47 AM »
We have had some layoffs and a restructuring at work so many of us are job searching. One coworker is really stressed about a potential layoff because he has a child in college. He then proceeds to tell me that his son's fraternity costs $800 a month for fees plus he is paying tuition out of pocket. I applaud him for not getting student loans but the son would have to drop the frat house or get a job. In the last year this coworker has bought a new car for himself and his son and mentioned taking out a large line of credit on his house.

No, living at the frat house was a whole other expense. His sdon !ives in the dorm. This is just the monthly fee to be in it. (I might be messing up some of the terminology because we didn't have fraternities and sororities at my school).

800 isnt bad at all ... when i started school 11 years ago it was 400 a month included room and board - 4 months per semester of payments. (try finding 8-9 month rentals in college towns you cant for a reasonable price)  at the time dorms were 800-900 for room and board per month.  now our fraternity is over 1k per month b/c they renovated.  about 2x what i paid inflation adjusted. but if 800 includes room and board thats not that bad.

I think crispy is saying that the $800 per month is JUST fees and doesn't give the kid room and board in a frat house.

Possibly, and it varies a lot depending on the location. Back in late 2014 USA Today published some statistics about what it costs to be in that kind of club.

http://college.usatoday.com/2014/11/17/how-much-does-it-really-cost-to-go-greek/

Apparently fraternity fees average about $600 per term (not per month) and sororities cost more than double that. (The gigantic fees for sororities are not necessarily a cunt tax so much as a reflection of how fraternities tend to be far older, bigger, and more financially established). There's also a bunch of mandatory clothing and gifts that apply to sororities but not fraternities. In exchange for all of this, apparently there are networking opportunities. People from fraternities and sororities believe they're being groomed as leaders. In historically Black colleges this might actually be true.

The comments cite some studies that apparently reflect that the probability of being a rape victim is higher if you're in a sorority, and that the probability of being a rapist is higher if you're in a fraternity. Apparently fraternity and sorority members have an increased probability of graduating on time compared to the general university population, however the studies that reflect this might not necessarily correct for the disparity in income between people who can afford the fees and people who can't. I didn't read the studies cited by the commenters so I can't give you my take on it.

Overall, with the exception of HBCs, the "Greek" experience sounds horribly overrated to me.

a fraternity is a crazy good networking tool.  i didnt realize it at the time i was in college but my connections are pretty far and wide due to being in one.  at my Eng. only school you had to dorm for 2 years or join a fraternity.  at the time it was about 50% less to be in the fraternity vs the dorms.  our senior year we moved out of house b/c rates had doubled.  and we lived for about the same price as we did when freshman.  Our house corp chose to make an example of us when we moved out and charged us 600 bucks each for moving out "early" though we had followed the previously allowed procedures before they decided to step in and get our house renovated.  I told the President of the committee you have 2 choices i give you 600 now when i'm a broke college kid and you will never see another dime from me to help with this house when i'm a rich engineer.  or you waive this absurd charge and i'll donate later when i have means.  he chose to take his 600 now.  moron.  I have recouped about 400 of that thru going to alumni functions and not paying for them.  i'm bitter towards him and the house corp if you cant tell. 

MarciaB

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15122 on: October 05, 2016, 03:08:55 PM »
"The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent full of doubt."
-Bertrand Russell


Whereas Bertrand Russell's problem seems to be brevity.

And redundancy.
« Last Edit: October 05, 2016, 03:14:26 PM by MarciaB »

Rubyvroom

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15123 on: October 05, 2016, 03:11:12 PM »
A coworker discussed a recent home remodel with me and another colleague. She is remodeling the bathroom on her 1st floor. The reason for the remodel was because when you walk by the bathroom, you see the toilet. She thought that was gross. So they are remodeling the bathroom and moving ALL the plumbing so they can relocate that bastard toilet that is responsible for such an upsetting living experience.

She is annoyed at her husband for wanting to DIY most of the work, because now they have to wait for his "contacts" to come over whenever they have time instead of paying good money to get it done quicker. So this bathroom remodel is taking FOREVER, but at least they have 2 other bathrooms so they're fine.

Also, she knew exactly what she wanted, the sizes and colors of the cabinets, counter tops, hardware, etc., she had the PERFECT PICTURE IN HER HEAD of what this bathroom would look like. She said this a few times, which is why I emphasized it.

Well, apparently she couldn't find any of these things on her own. So she HAD to hire an interior designer, because they have contacts or something, and just know where to find these things. So she paid this person to find all of her perfect items, and is now finally almost done with the bathroom remodel.

My colleague said, "Well it sure sounds exciting over at your house!" and I just blankly stared. If you can't say anything nice and all that... I figured it wouldn't be good form to say, "Congratulations, you've nearly moved your toilet. Sounds like quite an expensive and meaningless accomplishment *facepunch*"

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15124 on: October 05, 2016, 03:34:22 PM »
A coworker discussed a recent home remodel with me and another colleague. She is remodeling the bathroom on her 1st floor. The reason for the remodel was because when you walk by the bathroom, you see the toilet. She thought that was gross. So they are remodeling the bathroom and moving ALL the plumbing so they can relocate that bastard toilet that is responsible for such an upsetting living experience.

She is annoyed at her husband for wanting to DIY most of the work, because now they have to wait for his "contacts" to come over whenever they have time instead of paying good money to get it done quicker. So this bathroom remodel is taking FOREVER, but at least they have 2 other bathrooms so they're fine.

Also, she knew exactly what she wanted, the sizes and colors of the cabinets, counter tops, hardware, etc., she had the PERFECT PICTURE IN HER HEAD of what this bathroom would look like. She said this a few times, which is why I emphasized it.

Well, apparently she couldn't find any of these things on her own. So she HAD to hire an interior designer, because they have contacts or something, and just know where to find these things. So she paid this person to find all of her perfect items, and is now finally almost done with the bathroom remodel.

My colleague said, "Well it sure sounds exciting over at your house!" and I just blankly stared. If you can't say anything nice and all that... I figured it wouldn't be good form to say, "Congratulations, you've nearly moved your toilet. Sounds like quite an expensive and meaningless accomplishment *facepunch*"
You should inform her of this new technology called a "door."  If there's something you don't want to see from the hall, you can close this "door" and no longer see it.  Also, if there's enough room, there are these things called "plants."  They look pretty, and can hide undesirable objects. 

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15125 on: October 05, 2016, 04:27:31 PM »
Just relayed this tale of toileting to my wife... she said"If I complained about that, you'd threaten to move it to the middle of the living room.".... yup she knows me well ;D

LOL

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15126 on: October 05, 2016, 08:35:30 PM »
Man that would be the perfect time to try and sell her on one of those bookcases that when you pull on a fake book, it slides over and reveals a hidden room.  I so want one of those...
That's the one thing I'm having when I have more money than I can spend and am building my own house.
 

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15127 on: October 05, 2016, 10:41:09 PM »
Man that would be the perfect time to try and sell her on one of those bookcases that when you pull on a fake book, it slides over and reveals a hidden room.  I so want one of those...
That's the one thing I'm having when I have more money than I can spend and am building my own house.

http://www.leevalley.com/us/Hardware/page.aspx?p=72655&cat=3,41305,55408&ap=1

:) the mustachian version of the scooby doo hideaway...
I do have a built-in closet in the bedroom that I could do this to.....

(As a professional engineer I store most of my clothes in a pile on the floor anyway.)

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15128 on: October 06, 2016, 07:14:34 AM »
(As a professional engineer I store most of my clothes in a pile on the floor anyway.)

For me it's either the floor or the bed. I throw clean clothes on the bed feeling satisfied, like, "Yep, that will make me put them away later today, since I can't go to sleep until I do." Ultimately that means my clothes end up living on the floor, because bedtime-me is not to be bothered with putting clothes away. Sometimes morning-me throws them back on the bed, and bedtime-me scoffs and hurls them back on the floor. It's like the circle of life.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15129 on: October 06, 2016, 07:22:19 AM »
Okay, after months of covertly observing a coworker, I have enough material to share this.

About 9 months ago this guy, let's call him Mario, was transferred from another project onto my team. Now for this story to make sense you have to understand that there is a huge disparity in skill among employees at this company. While we are all developing software, some projects are real engineering who have wickedly smart people working on them, and some other are like janitorial maintenance of crappy applications. Mario's previous project was the latter.

After 6 months of my team, it becomes clear that he is a terrible software engineer. His skills after two years at this company still haven't reached what you could reasonably expect from a CompSci student doing a summer internship before his senior year. Either this either wasn't apparent previously because it wasn't needed in his previous project, or his manager swept it under the rug. Mario is also highly delusional and convinced that he is hot shit, despite the fact that we basically kicked him off our team to move him to another team within the same project where he could hopefully gain from a gentler learning curve doing less cutting edge stuff.

He is also a member of the local toastmasters chapter, which, upon further inspection and attendance of the after-mentioned session that I attended, is about as interesting and mentally stimulating as a trip to the DMV. Two months ago he made a presentation and invited us all to watch, where he basically bragged about being financially responsible and buying a home at "only" 26 years of age. Now to his credit, the idea is that he is getting roommates and basically living for free (not sure if that's actually panned out yet). Upon pressing for details, he revealed that he is doing the 3.5% percent down mortgage with high PMI... on a 120k house.

Today at lunch it was revealed that he has been put on a performance improvement plan a few weeks ago. He is convinced that they have an axe to grind against him, and totally doesn't realize that this means he's about to get fired (as he should). Instead, he went and purchased a $16,000 sports motorcycle. For those of you who know nothing about motorcycles, that is a ridiculously nice bike. He is paying over $500/month for payments and full coverage insurance, and doesn't know his interest rate.

When I not-so-subtly tried to warn him that performance improvement plans can mean firing, he dismissed it saying he would get unemployment insurance. Unemployment insurance caps out at about $1,300/month in this state.

I have a co-worker whose job has been giving her nothing but stress since day 1. This is actually true, her entire department is run and populated by people who never emotionally left middle school - backstabbing, endless drama, gossip, PA behavior, constant trips to HR, the works. So the obvious thing to do when you hate your job and have no change on the horizon is to financially chain yourself even further to said shitty job by financing a car, buying a money suck of a house, running up more cc debt to deal with said money pit. When the next drama shitstorm comes rolling around, she runs to me crying that they can't force her out, she can't make it financially without this job blah blah blah.

I think it sucks she works in a toxic environment, but I have real trouble mustering up any fucks to give about her financial situation. If I thought my job was constantly in danger for one reason or another, the last thing I would be doing is making large, needless purchases. I'd be saving like a maniac, cutting expenses, and looking for another job. But I'm not even in that situation. If I lost my job today, so what? Oh well, just enjoy the time off and go find another one. We don't need me to work to survive and have money in the bank because we haven't balled and chained ourselves to needing every penny of either of our incomes to make it. However, she assumes that we did because projection. I am not really interested in correcting her, I just sit and nod. She's too old to change (almost the same age as my own mother).

cheapass

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15130 on: October 06, 2016, 07:32:23 AM »
Got a good one from my wife's work.

Co-worker A needs to buy a birthday gift for his girlfriend so he enlists co-worker B (female) to help. They come to the decision that a designer purse, original MSRP of $3,000 is appropriate. But holy shit, it's 50% off what a great deal! Only $1,500!. Boom, bought it!

Such a great deal in fact that Co-worker B just HAD to buy one for herself, I mean you're just an idiot if you pass up a bargain like that!

For context, they both have incomes in the $70-80K range.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15131 on: October 06, 2016, 07:55:09 AM »
But holy shit, it's 50% off what a great deal! Only $1,500!. Boom, bought it!

Holy shit sounds about right. I mean...I'm a purse addict, but ho...ly....shit.  No effing way.

TravelJunkyQC

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15132 on: October 06, 2016, 08:17:41 AM »
My purse is also worth approximately 1,500$.

Except it's huge, and I can fit a shit ton of stuff in there.

Like my snowboard.

And 4 people.

And it can take me across the country.

Oh wait, no, I mean my car; my car is worth approximately 1,500$.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15133 on: October 06, 2016, 08:22:03 AM »
My purse is also worth approximately 1,500$.

Except it's huge, and I can fit a shit ton of stuff in there.

Like my snowboard.

And 4 people.

And it can take me across the country.

Oh wait, no, I mean my car; my car is worth approximately 1,500$.



Well played.  :D
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No Name Guy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15134 on: October 06, 2016, 08:25:37 AM »
But holy shit, it's 50% off what a great deal! Only $1,500!. Boom, bought it!

Holy shit sounds about right. I mean...I'm a purse addict, but ho...ly....shit.  No effing way.

Best refer her over to http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/antimustachian-wall-of-shame-and-comedy/6-women-$270-000-of-collective-debt/

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15135 on: October 06, 2016, 08:35:46 AM »
Broken link
« Last Edit: October 06, 2016, 08:50:17 AM by zephyr911 »

boyerbt

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15136 on: October 06, 2016, 08:46:22 AM »

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15137 on: October 06, 2016, 10:06:10 AM »
Low paid coworker (but two bachelor degrees) complains about their job (no degree required) and tight finances to me recently. I just let them talk, didn't stop them. Made some minor frugality suggestions.

They are paying just huge money for an apartment. Similar to my mortgage and we have a much nicer place to live.

We were paying half as much as their rent on our first home a few years back.

They could likely buy a starter house with smaller mortgage AND build a healthy emergency stash for the same as rent. LCOL area.

Complains about the job but wastes much time each day on FB and social media when they could be looking hard for another job online.

They are smart and efficient with their job. Just wasting money and time.

Guess they'll do something about it all when they are finally out of patience with their job/boss. I'm guessing another five years... ;)

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15138 on: October 06, 2016, 11:56:20 AM »
Man that would be the perfect time to try and sell her on one of those bookcases that when you pull on a fake book, it slides over and reveals a hidden room.  I so want one of those...
That's the one thing I'm having when I have more money than I can spend and am building my own house.

I actually know someone with that. You know what's in the secret room? Stacks of rubbermaid tubs up to the ceiling, full of holiday decorations. This is in addition to the basement full of stuff. It's a 5 bedroom, massive house, and they have probably 10x the amount of stuff I have. They are also probably the most quietly unhappy people I have the misfortune to know.

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15139 on: October 06, 2016, 12:02:46 PM »
Man that would be the perfect time to try and sell her on one of those bookcases that when you pull on a fake book, it slides over and reveals a hidden room.  I so want one of those...
That's the one thing I'm having when I have more money than I can spend and am building my own house.

I actually know someone with that. You know what's in the secret room? Stacks of rubbermaid tubs up to the ceiling, full of holiday decorations. This is in addition to the basement full of stuff. It's a 5 bedroom, massive house, and they have probably 10x the amount of stuff I have. They are also probably the most quietly unhappy people I have the misfortune to know.

That's what I think of whenever I see a movie where there's a secret chamber. Another question I have is, "If it's so remote and secret, how the heck is it so pristine and clean?" I mean, if it's designed to not be noticed by anyone, who the hell constructed it and made sure that the engineered room doesn't collapse? Also, who cleans it because it likely isn't the homeowner and having servants know about it kinda defeats its purpose?

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15140 on: October 06, 2016, 12:14:37 PM »
That's what I think of whenever I see a movie where there's a secret chamber. Another question I have is, "If it's so remote and secret, how the heck is it so pristine and clean?" I mean, if it's designed to not be noticed by anyone, who the hell constructed it and made sure that the engineered room doesn't collapse? Also, who cleans it because it likely isn't the homeowner and having servants know about it kinda defeats its purpose?

That's why your secret room should always lead down into caves with water dripping so it cleans itself

Joggernot

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15141 on: October 06, 2016, 12:30:24 PM »
That's why your secret room should always lead down into caves with water dripping so it cleans itself
Yep, its October, the month of hidden rooms and dripping caves.  Found one in Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15142 on: October 06, 2016, 01:38:34 PM »
My purse is also worth approximately 1,500$.

Except it's huge, and I can fit a shit ton of stuff in there.

Like my snowboard.

And 4 people.

And it can take me across the country.

Oh wait, no, I mean my car; my car is worth approximately 1,500$.

This was fantastic.

I think my car is worth $2500

TravelJunkyQC

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15143 on: October 06, 2016, 02:01:51 PM »
My purse is also worth approximately 1,500$.

Except it's huge, and I can fit a shit ton of stuff in there.

Like my snowboard.

And 4 people.

And it can take me across the country.

Oh wait, no, I mean my car; my car is worth approximately 1,500$.

This was fantastic.

I think my car is worth $2500

Psshh... so what, that's like, not even half the value of a Chanel purse!

Threshkin

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15144 on: October 06, 2016, 02:10:19 PM »
My purse is also worth approximately 1,500$.

Except it's huge, and I can fit a shit ton of stuff in there.

Like my snowboard.

And 4 people.

And it can take me across the country.

Oh wait, no, I mean my car; my car is worth approximately 1,500$.

This was fantastic.

I think my car is worth $2500

Psshh... so what, that's like, not even half the value of a Chanel purse!

Half the cost maybe.  Much more than half the value

hudsoncat

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15145 on: October 06, 2016, 02:43:08 PM »
The new FLSA rules are causing some changes at my job. All the formerly salaried/exempt positions below the line are now transitioning to hourly/non-exempt. The challenge is that salaried staff are currently paid twice per month (24 pays per year) and hourly are paid every other week (26 pays per year). The transition in pay structure in December is going to cause the newly hourly folks to have their first hourly check be 'short' in the sense that it only covers one week rather than two and then they will have to wait two weeks for their first 'full' check. The company is offering an interest free loan if you'd like to request it to make up the difference. The loan will be paid back over the next 11 months in equal installments directly deducted from you check. Not an ideal situation, but trying to make the best of it.

People are losing their damn minds. Several are apparently bad at math and do not understand that they are in fact getting the same salary, but spread out across 26 pay checks rather than 24 means that each pay check is less. They are convinced that they are taking a pay cut. One guy has figured out that this means he will get three pay checks some months. However, he believes those 'extra' pay checks mean he will make more in 2017 than in 2016.

One woman burst into tears, convinced she will lose her house because of the short pay check challenge at the start. When reminded of the loan, she said she cannot possibly afford the rest of her paycheck's then being short for the next 11 months. Several people agreed with her that they are very worried about that as well.

I'm not that shocked so many people cannot handle having essentially less than half the pay check they are used too (I see their ridiculous spending habits frequently enough), but I'm still a little amazed I guess at the angst this is causing. I was also little surprised at how many people were unable to grasp the different between 24/26 pays and why their checks would be a different amount. Most of these people have master's degrees, all at least have a bachelors... did none of them take math?!

nobody123

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15146 on: October 06, 2016, 03:27:31 PM »
People are losing their damn minds. Several are apparently bad at math and do not understand that they are in fact getting the same salary, but spread out across 26 pay checks rather than 24 means that each pay check is less. They are convinced that they are taking a pay cut...

People always get antsy when you mess with their paychecks.  It is nice that your company offered an interest-free loan for those that needed it.

We had the opposite happen (every other week Friday pay for salaried folks went to 15th and last) a few years ago.  Folks complained that they were taking a pay cut because they were getting fewer checks (completely ignoring the fact that each check was now bigger).   A bunch of folks complained because more taxes were taken out because the checks were a bigger amount, not understanding how taxes work. 

Funny thing is that everyone got a tiny raise to account for the loss of pay due to rounding.  $65K/26 = $2500 but $65K/24 = $2708.3333.  $2708.33 * 24 is only $64999.92.  That person should have had their salary adjusted to $65000.24 so they wouldn't be taking a pay cut.  But, since others got a de-facto increase due to rounding, they ended up giving everyone a buck or two extra for PR purposes.  Yet people still complained because they didn't understand the math.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15147 on: October 06, 2016, 03:31:52 PM »
People are losing their damn minds. Several are apparently bad at math and do not understand that they are in fact getting the same salary, but spread out across 26 pay checks rather than 24 means that each pay check is less.

I got excited when we made the transition from 24 to 26 pay periods per year. Think of the infinitesimal amount of extra interest I'll be earning on my money now! That will save me like 10 minutes in the cubicle farm. If it were an option, I'd actually prefer to be paid on the minute, every minute.

TexasRunner

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15148 on: October 06, 2016, 04:07:13 PM »
People are losing their damn minds. Several are apparently bad at math and do not understand that they are in fact getting the same salary, but spread out across 26 pay checks rather than 24 means that each pay check is less.

I got excited when we made the transition from 24 to 26 pay periods per year. Think of the infinitesimal amount of extra interest I'll be earning on my money now! That will save me like 10 minutes in the cubicle farm. If it were an option, I'd actually prefer to be paid on the minute, every minute.

Wouldn't that be an interesting societal concept....  Like sticking a card into a machine when you get to work, and having your hourly pay flow in once an hour (or more).

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15149 on: October 06, 2016, 04:16:11 PM »
People are losing their damn minds. Several are apparently bad at math and do not understand that they are in fact getting the same salary, but spread out across 26 pay checks rather than 24 means that each pay check is less.

I got excited when we made the transition from 24 to 26 pay periods per year. Think of the infinitesimal amount of extra interest I'll be earning on my money now! That will save me like 10 minutes in the cubicle farm. If it were an option, I'd actually prefer to be paid on the minute, every minute.

Wouldn't that be an interesting societal concept....  Like sticking a card into a machine when you get to work, and having your hourly pay flow in once an hour (or more).

Steady stream, in pennies, with an audio toggle that sounds like a constant slot machine payout.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!