Overheard at Work

[Kitsune]

This is 100% the reason I don't bake. Way too much precision required in the measurements - I want to eyeball everything and experiment.

I know my limitations.

LOL, I used to be that way.  Eyeball everything except when baking.  My DW showed me a different world.  She eyeballs everything to the point of literally just pouring ingredients into the bowl.  Her cakes and breads are fantastic.  I followed her example and now make bread with only rough measurements.  Works fine as long as the key ratios are followed.

But you kinda HAVE to do that with bread - like, how humid it is affects how humid the flour is affects how much water you need to get the right texture of dough, sometimes by as much as a cup of water difference from one recipe to another.

Cakes are tetchier... but cookies and brownies? Pfft. Eyeball.

[No Name Guy]

So my wife is decluttering and we have these nice candlesticks. We got them when my bro's ex was throwing them away. Checked on ebay to humor my wife and they retail for $3,000 new EACH. This just happened like 10 minutes ago. I'm still sitting here and can't grasp this. Someone spent $6,000 of two nice candlesticks and then threw them away.

Please tell me these were solid silver.........

[Threshkin]

Ah yes - there was one company I worked for that had a running joke "Other duties as assigned" was the wording they used.

Yes, that is the EXACT wording I have seen at some jobs.

That is usually my primary job description!

[Making Cookies]

Meetings like your's Zephyr911 sometimes make me question whether what I was witnessing was reality b/c they are so absurd.

I attended a meeting with a couple dozen people once only to have it devolve into discussion about a few keywords and statements (basically editing the mission statement of the department).

This went on and on with the rest of us watching/listening until a few of us just stood up and left. Let the ~ three people (boss and two senior subordinates) most vested in this debate work it out - the rest of us have alot of work to do.

The amount of money that meeting cost indirectly (manhours, salaries) was incredible. For a mission statement level paragraph.

My director came running in all excited about 11:30 and spent 15 or 20 minutes explaining something that had to be done, then another 10 minutes making me come along and watch while he explained it to the guy who *actually had to do it*. I still can't figure out why I was involved there.

Even more bizarre, this was a complete rewrite of a set of products that we spent all of September, so they could be staffed and revised repeatedly for two weeks in October, and sat on for the next two weeks. But the new version needs to be done in two hours.* >.<

*Okay, okay, just the concept/shell... but seriously, the way things go from last to first priority around here (and vice versa) is insane.

I used to have a supervisor at another job that liked to make the last priority the first priority as he went out the door on Friday afternoon. Didn't take long to figure out he was doing it to be mean b/c it would upset a bunch of people's weekends b/c they would have to work overtime. Not a bad thing if you got overtime pay. He'd do that to me and then sit on the paperwork for weeks and then demand it be done again b/c the information contained was out of date. Again - a rush job.

Eventually he got demoted but they fired a good employee to make room for the bad supervisor. It was my signal to make preparations to leave.

[Catbert]

Okay, here's my coffee making story.  Sometimes you're good and something you're lucky.  This was luck.

In my first office job many years ago, I was the logical person to get stuck making coffee.  I was female.  I was by far the youngest person  and lowest paid person in the office (19 y.o. making just a bit more than minimum wage).  But I didn't drink coffee and had never made a pot.  Most importantly, I was too dumb, ah, innocent to realize anyone would think that I should make coffee.  Several people attempted to show me how the machine worked, however, I just shook my head and said I didn't drink coffee.   Luckily for me it was the 70s rather than the 60s so no one pushed the issue.

I'm still a tea drinker.

[onlykelsey]

Okay, here's my coffee making story.  Sometimes you're good and something you're lucky.  This was luck.

In my first office job many years ago, I was the logical person to get stuck making coffee.  I was female.  I was by far the youngest person  and lowest paid person in the office (19 y.o. making just a bit more than minimum wage).  But I didn't drink coffee and had never made a pot.  Most importantly, I was too dumb, ah, innocent to realize anyone would think that I should make coffee.  Several people attempted to show me how the machine worked, however, I just shook my head and said I didn't drink coffee.   Luckily for me it was the 70s rather than the 60s so no one pushed the issue.

I'm still a tea drinker.

That is amazing.

[Goldielocks]

Ah yes - there was one company I worked for that had a running joke "Other duties as assigned" was the wording they used.

Yes, that is the EXACT wording I have seen at some jobs.

That is usually my primary job description!

Mine too.  I am in management.

Yep, I make coffee, book my own travel, shovel snow off the sidewalk, load my dishes in the dishwasher (not always, but as needed).

Why?   I follow the servant leader approach that the people that actually make you the money (the workers) need to work, and the rest of us get out of their way and make it easier and safer for them.   Also, you know, basic adulting through example.

it is funny because I have peers that truly believe that if you don't set yourself above the employees, then you will have no power at the workplace.   That you extinguish your usefulness if you do not maintain that image / power.

[Travis]

Meetings like your's Zephyr911 sometimes make me question whether what I was witnessing was reality b/c they are so absurd.

I attended a meeting with a couple dozen people once only to have it devolve into discussion about a few keywords and statements (basically editing the mission statement of the department).

This went on and on with the rest of us watching/listening until a few of us just stood up and left. Let the ~ three people (boss and two senior subordinates) most vested in this debate work it out - the rest of us have alot of work to do.

The amount of money that meeting cost indirectly (manhours, salaries) was incredible. For a mission statement level paragraph.

My director came running in all excited about 11:30 and spent 15 or 20 minutes explaining something that had to be done, then another 10 minutes making me come along and watch while he explained it to the guy who *actually had to do it*. I still can't figure out why I was involved there.

Even more bizarre, this was a complete rewrite of a set of products that we spent all of September, so they could be staffed and revised repeatedly for two weeks in October, and sat on for the next two weeks. But the new version needs to be done in two hours.* >.<

*Okay, okay, just the concept/shell... but seriously, the way things go from last to first priority around here (and vice versa) is insane.

I spend anywhere from 11-15 hours of my work week in meetings.  Yesterday one of my higher headquarters decided to hold a video teleconference where we on the receiving end were supposed to receive a project update.  That part of the meeting took about 10 minutes, and the next 40 were spent with the six folks hosting the meeting talking amongst themselves brainstorming while the rest of us sat there scratching our heads.  Their sound system wasn't all that great so I could barely hear them at all.  After 5-10 minutes of us watching this conversation, the guy hosting the meeting would turn to the camera and ask "do you have any questions about that?"  Seriously?  Even if I could hear you clearly I couldn't identify a specific topic you were covering for me to answer that question. 

[mustachepungoeshere]

On Friday, a certain senior manager stopped by my cube while I was finishing up a draft of our weekly report. I told him that I could add the final piece of XYZ missing information to a report via a 5-minute phone call to my counterpart in the organization that produced that section.

My organization being what it is, people thinking the way they do, he decided it was better to stand over me while dictating a phone call to a higher-ranking guy in the same shop, then give up and drag us both to his office while they debated for half an hour over how to write... a single sentence.

FTR, I called the 30-min duration in my head, in advance - that is how predictably inefficient this guy is with time.

The single sentence, which I had already proposed in concept, and which really could not have ended up much differently than it did, was something along the lines of "we are awaiting a decision by (other agency) on this proposal." Because that's what was happening at the time, and nothing else. But, the more people you get involved in these things, the longer it takes.

Because these guys are both so much higher than I am in the chain, I knew in advance that I wouldn't really be part of the conversation. This could be really frustrating on some level, but I managed to take the same approach as above. At least I wasn't under the gun for any other deadlines, the chairs up there are comfy, and I was getting about forty bucks an hour to lean back in said chair and stay just awake enough to engage, if/when invited. No need to be mad, except as a taxpayer....

In my last job, we needed information from another department for a weekly report.

It could have been emailed instantly.

Instead, my boss, who had inefficiency down to an art form, would take a pen and notebook to another floor, sit down with the PA of the manager whose info we required, have them recite it aloud, write it down, come back to our floor, summon me and another colleague to a meeting, and recite the information with the expectation that we would write it down. Then he would ask me (the only woman) to type it up for the office.

This was not decades ago, it was earlier this year.

I (barely) tolerated this twice. His fragile ego would never permit him to listen to my suggestions, so I went around him to the PA and arranged for her to email me the info each week.

That freed up a couple of hours a week for him to smoke, get coffee and monologue.

[gggggg]

It's health benefits open enrollment at my workplace. One of my employees greatly dislikes tech, can hardly use a standard computer at all. I offered to help set him up, online. He gets hung up on the login screen with his username and password. He quits the whole process, just because he won't call the 1-800 number to reset his credentials. By not doing five minutes work, he is having to pay an extra $40 a month for health insurance. Astounding.

[kimmarg]

This is 100% the reason I don't bake. Way too much precision required in the measurements - I want to eyeball everything and experiment.

I know my limitations.

I don't understand this. I eyeball anything and everything when I bake and it usually turns out fine. I think the key is experience so you have a good idea what the 'right amount' is. I do fine making up bread, muffins, pancakes, basic cookies. It's all in knowing what ingredients do what. Like molasses always needs baking soda to balance the acid....

[dragoncar]

I'm convinced that these people just don't pick up after themselves at home until it becomes positively unliveable. So they don't pick up after themselves at work either, following the same pattern, but things magically become liveable again because someone else picks up after them.

Maybe they have one of those magic coffee tables: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1_QTm-wpsY

book my own travel

Oh man, the travel.  If I book it myself, I go online, login (all information prefilled) pick the flights, pay, and I'm done.  If I ask my assistant:

Hey can you book a flight to this place on this day?
Sure, give me your ID info
Here it is
You want to fly out of this airport or this airport?
This one
Ok, do you want to leave at x y z times?
Uh, y.
And come back at l m n o p?
Make it p.
You want me to shoot you in the head or you want to do it yourself?
Myself please

[mustachepungoeshere]

I'm convinced that these people just don't pick up after themselves at home until it becomes positively unliveable. So they don't pick up after themselves at work either, following the same pattern, but things magically become liveable again because someone else picks up after them.

Yes!

My boss (mentioned above) would leave used coffee cups all over the office. Not just his desk, but reception, the board room, etc.

I used to wonder what his house was like. Then one day he said, "Don't come too close - there were no dry towels in my house this morning."

ಠ_ಠ

[LeRainDrop]

book my own travel

Oh man, the travel.  If I book it myself, I go online, login (all information prefilled) pick the flights, pay, and I'm done.  If I ask my assistant: . . . .

+1  So true!  Plus, the back and forth with the assistant typically gets spread out over several hours, if not an entire day.  One time my assistant booked me an ~$800 non-refundable flight and then the next day re-booked me a second non-refundable seat on that same flight.  She somehow didn't realize she did that.  When I happened to look at my upcoming trips on the airline's website, I saw the double-booking.  Another time, she didn't book the flight that day I asked her to, and the price went up substantially the next day.  I only experimented with going through my assistant because partners had encouraged it.  After those couple things, I easily justified to the partners why I should just do it myself.

[WerKater]

I'm convinced that these people just don't pick up after themselves at home until it becomes positively unliveable. So they don't pick up after themselves at work either, following the same pattern, but things magically become liveable again because someone else picks up after them.

Yes!

My boss (mentioned above) would leave used coffee cups all over the office. Not just his desk, but reception, the board room, etc.

I used to wonder what his house was like. Then one day he said, "Don't come too close - there were no dry towels in my house this morning."

ಠ_ಠ

Your boss sounds like a particularly extreme example.

However, be aware that people can have legitimately differing standards of cleanliness. This is not a comment on the specific situation, but just because someone's standard is different from yours does not mean that they are unreasonable.
I am often on the other side of this issue. At home, I do in fact leave all kinds of things around the flat, because it simply does not bother me very much. At some point it does become too much and then I clean it up.

I act somewhat differently at work, because much of it is a shared space (but I maintain that my desk is my and only my business).
However, this can be difficult because I have some colleagues whose idea of cleanliness borders on the insane, in my opinion. Like making a huge deal out of an "improperly folded" milk carton in the trash. Or the case where someone sent an office-wide email complaining about the "filth" in the kitchen. It took some time to figure out what she actually meant -- the kitchen looked fine to me. It turned out to be three (yes, I counted) grains of rice in the sink.

So what's the takeaway from this rant?
- If you want someone to behave in a certain way (be it cleaning up or making coffee or whatever), tell them. Specifically. Everything else is just inefficient communication.
- Don't assume that someone whose cleanliness standard differs from yours is living in "unliveable" conditions at home because they don't have you cleaning up after them. Probably, they really just have a different standard and are doing just fine.

[theadvicist]

Yes, telling them specifically is key.

I used to work in an office where the rule was, "The kitchen must be kept tidy". I was like... that's the goal. The rule needs to be: "You use something, you wash it up".

Because 'tidy' means different things to different people. To some people it implies clean, to some it just means stuff put away. Be specific.

[dragoncar]

Yes, telling them specifically is key.

I used to work in an office where the rule was, "The kitchen must be kept tidy". I was like... that's the goal. The rule needs to be: "You use something, you wash it up".

Because 'tidy' means different things to different people. To some people it implies clean, to some it just means stuff put away. Be specific.

"wash" means different things to different people too.  Just ask my dad

[theadvicist]

"wash" means different things to different people too.  Just ask my dad

LOL

[mustachepungoeshere]

I'm convinced that these people just don't pick up after themselves at home until it becomes positively unliveable. So they don't pick up after themselves at work either, following the same pattern, but things magically become liveable again because someone else picks up after them.

Yes!

My boss (mentioned above) would leave used coffee cups all over the office. Not just his desk, but reception, the board room, etc.

I used to wonder what his house was like. Then one day he said, "Don't come too close - there were no dry towels in my house this morning."

ಠ_ಠ

Your boss sounds like a particularly extreme example.

However, be aware that people can have legitimately differing standards of cleanliness. This is not a comment on the specific situation, but just because someone's standard is different from yours does not mean that they are unreasonable.
I am often on the other side of this issue. At home, I do in fact leave all kinds of things around the flat, because it simply does not bother me very much. At some point it does become too much and then I clean it up.

I act somewhat differently at work, because much of it is a shared space (but I maintain that my desk is my and only my business).
However, this can be difficult because I have some colleagues whose idea of cleanliness borders on the insane, in my opinion. Like making a huge deal out of an "improperly folded" milk carton in the trash. Or the case where someone sent an office-wide email complaining about the "filth" in the kitchen. It took some time to figure out what she actually meant -- the kitchen looked fine to me. It turned out to be three (yes, I counted) grains of rice in the sink.

So what's the takeaway from this rant?
- If you want someone to behave in a certain way (be it cleaning up or making coffee or whatever), tell them. Specifically. Everything else is just inefficient communication.
- Don't assume that someone whose cleanliness standard differs from yours is living in "unliveable" conditions at home because they don't have you cleaning up after them. Probably, they really just have a different standard and are doing just fine.

I understand people have different standards of cleanliness. It didn't exactly keep me awake at night.

But if a colleague hasn't showered, I don't need to be informed.

[Torran]

Ah yes - there was one company I worked for that had a running joke "Other duties as assigned" was the wording they used.

Yes, that is the EXACT wording I have seen at some jobs.

That is usually my primary job description!

Mine too.  I am in management.

Yep, I make coffee, book my own travel, shovel snow off the sidewalk, load my dishes in the dishwasher (not always, but as needed).

Why?   I follow the servant leader approach that the people that actually make you the money (the workers) need to work, and the rest of us get out of their way and make it easier and safer for them.   Also, you know, basic adulting through example.

it is funny because I have peers that truly believe that if you don't set yourself above the employees, then you will have no power at the workplace.   That you extinguish your usefulness if you do not maintain that image / power.

Y'know, I'm just so happy to read this, because you sound like a phenomenal manager. 'Basic adulting through example' indeed!!!

I have worked with a few people who seemed to think they had to distinguish themselves from those 'below' them by maintaining a certain image of management. Like, never ever being the one who makes coffee, but always being the one who uses the word synergy in a meeting :) haha. Never getting on friendly terms with anyone 'below' them on the organisational chart. WTF, just be a human being, y'know. Be a leader. Not a douchebag.

[TravelJunkyQC]

I'm convinced that these people just don't pick up after themselves at home until it becomes positively unliveable. So they don't pick up after themselves at work either, following the same pattern, but things magically become liveable again because someone else picks up after them.

Yes!

My boss (mentioned above) would leave used coffee cups all over the office. Not just his desk, but reception, the board room, etc.

I used to wonder what his house was like. Then one day he said, "Don't come too close - there were no dry towels in my house this morning."

ಠ_ಠ

Your boss sounds like a particularly extreme example.

However, be aware that people can have legitimately differing standards of cleanliness. This is not a comment on the specific situation, but just because someone's standard is different from yours does not mean that they are unreasonable.
I am often on the other side of this issue. At home, I do in fact leave all kinds of things around the flat, because it simply does not bother me very much. At some point it does become too much and then I clean it up.

I act somewhat differently at work, because much of it is a shared space (but I maintain that my desk is my and only my business).
However, this can be difficult because I have some colleagues whose idea of cleanliness borders on the insane, in my opinion. Like making a huge deal out of an "improperly folded" milk carton in the trash. Or the case where someone sent an office-wide email complaining about the "filth" in the kitchen. It took some time to figure out what she actually meant -- the kitchen looked fine to me. It turned out to be three (yes, I counted) grains of rice in the sink.

So what's the takeaway from this rant?
- If you want someone to behave in a certain way (be it cleaning up or making coffee or whatever), tell them. Specifically. Everything else is just inefficient communication.
- Don't assume that someone whose cleanliness standard differs from yours is living in "unliveable" conditions at home because they don't have you cleaning up after them. Probably, they really just have a different standard and are doing just fine.

I understand people have different standards of cleanliness. It didn't exactly keep me awake at night.

But if a colleague hasn't showered, I don't need to be informed.

You make a good point in terms of differing opinions of "liveable". And I realize that I'm difficult in that respect. Which is also why I bring my own utensils, coffee cups, and glasses from home, so that I don't huff and puff when something isn't clean in the office. It's also why I chose to live alone most of my adult life, so that my OCD doesn't affect someone else's needs for being chill and leaving stuff lying around in their own home.

I seem to have found a good middle-ground with the people in my life: I tornado-around by myself like a crazy woman when something isn't clean to my liking, and they simply stay out of my way DON'T mention how ridiculous I'm being when I put my spice-rack in alphabetical order. Everybody wins.

[zephyr911]

I seem to have found a good middle-ground with the people in my life: I tornado-around by myself like a crazy woman when something isn't clean to my liking, and they simply stay out of my way DON'T mention how ridiculous I'm being when I put my spice-rack in alphabetical order. Everybody wins.

Oh, do you have the CDO too?

[infogoon]

You could hang passive aggressive notes on the coffeemaker.

Passive-aggressive break room notes and Jazz are the two distinctively American arts.

[Miss Piggy]

You could hang passive aggressive notes on the coffeemaker.

Passive-aggressive break room notes and Jazz are the two distinctively American arts.

The break room notes are more entertaining.

[Dollar Slice]

You could hang passive aggressive notes on the coffeemaker.

Passive-aggressive break room notes and Jazz are the two distinctively American arts.

The break room notes are more entertaining.

*obligatory glaring and harumphing from a jazz fan*

[DutchGirl]

"I can't work less hours. Having children is sooo expensive" - coming from a colleague of mine who just came back from a 3-week-holiday with their kids (both toddler-age) from Europe to the US traveling around in an RV. It was a great holiday for the parents, but don't blame the kids for your holiday choices...

[bebegirl]

Oh man, the travel.  If I book it myself, I go online, login (all information prefilled) pick the flights, pay, and I'm done.  If I ask my assistant:

Hey can you book a flight to this place on this day?
Sure, give me your ID info
Here it is
You want to fly out of this airport or this airport?
This one
Ok, do you want to leave at x y z times?
Uh, y.
And come back at l m n o p?
Make it p.
You want me to shoot you in the head or you want to do it yourself?
Myself please

Oh travel booking! Here is an example for you from administrative assistant side! ))

There are such managers who (by plain matter of coincidence, I guess) constantly change already arranged bookings and make them so complicated that it hurts!

So he asked me to book a trip for example to Chicago. And then from Chicago I booked to Boston with hotels etc. Then Boston meeting either cancelled or something else has happened and I needed to cancel and instead book trip to New York. With hotels.
I book and then something else happens and I need to cancel and find him tickets back home  from airport that is not Kennedy airport but LaGuardia  exactly on Friday for him to be back with his kids for the weekend!

Then I am left with some airline credits over $800 that I need to use against future bookings and not forget about it. But the trick is that you can not use credit if airfare is below that credit. Geez, what a pain!

The person travels a lot (does a great job though) and every single booking is like that. I just crack my brain and become nervous every time he approaches with travel request. LOL

[OptimizeOptimism]

Oh man, the travel.  If I book it myself, I go online, login (all information prefilled) pick the flights, pay, and I'm done.  If I ask my assistant:

Hey can you book a flight to this place on this day?
Sure, give me your ID info
Here it is
You want to fly out of this airport or this airport?
This one
Ok, do you want to leave at x y z times?
Uh, y.
And come back at l m n o p?
Make it p.
You want me to shoot you in the head or you want to do it yourself?
Myself please

Oh travel booking! Here is an example for you from administrative assistant side! ))

There are such managers who (by plain matter of coincidence, I guess) constantly change already arranged bookings and make them so complicated that it hurts!

So he asked me to book a trip for example to Chicago. And then from Chicago I booked to Boston with hotels etc. Then Boston meeting either cancelled or something else has happened and I needed to cancel and instead book trip to New York. With hotels.
I book and then something else happens and I need to cancel and find him tickets back home  from airport that is not Kennedy airport but LaGuardia  exactly on Friday for him to be back with his kids for the weekend!

Then I am left with some airline credits over $800 that I need to use against future bookings and not forget about it. But the trick is that you can not use credit if airfare is below that credit. Geez, what a pain!

The person travels a lot (does a great job though) and every single booking is like that. I just crack my brain and become nervous every time he approaches with travel request. LOL

I travel for work a lot. This is a very familiar process to me. The difference is that I make all my own travel arrangements through our company's booking system. I would KILL for someone like you to be doing all that for me. I would bring you your favorite baked good every time I was actually home and get you THE BEST Christmas presents.

[bebegirl]

Oh man, the travel.  If I book it myself, I go online, login (all information prefilled) pick the flights, pay, and I'm done.  If I ask my assistant:

Hey can you book a flight to this place on this day?
Sure, give me your ID info
Here it is
You want to fly out of this airport or this airport?
This one
Ok, do you want to leave at x y z times?
Uh, y.
And come back at l m n o p?
Make it p.
You want me to shoot you in the head or you want to do it yourself?
Myself please

Oh travel booking! Here is an example for you from administrative assistant side! ))

There are such managers who (by plain matter of coincidence, I guess) constantly change already arranged bookings and make them so complicated that it hurts!

So he asked me to book a trip for example to Chicago. And then from Chicago I booked to Boston with hotels etc. Then Boston meeting either cancelled or something else has happened and I needed to cancel and instead book trip to New York. With hotels.
I book and then something else happens and I need to cancel and find him tickets back home  from airport that is not Kennedy airport but LaGuardia  exactly on Friday for him to be back with his kids for the weekend!

Then I am left with some airline credits over $800 that I need to use against future bookings and not forget about it. But the trick is that you can not use credit if airfare is below that credit. Geez, what a pain!

The person travels a lot (does a great job though) and every single booking is like that. I just crack my brain and become nervous every time he approaches with travel request. LOL

I travel for work a lot. This is a very familiar process to me. The difference is that I make all my own travel arrangements through our company's booking system. I would KILL for someone like you to be doing all that for me. I would bring you your favorite baked good every time I was actually home and get you THE BEST Christmas presents.

Oh my goodness! How sweet! ))
To be objective, people treat me here very well. This particular manager is very apologetic every time this happens (and this happens every single time).
But boy, it is complicated and takes a lot of time and I do not complain and do not make mistakes ))

[With This Herring]

*snip*

I seem to have found a good middle-ground with the people in my life: I tornado-around by myself like a crazy woman when something isn't clean to my liking, and they simply stay out of my way DON'T mention how ridiculous I'm being when I put my spice-rack in alphabetical order. Everybody wins.

Wait, there are people who don't alphabetize their spices besides my mother?  How do they not end up with duplicates?  The best thing about this apartment is the long, narrow shelf around one side of the kitchen that lets me have all spices in order and in view.  I discovered that I had three bottles of crushed red pepper and two of a bunch of other spices.

[horsepoor]

*snip*

I seem to have found a good middle-ground with the people in my life: I tornado-around by myself like a crazy woman when something isn't clean to my liking, and they simply stay out of my way DON'T mention how ridiculous I'm being when I put my spice-rack in alphabetical order. Everybody wins.

Wait, there are people who don't alphabetize their spices besides my mother?  How do they not end up with duplicates?  The best thing about this apartment is the long, narrow shelf around one side of the kitchen that lets me have all spices in order and in view.  I discovered that I had three bottles of crushed red pepper and two of a bunch of other spices.

My spice system goes by frequency of use.  I buy bulk spices, so I just refill the jars and thus don't end up with duplicates.  The dozen that get used most frequently like oregano and cumin are on a little stairstep thing on the bottom shelf.  The stuff that is used less frequently is in two baskets:  savory and baking ingredients.  So if I'm baking, I can grab the basket with the nutmeg, cinnamon, etc., or if I'm making Indian food I grab the other basket and have all that stuff on hand.  This way I'm also not mixing different sizes and shapes of containers arbitrarily.  I actually don't think I've ever seen alphabetized spices outside of the grocery store...

[LeRainDrop]

I actually don't think I've ever seen alphabetized spices outside of the grocery store...

Mine are alphabetized because they are all on a single, deep shelf, so I can't see the labels except for the front row.  By alphabetizing, I can pick up a random spice near where I think the one I'm looking for would be, and then based on the name of the one I pick up, I know whether to next look farther up or behind.  (Okay, I admit it -- I would probably alphabetize them even if I could see all the labels at once.  In fact, it would probably bother me even more to see the labels and not have them in order.)  ;-)

[faithless]

I read a tip somewhere to write the names on the top of the lids with a silver Sharpie. The herbs are in one basket on the shelf and spices in another, I grab the right basket out if I want multiples.

[esq]

I think some of the reluctance to do more menial tasks comes down to a longer-term view.  If you accept the menial tasks, more people will ask you to do them, and you'll be less available to handle more visible/high-priority/career-enhancing work.  And without the flashy stuff in your portfolio, you're less likely to get the next raise/promotion.

This is true if it legitimately takes away from your productive time or alters others perception of you.  But if you aren't doing anything productive at the moment, I think getting coffee makes you look like a team player. 


Another example from work is assistant use.  Some people will push anything and everything to their assistant, even if it doesn't save any time.  Some people will ask their assistant to print documents and bring it to their desk.  Now if you have a million files that need to be collated, tabbed, and bindered that makes sense.  But it takes me more time to attach a file to an email and send it to my assistant than to just print it out and grab it from the printer 20 feet away.  I can even get coffee for me and my neighbor on the way.  I'm not above printing, faxing, or anything else and certainly nobody ever refused to staff me on a project because "oh he's the guy who prints his own files!"

Ugh. Many moons ago (pre-internet) at an offshore engineering company, the executive secretary to the CEO, whose office was 20 feet from a copy machine, would often find one piece of paper in her inbox. On it would be a sticky note from the CFO, asking her to make him a copy and return both to him.  She would watch this same man  spend HOURS looking out the window picking his nose. There was never anything on his desk. When the secretary would walk by my office, frowning and holding a piece of paper at arm's length with her pinky out, I knew exactly what was going on.

[Psychstache]

At some point I started refusing. At some point you can't just keep saying "Yes, boss!" You're supposed to have a job description - you have an agreement that you will take X money to do do Y job. Is it really OK to hire someone to be a print production manager and then tell them to do accounting and insurance instead?

I agree with the above posters -- barring illegal discrimination situations, yes it's OK to ask someone to do a different job.  This thread is making me think that if I ever run a business, every job posting will say "As an employee, you will be expected to complete any business task provided by management.  Your primary tasks will be XYZ."  If someone says "that's not in my job description," I'll pull the job posting out of my desk.  I guess I'd be a crappy manager.

Funny, this reminds me of when I was a highly paid summer associate (internship) at a law firm.  Now, I was never personally asked to get a partner coffee, but some other interns were and complained about it.  I'm like, hey guys, if they want to pay me $100/hour to get them coffee, that's fine by me.*

*I would understand if it was something like "make the girl get the coffee" but it wasn't like that.  More like "the adults are talking can this guy sitting here not doing anything grab some coffee?"

Something like the bolded above has been in every job description I've ever had. 

Dollar Slice, I hope you are paid by the hour!

Ah yes - there was one company I worked for that had a running joke "Other duties as assigned" was the wording they used.

That is actually the statement they use on the last bullet in the job responsibilities section of every job posting in my department.

[mustachepungoeshere]

I read a tip somewhere to write the names on the top of the lids with a silver Sharpie.

I took to the lids with a label maker. Much easier to find what I'm after.

[Freedomin5]

Heard at work today:

Coworker: My kid's classmates made fun of her for having the iPhone 6, which is my old phone, so I took her to the Apple Store and bought her an iPhone 7 so that the other kids won't look down on her.

[gooki]

So much sadness.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Heard at work today:

Coworker: My kid's classmates made fun of her for having the iPhone 6, which is my old phone, so I took her to the Apple Store and bought her an iPhone 7 so that the other kids won't look down on her.

My BiL has made a few comments about my husband having an iPhone 6+. Not criticising, but frequently asking if people in his industry were giving him shit for it.

His strategy became clear on his last visit. He wants my husband to upgrade to an iPhone 7 so he gets my husband's "old" iPhone.

>.<

[TomTX]

However, she's also bought a new BMW on finance (6% interest rate) in spite of having the cash, because "the dealer threw in 12 months free insurance if you took their finance package."

I gues she doesn't know how cheap insurance is. I was surprised too when my dealer said it costs him about 50€ per year. Ok, was a cheap car, but still.

Take the financing, then next day pay off the loan.

*Typically around here there is no pre-payment penalty.

[UKMustache]

One from today. 

A much older colleague (probably in his fifties) was telling me that he spent most of the weekend in the pub near his house.
He said that he saw someone else put a large amount (£100+) into the fruit machine (slot machine) and not win anything.

Apparently that means that the machine was more likely to pay out, so my colleague went to the bank and got some cash out himself.  He put that into the machine and didn't win, so he went and got more cash.  He did this three times until he had put approximately £60 into this machine.

Then he won £400 and £80 on the same turn. 
He told me he was really pleased because he has some big bills (for house repairs) coming up and he needs the money.

I couldn't help but wonder how many weekends he puts the same in but doesn't win anything.

[Travis]

I couldn't help but wonder how many weekends he puts the same in but doesn't win anything.

Gambling/the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.

[mtn]

I couldn't help but wonder how many weekends he puts the same in but doesn't win anything.

Gambling/the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.

Not necessarily. I fully understand the odds. I have a piece of paper that states I'm at least competent in the field of Mathematics, and 3 classes that covered probability specifically. I still play the lottery, and occasionally will still gamble.

But in general, yeah, you're right.

[MgoSam]

I couldn't help but wonder how many weekends he puts the same in but doesn't win anything.

Gambling/the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.

Not necessarily. I fully understand the odds. I have a piece of paper that states I'm at least competent in the field of Mathematics, and 3 classes that covered probability specifically. I still play the lottery, and occasionally will still gamble.

But in general, yeah, you're right.

I buy a Powerball ticket every few months (though it's been a few years since the last time)and while I know the chances of me winning anything significant are rare, $1 is not a bad price to pay for that brief moment of imagination that comes when the clerk hands me the ticket. I generally don't check to see if I won anything for a few weeks, mostly because by the time the numbers are announced I've forgot.

[dividendman]

I couldn't help but wonder how many weekends he puts the same in but doesn't win anything.

Gambling/the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.

Not necessarily. I fully understand the odds. I have a piece of paper that states I'm at least competent in the field of Mathematics, and 3 classes that covered probability specifically. I still play the lottery, and occasionally will still gamble.

But in general, yeah, you're right.

"A learned fool is more a fool than an ignorant fool."

[mtn]

I couldn't help but wonder how many weekends he puts the same in but doesn't win anything.

Gambling/the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.

Not necessarily. I fully understand the odds. I have a piece of paper that states I'm at least competent in the field of Mathematics, and 3 classes that covered probability specifically. I still play the lottery, and occasionally will still gamble.

But in general, yeah, you're right.

"A learned fool is more a fool than an ignorant fool."

Meh. I mostly buy an MS ticket (all proceeds to to MS research) if I see they have it. I enjoy scratching the tickets, even if I'm not very good at winning. The anticipation and small adrenaline rush are worth the $1-$10 a month I spend on it.

[Chris22]

I couldn't help but wonder how many weekends he puts the same in but doesn't win anything.

Gambling/the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.

Not necessarily. I fully understand the odds. I have a piece of paper that states I'm at least competent in the field of Mathematics, and 3 classes that covered probability specifically. I still play the lottery, and occasionally will still gamble.

But in general, yeah, you're right.

"A learned fool is more a fool than an ignorant fool."

Meh. I mostly buy an MS ticket (all proceeds to to MS research) if I see they have it. I enjoy scratching the tickets, even if I'm not very good at winning. The anticipation and small adrenaline rush are worth the $1-$10 a month I spend on it.

Yeah, the smugness from the "I'm way too smart to play the lotto" crowd is tedious when it's directed towards the "buy 3 tickets a year when Powerball goes over $500M" players. You want to yell at the $50/wk people, absolutely, but the whole drop $2 on a whim for a big jackpot, who cares?  I used to joke that back when I drank soda, I'd occasionally go in to the gas station and get a Coke and ticket, and the ticket was the much more responsible purchase.

[Zikoris]

Yeah, the smugness from the "I'm way too smart to play the lotto" crowd is tedious when it's directed towards the "buy 3 tickets a year when Powerball goes over $500M" players. You want to yell at the $50/wk people, absolutely, but the whole drop $2 on a whim for a big jackpot, who cares?  I used to joke that back when I drank soda, I'd occasionally go in to the gas station and get a Coke and ticket, and the ticket was the much more responsible purchase.

That's funny, I frequently use soda for an example the other way - "I'd rather spend $2 on a delicious, ice cold drink than on a useless scrap of paper".

I wonder if the whole "dreaming of riches" thing is way less common in Mustachians. I mean, when you already either have a big pile of money, or are making fast and measurable progress towards that pile, you're already seeing a definite finish line for needing to work.

[Friar]

Yeah, the smugness from the "I'm way too smart to play the lotto" crowd is tedious when it's directed towards the "buy 3 tickets a year when Powerball goes over $500M" players. You want to yell at the $50/wk people, absolutely, but the whole drop $2 on a whim for a big jackpot, who cares?  I used to joke that back when I drank soda, I'd occasionally go in to the gas station and get a Coke and ticket, and the ticket was the much more responsible purchase.

That's funny, I frequently use soda for an example the other way - "I'd rather spend $2 on a delicious, ice cold drink than on a useless scrap of paper".

I wonder if the whole "dreaming of riches" thing is way less common in Mustachians. I mean, when you already either have a big pile of money, or are making fast and measurable progress towards that pile, you're already seeing a definite finish line for needing to work.

On the odd occasion I purchase a lottery ticket I don't find myself dreaming of yachts and champagne, but being able to implement my RE plan immediately! Perhaps it is less prevalent in Mustachians, however if you're like me and RE is still a number of years away there is still a little rush when you play.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

Yeah, the smugness from the "I'm way too smart to play the lotto" crowd is tedious when it's directed towards the "buy 3 tickets a year when Powerball goes over $500M" players. You want to yell at the $50/wk people, absolutely, but the whole drop $2 on a whim for a big jackpot, who cares?  I used to joke that back when I drank soda, I'd occasionally go in to the gas station and get a Coke and ticket, and the ticket was the much more responsible purchase.

That's funny, I frequently use soda for an example the other way - "I'd rather spend $2 on a delicious, ice cold drink than on a useless scrap of paper".

I wonder if the whole "dreaming of riches" thing is way less common in Mustachians. I mean, when you already either have a big pile of money, or are making fast and measurable progress towards that pile, you're already seeing a definite finish line for needing to work.

On the odd occasion I purchase a lottery ticket I don't find myself dreaming of yachts and champagne, but being able to implement my RE plan immediately! Perhaps it is less prevalent in Mustachians, however if you're like me and RE is still a number of years away there is still a little rush when you play.

I too have a lottery fantasy, but it's only good for the mucho-million tickets so I'm only tempted to buy a ticket when the payout is ridiculous.

Maybe our lottery fantasies, for those of us who had them, would be good in a thread of their own.