Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13252853 times)

Pioneerw2b

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19350 on: January 05, 2018, 06:57:12 AM »
I can’t even imagine a purse like that. How is anything so expensive, or do you live in a $20k mobile home that was financed over 30 years?



I too cannot grasp the expensive purse concept. I have a friend who is a bit materialistic and wants only Coach purses...another friend has multiple Vera Bradley purses. A lady I work with has a thing for expensive purses. After hearing someone compliment her about a purse she had that day she said, "Oh I love my expensive purses. I would rather not eat for a week so I can have money for a purse !"

I could go get any of those purses, but being the practical and frugal being that I am, I just WON'T.  I did find a Vera Bradley wallet at a garage sale with the tags still on it.....I cannot remember the full price but I got it for $1.00. My DH jokingly asked me later why I didn't try for 75 cents.

Megma

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19351 on: January 05, 2018, 08:04:19 AM »
I can’t even imagine a purse like that. How is anything so expensive, or do you live in a $20k mobile home that was financed over 30 years?



I too cannot grasp the expensive purse concept. I have a friend who is a bit materialistic and wants only Coach purses...another friend has multiple Vera Bradley purses. A lady I work with has a thing for expensive purses. After hearing someone compliment her about a purse she had that day she said, "Oh I love my expensive purses. I would rather not eat for a week so I can have money for a purse !"

I could go get any of those purses, but being the practical and frugal being that I am, I just WON'T.  I did find a Vera Bradley wallet at a garage sale with the tags still on it.....I cannot remember the full price but I got it for $1.00. My DH jokingly asked me later why I didn't try for 75 cents.

Over Christmas my aunt offered me a choice 3 Vera Bradley purses for free and I didn't even take on then because I didn't need it.

For the record, this is a frugal aunt who had gotten said purses from a neighbor who was decluttering and had a large stash of Vera Bradley purses. I believe the neighbor gave them to my aunt for free, but my aunt might have paid $1-2 for them. The Neighbor apparently had about 15 she was getting rid of!

CptCool

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19352 on: January 05, 2018, 08:40:33 AM »
I can’t even imagine a purse like that. How is anything so expensive, or do you live in a $20k mobile home that was financed over 30 years?



I too cannot grasp the expensive purse concept. I have a friend who is a bit materialistic and wants only Coach purses...another friend has multiple Vera Bradley purses. A lady I work with has a thing for expensive purses. After hearing someone compliment her about a purse she had that day she said, "Oh I love my expensive purses. I would rather not eat for a week so I can have money for a purse !"

I could go get any of those purses, but being the practical and frugal being that I am, I just WON'T.  I did find a Vera Bradley wallet at a garage sale with the tags still on it.....I cannot remember the full price but I got it for $1.00. My DH jokingly asked me later why I didn't try for 75 cents.

Something tells me that this lady has never gone a week without food before. Probably not even 24 hours

kayvent

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19353 on: January 05, 2018, 08:56:48 AM »
There is a woman who recently got divorced and has two children. She and her hub owned a mobile home she and the kids lived in. I think the hub legally owned it. She was paying around $500 a month lot rent and was months behind and that started the eviction process. She found an apartment at $1,000 a month and didn't even have enough for a down payment. She played the landlord for over a month. I think he let her move in because she gave him some story about having the money in a few weeks. Well, in the meantime, she hoodwinked her church for money. The agreement was that she was to bring her kids to church each week which she didn't. Then she hoodwinked her employer to give her money. They have some kind of funds for employees that are in need of help. She was almost evicted from her apartment and was taken to court but finally money funneled in from these two sources. She paid her rent and so far, has not been evicted. Now, during this time she is corresponding with some guy from Africa who is 'in love' with her. She starts sending him money thru Western Union and her employer catches wind of it. So, then she starts buying I-Tune cards to send to this guy. She barely comes to work and uses her kids mental health as an excuse. There is so much more it is pathetic. Oh and lover boy from Africa was supposed to fly to USA a few months ago and they were going to get married and he was going to build her a house. He never made it to USA. No idea how she paid the second months rent!

"Boyfriends from Africa" are the worse. They are the new "Nigerian princes". My grandmother spent tens of thousands of dollars on her "African boyfriend" before she died. Catfishing is a terrible thing.

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19354 on: January 05, 2018, 09:06:47 AM »
Her kids are a whole other story. The boy refused to go to school and that created tons of problems. The girl and the boy have both threatened suicide. I think it is mostly threats and she told her employer her kids have had psychiatric care. To get the money from her employer and to prove she is taking so much time off to get them help the employer asked for proof of doctor visits. She didn't have any! Then I think she did admit them to some facility so she had proof. They were only there a short while. That is when she managed to get the money from the employer. I cannot see how this story will ever have a happy ending. The woman is supposed to get a portion of her hubs retirement savings. You can imagine what will happen to that money. It will all be blown one way or another.

So she is sending money to a far away guy and he is supposedly able to afford a house in the USA when he gets here? Hmmm... I think SHE might need some psych care.

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19355 on: January 05, 2018, 09:16:58 AM »
Her kids are a whole other story. The boy refused to go to school and that created tons of problems. The girl and the boy have both threatened suicide. I think it is mostly threats and she told her employer her kids have had psychiatric care. To get the money from her employer and to prove she is taking so much time off to get them help the employer asked for proof of doctor visits. She didn't have any! Then I think she did admit them to some facility so she had proof. They were only there a short while. That is when she managed to get the money from the employer. I cannot see how this story will ever have a happy ending. The woman is supposed to get a portion of her hubs retirement savings. You can imagine what will happen to that money. It will all be blown one way or another.

So she is sending money to a far away guy and he is supposedly able to afford a house in the USA when he gets here? Hmmm... I think SHE might need some psych care.

I don't know if it is psych care but more being lonely and finding someone that seems to care about you. This is something I worry about with an aging population. I've heard of some nursing homes building an elementary school section so kids can spend time there with the elderly and I think it could be a great thing for everyone.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19356 on: January 05, 2018, 11:22:17 AM »
It would be nice if that worked out but I am a little skeptical based on my own limited experience as a kid. In 5th grade our teacher used to bus my class over to an old folks’ home so we could sing songs to the gathered crowd as well as visit with one lady in particular my teacher had a relationship with. My memories are all of being slightly creeped out. The facility always smelled funny and the poor old people were kind of gross. Or perhaps that was just me finding out at a tender age that I needed to stay as far away from any type of nursing/caring career as possible .

ysette9

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19357 on: January 05, 2018, 11:21:45 AM »
It would be nice if that worked out but I am a little skeptical based on my own limited experience as a kid. In 5th grade our teacher used to bus my class over to an old folks’ home so we could sing songs to the gathered crowd as well as visit with one lady in particular my teacher had a relationship with. My memories are all of being slightly creeped out. The facility always smelled funny and the poor old people were kind of gross. Or perhaps that was just me finding out at a tender age that I needed to stay as far away from any type of nursing/caring career as possible .

FireHiker

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19358 on: January 05, 2018, 11:58:11 AM »
I have one!

Walking through the lobby the other day I overheard part of the receptionist's phone call. Background: she has a super long commute and multiple expensive cars, most recently she bought a little Mercedes of some sort. I believe she does the car buying on her husband's salary? Anyway, the part of the conversation I hear was "Is it a good idea to refinance a car loan? How do I go about it? Ours isn't too bad, the rate is 5.9%".


jinga nation

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19359 on: January 05, 2018, 01:00:37 PM »
Her kids are a whole other story. The boy refused to go to school and that created tons of problems. The girl and the boy have both threatened suicide. I think it is mostly threats and she told her employer her kids have had psychiatric care. To get the money from her employer and to prove she is taking so much time off to get them help the employer asked for proof of doctor visits. She didn't have any! Then I think she did admit them to some facility so she had proof. They were only there a short while. That is when she managed to get the money from the employer. I cannot see how this story will ever have a happy ending. The woman is supposed to get a portion of her hubs retirement savings. You can imagine what will happen to that money. It will all be blown one way or another.

So she is sending money to a far away guy and he is supposedly able to afford a house in the USA when he gets here? Hmmm... I think SHE might need some psych care.

I don't know if it is psych care but more being lonely and finding someone that seems to care about you. This is something I worry about with an aging population. I've heard of some nursing homes building an elementary school section so kids can spend time there with the elderly and I think it could be a great thing for everyone.

#TradingSickies

BDWW

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19360 on: January 05, 2018, 02:21:30 PM »
Her kids are a whole other story. The boy refused to go to school and that created tons of problems. The girl and the boy have both threatened suicide. I think it is mostly threats and she told her employer her kids have had psychiatric care. To get the money from her employer and to prove she is taking so much time off to get them help the employer asked for proof of doctor visits. She didn't have any! Then I think she did admit them to some facility so she had proof. They were only there a short while. That is when she managed to get the money from the employer. I cannot see how this story will ever have a happy ending. The woman is supposed to get a portion of her hubs retirement savings. You can imagine what will happen to that money. It will all be blown one way or another.

So she is sending money to a far away guy and he is supposedly able to afford a house in the USA when he gets here? Hmmm... I think SHE might need some psych care.

I don't know if it is psych care but more being lonely and finding someone that seems to care about you. This is something I worry about with an aging population. I've heard of some nursing homes building an elementary school section so kids can spend time there with the elderly and I think it could be a great thing for everyone.

#TradingSickies

Yes, I've taken more sicks days since we've had kids then the entirety of my career to that point. They're germ magnets, just the thing to expose the elderly to?

Imma

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19361 on: January 05, 2018, 02:50:45 PM »
Her kids are a whole other story. The boy refused to go to school and that created tons of problems. The girl and the boy have both threatened suicide. I think it is mostly threats and she told her employer her kids have had psychiatric care. To get the money from her employer and to prove she is taking so much time off to get them help the employer asked for proof of doctor visits. She didn't have any! Then I think she did admit them to some facility so she had proof. They were only there a short while. That is when she managed to get the money from the employer. I cannot see how this story will ever have a happy ending. The woman is supposed to get a portion of her hubs retirement savings. You can imagine what will happen to that money. It will all be blown one way or another.

So she is sending money to a far away guy and he is supposedly able to afford a house in the USA when he gets here? Hmmm... I think SHE might need some psych care.

I don't know if it is psych care but more being lonely and finding someone that seems to care about you. This is something I worry about with an aging population. I've heard of some nursing homes building an elementary school section so kids can spend time there with the elderly and I think it could be a great thing for everyone.

Our local care home has a day care facility on the ground floor, right next to the lounge / restaurant area of the care home. It's separated by a large glass wall so the residents can look at the children playing, and the children often visit the residents. It seems to work pretty well. Because it's not a one-off visit but lots of day-to-day contact, many children and residents really bond. They have joint activities like visiting a petting zoo or baking cookies. Last summer they organised a nostalgic carnival as a fundraiser event. It's basically like having 50 additional sets of grandparents.

I remember hating visiting my aunt in a care home, even though I loved her dearly. All these old people were wheeled into the lounge area every morning in front of the TV and they just sat there all day. She was the only person who had physical problems, I can't imagine how depressing it must be to sit there in a lounge every day with all these people that you can't even have a coherent conversation with. She had difficulty reading (she grew up in the 20s, her education was limited) but she still read the entire newspaper every morning, every single article, just because she had nothing else to do. Her generation didn't complain but it must have been awful.

Pioneerw2b

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19362 on: January 06, 2018, 12:08:26 PM »
I can’t even imagine a purse like that. How is anything so expensive, or do you live in a $20k mobile home that was financed over 30 years?



I too cannot grasp the expensive purse concept. I have a friend who is a bit materialistic and wants only Coach purses...another friend has multiple Vera Bradley purses. A lady I work with has a thing for expensive purses. After hearing someone compliment her about a purse she had that day she said, "Oh I love my expensive purses. I would rather not eat for a week so I can have money for a purse !"

I could go get any of those purses, but being the practical and frugal being that I am, I just WON'T.  I did find a Vera Bradley wallet at a garage sale with the tags still on it.....I cannot remember the full price but I got it for $1.00. My DH jokingly asked me later why I didn't try for 75 cents.

Something tells me that this lady has never gone a week without food before. Probably not even 24 hours

Bingo !

Phenix

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19363 on: January 06, 2018, 08:32:31 PM »
I have one!

Walking through the lobby the other day I overheard part of the receptionist's phone call. Background: she has a super long commute and multiple expensive cars, most recently she bought a little Mercedes of some sort. I believe she does the car buying on her husband's salary? Anyway, the part of the conversation I hear was "Is it a good idea to refinance a car loan? How do I go about it? Ours isn't too bad, the rate is 5.9%".

I worked with a guy like that.  Leased two luxury cars for himself and his wife (stay at home mom).  His back seat was a wreck from his kids, I can only imagine what his wife's car looked like.  He found it hard to believe anyone in their twenties could be maxing out their retirement contributions (of course I couldn't resist showing him my earnings statement so he actually believed me).  I truly believe he will work until the day he dies which is really sad considering he's only in his 30's.

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19364 on: January 08, 2018, 08:16:04 AM »
I can’t even imagine a purse like that. How is anything so expensive, or do you live in a $20k mobile home that was financed over 30 years?



I too cannot grasp the expensive purse concept. I have a friend who is a bit materialistic and wants only Coach purses...another friend has multiple Vera Bradley purses. A lady I work with has a thing for expensive purses. After hearing someone compliment her about a purse she had that day she said, "Oh I love my expensive purses. I would rather not eat for a week so I can have money for a purse !"

I could go get any of those purses, but being the practical and frugal being that I am, I just WON'T.  I did find a Vera Bradley wallet at a garage sale with the tags still on it.....I cannot remember the full price but I got it for $1.00. My DH jokingly asked me later why I didn't try for 75 cents.

Something tells me that this lady has never gone a week without food before. Probably not even 24 hours

Maybe she means a week without fancy restaurant food.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19365 on: January 08, 2018, 08:06:30 PM »
One of my coworkers moved to another state, and now lives only about 30 minutes from his in-laws.  When they moved out of their house here, they did a very mustachian thing:  Anything that didn't fit in the 28-foot trailer wouldn't go, and would have to be thrown out or sold or donated.

So far so good.  They got rid of a ton of clutter, their new house is staying clean-ish, and they're only unpacking boxes as they need the contents.  Having just moved less than two weeks before Christmas, coworker and his wife kept their family's gift-giving to a fairly reasonable 2-3 gifts per child.  All was well--the kids unwrapped their present and played happily on Christmas morning.

Unfortunately, coworker's MIL (hereafter referred to as Grandma) has a love language of gift giving, and is VERY excited to have coworker's family nearby after 16 years of living a long way away.  So coworker and his family trekked over to Grandma's house for Round 2 of gift opening.  Now, I would be remiss if I didn't add that coworker's wife has two sisters, each married with their own kids, and all were invited to Grandma's house.  Grandma, being so excited to have coworker's family close again, went hog-wild with the gifts.  Round 2 turned into Round 3, and then Round 4, and then Round 5.  As my coworker described it, the kids were positively sick of opening gifts halfway through.  I asked coworker what kinds of gifts Grandma got him.  He said "a big bin's worth of crap.  It's as if she walked through Walmart and just pulled stuff off the shelf as it caught her eye."

Now, Grandma is a dear, sweet soul.  She's gracious, loving, and a wonderful mom.  I really feel for my coworker, though.  He and his wife put forth a ton of effort to declutter their old house in order to give themselves a chance to reduce the clutter in their new house.

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19366 on: January 09, 2018, 01:01:27 AM »
That sounds ripe for "Grandma's presents stay at Grandma's house".
« Last Edit: January 09, 2018, 06:11:50 AM by Playing with Fire UK »

Dave1442397

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19367 on: January 09, 2018, 05:27:48 AM »
That sounds ripe for "Grandma's presents stay at Grandma's house".

Exactly. Let Grandma deal with the clutter and see how she likes it.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19368 on: January 09, 2018, 05:43:19 AM »
That sounds ripe for "Grandma's presents stay and Grandma's house".
I don't know what kinds of gifts Grandma gave the kids, but she gave my coworker the kinds of things she guessed they didn't bring with them, and "needed" to replace

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19369 on: January 09, 2018, 06:17:08 AM »
That sounds ripe for "Grandma's presents stay at Grandma's house".
I don't know what kinds of gifts Grandma gave the kids, but she gave my coworker the kinds of things she guessed they didn't bring with them, and "needed" to replace

Good for Grandma. My close friend thinks I need to have more handbags in my house, my aunt thinks I need to have more makeup. Neither of them get to make decisions about what actually stays in my house.

The inefficiency of it all makes my brain hurt.

Imma

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19370 on: January 09, 2018, 07:48:55 AM »
That sounds ripe for "Grandma's presents stay at Grandma's house".
I don't know what kinds of gifts Grandma gave the kids, but she gave my coworker the kinds of things she guessed they didn't bring with them, and "needed" to replace

Good for Grandma. My close friend thinks I need to have more handbags in my house, my aunt thinks I need to have more makeup. Neither of them get to make decisions about what actually stays in my house.

The inefficiency of it all makes my brain hurt.

My own, sweet, very old grandma gives me succulents a few times a year, because I don't have succulents. I have tried to explain to her I don't have succulents because I don't like them, but I guess I haven't been clear enough. I don't want to hurt her feelings and I don't really mind a few succulents around the house. Other than that, I have refused gifts sometimes. I've always had sensitive skin and I hate perfumed stuff. My mum knows. She used to give me heavily scented soap and shower gel for Christmas for years. She finally got the message when I just left the stuff at her place.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19371 on: January 09, 2018, 08:57:44 AM »
Somehow the topic of utilities came up when discussing cable, internet, cutting the cord, etc.

CW#1: Yeah, I pay about $800/month for utilities.  Electric, gas, water is $100/month alone, cable, internet, etc.

Rest of us:  WHAT??

CW#1: Yeah, that's just the cost to live comfortably in our house.  And I have to pay it all (wife doesn't work, I think).  That's on top of the mortgage, property taxes, etc.

Rest of us: WHAT??

For reference, it costs the rest of us in the same city about $100 PER QUARTER for water.

CW #1 also pays ~$800/month in CAR LEASE PAYMENTS for two vehicles (his and his wife's).

Comparatively, I own my car and my SO and I split about $180/month for ALL of our utilities (water, gas, electric, internet).

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19372 on: January 09, 2018, 09:10:37 AM »
You ought to ask your coworker if they have a 100% loss fountain in the back yard or something. Maybe they don't turn off the water when they are done with a faucet so that they don't have to bother with the knob next time?

RidetheRain

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19373 on: January 09, 2018, 09:56:09 AM »
Yeah, utilities can be alarming from house to house. I recently learned that the neighbors that live in the next unit of my apartment building spend three times the amount I do on electric. And I am a horrible electric hog! I have no idea what they are doing to get the price up so high but if I didn't share a wall with them I'd assume they were running some type of electronic amusement park.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19374 on: January 09, 2018, 10:26:49 AM »
Yeah, utilities can be alarming from house to house. I recently learned that the neighbors that live in the next unit of my apartment building spend three times the amount I do on electric. And I am a horrible electric hog! I have no idea what they are doing to get the price up so high but if I didn't share a wall with them I'd assume they were running some type of electronic amusement park.

Or growing weed indoors.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19375 on: January 09, 2018, 10:37:19 AM »
My husband related a story of how he mentioned the roads were icy and hard to drive on.

Coworkers: "Well, buy a different car and have payments like the rest of us!"

Nah, we'll pass. I'm kinda waiting to hear about the crap he may get today, as we just got that same car back from the shop yesterday to the tune of $524 (alternator went kaput).  But hey, with the average car payment in America sitting at $500/mo, even if we only get 1 more month out of it, I'll chalk it up as a win.

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Overheard at Work
« Reply #19376 on: January 09, 2018, 10:45:37 AM »
Some of my neighbors have flood lights all around their houses going all night long. Sometimes they leave them on during the day too. Not sure if they think it is a burglar deterrent. I am guessing they must. But those dang floodlights have got to cost a lot of electricity to burn. Then some people have swimming pools. Those must cost a bit of electricity too. Then I have one neighbor that I rarely see lights on in their home! Recently they had flood lights on outside and I was shocked! I had to tell the HUB about the lights! It was like WOW! LIGHTS! Some people have old, old appliances that use tons of electricity too.

My friend had a water leak under her Mobile Home and her water bill was horrendous. Also, if you have a pump in your well that has gone coo coo that could use a lot of electricity too.

Maybe those people should have an electrician come to the house to check out where the electricity is being generated from.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19377 on: January 09, 2018, 12:17:54 PM »
My husband related a story of how he mentioned the roads were icy and hard to drive on.

Coworkers: "Well, buy a different car and have payments like the rest of us!"

Nah, we'll pass. I'm kinda waiting to hear about the crap he may get today, as we just got that same car back from the shop yesterday to the tune of $524 (alternator went kaput).  But hey, with the average car payment in America sitting at $500/mo, even if we only get 1 more month out of it, I'll chalk it up as a win.

I don't think the type of car is going to be a cure-all for for icy roads. Yeah, if you've got bald tires, etc it can help, but when the roads are a sheet of ice, you're in trouble regardless.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19378 on: January 09, 2018, 01:05:54 PM »
Yeah, utilities can be alarming from house to house. I recently learned that the neighbors that live in the next unit of my apartment building spend three times the amount I do on electric. And I am a horrible electric hog! I have no idea what they are doing to get the price up so high but if I didn't share a wall with them I'd assume they were running some type of electronic amusement park.

Or growing weed indoors.

A mate of mine is a police reporter and told me about the time local police searched a property suspecting a grow house.

They found an indoor pool in the lounge room, with filters running 24/7.

The tenants were farming trout. Inside the house.

RidetheRain

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19379 on: January 09, 2018, 01:26:24 PM »
Yeah, utilities can be alarming from house to house. I recently learned that the neighbors that live in the next unit of my apartment building spend three times the amount I do on electric. And I am a horrible electric hog! I have no idea what they are doing to get the price up so high but if I didn't share a wall with them I'd assume they were running some type of electronic amusement park.

Or growing weed indoors.

A mate of mine is a police reporter and told me about the time local police searched a property suspecting a grow house.

They found an indoor pool in the lounge room, with filters running 24/7.

The tenants were farming trout. Inside the house.

That is legitimately hilarious. I'm glad that they don't smell like fish all the time! They don't smell like weed either though. Do the plants smell as awful as the smoke? I'm going to stick with my silent amusement park guess.

GnomeErcy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19380 on: January 09, 2018, 01:33:26 PM »
Not exactly overheard, and not my work, but my wife was telling me yesterday that a bunch of the people in her office just got new laptops. Company chose HP laptops, and I guess some of the folks who got them went and bought Apple stickers to slap to them so they can pretend it's a Macbook.

BuffaloStache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19381 on: January 09, 2018, 01:46:25 PM »
...
The tenants were farming trout. Inside the house.

... New side hustle idea? :-D

A Definite Beta Guy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19382 on: January 09, 2018, 02:07:18 PM »
Not exactly overheard, and not my work, but my wife was telling me yesterday that a bunch of the people in her office just got new laptops. Company chose HP laptops, and I guess some of the folks who got them went and bought Apple stickers to slap to them so they can pretend it's a Macbook.

My coworker bought a used empty bottle from Bath & Body Works and filled it with Sam's Club soap so he can pretend he buys fancy soap.

Like...I'm sure you could buy a soap dispenser from a thrift shop for that purpose...

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19383 on: January 09, 2018, 02:37:49 PM »
Not exactly overheard, and not my work, but my wife was telling me yesterday that a bunch of the people in her office just got new laptops. Company chose HP laptops, and I guess some of the folks who got them went and bought Apple stickers to slap to them so they can pretend it's a Macbook.

That's hilarious. Who cares if it isn't an Apple? Why fake brand names of your stuff? That's silly.
« Last Edit: January 09, 2018, 02:40:07 PM by Just Joe »

Chuck Ditallin

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19384 on: January 09, 2018, 02:52:33 PM »
Co-worker has just replaced her phone with a £999 iPhone x.

Today, the very same co-worker has had to arrange an advance on her January salary to pay off the bailiffs, who were at her house to collect an unpaid £250 parking fine debt.

The parking fine, it seems, started life as a £60 debt several months ago.

I have no idea how she is going to manage in February when her last-Friday-of-January pay is £250 short, but at least she'll have some cool tech to console her...

[edit: typo]
« Last Edit: January 09, 2018, 02:55:04 PM by Crash Hamster »

GnomeErcy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19385 on: January 09, 2018, 02:58:49 PM »
Not exactly overheard, and not my work, but my wife was telling me yesterday that a bunch of the people in her office just got new laptops. Company chose HP laptops, and I guess some of the folks who got them went and bought Apple stickers to slap to them so they can pretend it's a Macbook.

That's hilarious. Who cares if it isn't an Apple? Why fake brand names of your stuff? That's silly.

Especially at work it just seems ridiculous.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19386 on: January 09, 2018, 04:30:46 PM »
Not exactly overheard, and not my work, but my wife was telling me yesterday that a bunch of the people in her office just got new laptops. Company chose HP laptops, and I guess some of the folks who got them went and bought Apple stickers to slap to them so they can pretend it's a Macbook.

That's hilarious. Who cares if it isn't an Apple? Why fake brand names of your stuff? That's silly.

Especially at work it just seems ridiculous.

My husband's company gave each employee the choice between a Macbook Air and a Lenovo Thinkpad. IT made it clear they recommended the Lenovo over the Mac. Most people still opted for the shiny.

RidetheRain

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19387 on: January 09, 2018, 04:33:26 PM »
Not exactly overheard, and not my work, but my wife was telling me yesterday that a bunch of the people in her office just got new laptops. Company chose HP laptops, and I guess some of the folks who got them went and bought Apple stickers to slap to them so they can pretend it's a Macbook.

My coworker bought a used empty bottle from Bath & Body Works and filled it with Sam's Club soap so he can pretend he buys fancy soap.

Like...I'm sure you could buy a soap dispenser from a thrift shop for that purpose...

I mean, that's not so bad. I'm sure they needed a container for the bulk soap anyway. I applaud your coworker for getting what he wants without paying for "extras" (ie. the actual soap)

JLee

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19388 on: January 09, 2018, 04:52:59 PM »
Yeah, utilities can be alarming from house to house. I recently learned that the neighbors that live in the next unit of my apartment building spend three times the amount I do on electric. And I am a horrible electric hog! I have no idea what they are doing to get the price up so high but if I didn't share a wall with them I'd assume they were running some type of electronic amusement park.

Or growing weed indoors.

A mate of mine is a police reporter and told me about the time local police searched a property suspecting a grow house.

They found an indoor pool in the lounge room, with filters running 24/7.

The tenants were farming trout. Inside the house.

LOL - that is amazing.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19389 on: January 09, 2018, 04:56:06 PM »
Not exactly overheard, and not my work, but my wife was telling me yesterday that a bunch of the people in her office just got new laptops. Company chose HP laptops, and I guess some of the folks who got them went and bought Apple stickers to slap to them so they can pretend it's a Macbook.

I've got a genuine P-P-P-Powerbook



mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19390 on: January 09, 2018, 04:59:53 PM »
Not exactly overheard, and not my work, but my wife was telling me yesterday that a bunch of the people in her office just got new laptops. Company chose HP laptops, and I guess some of the folks who got them went and bought Apple stickers to slap to them so they can pretend it's a Macbook.

My coworker bought a used empty bottle from Bath & Body Works and filled it with Sam's Club soap so he can pretend he buys fancy soap.

Like...I'm sure you could buy a soap dispenser from a thrift shop for that purpose...

I mean, that's not so bad. I'm sure they needed a container for the bulk soap anyway. I applaud your coworker for getting what he wants without paying for "extras" (ie. the actual soap)

I refill my hand soap bottle with a cheaper product.

Fomerly known as something

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19391 on: January 09, 2018, 05:12:51 PM »
Not exactly overheard, and not my work, but my wife was telling me yesterday that a bunch of the people in her office just got new laptops. Company chose HP laptops, and I guess some of the folks who got them went and bought Apple stickers to slap to them so they can pretend it's a Macbook.

That's hilarious. Who cares if it isn't an Apple? Why fake brand names of your stuff? That's silly.

Especially at work it just seems ridiculous.

Work recently purchased me an I phone, I admit I put one of the apple stickers on my late model Dell work computer.

RidetheRain

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19392 on: January 09, 2018, 05:48:15 PM »
Not exactly overheard, and not my work, but my wife was telling me yesterday that a bunch of the people in her office just got new laptops. Company chose HP laptops, and I guess some of the folks who got them went and bought Apple stickers to slap to them so they can pretend it's a Macbook.

That's hilarious. Who cares if it isn't an Apple? Why fake brand names of your stuff? That's silly.

Especially at work it just seems ridiculous.

Work recently purchased me an I phone, I admit I put one of the apple stickers on my late model Dell work computer.

What about getting an iphone could possibly make you buy an apple sticker?

ketchup

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19393 on: January 09, 2018, 05:56:53 PM »
Not exactly overheard, and not my work, but my wife was telling me yesterday that a bunch of the people in her office just got new laptops. Company chose HP laptops, and I guess some of the folks who got them went and bought Apple stickers to slap to them so they can pretend it's a Macbook.

That's hilarious. Who cares if it isn't an Apple? Why fake brand names of your stuff? That's silly.

Especially at work it just seems ridiculous.

Work recently purchased me an I phone, I admit I put one of the apple stickers on my late model Dell work computer.

What about getting an iphone could possibly make you buy an apple sticker?
I’m pretty sure iPhones come with an Apple sticker.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19394 on: January 09, 2018, 07:13:38 PM »
Not exactly overheard, and not my work, but my wife was telling me yesterday that a bunch of the people in her office just got new laptops. Company chose HP laptops, and I guess some of the folks who got them went and bought Apple stickers to slap to them so they can pretend it's a Macbook.

That's hilarious. Who cares if it isn't an Apple? Why fake brand names of your stuff? That's silly.

Especially at work it just seems ridiculous.

Work recently purchased me an I phone, I admit I put one of the apple stickers on my late model Dell work computer.

What about getting an iphone could possibly make you buy an apple sticker?
I’m pretty sure iPhones come with an Apple sticker.

They do, and it’s fun to put the stickers on obviously non-Apple products.  But I would never pay for one (sticker).  Besides the hundreds I dropped on the phone.  But the sicker is free damnit! But the sticker is also cursed.  That’s bad
« Last Edit: January 09, 2018, 07:17:25 PM by dragoncar »

JAYSLOL

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19395 on: January 09, 2018, 07:30:56 PM »
Not exactly overheard, and not my work, but my wife was telling me yesterday that a bunch of the people in her office just got new laptops. Company chose HP laptops, and I guess some of the folks who got them went and bought Apple stickers to slap to them so they can pretend it's a Macbook.

That's hilarious. Who cares if it isn't an Apple? Why fake brand names of your stuff? That's silly.

Especially at work it just seems ridiculous.

Work recently purchased me an I phone, I admit I put one of the apple stickers on my late model Dell work computer.

What about getting an iphone could possibly make you buy an apple sticker?
I’m pretty sure iPhones come with an Apple sticker.

They do, and it’s fun to put the stickers on obviously non-Apple products.  But I would never pay for one (sticker).  Besides the hundreds I dropped on the phone.  But the sicker is free damnit! But the sticker is also cursed.  That’s bad

I used to keep my iPhone in an Android sleeve, partly because I would get the funniest looks from people when i pulled an iPhone out of it, but mostly because I got it for $1 at a garage sale. 

JAYSLOL

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19396 on: January 09, 2018, 07:46:08 PM »
Not exactly overheard, and not my work, but my wife was telling me yesterday that a bunch of the people in her office just got new laptops. Company chose HP laptops, and I guess some of the folks who got them went and bought Apple stickers to slap to them so they can pretend it's a Macbook.

This reminds me of a lady i used to see driving around town in an early-2000s Kia SUV (Sportage? Sorrento? something like that) and she had big chrome rims on it and had replaced the front grill with a BMW style one complete with a BMW badge to make it look like an X5.  Sorry, your not fooling anybody that would care, and people like me that don't care wouldn't be impressed if it was a real BMW anyway. 

eliza

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19397 on: January 10, 2018, 05:31:23 AM »
This reminds me of a lady i used to see driving around town in an early-2000s Kia SUV (Sportage? Sorrento? something like that) and she had big chrome rims on it and had replaced the front grill with a BMW style one complete with a BMW badge to make it look like an X5.  Sorry, your not fooling anybody that would care, and people like me that don't care wouldn't be impressed if it was a real BMW anyway. 

My spendypants BIL has a real BMW, I don't find it impressive.  I wouldn't want to actively hurt his feelings and he was really proud when he got it.  So, I said something along the line of "it seems like a really nice car."  But, apparently I wasn't effusive enough in my praise of his clearly superior motor vehicle.  The few times I've had a rental while visiting, it usually something like a Yaris.  He's always: "Now, driving that - don't you see how a BMW is better>" Me - "Nope.  Never going to be a car person.  Four wheels, gets me where I'm going - all the same to me."  We've just settled into mutual bafflement.

Inaya

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19398 on: January 10, 2018, 06:38:52 AM »
This reminds me of a lady i used to see driving around town in an early-2000s Kia SUV (Sportage? Sorrento? something like that) and she had big chrome rims on it and had replaced the front grill with a BMW style one complete with a BMW badge to make it look like an X5.  Sorry, your not fooling anybody that would care, and people like me that don't care wouldn't be impressed if it was a real BMW anyway. 

My spendypants BIL has a real BMW, I don't find it impressive.  I wouldn't want to actively hurt his feelings and he was really proud when he got it.  So, I said something along the line of "it seems like a really nice car."  But, apparently I wasn't effusive enough in my praise of his clearly superior motor vehicle.  The few times I've had a rental while visiting, it usually something like a Yaris.  He's always: "Now, driving that - don't you see how a BMW is better>" Me - "Nope.  Never going to be a car person.  Four wheels, gets me where I'm going - all the same to me."  We've just settled into mutual bafflement.
My husband bought an older BMW with 130k miles earlier this year. It's a really nice car--and I say this as somebody who doesn't care about cars. Runs great, compact-yet-roomy, decent gas mileage, easy to drive even though it's a stick-shift, heated seats (!!!). Hubs adores it. He gets tons of attention and he's a car guy, so it's made him genuinely happy. But we'd never, ever pay anywhere near full price.

A Definite Beta Guy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19399 on: January 10, 2018, 07:56:18 AM »
Not exactly overheard, and not my work, but my wife was telling me yesterday that a bunch of the people in her office just got new laptops. Company chose HP laptops, and I guess some of the folks who got them went and bought Apple stickers to slap to them so they can pretend it's a Macbook.

My coworker bought a used empty bottle from Bath & Body Works and filled it with Sam's Club soap so he can pretend he buys fancy soap.

Like...I'm sure you could buy a soap dispenser from a thrift shop for that purpose...

I mean, that's not so bad. I'm sure they needed a container for the bulk soap anyway. I applaud your coworker for getting what he wants without paying for "extras" (ie. the actual soap)

Wouldn't a better option be one of those decorative soap dispensers? Like, if you wanted to be a spendy-pants, you can buy one for $12 at Crate&Barrel: I'm sure you could buy one from a thrift shop for substantially less.

There's nothing wrong with bulk soap, but trying to pass it off as fancy soap for consumerism purposes strikes me as really weird.