Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13253020 times)

infogoon

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19400 on: January 10, 2018, 07:59:07 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.

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.

A friend of mine was working at a GM dealership when I was driving an old beater, so he got me one of the "hybrid" badges that they were putting on the new cars. His reasoning was that my car burned gas AND oil, so it should qualify.

frugalnacho

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19401 on: January 10, 2018, 07:59:36 AM »

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

The sticker contains potassium benzoate.  That's bad.

Roadrunner53

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Overheard at Work
« Reply #19402 on: January 10, 2018, 08:28:41 AM »
Woman gets divorced and has two kids. Can barely make ends meet and gets food stamps and other stuff. Shows up at her job now and then. Her kids both have issues and need psychiatric care. Now she is dating a man who has no job and drinks too much she says. Is this a match made in heaven? What kind of future is she visualizing with this person? You can't make this stuff up!

Maenad

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19403 on: January 10, 2018, 09:13:02 AM »

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

The sticker contains potassium benzoate.  That's bad.

But it comes with a free frogurt!

JAYSLOL

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19404 on: January 10, 2018, 09:57:46 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.

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.

A friend of mine was working at a GM dealership when I was driving an old beater, so he got me one of the "hybrid" badges that they were putting on the new cars. His reasoning was that my car burned gas AND oil, so it should qualify.

That's hilarious, did you put it on the car?

MrMoogle

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19405 on: January 10, 2018, 11:41:33 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

Maybe she means a week without fancy restaurant food.

Reminds me of Joey Tribbiani holding his breath.

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19406 on: January 10, 2018, 01:35:22 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.

You can reskin the Linux desktop easily (and free) to look like Windows or Apple or KDE or a half dozen other Linux desktops. Fun to change it up quickly. Simple changes like that are easy, free and fun in quick succession for the confusion of people who get wrapped up in brand names.

Panly

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19407 on: January 10, 2018, 02:46:19 PM »
Now she is dating a man who has no job and drinks too much she says. Is this a match made in heaven? What kind of future is she visualizing with this person? You can't make this stuff up!

he could be FIRE'd


sith02

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19408 on: January 12, 2018, 12:53:15 AM »
I've always wondered why corn refers to the pieces of it while "corn on the cob" is the entire stalk. Shouldn't it be 'corn off the cob,' and just corn for when you're eating the whole sucker?

Corn and farming are the topics at the office on the first few days of work this year. It seems "corn on the cob" the common or traditional term. One guy mentioned about his uncle's old tractor with fass fuel system on it. Gained about 1/2mpg and he's very happy.

Kevin S.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19409 on: January 12, 2018, 08:21:36 AM »

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

The sticker contains potassium benzoate.  That's bad.

But it comes with a free frogurt!

That's Good!

Roadrunner53

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Overheard at Work
« Reply #19410 on: January 12, 2018, 08:32:29 AM »
Heard this woman's 15 year old boy came to school drunk and his mother, who drove the kid to school, had to come and pick him up. Is there something wrong with this picture?  Wonder what child protective services will do...

Pioneerw2b

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19411 on: January 12, 2018, 11:08:10 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.


In the spirit of not being catty, I will honor that.

Pioneerw2b

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19412 on: January 12, 2018, 01:46:08 PM »
Now she is dating a man who has no job and drinks too much she says. Is this a match made in heaven? What kind of future is she visualizing with this person? You can't make this stuff up!

he could be FIRE'd

I cannot comprehend what possesses human females to pick men that are complete wastes........ Female animals know what to look for in potential mates....based on what animal they are,  they don't always stick around, but they don't pick weak, sickly ones.

Maenad

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19413 on: January 12, 2018, 01:55:23 PM »
I'm guessing it's a combination of "she's getting something out of the relationship, even if an observer can't tell what" and "she likes to complain". There's an awful lot of people who like to complain about their mates to others. I still haven't figured out why.

merula

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19414 on: January 12, 2018, 02:07:36 PM »
I cannot comprehend what possesses human females to pick men that are complete wastes........ Female animals know what to look for in potential mates....based on what animal they are,  they don't always stick around, but they don't pick weak, sickly ones.

I can't say I'm thrilled with your characterization of people who are "weak, sickly ones" as "complete wastes". I'll tell you, I'd far rather have a "weak, sickly" spouse who stuck around and was a true partner.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19415 on: January 12, 2018, 02:11:03 PM »
I cannot comprehend what possesses human females to pick men that are complete wastes........ Female animals know what to look for in potential mates....based on what animal they are,  they don't always stick around, but they don't pick weak, sickly ones.

I can't say I'm thrilled with your characterization of people who are "weak, sickly ones" as "complete wastes". I'll tell you, I'd far rather have a "weak, sickly" spouse who stuck around and was a true partner.

Yeah, I've been weak and sickly in the past.  Glad my husband doesn't consider me to be a "complete waste" and nursed me back to health.

Pioneerw2b

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19416 on: January 12, 2018, 02:21:08 PM »
I cannot comprehend what possesses human females to pick men that are complete wastes........ Female animals know what to look for in potential mates....based on what animal they are,  they don't always stick around, but they don't pick weak, sickly ones.

I can't say I'm thrilled with your characterization of people who are "weak, sickly ones" as "complete wastes". I'll tell you, I'd far rather have a "weak, sickly" spouse who stuck around and was a true partner.


 I was referring to a man who didn't have a job and drank all of the time..... Can you honestly say you would purposely choose that as a potential life partner ?

Pioneerw2b

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19417 on: January 12, 2018, 02:23:00 PM »
I cannot comprehend what possesses human females to pick men that are complete wastes........ Female animals know what to look for in potential mates....based on what animal they are,  they don't always stick around, but they don't pick weak, sickly ones.

I can't say I'm thrilled with your characterization of people who are "weak, sickly ones" as "complete wastes". I'll tell you, I'd far rather have a "weak, sickly" spouse who stuck around and was a true partner.



Yeah, I've been weak and sickly in the past.  Glad my husband doesn't consider me to be a "complete waste" and nursed me back to health.


 I was referring to a man who didn't have a job and drank all of the time..... Can you honestly say you would purposely choose that as a potential life partner ? If you get ill and your partner nurses you back to health, you obviously made a good choice in a life partner.




RyanAtTanagra

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19418 on: January 12, 2018, 02:45:36 PM »
I cannot comprehend what possesses human females to pick men that are complete wastes........ Female animals know what to look for in potential mates....based on what animal they are,  they don't always stick around, but they don't pick weak, sickly ones.

I can't say I'm thrilled with your characterization of people who are "weak, sickly ones" as "complete wastes". I'll tell you, I'd far rather have a "weak, sickly" spouse who stuck around and was a true partner.

Yeah, I've been weak and sickly in the past.  Glad my husband doesn't consider me to be a "complete waste" and nursed me back to health.

It's so interesting how people can read things completely differently.  I didn't read that as saying anything about weak, sickly humans at all, but just as an example of a bad mate in the animal kingdom, which animals are usually smart enough to avoid mating with.  In the animal kingdom, weak or sickly usually means bad mate.  For humans, one would think alcoholic and jobless usually means bad mate as well, yet there always seems to be someone willing to choose them.

To go back to a school exercise:
Humans are to alcoholic and jobless as animals are to weak and sickly

Linea_Norway

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19419 on: January 13, 2018, 07:16:34 AM »
I have one female colleague who is in het twenties. She seems to me like a big spender, but managed to save up her own share to now buy an apartment. That is well done for a single person.
Now she intends to save for a Tesla. She mentioned that she needed to find a male partner with a Tesla. She currently owns a fancy DMW, bought one year old. It still has a car loan. She mentioned she would pay off the car loan first, before the mortgage, because it has the highest interest. She really sounds financially capable. She just has this thing with prioritizing cars and will probably waste a future fortune on a Tesla.

CU Tiger

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19420 on: January 13, 2018, 10:06:37 AM »
Now she is dating a man who has no job and drinks too much she says. Is this a match made in heaven? What kind of future is she visualizing with this person? You can't make this stuff up!

he could be FIRE'd

I cannot comprehend what possesses human females to pick men that are complete wastes........ Female animals know what to look for in potential mates....based on what animal they are,  they don't always stick around, but they don't pick weak, sickly ones.

A lot of times, people (men and women) pick a partner to act out some need they have, or because they are repeating patterns they learned in childhood.

I have a friend who used tell me excitedly about each new fellow in her life, how funny, smart, artistic, sensitive, they were. Except for the heroin habit, or the fact that he beat his last girlfriend, or he was an unemployed artist who wanted her to support him. Over and over she chose people who were the definition of BAD Boyfriends. Then she went back to school, took a break from dating, moved to a new city...where she met a good man. A man, not a boy with anger or drug problems. She made a good choice and they have been married about 15 years.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19421 on: January 13, 2018, 04:58:41 PM »
Now she is dating a man who has no job and drinks too much she says. Is this a match made in heaven? What kind of future is she visualizing with this person? You can't make this stuff up!

he could be FIRE'd

I cannot comprehend what possesses human females to pick men that are complete wastes........ Female animals know what to look for in potential mates....based on what animal they are,  they don't always stick around, but they don't pick weak, sickly ones.

A lot of times, people (men and women) pick a partner to act out some need they have, or because they are repeating patterns they learned in childhood.

I have a friend who used tell me excitedly about each new fellow in her life, how funny, smart, artistic, sensitive, they were. Except for the heroin habit, or the fact that he beat his last girlfriend, or he was an unemployed artist who wanted her to support him. Over and over she chose people who were the definition of BAD Boyfriends. Then she went back to school, took a break from dating, moved to a new city...where she met a good man. A man, not a boy with anger or drug problems. She made a good choice and they have been married about 15 years.

Yeah, female animals pick really important attributes:


RetiredAt63

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19422 on: January 13, 2018, 05:19:04 PM »

Yeah, female animals pick really important attributes:



Well yes, she is being selective - look at him.  He grew those lovely feathers, good healthy feathers with all that blue are hard to grow.  So he is healthy, no (or few) endo- or ecto-parasites, good food collecting and digesting systems.  Still alive, those feathers didn't make him vulnerable to a predator.  Good potential genes for her babies.

With This Herring

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19423 on: January 13, 2018, 05:36:31 PM »

Yeah, female animals pick really important attributes:



Well yes, she is being selective - look at him.  He grew those lovely feathers, good healthy feathers with all that blue are hard to grow.  So he is healthy, no (or few) endo- or ecto-parasites, good food collecting and digesting systems.  Still alive, those feathers didn't make him vulnerable to a predator.  Good potential genes for her babies.

"OH MAN, WHAT A SEXY BIRD!  HE IS SO HEALTHY, I WILL HAVE ALL HIS CHICKS"
- That lady bird

Birds select different attributes than humans because they are looking to have bird babies, not human babies.  :)

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19424 on: January 13, 2018, 07:34:34 PM »

Yeah, female animals pick really important attributes:



Well yes, she is being selective - look at him.  He grew those lovely feathers, good healthy feathers with all that blue are hard to grow.  So he is healthy, no (or few) endo- or ecto-parasites, good food collecting and digesting systems.  Still alive, those feathers didn't make him vulnerable to a predator.  Good potential genes for her babies.

And likewise, having no job and drinking a lot shows resourcefulness and liver strength.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19425 on: January 14, 2018, 04:18:05 PM »

Yeah, female animals pick really important attributes:



Well yes, she is being selective - look at him.  He grew those lovely feathers, good healthy feathers with all that blue are hard to grow.  So he is healthy, no (or few) endo- or ecto-parasites, good food collecting and digesting systems.  Still alive, those feathers didn't make him vulnerable to a predator.  Good potential genes for her babies.

And likewise, having no job and drinking a lot shows resourcefulness and liver strength.

Well he is no superb bird of paradise.  He has about the same amount of brains as the male grouse I nearly ran over because he couldn't bother paying attention.  How many women does he have lining up hoping to be chosen?  The thing they have in common with Ms. BoP is no support from Daddy to look after babies.   With This Herring gets it - different starting point, different criteria.

If you really want to be serious, the question is why women make such bad choices.  In the bird world, top displaying males in polygamous species get to mate with lots of females, at leas some of whom will end up being excellent mothers (all on their own.) His long-term behaviour is irrelevant, he just needs a healthy body.  In species where the pair raise the babies the selection is a lot more serious.  Like, cute pool boy for fun, serious Daddy material for kids.

And maybe next time you want to make a point like this, don't compare a top male with a bottom one?  It was fun but not accurate.  Hmm, although in a society where scavenging is necessary for survival, and there is no alcohol available anyway, the loser might be the winner - post-apocalypse, anyway.

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19426 on: January 14, 2018, 05:13:25 PM »
If you really want to be serious, the question is why women make such bad choices.

My first crack at the answer: there are just as may damaged, messed-up, dysfunctional adult children in female form as there are in male form.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19427 on: January 14, 2018, 09:05:48 PM »

Yeah, female animals pick really important attributes:



Well yes, she is being selective - look at him.  He grew those lovely feathers, good healthy feathers with all that blue are hard to grow.  So he is healthy, no (or few) endo- or ecto-parasites, good food collecting and digesting systems.  Still alive, those feathers didn't make him vulnerable to a predator.  Good potential genes for her babies.

And likewise, having no job and drinking a lot shows resourcefulness and liver strength.

Well he is no superb bird of paradise.  He has about the same amount of brains as the male grouse I nearly ran over because he couldn't bother paying attention.  How many women does he have lining up hoping to be chosen?  The thing they have in common with Ms. BoP is no support from Daddy to look after babies.   With This Herring gets it - different starting point, different criteria.

If you really want to be serious, the question is why women make such bad choices.  In the bird world, top displaying males in polygamous species get to mate with lots of females, at leas some of whom will end up being excellent mothers (all on their own.) His long-term behaviour is irrelevant, he just needs a healthy body.  In species where the pair raise the babies the selection is a lot more serious.  Like, cute pool boy for fun, serious Daddy material for kids.

And maybe next time you want to make a point like this, don't compare a top male with a bottom one?  It was fun but not accurate.  Hmm, although in a society where scavenging is necessary for survival, and there is no alcohol available anyway, the loser might be the winner - post-apocalypse, anyway.

If this loser has women lining up to date him, he is by definition a top specimen.  Why do you fight nature?

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19428 on: January 14, 2018, 10:35:44 PM »

Yeah, female animals pick really important attributes:



Well yes, she is being selective - look at him.  He grew those lovely feathers, good healthy feathers with all that blue are hard to grow.  So he is healthy, no (or few) endo- or ecto-parasites, good food collecting and digesting systems.  Still alive, those feathers didn't make him vulnerable to a predator.  Good potential genes for her babies.

"OH MAN, WHAT A SEXY BIRD!  HE IS SO HEALTHY, I WILL HAVE ALL HIS CHICKS"
- That lady bird

Birds select different attributes than humans because they are looking to have bird babies, not human babies.  :)

@marty998, when MMM goes Attenborough. :D

marty998

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19429 on: January 15, 2018, 04:47:43 AM »
@mustachepungoeshere so that's why girls always ran away... I didn't have enough blue feathers!!! :D


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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19430 on: January 15, 2018, 08:17:23 AM »

Yeah, female animals pick really important attributes:



Well yes, she is being selective - look at him.  He grew those lovely feathers, good healthy feathers with all that blue are hard to grow.  So he is healthy, no (or few) endo- or ecto-parasites, good food collecting and digesting systems.  Still alive, those feathers didn't make him vulnerable to a predator.  Good potential genes for her babies.

And likewise, having no job and drinking a lot shows resourcefulness and liver strength.

Well he is no superb bird of paradise.  He has about the same amount of brains as the male grouse I nearly ran over because he couldn't bother paying attention.  How many women does he have lining up hoping to be chosen?  The thing they have in common with Ms. BoP is no support from Daddy to look after babies.   With This Herring gets it - different starting point, different criteria.

If you really want to be serious, the question is why women make such bad choices.  In the bird world, top displaying males in polygamous species get to mate with lots of females, at leas some of whom will end up being excellent mothers (all on their own.) His long-term behaviour is irrelevant, he just needs a healthy body.  In species where the pair raise the babies the selection is a lot more serious.  Like, cute pool boy for fun, serious Daddy material for kids.

And maybe next time you want to make a point like this, don't compare a top male with a bottom one?  It was fun but not accurate.  Hmm, although in a society where scavenging is necessary for survival, and there is no alcohol available anyway, the loser might be the winner - post-apocalypse, anyway.

If this loser has women lining up to date him, he is by definition a top specimen.  Why do you fight nature?

Are you being serious here?  Because if he has women lining up to date him, he has something positive.  Animal magnetism?  Charm? Hot bod? Of course there is a big difference between dating someone, and marrying and having kids with that same someone.  Lots of women date the "bad boy", hopefully most of us don't marry him.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19431 on: January 15, 2018, 12:37:52 PM »
@mustachepungoeshere so that's why girls always ran away... I didn't have enough blue feathers!!! :D

You have beautiful feathers. :)

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19432 on: January 15, 2018, 01:45:41 PM »


Are you being serious here?  Because if he has women lining up to date him, he has something positive.  Animal magnetism?  Charm? Hot bod? Of course there is a big difference between dating someone, and marrying and having kids with that same someone.  Lots of women date the "bad boy", hopefully most of us don't marry him.

How are beautiful feathers different from a “hot bod” in sexual selection?

Paul der Krake

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19433 on: January 15, 2018, 05:26:28 PM »
I thought dad bods were all the rage now. Are they not? Asking for a friend...

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19434 on: January 16, 2018, 03:12:08 PM »
A friend just called me to rant about her experience at work yesterday.

She went to pee. No toilet paper.

She holds a senior role in a small business (about a dozen employees), and the office staff are supposed to keep the place stocked with toilet paper, etc, then claim it through petty cash.

But, as they explained, they were "all too broke after Christmas".

"Oh for fuck's sake, I'll go buy it then!"
"Wait, wait, we'll give you a list!"

Toilet paper, paper towel, dishwashing liquid, tea, coffee, snacks...

She spent $70 restocking the office, put in her expense claim, then watched one of the "broke" office guys pay $25 for lunch.


Christof

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19435 on: January 16, 2018, 04:07:14 PM »
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.

Lenovo's are easier to manage for an IT department, but Apple isn't more expensive for somewhat computer literate users (AKA developers). In my company an employee is 60-100 times more expensive than an Apple computer. The focus is really on keeping employees productive not getting the cheapest stuff possible. Apples are a lot more efficient for support due to the high number of equal models which allows employees to find a solution or quickly realize that there isn't one.

Cowardly Toaster

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19436 on: January 16, 2018, 04:07:41 PM »
A friend just called me to rant about her experience at work yesterday.

She went to pee. No toilet paper.

She holds a senior role in a small business (about a dozen employees), and the office staff are supposed to keep the place stocked with toilet paper, etc, then claim it through petty cash.

But, as they explained, they were "all too broke after Christmas".

"Oh for fuck's sake, I'll go buy it then!"
"Wait, wait, we'll give you a list!"

Toilet paper, paper towel, dishwashing liquid, tea, coffee, snacks...

She spent $70 restocking the office, put in her expense claim, then watched one of the "broke" office guys pay $25 for lunch.

That's a very odd system, I've never heard of something like this for toilet paper.  The company might want to check the HR laws on this.

Christof

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19437 on: January 16, 2018, 04:28:09 PM »
odd is a nice term. I would call this bizarre, and I'm a business owner of a similarly sized business.

Specifically regarding toilet paper that really depends on where you are working. Outside Northern America and Europe the rules are different.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19438 on: January 16, 2018, 05:11:58 PM »
A friend just called me to rant about her experience at work yesterday.

She went to pee. No toilet paper.

She holds a senior role in a small business (about a dozen employees), and the office staff are supposed to keep the place stocked with toilet paper, etc, then claim it through petty cash.

But, as they explained, they were "all too broke after Christmas".

"Oh for fuck's sake, I'll go buy it then!"
"Wait, wait, we'll give you a list!"

Toilet paper, paper towel, dishwashing liquid, tea, coffee, snacks...

She spent $70 restocking the office, put in her expense claim, then watched one of the "broke" office guys pay $25 for lunch.

That's a very odd system, I've never heard of something like this for toilet paper.  The company might want to check the HR laws on this.

I wonder if the employees are supposed to pay the electric bill out of pocket and file for reimbursement.

Cowardly Toaster

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19439 on: January 16, 2018, 05:25:51 PM »
A friend just called me to rant about her experience at work yesterday.

She went to pee. No toilet paper.

She holds a senior role in a small business (about a dozen employees), and the office staff are supposed to keep the place stocked with toilet paper, etc, then claim it through petty cash.

But, as they explained, they were "all too broke after Christmas".

"Oh for fuck's sake, I'll go buy it then!"
"Wait, wait, we'll give you a list!"

Toilet paper, paper towel, dishwashing liquid, tea, coffee, snacks...

She spent $70 restocking the office, put in her expense claim, then watched one of the "broke" office guys pay $25 for lunch.

That's a very odd system, I've never heard of something like this for toilet paper.  The company might want to check the HR laws on this.

I wonder if the employees are supposed to pay the electric bill out of pocket and file for reimbursement.

Yes, I'm waiting for a reply from the OP. Perhaps there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. And an explanation of why this was so shocking to his friend.

What it sounds like though is that a manager decided they could save $50/month doing this. The employees made up a lame excuse because the system was BS, and just let the manager take care of it. Making employees pay out of pocket for expenses is very often a bad deal. You have to do the work of turning in an expense report, and track everything. Inevitably, you forget some expense and eat the cost.

Christof

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19440 on: January 16, 2018, 05:37:09 PM »
Being and employer myself... Would you say the same thing if there is prepayment of the expected cost?

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19441 on: January 16, 2018, 05:56:39 PM »
A friend just called me to rant about her experience at work yesterday.

She went to pee. No toilet paper.

She holds a senior role in a small business (about a dozen employees), and the office staff are supposed to keep the place stocked with toilet paper, etc, then claim it through petty cash.

But, as they explained, they were "all too broke after Christmas".

"Oh for fuck's sake, I'll go buy it then!"
"Wait, wait, we'll give you a list!"

Toilet paper, paper towel, dishwashing liquid, tea, coffee, snacks...

She spent $70 restocking the office, put in her expense claim, then watched one of the "broke" office guys pay $25 for lunch.

That's a very odd system, I've never heard of something like this for toilet paper.  The company might want to check the HR laws on this.

I wonder if the employees are supposed to pay the electric bill out of pocket and file for reimbursement.

Yes, I'm waiting for a reply from the OP. Perhaps there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. And an explanation of why this was so shocking to his friend.

What it sounds like though is that a manager decided they could save $50/month doing this. The employees made up a lame excuse because the system was BS, and just let the manager take care of it. Making employees pay out of pocket for expenses is very often a bad deal. You have to do the work of turning in an expense report, and track everything. Inevitably, you forget some expense and eat the cost.

I'm surprised that this has caused such a stir.

As I understand it, the owners (who are based interstate) decided these tasks are the responsibility of the three office staff. They're reimbursed electronically as soon as they lodge their expense forms, so my friend was repaid the same day.

She said she was surprised that, when buying supplies became an apparent hardship, their solution was to just ... not do it, rather than raise it with management and come up with an alternative.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19442 on: January 17, 2018, 01:54:18 AM »
Also, I had a coworker openly admit that he spends $800/month on weed. (And by the way lives paycheck to paycheck)

Shocking. Have you suggested growing it at home? But maybe your colleague used so much that growing at home doesn't cover his/her consumption.

Cowardly Toaster

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19443 on: January 17, 2018, 09:54:42 AM »
A friend just called me to rant about her experience at work yesterday.

She went to pee. No toilet paper.

She holds a senior role in a small business (about a dozen employees), and the office staff are supposed to keep the place stocked with toilet paper, etc, then claim it through petty cash.

But, as they explained, they were "all too broke after Christmas".

"Oh for fuck's sake, I'll go buy it then!"
"Wait, wait, we'll give you a list!"

Toilet paper, paper towel, dishwashing liquid, tea, coffee, snacks...

She spent $70 restocking the office, put in her expense claim, then watched one of the "broke" office guys pay $25 for lunch.

That's a very odd system, I've never heard of something like this for toilet paper.  The company might want to check the HR laws on this.

I wonder if the employees are supposed to pay the electric bill out of pocket and file for reimbursement.

Yes, I'm waiting for a reply from the OP. Perhaps there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. And an explanation of why this was so shocking to his friend.

What it sounds like though is that a manager decided they could save $50/month doing this. The employees made up a lame excuse because the system was BS, and just let the manager take care of it. Making employees pay out of pocket for expenses is very often a bad deal. You have to do the work of turning in an expense report, and track everything. Inevitably, you forget some expense and eat the cost.

I'm surprised that this has caused such a stir.

As I understand it, the owners (who are based interstate) decided these tasks are the responsibility of the three office staff. They're reimbursed electronically as soon as they lodge their expense forms, so my friend was repaid the same day.

She said she was surprised that, when buying supplies became an apparent hardship, their solution was to just ... not do it, rather than raise it with management and come up with an alternative.

Who knows? Maybe I'm reading this situation completely wrong. Is this a small tech company with  a college dorm atmosphere? I guess I could see this system in that case.

Otherwise, the whole thing sounds unprofessional (have they heard of company credit cards?). As for why the employees didn't bring it up with management, it may be because managers who put exactly these sorts of systems in place react poorly when you tell them the truth. The employees knew that whoever said anything would get chewed out so they took the passive route.

And if doing unpaid work by shopping for office supplies and then using your personal funds to pay, albeit temporarily, is such a non-issue, then why is your friend complaining about doing it?

Roadrunner53

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19444 on: January 17, 2018, 10:12:39 AM »
Bring your own toilet paper to work.

turketron

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19445 on: January 17, 2018, 10:26:09 AM »
Got a couple good ones this morning at work. We have an internal "marketplace" chat room set up in company our chat program, that folks in our office use like a craigslist board to buy/sell stuff they're looking to get rid of. It's generally pretty mustachian- a lot of furniture and stuff from people moving/downsizing, usually for dirt cheap or even free. However, this morning there were two separate posts that made my head spin. Somewhat edited and/or paraphrased versions below:

post 1:
Quote
Jeep project for sale, 2002 Grand Cherokee, has all the cool parts, but needs front axle bracket geometry adjusted (cutting and welding involved). Over $22k invested, sacrifice for $11k obo....
...Terrible gas mileage (14ish). Includes new front driveshaft that's not installed, as it needs the front axle adjustments first. As such it's 2 wheel drive for the time being... This is not a good daily driver, built more for offroading. I daily drive it, but it's tires are loud, it smells funny, and the ride is rough.

Post 2:
Quote
Selling a [fancy brand, $1,300 MSRP] portable Synthesizer. Lightly used (couple of hours), looking for $900. Selling because I bought it thinking I'd get into using it but didn't.



bluebelle

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19446 on: January 17, 2018, 10:26:52 AM »
surprised there isn't a corporate CC to address the office supply issues....sad but true that some people have their credit cards maxed out after Christmas. 

Imma

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19447 on: January 17, 2018, 10:42:30 AM »
A friend just called me to rant about her experience at work yesterday.

She went to pee. No toilet paper.

She holds a senior role in a small business (about a dozen employees), and the office staff are supposed to keep the place stocked with toilet paper, etc, then claim it through petty cash.

But, as they explained, they were "all too broke after Christmas".

"Oh for fuck's sake, I'll go buy it then!"
"Wait, wait, we'll give you a list!"

Toilet paper, paper towel, dishwashing liquid, tea, coffee, snacks...

She spent $70 restocking the office, put in her expense claim, then watched one of the "broke" office guys pay $25 for lunch.

That's a very odd system, I've never heard of something like this for toilet paper.  The company might want to check the HR laws on this.

I wonder if the employees are supposed to pay the electric bill out of pocket and file for reimbursement.

Yes, I'm waiting for a reply from the OP. Perhaps there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. And an explanation of why this was so shocking to his friend.

What it sounds like though is that a manager decided they could save $50/month doing this. The employees made up a lame excuse because the system was BS, and just let the manager take care of it. Making employees pay out of pocket for expenses is very often a bad deal. You have to do the work of turning in an expense report, and track everything. Inevitably, you forget some expense and eat the cost.

I'm surprised that this has caused such a stir.

As I understand it, the owners (who are based interstate) decided these tasks are the responsibility of the three office staff. They're reimbursed electronically as soon as they lodge their expense forms, so my friend was repaid the same day.

She said she was surprised that, when buying supplies became an apparent hardship, their solution was to just ... not do it, rather than raise it with management and come up with an alternative.

Who knows? Maybe I'm reading this situation completely wrong. Is this a small tech company with  a college dorm atmosphere? I guess I could see this system in that case.

Otherwise, the whole thing sounds unprofessional (have they heard of company credit cards?). As for why the employees didn't bring it up with management, it may be because managers who put exactly these sorts of systems in place react poorly when you tell them the truth. The employees knew that whoever said anything would get chewed out so they took the passive route.

And if doing unpaid work by shopping for office supplies and then using your personal funds to pay, albeit temporarily, is such a non-issue, then why is your friend complaining about doing it?

It's the same in my company and I've never thought twice about it, honestly. We don't exactly have a college dorm atmosphere, we're a small, but long established company and I'm the only employee under 50. Generally it's the owner buying the supplies, because he lives next to the grocery store, but he's abroad often so that's when the employees take care of it. We refund ourselves from the petty cash. As I live closest to the post office, I'm usually the one to take letters and parcels after work (maybe once a month) and I refund myself from the petty cash. I'm the bookkeeper but I always make sure someone else is with me when I refund myself. I don't want to be accused of anything. For larger supplies (paper, toner) I generally order online and then pay by invoice. My employer is old-fashioned and doesn't really like the idea of me ordering online, but he reluctantly agrees because no one wants to go and buy all those boxes of paper.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19448 on: January 17, 2018, 10:54:51 AM »
A friend just called me to rant about her experience at work yesterday.

She went to pee. No toilet paper.

She holds a senior role in a small business (about a dozen employees), and the office staff are supposed to keep the place stocked with toilet paper, etc, then claim it through petty cash.

But, as they explained, they were "all too broke after Christmas".

"Oh for fuck's sake, I'll go buy it then!"
"Wait, wait, we'll give you a list!"

Toilet paper, paper towel, dishwashing liquid, tea, coffee, snacks...

She spent $70 restocking the office, put in her expense claim, then watched one of the "broke" office guys pay $25 for lunch.

That's a very odd system, I've never heard of something like this for toilet paper.  The company might want to check the HR laws on this.

I wonder if the employees are supposed to pay the electric bill out of pocket and file for reimbursement.

Yes, I'm waiting for a reply from the OP. Perhaps there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. And an explanation of why this was so shocking to his friend.

What it sounds like though is that a manager decided they could save $50/month doing this. The employees made up a lame excuse because the system was BS, and just let the manager take care of it. Making employees pay out of pocket for expenses is very often a bad deal. You have to do the work of turning in an expense report, and track everything. Inevitably, you forget some expense and eat the cost.

I'm surprised that this has caused such a stir.

As I understand it, the owners (who are based interstate) decided these tasks are the responsibility of the three office staff. They're reimbursed electronically as soon as they lodge their expense forms, so my friend was repaid the same day.

She said she was surprised that, when buying supplies became an apparent hardship, their solution was to just ... not do it, rather than raise it with management and come up with an alternative.

Who knows? Maybe I'm reading this situation completely wrong. Is this a small tech company with  a college dorm atmosphere? I guess I could see this system in that case.

Otherwise, the whole thing sounds unprofessional (have they heard of company credit cards?). As for why the employees didn't bring it up with management, it may be because managers who put exactly these sorts of systems in place react poorly when you tell them the truth. The employees knew that whoever said anything would get chewed out so they took the passive route.

And if doing unpaid work by shopping for office supplies and then using your personal funds to pay, albeit temporarily, is such a non-issue, then why is your friend complaining about doing it?

It's the same in my company and I've never thought twice about it, honestly. We don't exactly have a college dorm atmosphere, we're a small, but long established company and I'm the only employee under 50. Generally it's the owner buying the supplies, because he lives next to the grocery store, but he's abroad often so that's when the employees take care of it. We refund ourselves from the petty cash. As I live closest to the post office, I'm usually the one to take letters and parcels after work (maybe once a month) and I refund myself from the petty cash. I'm the bookkeeper but I always make sure someone else is with me when I refund myself. I don't want to be accused of anything. For larger supplies (paper, toner) I generally order online and then pay by invoice. My employer is old-fashioned and doesn't really like the idea of me ordering online, but he reluctantly agrees because no one wants to go and buy all those boxes of paper.

My previous employer was a small company. We had a company credit card from the next door grocery store. Everyone could borrow it to buy stuff we needed forvthe office, like nuts, fruit, etc. Only requirement was bringing the paper receipt and write your name on it. The bill would monthly go from the grocery store to my employer.

frugalnacho

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #19449 on: January 17, 2018, 11:27:50 AM »
TP is momentary and TP is costly.  There will be no more TP used in this office today, is that quite clear, Mr. Cratchit?

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!