Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13253190 times)

Tempe

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3650 on: August 12, 2014, 10:30:41 PM »
One of my coworkers pays for a cab to work the times they aren't able to get a ride. I believe it is upwards of 10$ a ride. They live fairly close, and it would be a pain in the butt with the bus, but when sometimes one hour of work equals the cab fare, the 1.5 hour ride with the bus would be better -.-

Nords

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3651 on: August 12, 2014, 11:21:19 PM »
Every time I see a well-dressed person (of either gender), my initial attraction is tempered by a little flashing yellow light that warns "High maintenance".
Now I wonder if I dress nice enough for people to think I'm high maintenance.
Only the people who are wearing ratty tank tops and surf shorts, so you'll probably do just fine with everyone else.

I sooo envy Nords. All day, every day in shorts. Must be great! I’m looking forward to doing that myself in 3 years’ time!
Sea story:  when submariners are underway underwater, no longer showing off our military bearing for the taxpayers, then we wear coveralls and "suitable footwear"-- usually sneakers or docksiders.  The t-shirt under your coveralls can be anything motivational, so people get a little competitive.  Everyone finds t-shirts that promote obscure indie bands, small-town bars, and motorcycles.  Even today, decades after our last sea duty, submariners are still commenting on Facebook groups about each others' underway motivational t-shirts.

Oh, and a small donation to the ship's Recreation Committee earns you the privileged "no shaving" chit.  You still have to shave your neck to get a good seal on an air-fed rubber facemask, but otherwise it's the best way to keep warm in a cold computer space.  When my daughter was on a training patrol aboard the USS LOUISIANA, the women got ponytail chits.  But I digress.

Anyway Pearl Harbor sea duty went one better than anything I'd ever seen in the Atlantic submarine force.  I reported aboard my Hawaii boat a week before a major underway, so we were scrambling to fix our ragged gear and get our stuff stowed.  Nobody took the time to explain local customs to me, and I never thought to ask.  I was expected to be on the bridge for the underway (to requalify Surfaced Officer of the Deck) and the commodore usually waves good-bye from the pier, so you have to look good.  I dressed in my nicest khakis and my spit-shined leather shoes and headed up the bridge ladder. 

When I got there, the CO and the OOD greeted me.  Both were also wearing their nicest khaki shirts and their garrison caps.  However the bridge on a submarine is actually a cockpit that leaves your body visible to the people on shore only from the ribcage up.  Below the view of the public (and the commodore), both of these fellow steely-eyed killers of the deep were wearing surf shorts and rubber slippers with their khaki shirttails hanging loose.

CO:  "What the #$%^ are you smirking at, Weps?"
Me:  "Um, I really like being stationed in Pearl Harbor, sir."
CO:  "Then get back below, dammit, and don a proper Pearl Harbor uniform!"

The OOD told me later that they were expecting me to lock up (or blow a gasket like my predecessor) so they were relieved when I bounced back below and returned in "proper attire".  A sense of humor was essential to survival with that CO.

After that tour, there was no goin' back to the Atlantic fleet. 

Cressida

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3652 on: August 12, 2014, 11:30:15 PM »
Tried to convince him to start brown-bagging it, and he laughed it off saying he can't do that because he's a bachelor and doesn't have a wife to do that for him.

JE. SUS. CHRIST. Here's hoping no one is ever stupid enough to marry him.

TheNorwegianGuy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3653 on: August 13, 2014, 12:18:14 AM »
Switzerland is significantly cheaper. More like Sweden not Norway.

According to this Switzerland is pretty close to Norway in COL:
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp

odput

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3654 on: August 13, 2014, 06:18:04 AM »

CO:  "What the #$%^ are you smirking at, Weps?"
Me:  "Um, I really like being stationed in Pearl Harbor, sir."
CO:  "Then get back below, dammit, and don a proper Pearl Harbor uniform!"


I love this

Jouer

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3655 on: August 13, 2014, 09:52:10 AM »
They say dress for the job you want, not for the job you have. So I guess everyone here wears shorts and flip flops since they want to be retired?  ;-)

Lis

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3656 on: August 13, 2014, 11:11:16 AM »
They say dress for the job you want, not for the job you have. So I guess everyone here wears shorts and flip flops since they want to be retired?  ;-)

Screw that! Where's my catwoman suit??

J'onn J'onzz

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3657 on: August 13, 2014, 01:51:00 PM »
They say dress for the job you want, not for the job you have. So I guess everyone here wears shorts and flip flops since they want to be retired?  ;-)

Screw that! Where's my catwoman suit??

LOL.. Love this response.

Panly

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3658 on: August 13, 2014, 01:55:51 PM »
CW1:  " My 18Y old son called me, he is going with his mates on a 4 week trip to Thailand, but he only had 1500GBP left on his account. So I wired him 3000GBP." 
CW2:  "Well, you know, those trips with a group of friends tend to become very expensive".

CW1: "Sure, all flights and hotels have already been paid, but you need some pocket money to spend."


Me: "WTF!?"

Thought I was born for luck,  but have to reconsider -others are simple more lucky.  Just imagining the debauchery if my dad had sent me as an 18y old single  to Thailand,  with more than 1000GBP/week excess cash.   
 

skunkfunk

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3659 on: August 13, 2014, 01:59:23 PM »
CW1:  " My 18Y old son called me, he is going with his mates on a 4 week trip to Thailand, but he only had 1500GBP left on his account. So I wired him 3000GBP." 
CW2:  "Well, you know, those trips with a group of friends tend to become very expensive".

CW1: "Sure, all flights and hotels have already been paid, but you need some pocket money to spend."


Me: "WTF!?"

Thought I was born for luck,  but have to reconsider -others are simple more lucky.  Just imagining the debauchery if my dad had sent me as an 18y old single  to Thailand,  with more than 1000GBP/week excess cash.   
 

Oh my. That's more than I spent on my entire honeymoon @.@ And we even flew!

stevedoug

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3660 on: August 13, 2014, 02:26:29 PM »
I work for a software engineering outfit in the snowy part of the midwest. The company pays well but the cost of living is so low that most of the people who work here are always finding new and innovative ways to waste their money. Today, the topic of the GM Camero recall came up on IRC:

Code: [Select]
<foo> yeah I saw that.  looks like i'll be taking mine to the dealer :(
<bar> that's your camaro?
<foo> the black one, yes
<bar> nice
<foo> thanks, it's been fun in the summer.  not so much when there is snow on the ground
<bar> yeah I have a winter car too
<foo> yeah i'll have to get a beater for the winter.  i bought that one back in like feb and did not realize just how bad it was in the snow
<baz> at least get snow tires
<baz> may be less expensive than a beater car
<foo> i'll look into that too. ive heard good things about camaro's winter tires
<bar> yeah winter tires are supposed to hellp a lot
<bar> i'm gonna get winter tires this year
<qux> let me know if you find some good beaters
<qux> im looking for one myself
<qux> i handled well in the winter but i don't want to keep subjecting my challenger to it.

TL;DR these kids go out and buy luxury sports cars which are totally unsuitable for daily driving for 1/3 of the year. And now they talk like it's completely reasonable and sane to go out and buy a second car, just to have on hand for winter commuting when the roads aren't completely clear.

two cars (or more) is very very common here in metro Detroit (motor city).
Close to 50% or more of my single male friends have 2 more more cars.
I also have 2, and am ok with this. Both are all season

strider3700

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3661 on: August 13, 2014, 03:54:46 PM »

two cars (or more) is very very common here in metro Detroit (motor city).
Close to 50% or more of my single male friends have 2 more more cars.
I also have 2, and am ok with this. Both are all season

Insurance here makes 2 cars for 1 person completely unreasonable.   I'm paying $800/year for a truck worth barely $3000 and only driving it maybe 3000km in a year. 

Silverado

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3662 on: August 13, 2014, 05:26:19 PM »
Quote

two cars (or more) is very very common here in metro Detroit (motor city).
Close to 50% or more of my single male friends have 2 more more cars.
I also have 2, and am ok with this. Both are all season

Well, this makes perfect sense. Allows one to still be able to get around when car #1 is under an underpass under three feet of water and now two feet of mud.

eyesonthehorizon

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3663 on: August 13, 2014, 09:47:49 PM »
... two cars (or more) is very very common here in metro Detroit (motor city).
Close to 50% or more of my single male friends have 2 more more cars. ...
I... what? I've been some places, I don't get culture shock much but... ... what? How...? I mean... I'm trying to even think of an analogue to this, like owning more than one suit, but unless cars or your passion, or you're just rolling in dough and have summer homes upstate etc. - how often can you use more than one vehicle? Do people just alternate days or ...?

MikeBear

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3664 on: August 13, 2014, 09:52:51 PM »
... two cars (or more) is very very common here in metro Detroit (motor city).
Close to 50% or more of my single male friends have 2 more more cars. ...
I... what? I've been some places, I don't get culture shock much but... ... what? How...? I mean... I'm trying to even think of an analogue to this, like owning more than one suit, but unless cars or your passion, or you're just rolling in dough and have summer homes upstate etc. - how often can you use more than one vehicle? Do people just alternate days or ...?

Well, they have a couple stashed that they've "always meant to restore someday" (one is a parts car). Then they have their daily driver. There's lots of that in Michigan. It's like they grow them here or something, lol.

iris lily

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3665 on: August 13, 2014, 10:25:36 PM »
Multiple cars are common in the Midwest. We've got plenty of space to park them.

DH and I have had over the years 3, 4, 5 cars at one time. Some don't run, some are fun cars, some are work vehicles.

Sdsailing

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3666 on: August 13, 2014, 11:01:23 PM »

One econocar for commuting.  One small pickup for home rennovation work.  Quite frugal.

Nords

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3667 on: August 13, 2014, 11:22:33 PM »
Tried to convince him to start brown-bagging it, and he laughed it off saying he can't do that because he's a bachelor and doesn't have a wife to do that for him.
JE. SUS. CHRIST. Here's hoping no one is ever stupid enough to marry him.
"Ladies, it's a mystery to me why he's still single..."

One econocar for commuting.  One small pickup for home rennovation work.  Quite frugal.
We have a perpetual debate about going down to a one-car household, but we've decided that the second car is a hedonistically frivolous luxury. 

Because, you know, we might need to use them both at the same time someday...

limeandpepper

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3668 on: August 13, 2014, 11:40:13 PM »
CW1:  " My 18Y old son called me, he is going with his mates on a 4 week trip to Thailand, but he only had 1500GBP left on his account. So I wired him 3000GBP." 
CW2:  "Well, you know, those trips with a group of friends tend to become very expensive".

CW1: "Sure, all flights and hotels have already been paid, but you need some pocket money to spend."


Me: "WTF!?"

Thought I was born for luck,  but have to reconsider -others are simple more lucky.  Just imagining the debauchery if my dad had sent me as an 18y old single  to Thailand,  with more than 1000GBP/week excess cash.   
 

O_O

I could live very well in Thailand for A YEAR on 4500GBP if all flights and hotels were already paid for.

agent_clone

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3669 on: August 14, 2014, 03:10:02 AM »
CW1:  " My 18Y old son called me, he is going with his mates on a 4 week trip to Thailand, but he only had 1500GBP left on his account. So I wired him 3000GBP." 
CW2:  "Well, you know, those trips with a group of friends tend to become very expensive".

CW1: "Sure, all flights and hotels have already been paid, but you need some pocket money to spend."


Me: "WTF!?"

Thought I was born for luck,  but have to reconsider -others are simple more lucky.  Just imagining the debauchery if my dad had sent me as an 18y old single  to Thailand,  with more than 1000GBP/week excess cash.   
 

O_O

I could live very well in Thailand for A YEAR on 4500GBP if all flights and hotels were already paid for.

I think (though I could be wrong as I don't know what she actually started out with) that if you quadruple it my sister travelled for a year around various parts of South East Asia, Africa, and cheaper parts of europe paying for all expenses such as accomodation, food, flights, other transport, etc.

With the debauchery aspect I would be worried about contracting HIV/AIDS in Thailand as apparently many of the prostitutes take the view that they need money for living expenses now rather than worrying about the health consequences of unprotected sex.

marty998

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3670 on: August 14, 2014, 04:02:46 AM »
Is this the longest internet thread ever?

Has someone tried to press print to see if it stretches to the moon and back?

Albert

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3671 on: August 14, 2014, 04:32:57 AM »
Is this the longest internet thread ever?

For this tiny board maybe, otherwise I've seen threads stretching to well over thousand pages.

Basenji

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3672 on: August 14, 2014, 05:28:22 AM »
CW1:  " My 18Y old son called me, he is going with his mates on a 4 week trip to Thailand, but he only had 1500GBP left on his account. So I wired him 3000GBP." 
CW2:  "Well, you know, those trips with a group of friends tend to become very expensive".

CW1: "Sure, all flights and hotels have already been paid, but you need some pocket money to spend."


Me: "WTF!?"

Thought I was born for luck,  but have to reconsider -others are simple more lucky.  Just imagining the debauchery if my dad had sent me as an 18y old single  to Thailand,  with more than 1000GBP/week excess cash.   
 

O_O

I could live very well in Thailand for A YEAR on 4500GBP if all flights and hotels were already paid for.

Yikes, scary. But maybe he'll join a Buddhist monastery haha

eyePod

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3673 on: August 14, 2014, 05:31:28 AM »
CW1:  " My 18Y old son called me, he is going with his mates on a 4 week trip to Thailand, but he only had 1500GBP left on his account. So I wired him 3000GBP." 
CW2:  "Well, you know, those trips with a group of friends tend to become very expensive".

CW1: "Sure, all flights and hotels have already been paid, but you need some pocket money to spend."


Me: "WTF!?"

Thought I was born for luck,  but have to reconsider -others are simple more lucky.  Just imagining the debauchery if my dad had sent me as an 18y old single  to Thailand,  with more than 1000GBP/week excess cash.   
 

Oh my. That's more than I spent on my entire honeymoon @.@ And we even flew!

Did you got to Thailand for your honeymoon too? We had such a blast over there.

kyanamerinas

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3674 on: August 14, 2014, 06:49:15 AM »
Is this the longest internet thread ever?

Has someone tried to press print to see if it stretches to the moon and back?

i visit another thread on another forum which is over 750 pages and i'm sure there are longer. but this is pretty good!

Threshkin

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3675 on: August 14, 2014, 09:40:51 AM »
CW1:  " My 18Y old son called me, he is going with his mates on a 4 week trip to Thailand, but he only had 1500GBP left on his account. So I wired him 3000GBP." 
CW2:  "Well, you know, those trips with a group of friends tend to become very expensive".

CW1: "Sure, all flights and hotels have already been paid, but you need some pocket money to spend."


Me: "WTF!?"

Thought I was born for luck,  but have to reconsider -others are simple more lucky.  Just imagining the debauchery if my dad had sent me as an 18y old single  to Thailand,  with more than 1000GBP/week excess cash.   
 

Oh my. That's more than I spent on my entire honeymoon @.@ And we even flew!

Looks like this 18yo may be planning multiple "honeymoons!"

stevedoug

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3676 on: August 14, 2014, 02:44:15 PM »
Quote

two cars (or more) is very very common here in metro Detroit (motor city).
Close to 50% or more of my single male friends have 2 more more cars.
I also have 2, and am ok with this. Both are all season

Well, this makes perfect sense. Allows one to still be able to get around when car #1 is under an underpass under three feet of water and now two feet of mud.

Exactly! (Flood jokes aren't easy to make)!

I know the 2 car thing blows people's mind on this board, but it is like any other hobby. Everyone has their hobbies, someone could say anyone with a guitar is insane for having 2 guitars (YOU CAN'T PLAY THEM BOTH?!).

As long as it is within reason, and a person understands the financial costs, and understands that those metal objects are stealing away FI, then why not.
Personally I am willing to lose a bit of freedom to have 2 (and possibly more) cars in the future. Remember: to many people cars are more than an appliance for transportation

Nudelkopf

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3677 on: August 15, 2014, 02:35:02 AM »
One of my coworkers pays for a cab to work the times they aren't able to get a ride. I believe it is upwards of 10$ a ride. They live fairly close, and it would be a pain in the butt with the bus, but when sometimes one hour of work equals the cab fare, the 1.5 hour ride with the bus would be better -.-
Mehhhh... It costs me $15 to take a taxi work. I've done it a few times - mostly when I'm sick, or it's raining, or I just don't give a fuck that day. (No public transport in my town).  But, Mustachianism is all about priorities - I'm saving a butt-tonne by not having a car, so the odd $15 to work doesn't bother me.

tariskat

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3678 on: August 15, 2014, 08:20:10 AM »
One of my coworkers pays for a cab to work the times they aren't able to get a ride. I believe it is upwards of 10$ a ride. They live fairly close, and it would be a pain in the butt with the bus, but when sometimes one hour of work equals the cab fare, the 1.5 hour ride with the bus would be better -.-
Mehhhh... It costs me $15 to take a taxi work. I've done it a few times - mostly when I'm sick, or it's raining, or I just don't give a fuck that day. (No public transport in my town).  But, Mustachianism is all about priorities - I'm saving a butt-tonne by not having a car, so the odd $15 to work doesn't bother me.

shouldn't that be saving a 'butt-tone'? or maybe "getting a butt-tone"....

Anatidae V

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3679 on: August 15, 2014, 09:12:18 AM »
One of my coworkers pays for a cab to work the times they aren't able to get a ride. I believe it is upwards of 10$ a ride. They live fairly close, and it would be a pain in the butt with the bus, but when sometimes one hour of work equals the cab fare, the 1.5 hour ride with the bus would be better -.-
Mehhhh... It costs me $15 to take a taxi work. I've done it a few times - mostly when I'm sick, or it's raining, or I just don't give a fuck that day. (No public transport in my town).  But, Mustachianism is all about priorities - I'm saving a butt-tonne by not having a car, so the odd $15 to work doesn't bother me.

shouldn't that be saving a 'butt-tone'? or maybe "getting a butt-tone"....
Tonne = 1000 kg
Butt-tonne: colloquial (possibly Australian only?) For "a very large amount" of something.

Dr.Vibrissae

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3680 on: August 15, 2014, 09:55:54 AM »
One of my coworkers pays for a cab to work the times they aren't able to get a ride. I believe it is upwards of 10$ a ride. They live fairly close, and it would be a pain in the butt with the bus, but when sometimes one hour of work equals the cab fare, the 1.5 hour ride with the bus would be better -.-
Mehhhh... It costs me $15 to take a taxi work. I've done it a few times - mostly when I'm sick, or it's raining, or I just don't give a fuck that day. (No public transport in my town).  But, Mustachianism is all about priorities - I'm saving a butt-tonne by not having a car, so the odd $15 to work doesn't bother me.

shouldn't that be saving a 'butt-tone'? or maybe "getting a butt-tone"....
Tonne = 1000 kg
Butt-tonne: colloquial (possibly Australian only?) For "a very large amount" of something.
In the US it's ton as in butt-ton or shit-ton or fuck-ton.  Really, I've heard lots of iterations using various metrics, or non-metric tons as it were.

seanc0x0

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3681 on: August 15, 2014, 09:59:23 AM »

In the US it's ton as in butt-ton or shit-ton or fuck-ton.  Really, I've heard lots of iterations using various metrics, or non-metric tons as it were.

My favourite emphatic unit of measurement is "metric boatload".

Nudelkopf

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3682 on: August 15, 2014, 03:33:39 PM »
One of my coworkers pays for a cab to work the times they aren't able to get a ride. I believe it is upwards of 10$ a ride. They live fairly close, and it would be a pain in the butt with the bus, but when sometimes one hour of work equals the cab fare, the 1.5 hour ride with the bus would be better -.-
Mehhhh... It costs me $15 to take a taxi work. I've done it a few times - mostly when I'm sick, or it's raining, or I just don't give a fuck that day. (No public transport in my town).  But, Mustachianism is all about priorities - I'm saving a butt-tonne by not having a car, so the odd $15 to work doesn't bother me.

shouldn't that be saving a 'butt-tone'? or maybe "getting a butt-tone"....
Tonne = 1000 kg
Butt-tonne: colloquial (possibly Australian only?) For "a very large amount" of something.
LOL I thought it should be "losing butt-tone" by taking a cab and not biking.
Haha, also losing butt tone while costing a butt tonne.. that's a good one :P

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3683 on: August 17, 2014, 04:47:22 PM »
Was just chatting with our local Fedex guy. Talking about the perks my office provides... one of them is that our company buys us lunch every day (very very awesome for my grocery budget). He said that, even on a good day, he "can't" spend less than $10 a day buying lunch, and that $50 a week and $200 a month just on lunch really sucks! Tried to convince him to start brown-bagging it, and he laughed it off saying he can't do that because he's a bachelor and doesn't have a wife to do that for him.

I think my tongue is bleeding from biting it so hard...
That's funny.  My husband packed his own sandwiches for years.  Then he got sick of them, and he started competing for the dinner leftovers.  Then I just started packing his lunch for him, because I was already packing mine and our son's.  Then I stopped, because I realized I was packing three different things and that was too much - my son's which needs to be somewhat shelf stable (no fridge), mine which is a multi-component salad, and my husband's, which was a sandwich or leftovers.  So now I make sure we have food for him, but he makes his own lunch.

My friend though used to make fun of her coworkers 20 years ago at Texas Instruments, whose wives packed their lunches.  I said "well, I pack Mike's!"

Anyway, it's an interesting dynamic.  By packing his lunch or making sure we have yummy ingredients, I save us money from his eating out.

Zikoris

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3684 on: August 17, 2014, 04:52:42 PM »
I individually portion out dinner leftovers every night and put them into the tupperware rotation, but he takes them out of the fridge for lunch. Does that count as me packing his lunch?

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3685 on: August 17, 2014, 04:54:28 PM »
... two cars (or more) is very very common here in metro Detroit (motor city).
Close to 50% or more of my single male friends have 2 more more cars. ...
I... what? I've been some places, I don't get culture shock much but... ... what? How...? I mean... I'm trying to even think of an analogue to this, like owning more than one suit, but unless cars or your passion, or you're just rolling in dough and have summer homes upstate etc. - how often can you use more than one vehicle? Do people just alternate days or ...?
My neighbor (single male in his 50's) has a Toyota 4Runner, a Porsche Cayenne (to replace the Boxster that got run over by a mini when it was parked out front), a motorcycle, and a 2-door old Mercedes.  He also had a convertible that he bought for his daughter who didn't even have her license.  But she eventually got her license.

Oh, and a couple of bicycles - he's an avid cyclist.   He works <2 miles from home, drive the 4Runner.

I can never tell if he has money (he's a small business owner/ chiropractor who trades services a lot) or just lives like most Americans.

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3686 on: August 17, 2014, 04:56:31 PM »
I individually portion out dinner leftovers every night and put them into the tupperware rotation, but he takes them out of the fridge for lunch. Does that count as me packing his lunch?
Yes.

Lis

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3687 on: August 18, 2014, 10:36:13 AM »
I individually portion out dinner leftovers every night and put them into the tupperware rotation, but he takes them out of the fridge for lunch. Does that count as me packing his lunch?

It's not that I have anything against the concept of a wife packing her husband lunch. If you're handling the food anyway might as well. It's the idea that a man says he is incapable of doing so and needs a wife to do it. That's the ridiculous part. On various levels.

Zikoris

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3688 on: August 18, 2014, 10:44:10 AM »
I individually portion out dinner leftovers every night and put them into the tupperware rotation, but he takes them out of the fridge for lunch. Does that count as me packing his lunch?

It's not that I have anything against the concept of a wife packing her husband lunch. If you're handling the food anyway might as well. It's the idea that a man says he is incapable of doing so and needs a wife to do it. That's the ridiculous part. On various levels.

I've seen my boyfriend try to get food from a pot onto a plate. It's not pretty. I'm not sure he would be capable of dishing out leftovers into tupperwares, let alone cooking the food to begin with. I don't mind though, he does enough chores I hate to make up for it.

Rural

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3689 on: August 18, 2014, 11:24:37 AM »
I individually portion out dinner leftovers every night and put them into the tupperware rotation, but he takes them out of the fridge for lunch. Does that count as me packing his lunch?

It's not that I have anything against the concept of a wife packing her husband lunch. If you're handling the food anyway might as well. It's the idea that a man says he is incapable of doing so and needs a wife to do it. That's the ridiculous part. On various levels.

I've seen my boyfriend try to get food from a pot onto a plate. It's not pretty. I'm not sure he would be capable of dishing out leftovers into tupperwares, let alone cooking the food to begin with. I don't mind though, he does enough chores I hate to make up for it.


I'm actually working on making my peace with our fairly traditional division of labor.


He built the house, and mostly, I clean it. He hunts, I gather (literally). He's the one who carries anything over 50 pounds. I pack his lunch, because otherwise he would forget, and he's too cheap to buy even the school lunches, so he'd come home with a headache.


I empty the dishwasher because he hates doing that. He feeds the dogs because I hate the smell of their wet food. I troubleshoot the computers because he doesn't have the patience, though he does have the skills. He scrapes the driveway when it needs it because I can't reach the pedals on our backhoe. He usually takes out the trash because his vehicle is far more suited to hauling trash than mine.

The point is, in the long run, we split things evenly and according to our skills and preferences. As long as it works out for us, who cares what the stereotypes are?

solon

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3690 on: August 18, 2014, 11:28:35 AM »
I'm actually working on making my peace with our fairly traditional division of labor.

He built the house, and mostly, I clean it. He hunts, I gather (literally). He's the one who carries anything over 50 pounds. I pack his lunch, because otherwise he would forget, and he's too cheap to buy even the school lunches, so he'd come home with a headache.

I empty the dishwasher because he hates doing that. He feeds the dogs because I hate the smell of their wet food. I troubleshoot the computers because he doesn't have the patience, though he does have the skills. He scrapes the driveway when it needs it because I can't reach the pedals on our backhoe. He usually takes out the trash because his vehicle is far more suited to hauling trash than mine.

The point is, in the long run, we split things evenly and according to our skills and preferences. As long as it works out for us, who cares what the stereotypes are?

This is brilliant. A simple recognition that there can be a division of labor, but that in itself is not a sexist thing.

Lis

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3691 on: August 18, 2014, 12:09:55 PM »
I'm actually working on making my peace with our fairly traditional division of labor.

He built the house, and mostly, I clean it. He hunts, I gather (literally). He's the one who carries anything over 50 pounds. I pack his lunch, because otherwise he would forget, and he's too cheap to buy even the school lunches, so he'd come home with a headache.

I empty the dishwasher because he hates doing that. He feeds the dogs because I hate the smell of their wet food. I troubleshoot the computers because he doesn't have the patience, though he does have the skills. He scrapes the driveway when it needs it because I can't reach the pedals on our backhoe. He usually takes out the trash because his vehicle is far more suited to hauling trash than mine.

The point is, in the long run, we split things evenly and according to our skills and preferences. As long as it works out for us, who cares what the stereotypes are?

This is brilliant. A simple recognition that there can be a division of labor, but that in itself is not a sexist thing.

This. +1!

And Zikoris, I'm with you on that!

Ascotillion

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3692 on: August 18, 2014, 06:08:34 PM »
I'm actually working on making my peace with our fairly traditional division of labor.
I had to do this too! When my last boyfriend moved in, I told him straight-up that I didn't want to fall into the nagging, fastidious, sitcommy stereotype of a gay man while he embodied the schlubby couch-and-vidya-games one. A few months later we had an argument when we got in that exact situation, and he pointed out that I like doing the cooking and lunch-packing and other domestic goddess-like chores. I sat back and thought about for a bit and realised he was right, but I was so obsessed with not being a stereotype I had failed to see it!

Now, I enjoy being a '50s housewife stereotype :P


just leave out the jelly and tuna salads

Rural

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3693 on: August 19, 2014, 03:41:40 AM »
I'm actually working on making my peace with our fairly traditional division of labor.
I had to do this too! When my last boyfriend moved in, I told him straight-up that I didn't want to fall into the nagging, fastidious, sitcommy stereotype of a gay man while he embodied the schlubby couch-and-vidya-games one. A few months later we had an argument when we got in that exact situation, and he pointed out that I like doing the cooking and lunch-packing and other domestic goddess-like chores. I sat back and thought about for a bit and realised he was right, but I was so obsessed with not being a stereotype I had failed to see it!

Now, I enjoy being a '50s housewife stereotype :P


just leave out the jelly and tuna salads

It's all in the apron and pearls - June cleaver would be so proud!


The sad truth is that any activity that calls for pearls decidedly does not call for an apron, and vice versa. :-)

Sarita

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3694 on: August 19, 2014, 05:47:01 AM »
A former direct report had 150k in student loans- for her undergraduate degree (fancy university in Boston for two years + even fancier one in Paris for the final two years).   She worked at our non-profit, refused to take on any 2nd job and regularly went out for wine and cheese nights in NYC.  Her mother worked at a fashionable clothing store and regularly sent her new clothes-- packages arrived every week.  She complained regularly about never having any money.  At that time I only knew about Dave Ramsey--- MMM was still unknown to me-- and her eyes glazed over when I encouraged her to check it out.  She eventually left for another job with somewhat higher pay.  And promptly rented a huge new apartment since she could 'afford' it now.   Just thinking about it still makes my heart and head hurt.

Alex321

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3695 on: August 19, 2014, 06:34:56 AM »
I'm not sure I'm replying in the correct manner or spot. We have three cars, and only my wife and I are drivers. I don't think this is particularly crazy or hedonistic. We had two cars, then we were expecting a third child and so we decided to get a minivan. Our two older cars were well-maintained, but significantly depreciated by age. I figured that it made sense to keep these two older cars and drive them both "until the wheels fall off," as people on here like to say. 

Having a third car also allows me to use my local, independent mechanic for the occasional repairs that might take a couple of days to get the correct parts rather than spend Saturday afternoon in the dealership waiting area, or renting a car to get to work. So this allows me to squeeze more miles and value out of older cars than I would be able to if I only had two.

Cars are tools; they are not evil. I think some people on here forget that from time to time.

frugledoc

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3696 on: August 19, 2014, 07:42:51 AM »
Cars are tools; they are not evil. I think some people on here forget that from time to time.

3 kids and 3 cars where does the madness stop you evil polluting bastard!

vivophoenix

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3697 on: August 19, 2014, 08:13:43 AM »
I'm not sure I'm replying in the correct manner or spot. We have three cars, and only my wife and I are drivers. I don't think this is particularly crazy or hedonistic. We had two cars, then we were expecting a third child and so we decided to get a minivan. Our two older cars were well-maintained, but significantly depreciated by age. I figured that it made sense to keep these two older cars and drive them both "until the wheels fall off," as people on here like to say. 

Having a third car also allows me to use my local, independent mechanic for the occasional repairs that might take a couple of days to get the correct parts rather than spend Saturday afternoon in the dealership waiting area, or renting a car to get to work. So this allows me to squeeze more miles and value out of older cars than I would be able to if I only had two.

Cars are tools; they are not evil. I think some people on here forget that from time to time.


is the cost of repairs for the two vehicles you are driving into the ground, worth not just selling one of them and sticking with your mini van?

also my family was a family of six  and the biggest car we ever got was a station wagon.

frugalnacho

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3698 on: August 19, 2014, 09:06:10 AM »
A coworker mentioned he was almost late for a credit card payment, so then we started discussing credit cards.  He said he likes to keep his balance around 30% of his credit limit.

Me: What?! That's crazy dude, that is costing you so much!
Him: I need to build credit.
Me: Maintaining a balance doesn't help with that.  I've never had a balance in my life and my credit score has been over 800 for as long as I can remember.
Him: Yea I heard it's good for building credit though.
Me: Well, it's not.  You'd be far better off maintaining a zero balance.  You would keep so much more of your money. 
Him: Yea but i'd like to maybe buy a house one day and I need good credit for that.   Plus I defaulted on a student loan for 3 months like 6 years ago.
Me: Dude, you don't need good credit to buy a house.  They let dead beats buy houses.  Plus any amount of savings you would see by raising your credit score is going to be dwarfed by paying insane APR on a huge balance on your credit card.  And that student loan black mark will be off your credit score by the time you buy a house.   They don't actually care what balance you maintained on your credit cards, it's more about if you are reliable and make payments on time (or late).  It's just some algorithm that spits out a credit score, and keeping a balance on your card actually hurts that score, and your past balance is irrelevant.
Him: Yea, but I need to build credit.


Why does everyone have this idea that you must maintain a balance on your card to get a good credit score?  And why do they insist they are correct in spite of evidence to the contrary?  I have heard so many people tell me this, and they all have terrible credit (because they are the people likely to maintain a credit card balance). 

vivophoenix

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3699 on: August 19, 2014, 09:12:15 AM »
A coworker mentioned he was almost late for a credit card payment, so then we started discussing credit cards.  He said he likes to keep his balance around 30% of his credit limit.

Me: What?! That's crazy dude, that is costing you so much!
Him: I need to build credit.
Me: Maintaining a balance doesn't help with that.  I've never had a balance in my life and my credit score has been over 800 for as long as I can remember.
Him: Yea I heard it's good for building credit though.
Me: Well, it's not.  You'd be far better off maintaining a zero balance.  You would keep so much more of your money. 
Him: Yea but i'd like to maybe buy a house one day and I need good credit for that.   Plus I defaulted on a student loan for 3 months like 6 years ago.
Me: Dude, you don't need good credit to buy a house.  They let dead beats buy houses.  Plus any amount of savings you would see by raising your credit score is going to be dwarfed by paying insane APR on a huge balance on your credit card.  And that student loan black mark will be off your credit score by the time you buy a house.   They don't actually care what balance you maintained on your credit cards, it's more about if you are reliable and make payments on time (or late).  It's just some algorithm that spits out a credit score, and keeping a balance on your card actually hurts that score, and your past balance is irrelevant.
Him: Yea, but I need to build credit.


Why does everyone have this idea that you must maintain a balance on your card to get a good credit score?  And why do they insist they are correct in spite of evidence to the contrary?  I have heard so many people tell me this, and they all have terrible credit (because they are the people likely to maintain a credit card balance). 



people mix up needing to show activity with needing to maintain a balance. you can fake show a balance by just by using your card every month, but paying it down every month as well, to avoid financing fees.

 a 0% balance is worse than a 10% balance.
« Last Edit: August 19, 2014, 09:14:11 AM by vivophoenix »

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!