Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13253200 times)

k-vette

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4850 on: October 24, 2014, 06:37:29 PM »
This one is truly awful....   

A coworker told me of a friend with awful money habits.  He never paid his credit cards (ever) and destroyed his credit history.  Apparently some girl that he only knew for a day wanted mac and cheese.  So he drove to the nearest gas station and bought some.  (I thought this was the bad part, but it didnt stop there.)  He used his debit card to buy said noodles and overdrew his account.  He was aware of the overdraft.  Some time later the coworker asks his friend if he ever got that resolved.   He hadn't...  Worried about the overdraft he calls the bank.  It has been so long that his fees added up to ..... (insert drum roll here) ....  $1,500.

I didn't even know they had mac and cheese at the gas station.

franklin w. dixon

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4851 on: October 24, 2014, 07:25:59 PM »
Got one! A guy had a package delivered to work and was talking about how he's surprised they just left it at his desk. Noted that it was very expensive. I'm figuring it's some sort of new lab equipment.

Well, he shows a few people and they all get excited. "It's in a blue box." says the guy... he says it like that should explain it. I think, "Man, they must have gotten some awesome new pH meter or something. I guess he is just excited that he finally got his own one!"


Then I got a lot of looks. It wasn't a pH meter. I saw the box and realized it must be jewelry, but the color of the box meant nothing to me. It's a gift from Tiffany's. His wife's push present...

There were at least 2 other guys here that didn't know that a blue box = Tiffany's though. So that made me feel a little better.
Oh my, this reminds me of a really funny story...

So my main man and all around cool dude brother in law appears to be very rich from... well I'm not sure what exactly. He owned, in whole or part, some kind of vocational training company that supplied computer programmers to international companies in China. He's since sold that, although it seems like he's still involved with it in certain ways, and now "buys houses and sells houses." To the limited extent I've been around him and his family/business associates I feel a lot like the wife from Goodfellas because they all just sort of roll from restaurant to massage place to restaurant, chain smoking and getting shitfaced and talking about "clean money" and how hard it is to get and how important it is etc. I also say that he appears to be rich because while he always carries around massive amounts of cash (like 10 grand) and buys ridiculous things like illegal ivory sculptures of elephants and antique samurai swords and a bottle of CHINA'S FIRST WINE vintage 1978, at the same time he's always borrowing or "borrowing" money from their parents "for business" and he keeps trying to get me to take out weird and probably illegal loans with him and stuff like that so the actual state of his finances is permanently opaque.

Anyway the relevant thing is that when we got married he and their parents came over here for the wedding and to like, travel and buy stuff and what have you. But I drive a crummy old 4-cyl 2002 Nissan Frontier and so whenever we went places it'd be like, me and my brother up front, my wife in the jump seat, and then him and their parents in the bed sitting on a pile of blankets (it does have a cap). Since he constantly wanted to go to like, weird luxury stores I'd never heard of and outlet malls and things like that we were always rattling along to wherever and piling in and out like the freaking Beverly hillbillies, including when we went to the Tiffanys, which had a dang gated parking lot. In the beautiful Chevy Chase Tiffanys he actually bought us both wedding rings, and then also bought a bunch of other stuff to idk, bribe officials back home or whatever, and literally, literally maxed out his credit card after ten grand, and then pulled out his giganto wad of 100s and bought some more stuff with that.

Another place we went in similar fashion was the Range Rover dealership, where we all got out of my car that's worth like 3000 dollars US, and he walked all around with the bro dad salesman looking at every car and going "Wa! So cheap! So small money!" He had a scheme where he was gonna have me buy a car here and drive it around for a while and then send it to China "used" to evade taxes but mysteriously those 90,000 dollars haven't shown up yet, and that was 3+ years ago. I'm sure he'll come through any day now!!
« Last Edit: October 24, 2014, 07:27:39 PM by franklin w. dixon »

Primm

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4852 on: October 24, 2014, 07:53:15 PM »
I assumed the husband bought it and had it sent to work so the wife wouldn't get it first...?

Exactly. Was actually a good idea. I'm glad everyone is focused on the fact that I'm a bad storyteller instead of the fact that I had no clue what a blue box was supposed to signify!

Again, an assumption of mine, but are you male? I guessed yes, and probably 75% of my male friends wouldn't have a clue what a "blue box" meant.

Elderwood17

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4853 on: October 24, 2014, 07:57:05 PM »
This one is truly awful....   

A coworker told me of a friend with awful money habits.  He never paid his credit cards (ever) and destroyed his credit history.  Apparently some girl that he only knew for a day wanted mac and cheese.  So he drove to the nearest gas station and bought some.  (I thought this was the bad part, but it didnt stop there.)  He used his debit card to buy said noodles and overdrew his account.  He was aware of the overdraft.  Some time later the coworker asks his friend if he ever got that resolved.   He hadn't...  Worried about the overdraft he calls the bank.  It has been so long that his fees added up to ..... (insert drum roll here) ....  $1,500.

I didn't even know they had mac and cheese at the gas station.
I wouldn't have thought that was possible.  I have never had any bank fees but would assume they would shut down your accounts before you could rack up that many fees!

otherbarry

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4854 on: October 24, 2014, 08:15:31 PM »
This one is truly awful....   

A coworker told me of a friend with awful money habits.  He never paid his credit cards (ever) and destroyed his credit history.  Apparently some girl that he only knew for a day wanted mac and cheese.  So he drove to the nearest gas station and bought some.  (I thought this was the bad part, but it didnt stop there.)  He used his debit card to buy said noodles and overdrew his account.  He was aware of the overdraft.  Some time later the coworker asks his friend if he ever got that resolved.   He hadn't...  Worried about the overdraft he calls the bank.  It has been so long that his fees added up to ..... (insert drum roll here) ....  $1,500.

I didn't even know they had mac and cheese at the gas station.

$1500 gas station mac n cheese, now that's fancy.

Señora Savings

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4855 on: October 24, 2014, 08:25:47 PM »
Can't say I agree with you.  His odds of winning increased infinitely.
You're entitled to that opinion or any other that you like, but nobody arguing your side in this whole thread has been able to point to a single valid mathematical concept that supports the notion. The only place where infinity is somewhat relevant is limits, and there's no limit being taken or considered here. We're not considering the odds of winning with one ticket against the odds of winning with smaller and smaller fractions of a single ticket, we're considering the odds of winning with one ticket against the odds of winning with zero tickets. There's no limit.

Let's look at the increase in chance of winning when you double the number of tickets you buy.  Originally you had x change of winning, now you have 2x chance of winning.  Using percent of change, your increase in chance of winning is

(2x-x)/x=1 or a 100% increase in your chance is winning.

If the ratio of old tickets to new tickets is 1:n, your increase in chance of winning is

(nx-x)/x=n-1 increase in chance of winning.

We want a ration of old ticket to new tickets of 0:1, or the limit of 1:n as n->infinity.  Here I am using the fact the lim(n->infinity) of 1/n=0=0/1.

That means that our increase in chance of winning is

lim(n->infinity) of n-1, which is infinity.

Another way to think about it; you increased your chance of winning by buying a ticket, how much did it increase by?  Clearly any real number is too small.  One piece of the concept of infinity is that there is no biggest number, for every number you can think of, I can make up one bigger, therefor if our percent of increase is bigger than any real number we can say it is infinity.

Overheard at work: I wish I was as rich as Jane Doe, she's flying her daughter to three One Direction concerns while they're in the US.

In response to blue box stuff, I'm a woman with a jewelry making hobby and I didn't what a blue box was.  I think that it may be a pretty exclusive group.

Argyle

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4856 on: October 24, 2014, 08:26:23 PM »
I'm female and I didn't know what a blue box meant till I read this thread.  I would argue that not knowing what a blue box means may be a promising sign of a non-extravagant lifestyle.

NoraLenderbee

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4857 on: October 24, 2014, 10:27:27 PM »
Tiffany uses a particular shade of blue. I've seen it, but I've never heard the generic term "blue box" used  for it.

flamingo25

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4858 on: October 24, 2014, 10:48:37 PM »
Also a woman and I have never heard the term "blue box."

And don't get me started again on push presents. Ugh!!!!

arebelspy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4859 on: October 24, 2014, 10:56:53 PM »
I knew what the blue box was as soon as you said it.

I wouldn't have remembered the color off the top of my head (for some reason I always think pink), but I knew it right away.

It's a thing (not for my wife, luckily, she knows but wouldn't be happy getting one, she says - and I agree - that paying a premium for a box is a waste of money).
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skyrefuge

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4860 on: October 25, 2014, 12:05:30 AM »
I'm glad everyone is focused on the fact that I'm a bad storyteller instead of the fact that I had no clue what a blue box was supposed to signify!

Never fear, even if you didn't recognize the blue box, you can still feel some antimustachian shame for knowing what a "push present" is!  I've literally never heard that term in my life, though I have inferred the meaning since y'all seem to know all about them. Weird, because I'm usually not that ignorant about well-known antimustachian behaviors.

larmando

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4861 on: October 25, 2014, 01:31:07 AM »
I assumed the husband bought it and had it sent to work so the wife wouldn't get it first...?

Exactly. Was actually a good idea. I'm glad everyone is focused on the fact that I'm a bad storyteller instead of the fact that I had no clue what a blue box was supposed to signify!

If it makes you feel better, I had no idea what the blue box was supposed to signify either, aside from being a blue box.

To be fair it's not blue, it's clearly turquoise. :) If I think "blue" I think of a different color altogether. 

UnleashHell

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4862 on: October 25, 2014, 05:30:30 AM »
Blue box?




fantabulous

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4863 on: October 25, 2014, 05:43:30 AM »

GuitarStv

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4864 on: October 25, 2014, 06:22:56 AM »
Our blue box goes out every other week with the recycling in it.

lakemom

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4865 on: October 25, 2014, 06:26:45 AM »
OMG I HATE push presents. The baby IS the fucking present you morons. Gross!!!

+1  And I've got 6 kids...never got jewelry at their births although dh surprised me with a Mother's ring a few years ago with all their birthstones in it.

Elderwood17

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4866 on: October 25, 2014, 06:31:35 AM »
I admit I had never heard of a push present before; fortunately my DW and mother of our four squids hadn't either!

tmac

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4867 on: October 25, 2014, 06:39:14 AM »
Blue box?



What a shitty present.

I'm reading this on my small phone and got all excited because I thought it was a Tardis. Best present ever!

whiskeyjack

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4868 on: October 25, 2014, 07:32:33 AM »

I'm reading this on my small phone and got all excited because I thought it was a Tardis. Best present ever!

I thought so too.   Here's the only blue box I want:


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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4869 on: October 25, 2014, 08:04:53 AM »

greenmimama

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4870 on: October 25, 2014, 09:09:58 AM »
I think the idea behind a push present is sweet, getting something for your wife to say thank you, most all of the pregnancy happens to and in her body.

I would think a lovely bouquet of flowers that are her favorite, or her favorite dessert brought to the hospital, something sweet that says you were thinking about her and you appreciate her efforts and sacrifice. It's the dumbasses that have to outdo each other that keep getting a present bigger and bigger, soon it will be a new Caddy or something else equally stupid and unnecessary.

It really bugs me in general when a husband or wife "gets a present" and really it's just a new payment plan in the form of a shiny newer car? that doesn't make any sense.

ender

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4871 on: October 25, 2014, 10:06:06 AM »
I think the idea behind a push present is sweet, getting something for your wife to say thank you, most all of the pregnancy happens to and in her body.

I suspect a large percentage if not majority of women would be more than content if their husband cooked/cleaned up or more proactively handled whatever the wife's "household responsibilities" were.

I wonder how often a new baby results in a meaningful shift in responsibilities at home?

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4872 on: October 25, 2014, 10:43:41 AM »
I think the idea behind a push present is sweet, getting something for your wife to say thank you, most all of the pregnancy happens to and in her body.

I suspect a large percentage if not majority of women would be more than content if their husband cooked/cleaned up or more proactively handled whatever the wife's "household responsibilities" were.

I wonder how often a new baby results in a meaningful shift in responsibilities at home?

Upon waking up at night for the 3rd time to feed Junior, I would take poopy diaper changes, making dinner, vacuuming - literally any household task - 1000x over diamond jewelry during that first year for each kid. 

Seriously, how good does jewelry really look when you haven't washed your hair for two days and are wearing sweatpants??? 

resy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4873 on: October 25, 2014, 11:37:50 AM »
I assumed the husband bought it and had it sent to work so the wife wouldn't get it first...?

Oh, that makes sense now.
oh man, that made my morning lol thanks :)

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4874 on: October 25, 2014, 11:44:16 AM »
I think the idea behind a push present is sweet, getting something for your wife to say thank you, most all of the pregnancy happens to and in her body.

I would think a lovely bouquet of flowers that are her favorite, or her favorite dessert brought to the hospital, something sweet that says you were thinking about her and you appreciate her efforts and sacrifice. It's the dumbasses that have to outdo each other that keep getting a present bigger and bigger, soon it will be a new Caddy or something else equally stupid and unnecessary.

It really bugs me in general when a husband or wife "gets a present" and really it's just a new payment plan in the form of a shiny newer car? that doesn't make any sense.
Best thank you I got was after baby #2.  I got to my room at 10:30 am and my husband went out for a turkey sandwich from my favorite deli.

LennStar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4875 on: October 25, 2014, 11:44:36 AM »
Again, an assumption of mine, but are you male? I guessed yes, and probably 75% of my male friends wouldn't have a clue what a "blue box" meant.
That is unfair. Most males know what a blue box is: It is a device for recording voice or data, commonly fond in airplanes and ships.

But can you please explain that push present thing to a non-english speaker?
My current guess from your posts is: Present for pushing the baby out of mums inside

arebelspy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4876 on: October 25, 2014, 11:54:23 AM »
Again, an assumption of mine, but are you male? I guessed yes, and probably 75% of my male friends wouldn't have a clue what a "blue box" meant.
That is unfair. Most males know what a blue box is: It is a device for recording voice or data, commonly fond in airplanes and ships.

But can you please explain that push present thing to a non-english speaker?
My current guess from your posts is: Present for pushing the baby out of mums inside

That's a black box.

And your inference on the push present is correct.  :)
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LennStar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4877 on: October 25, 2014, 12:05:20 PM »
That's a black box.

And your inference on the push present is correct.  :)

Oh d*** thats the reason why I am color blind :P I get even confused with the colors names LOL

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4878 on: October 25, 2014, 04:09:53 PM »
That's a black box.

And your inference on the push present is correct.  :)

Oh d*** thats the reason why I am color blind :P I get even confused with the colors names LOL

And a black box isn't even black.  It's bright orange to make it easier to find after a crash.

Ascotillion

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4879 on: October 25, 2014, 04:45:10 PM »
A blue box is used to hack pay phones!

arebelspy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4880 on: October 25, 2014, 05:44:12 PM »
A blue box is used to hack pay phones!

Phreak.

;)
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seanc0x0

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4881 on: October 25, 2014, 05:45:29 PM »
Our blue box goes out every other week with the recycling in it.

That's what it means to me too, though we've switched to a blue bin now that the city contracts it out to a single-stream recycling firm. I wonder if that's a Canadianism?

Primm

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4882 on: October 25, 2014, 07:08:50 PM »
Again, an assumption of mine, but are you male? I guessed yes, and probably 75% of my male friends wouldn't have a clue what a "blue box" meant.
That is unfair. Most males know what a blue box is: It is a device for recording voice or data, commonly fond in airplanes and ships.

That's called a black box. At least it is here. Even though it's not black, it's dayglo orange so they can see it after a crash.

Quote
But can you please explain that push present thing to a non-english American speaker?
My current guess from your posts is: Present for pushing the baby out of mums inside

Correct. I've only ever heard of it in the US context though, don't project that shit onto the rest of the English speaking world!

Kriegsspiel

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4883 on: October 25, 2014, 09:15:19 PM »
A blue box is used to hack pay phones!

Phreak.

;)

AFAIK, phreeking is most often overheard at work if you work at the NSA.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4884 on: October 25, 2014, 09:28:05 PM »
Holy cow, it's getting foamy in here.  But I certainly have enjoyed the previous page's explanation of blue/black/orange boxes, and some nice alternative blue boxes to consider!

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4885 on: October 26, 2014, 06:00:27 AM »
A blue box is used to hack pay phones!

What's a pay phone?

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4886 on: October 26, 2014, 06:21:01 AM »
.
« Last Edit: October 26, 2014, 06:23:09 AM by larmando »

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4887 on: October 26, 2014, 05:06:11 PM »
Same here, the second i read a blue box, i was just thinking of the tardis.

hdatontodo

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4888 on: October 26, 2014, 05:20:28 PM »
A blue box is used to hack pay phones!

What's a pay phone?

If bad words don't offend you, this Cleveland video has a pay phone in it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysmLA5TqbIY

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4889 on: October 26, 2014, 06:19:03 PM »
Same here.  And if it is small and blue, it is from Birk's.  Probably not as expensive as Tiffany's, but expensive.

http://business.financialpost.com/2014/07/09/birks-and-tiffany-co-battle-of-the-blue-jewelry-boxes/

Our blue box goes out every other week with the recycling in it.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4890 on: October 26, 2014, 11:51:24 PM »
That's a black box.

And your inference on the push present is correct.  :)

Oh d*** thats the reason why I am color blind :P I get even confused with the colors names LOL

And a black box isn't even black.  It's bright orange to make it easier to find after a crash.

Didn't we have this conversation already?

FoundPeace

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4891 on: October 27, 2014, 03:58:05 AM »
Not exactloverheard at work, but I thought this one was pretty good.

One of my wife's childhood friends got her apartment, groceries, bathroom supplies, plane tickets home, etc. paid for through college and even after she graduated and got married. Her parents decided they should stop supporting her and started to wean her. She knew that my wife and I were doing well with ourselves even though I was going to school and my wife was a low-paid teacher. So we went grocery shopping with her a few times to teach her how to look at prices and plan meals. Even though they still spend a lot, they don’t spend the $1500 per month they used to for groceries.

(Apparently it is possible to feed a family with 13 kids with only around $1200 per month http://www.madfientist.com/how-to-retire-early-with-13-kids/).

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4892 on: October 27, 2014, 07:10:06 AM »
I just got rid of my flip phone and moved to the Moto E with Republic Wireless.  I was showing it to another coworker who also uses a flip phone and was explaining how Republic Wireless worked, the cost of their plans, etc.  Another coworker overheard the conversation and wanted to look at it because she is currently paying over $100 a month just for her phone and said she needs to cut back on expenses.  She looked at it for about 10 seconds then dismissively handed it back to me and said that it would NEVER work for her because she NEEDS her iPhone for her business (the MLM business where she begs coworkers to buy junk on a regular basis).  This coworker works is divorced, and her alimony is about to run out.  She works 10 hours a week at the same place I do and then runs her "business."  Basically, she has very little income coming in and seems to have no plans for when the alimony runs out.  Yet she NEEDS an iPhone with a $100+ plan.  My mind just boggles.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4893 on: October 27, 2014, 07:58:04 AM »
OMG I HATE push presents. The baby IS the fucking present you morons. Gross!!!

hahahaha agreed.

also, kind of embarrassed that I DID know what the blue box meant. *hangs head in anti-Mustachian shame*

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4894 on: October 27, 2014, 09:01:17 AM »
Blue box?



What a shitty present.

I'm reading this on my small phone and got all excited because I thought it was a Tardis. Best present ever!

It's the TURDIS

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4895 on: October 27, 2014, 09:03:19 AM »
For instance, there are roughly 5,000 employees at my building. Walking through the parking lot, I'd wager that 80% of vehicles are less than 5 years old. Of those 80%, I'd estimate MSRP on 70% of them to be somewhere north of $30k, and there are a lot of expensive trucks and SUV's as well. I would say less than 1% of vehicles are truly "beaters" (over 10 years old, not in very good to excellent shape, etc.). When I am pi$$ed at my car for whatever reason I'll think "hey, all these people have newer BMW's, etc., why can't I?". That feeling goes away pretty quickly but for the average not-financially-savvy person, they buy in to it, and think that it's ok (which, it is, if you are financially stable, understand your long term goals, understand the trade-off's - which most people don't).
I hear you. My company parking garage is filled with BMWs. There's also a Trek FX bike (MSRP $700) locked to a railing. The Trek is mine and I paid $400 for it. I don't have a car payment, or insurance, or gas, or service on it. And I bet I enjoy my ride to work more than they do in their BMWs going 15 mph in the clogged highways. All these people with their expensive cars are nuts.

I just signed up on here, and this is my first post!

I totally see where you're coming from here.  I am a contractor, working for the governement, and it's a similar situation.  I don't think there's a vehicle in our lot under 5 years old.  Maybe a small percentage, but not much.  I commute by bike every day.  My bike was a bit pricier, but I'm a pretty big bike geek, so that's where I splurge a little.  I was walking out the other day, and as one of the guys was getting into his BMW, he asked me, "Hey, don't we pay you enough to drive a car like normal people?"  I said yes, but I choose to save it so I don't have to work here as long...

Sylly

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4896 on: October 27, 2014, 09:13:42 AM »
Again, an assumption of mine, but are you male? I guessed yes, and probably 75% of my male friends wouldn't have a clue what a "blue box" meant.
That is unfair. Most males know what a blue box is: It is a device for recording voice or data, commonly fond in airplanes and ships.

I think you're mistaking blue for black.

And I didn't know what a push present, baby moon, or blue box was.. This forum is so educational!

jrmrjnck

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4897 on: October 27, 2014, 10:03:42 AM »
I totally see where you're coming from here.  I am a contractor, working for the governement, and it's a similar situation.  I don't think there's a vehicle in our lot under 5 years old.  Maybe a small percentage, but not much.  I commute by bike every day.  My bike was a bit pricier, but I'm a pretty big bike geek, so that's where I splurge a little.  I was walking out the other day, and as one of the guys was getting into his BMW, he asked me, "Hey, don't we pay you enough to drive a car like normal people?"  I said yes, but I choose to save it so I don't have to work here as long...

You could never pay me enough to drive to work everyday. It's so soul-crushing, especially the last five minutes you have to spend circling up the parking garage looking for a spot. I love being able to glide right up to the bike rack and hop off.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4898 on: October 27, 2014, 10:12:34 AM »
Again, an assumption of mine, but are you male? I guessed yes, and probably 75% of my male friends wouldn't have a clue what a "blue box" meant.
That is unfair. Most males know what a blue box is: It is a device for recording voice or data, commonly fond in airplanes and ships.

I think you're mistaking blue for black.


Didn't we already have this conversation?

arebelspy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #4899 on: October 27, 2014, 10:28:43 AM »
Again, an assumption of mine, but are you male? I guessed yes, and probably 75% of my male friends wouldn't have a clue what a "blue box" meant.
That is unfair. Most males know what a blue box is: It is a device for recording voice or data, commonly fond in airplanes and ships.

I think you're mistaking blue for black.


Didn't we already have this conversation?

Didn't we already have this conversation?
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