Overheard at Work

[RWD]

...a brand new Tacoma extended cab.  Quite possibly the most expensive and useless truck on the market.

In what world is that true?  Ignoring the fact that this guy probably can't/shouldn't afford one, a Tacoma is A) not very expensive (ever priced out an American 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck???) and B) far from useless.  The things are bullet proof, last forever, have stellar resale value, etc etc etc.  It's basically the most "mustachian" truck one can buy, if there is such a thing.

Yeah, even if you only consider Toyota's vehicles the Tundra is more expensive. The Tacoma is priced similarly to the Camry (~$23k on the low end). I'm not a truck person, but if I needed one I would be looking at used Tacomas first.

[Kitsune]

My husband and I always talk about how we need to invent something that parents think they MUST HAVE for their little ones, and then strike it rich. So far we have not proved to be great inventors though...

Censor the part of your brain that says "no-one would buy this shit", add a cute picture of a teddy, offer in a range of colours. For bonus points add wifi connectivity (this does not need to serve a purpose). Oh, and make it limited edition so that it is 'exclusive'.

This reminds me how in 1999, everything started being advertised as Y2K compliant, even when it made no sense. This toaster is Y2K compliant! This analog watch is Y2K compliant! This umbrella is Y2k compliant!

I feel this way about some of the food labeling.  I saw something at the grocery store the other day that had a gluten free label on it.  I cannot remember what it was but it was something that would never include any ingredient containing gluten.

Off the top of my head I can recall seeing gluten free labels on rice, mushrooms, and coffee.

There is a lot of cross contamination in food processing though. For those with an actual autoimmune disease (as opposed to just not wanting to eat gluten)- it makes a difference.

That said, I have seen carrots labeled cholesterol free.

I feel so bad for folks with actual Celiac disease.  I have a friend who was critically ill as a child in Turkey before they figured out what was going on, and now all the gluten-free labels are wrong, and people think he's an obnoxious hipster when he asks questions.

The issue that my mom is seeing and hearing (she is a school nurse) is that things are labeled "Gluten Free" but they may have come into contact at some point. This is much less an issue with packaged goods, but restaurants are labeling things as gluten free that are not 100% gluten free.

Gluten intolerant pisses me off so much though. And my wife (a Dietitian).

Restaurants. ARGH.

I go to an Italian restaurant that can do gluten-free pasta. GREAT. I order this AMAZING gluten-free penne with a sausage/wine/cream/sage sauce. (True fact: it tasted AMAZING.)

And then 2 hours later I have the rash of DOOM and parts of skin on my chest are legit cracking and bleeding and I'm like WTF??! I didn't eat any wheat??!

Called the restaurant, figuring that I must be paranoid/hypochondriac/plain nuts... yeah. Turns out the sausages they put on the GF pasta, on a dish from the GF section of the menu, contained wheat.

3 days of cortisone cream later my skin was mostly back to normal, but that experience was a strong argument for more home cooking.

[I'm a red panda]

The issue that my mom is seeing and hearing (she is a school nurse) is that things are labeled "Gluten Free" but they may have come into contact at some point. This is much less an issue with packaged goods, but restaurants are labeling things as gluten free that are not 100% gluten free.

Isn't that what happened with Cheerios?

[Gin1984]

I am buying a radar detector. That qualifies for this thread, right? Speeding costs more than driving more sedately, and I'm spending money to be able to drive faster.

Just don't use it in Virginia, radar detectors are illegal here.

I think I saw that DC also bans them.

I recently completed a degree and got licensed. There are many paths to this degree, typically taking two years. I got hired last week and in our new-hire orientation we got to talking about school. I paid $12K total for mine, including texts, pre-rec classes, no student loans. Other people mention $40K debts to get their degrees. Huh? We got hired by the same company, to do the same job, for the same salary.
I can see it costing more for some people, I tested out of some classes, and had already done many pre-recs. So I can see maybe $20K to get this degree. But, $40K?

Keep in mind that if they elected to live on campus, that can be paid for with student loans too and often costs as much as, or more than, tuition.

And costs more than living off campus, even if that's not with your parents. In Washington, DC, every university is required to house students for two years. It was $1000/mo to share a 500sqft dorm room with 3 other girls. Junior year, another girl and I shared 500sqft studio apartment one block off campus for $1200 total, ie $400/mo less than we had been paying to get twice as much space per person.

The school will wave this.  All it requires is the parent calling and saying my child is interested in your school (and has gotten in) but she will not be dorming.  Will you wave the requirement or should she look at her other options?  You go up a chain but someone will wave it.

[maco]

I am buying a radar detector. That qualifies for this thread, right? Speeding costs more than driving more sedately, and I'm spending money to be able to drive faster.

Just don't use it in Virginia, radar detectors are illegal here.

I think I saw that DC also bans them.

I recently completed a degree and got licensed. There are many paths to this degree, typically taking two years. I got hired last week and in our new-hire orientation we got to talking about school. I paid $12K total for mine, including texts, pre-rec classes, no student loans. Other people mention $40K debts to get their degrees. Huh? We got hired by the same company, to do the same job, for the same salary.
I can see it costing more for some people, I tested out of some classes, and had already done many pre-recs. So I can see maybe $20K to get this degree. But, $40K?

Keep in mind that if they elected to live on campus, that can be paid for with student loans too and often costs as much as, or more than, tuition.

And costs more than living off campus, even if that's not with your parents. In Washington, DC, every university is required to house students for two years. It was $1000/mo to share a 500sqft dorm room with 3 other girls. Junior year, another girl and I shared 500sqft studio apartment one block off campus for $1200 total, ie $400/mo less than we had been paying to get twice as much space per person.

The school will wave this.  All it requires is the parent calling and saying my child is interested in your school (and has gotten in) but she will not be dorming.  Will you wave the requirement or should she look at her other options?  You go up a chain but someone will wave it.

It's not the school's rule. It's a legal requirement from the city. The exception is if the parent is a legal resident of the city, and the student is living at home.

[Gin1984]

I am buying a radar detector. That qualifies for this thread, right? Speeding costs more than driving more sedately, and I'm spending money to be able to drive faster.

Just don't use it in Virginia, radar detectors are illegal here.

I think I saw that DC also bans them.

I recently completed a degree and got licensed. There are many paths to this degree, typically taking two years. I got hired last week and in our new-hire orientation we got to talking about school. I paid $12K total for mine, including texts, pre-rec classes, no student loans. Other people mention $40K debts to get their degrees. Huh? We got hired by the same company, to do the same job, for the same salary.
I can see it costing more for some people, I tested out of some classes, and had already done many pre-recs. So I can see maybe $20K to get this degree. But, $40K?

Keep in mind that if they elected to live on campus, that can be paid for with student loans too and often costs as much as, or more than, tuition.

And costs more than living off campus, even if that's not with your parents. In Washington, DC, every university is required to house students for two years. It was $1000/mo to share a 500sqft dorm room with 3 other girls. Junior year, another girl and I shared 500sqft studio apartment one block off campus for $1200 total, ie $400/mo less than we had been paying to get twice as much space per person.

The school will wave this.  All it requires is the parent calling and saying my child is interested in your school (and has gotten in) but she will not be dorming.  Will you wave the requirement or should she look at her other options?  You go up a chain but someone will wave it.

It's not the school's rule. It's a legal requirement from the city. The exception is if the parent is a legal resident of the city, and the student is living at home.

Wait, you think it is a city law that students dorm?  With the increased risk factors, that can't be true.  Google does not pop this up, any evidence of this?

[zephyr911]

Isn't that incredibly sad? My husband works in an area that should bring people an enormous sense of pride and satisfaction - as it does him. It's stressful, can be emotional - but saves lives. Instead of supporting one another, most of his colleagues spend their time in a heightened state of agitation/resentment and trying to one-up each other, with even the management taking a part in degrading, insulting and limiting people's potential - my husband will forward me some of the bulk passive aggressive (or straight out aggressive!) emails that go out, it blows your mind.

My husband got asked a few months ago how he stayed so chill in their horrendous environment - they have consultants in to 'fix the culture' - he told them it's because he just doesn't give a shit about the petty minutiae, and focuses on what he loves, the work. Even so, their constant niggling shit is starting to wear him down... when he's had enough he'll resign or SWAMI.

When I started busting my ass to reach FI, I was beyond the point where I would have left if I could. Ironically, between better coping mechanisms and actual improvements in the work environment, as I approach the cusp of being work-optional, I have lost my desire to leave. But I still have the occasional day where I'm glad I won't need the job for long.

I feel this way about some of the food labeling.  I saw something at the grocery store the other day that had a gluten free label on it.  I cannot remember what it was but it was something that would never include any ingredient containing gluten.

Let me guess. Bacon?

[MgoSam]

I feel this way about some of the food labeling.  I saw something at the grocery store the other day that had a gluten free label on it.  I cannot remember what it was but it was something that would never include any ingredient containing gluten.

Let me guess. Bacon?

ONLY A 100? What's wrong with you! I demand at least one more digit!

[nanu]

I feel this way about some of the food labeling.  I saw something at the grocery store the other day that had a gluten free label on it.  I cannot remember what it was but it was something that would never include any ingredient containing gluten.

Let me guess. Bacon?

ONLY A 100? What's wrong with you! I demand at least one more digit!

Oh yeah, because our prehistoric ancestors 100,000 years ago ate bacon from the pigs (that didn't exist yet) as part of their paleo diet.
Reminds me of this:

[maco]

I am buying a radar detector. That qualifies for this thread, right? Speeding costs more than driving more sedately, and I'm spending money to be able to drive faster.

Just don't use it in Virginia, radar detectors are illegal here.

I think I saw that DC also bans them.

I recently completed a degree and got licensed. There are many paths to this degree, typically taking two years. I got hired last week and in our new-hire orientation we got to talking about school. I paid $12K total for mine, including texts, pre-rec classes, no student loans. Other people mention $40K debts to get their degrees. Huh? We got hired by the same company, to do the same job, for the same salary.
I can see it costing more for some people, I tested out of some classes, and had already done many pre-recs. So I can see maybe $20K to get this degree. But, $40K?

Keep in mind that if they elected to live on campus, that can be paid for with student loans too and often costs as much as, or more than, tuition.

And costs more than living off campus, even if that's not with your parents. In Washington, DC, every university is required to house students for two years. It was $1000/mo to share a 500sqft dorm room with 3 other girls. Junior year, another girl and I shared 500sqft studio apartment one block off campus for $1200 total, ie $400/mo less than we had been paying to get twice as much space per person.

The school will wave this.  All it requires is the parent calling and saying my child is interested in your school (and has gotten in) but she will not be dorming.  Will you wave the requirement or should she look at her other options?  You go up a chain but someone will wave it.

It's not the school's rule. It's a legal requirement from the city. The exception is if the parent is a legal resident of the city, and the student is living at home.

Wait, you think it is a city law that students dorm?  With the increased risk factors, that can't be true.  Google does not pop this up, any evidence of this?

In school we were told it was a zoning requirement. George Washington, Georgetown, and American all have the same rule and same list of exemptions: 2 years on campus if under age 21 unless with parents nearby, married/kids, or religious/disability exemption. AU does things different from the Georges in that they make junior & senior years be the required years, while the Georges have it be freshman and sophomore years.

Note that I said the school is required to house students, not that students are required to sleep in the provided beds. Several girls on my floor got their parents to pay for an apartment in addition to the room & board they were paying the school, rather than live 4 to a dorm room.

[BeautifulDay]

A coworker told me that she is now saving $200 per month on cell phone charges because she now gets a work phone. So her one phone cost her $200?  How is that possible? I have a cell thru my work, so haven't paid for one in a few years but I think we paid about $100 for two phones back then. Still an outrageous price but much better than $200 for one!

And she was in my office telling me what she was thinking about spending her new found "savings" on.  Ummm it's not savings if you don't actually save it.

[nobodyspecial]

Wait, you think it is a city law that students dorm?  With the increased risk factors, that can't be true.  Google does not pop this up, any evidence of this?

Possibly to prevent people registering as a student for a visa or grant and never even visiting the place?

Where I went to grad school I had to live withing walking distance (defined as 3mi) of the university church !

[Paul der Krake]

Wait, you think it is a city law that students dorm?  With the increased risk factors, that can't be true.  Google does not pop this up, any evidence of this?

Possibly to prevent people registering as a student for a visa or grant and never even visiting the place?

Where I went to grad school I had to live withing walking distance (defined as 3mi) of the university church !

Doubtful that someone would go through the trouble of college admissions for a visa, because the college is the entity doing the sponsoring. If the student doesn't show up, they will report it to USCIS. There are much easier ways to overstay.

[Gin1984]

I am buying a radar detector. That qualifies for this thread, right? Speeding costs more than driving more sedately, and I'm spending money to be able to drive faster.

Just don't use it in Virginia, radar detectors are illegal here.

I think I saw that DC also bans them.

I recently completed a degree and got licensed. There are many paths to this degree, typically taking two years. I got hired last week and in our new-hire orientation we got to talking about school. I paid $12K total for mine, including texts, pre-rec classes, no student loans. Other people mention $40K debts to get their degrees. Huh? We got hired by the same company, to do the same job, for the same salary.
I can see it costing more for some people, I tested out of some classes, and had already done many pre-recs. So I can see maybe $20K to get this degree. But, $40K?

Keep in mind that if they elected to live on campus, that can be paid for with student loans too and often costs as much as, or more than, tuition.

And costs more than living off campus, even if that's not with your parents. In Washington, DC, every university is required to house students for two years. It was $1000/mo to share a 500sqft dorm room with 3 other girls. Junior year, another girl and I shared 500sqft studio apartment one block off campus for $1200 total, ie $400/mo less than we had been paying to get twice as much space per person.

The school will wave this.  All it requires is the parent calling and saying my child is interested in your school (and has gotten in) but she will not be dorming.  Will you wave the requirement or should she look at her other options?  You go up a chain but someone will wave it.

It's not the school's rule. It's a legal requirement from the city. The exception is if the parent is a legal resident of the city, and the student is living at home.

Wait, you think it is a city law that students dorm?  With the increased risk factors, that can't be true.  Google does not pop this up, any evidence of this?

In school we were told it was a zoning requirement. George Washington, Georgetown, and American all have the same rule and same list of exemptions: 2 years on campus if under age 21 unless with parents nearby, married/kids, or religious/disability exemption. AU does things different from the Georges in that they make junior & senior years be the required years, while the Georges have it be freshman and sophomore years.

Note that I said the school is required to house students, not that students are required to sleep in the provided beds. Several girls on my floor got their parents to pay for an apartment in addition to the room & board they were paying the school, rather than live 4 to a dorm room.

Housing students is different than requiring a student to live on campus, I agree.  And that was my point, schools do wave the requirement to live on campus (and pay for the privileged) if called on it by the parent.  That the schools are required to have dorming options is not the same thing at all.

[MishMash]

Oh man, I don't even know where to start on this one.  We just had a MASS exodus in the past week in my office.  Now, I pretty much hate this job, but only plan on working 1.5 more years (and could probably quit now but DH is against it because he has 5 more years to secure the pension and medical) so I'm in the "why the hell do I want to deal with new BS, compete in a new environment" phase.  My work place has been AWFUL in the past, and I mean that in the "I probably could have sued them several times over for harassment kind of way".  Out of said "I don't give a fuck, I'm over the edge" I laid out all the cards to a member of our board one evening in late 2014/early 2015, pretty much expecting to be fired.  In a giant surprise, they instead laid off most of the problem children and put in a new management team/CEO and work was better over the past year.   For me at least.

Well, they didn't fire the VP of sales who lives in a different state, I severely dislike the guy but as I'm not in sales, I don't deal with him.  We lost 6 people in the past week (that's just under a third of the company).  Every. single. one. of them cited this guy as the reason they are quitting.  Apparently he was known for calling the younger sales guys names when they weren't on calls (not invited to said calls), he constantly threw people under the bus for his team not making numbers, he was telling his "clique" of sales guys he was friends with to give customers our developers personal cell phone numbers so they can call and complain about features they wanted, and he would set up meetings and demos and 10 minutes before call some of these guys and say "oh I'm going out for beers, going to the shooting range etc" you're going to have to find someone else to lead the call.

My manager had a coming to jesus with our CEO about this guy yesterday as it's clear where the problem lies.  Our CEO just told her "Nah, I don't believe he would have done those things, he's such a cool guy, he taught me how to shoot an AK-47 last time I was down there"....Me, her, and the other guy in our office all just looked at him and went "Are you kidding me!!"  The largest POS in our company is now protected from retribution by our CEO, because he's the "cool kid"

I don't think I"m going to make it the year and a half because guess where the work loads of those 6 people fell...yup, right in my lap.  I just told my manager I want a significant raise if they expect me to deal with this.

[KMMK]

Not MMM related but good one yesterday: idiot co-worker, in response to hearing about flight cancellations due to volcanic activity: "Where is Alaska?"
Followed by "I just recently realized how close to the Antarctic circle we are."

Now geography is only slightly related to our job but there's a reason I will never send clients to this person. Every time she threatens to quit I hope she is serious. But so far not, sadly. Luckily I will be gone within 6 months.

[Warlord1986]

Not MMM related but good one yesterday: idiot co-worker, in response to hearing about flight cancellations due to volcanic activity: "Where is Alaska?"
Followed by "I just recently realized how close to the Antarctic circle we are."

Now geography is only slightly related to our job but there's a reason I will never send clients to this person. Every time she threatens to quit I hope she is serious. But so far not, sadly. Luckily I will be gone within 6 months.

A bit off topic, but I've been in your neck of the woods. I was on a plane that was grounded due to engine trouble and we spent the night in the Yellowknife airport. They woke up some poor Mountie to come out and make sure the plane of American tourists didn't rally together and attack Canada. Or maybe he was just supposed to take pictures with us.

[markbike528CBX]

....."Where is Alaska?"
Followed by "I just recently realized how close to the Antarctic circle we are." ......

I made me feel a slight bit better that someone other than your typical US citizen is bad at geography too.

[maco]

Wait, you think it is a city law that students dorm?  With the increased risk factors, that can't be true.  Google does not pop this up, any evidence of this?

Possibly to prevent people registering as a student for a visa or grant and never even visiting the place?

Where I went to grad school I had to live withing walking distance (defined as 3mi) of the university church !

Doubtful that someone would go through the trouble of college admissions for a visa, because the college is the entity doing the sponsoring. If the student doesn't show up, they will report it to USCIS. There are much easier ways to overstay.

In order to prevent absentee landlords allowing student ghettos to become a blight, I am aware of a few towns that have bylaws along the lines of "no rooming house or room rentals within XXX meters of a higher education facility.

The student ghettos still happen, but at least now there can be the threat of enforcement.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/when-town-and-gown-collide

Yeah, when Georgetown submitted their plan to build more academic buildings, the city's response was "whoa whoa and with this increased capacity, you're going to build at least 600 more dorm rooms, right?" because of the student ghetto problem.

In school we were told it was a zoning requirement. George Washington, Georgetown, and American all have the same rule and same list of exemptions: 2 years on campus if under age 21 unless with parents nearby, married/kids, or religious/disability exemption. AU does things different from the Georges in that they make junior & senior years be the required years, while the Georges have it be freshman and sophomore years.

Note that I said the school is required to house students, not that students are required to sleep in the provided beds. Several girls on my floor got their parents to pay for an apartment in addition to the room & board they were paying the school, rather than live 4 to a dorm room.

Housing students is different than requiring a student to live on campus, I agree.  And that was my point, schools do wave the requirement to live on campus (and pay for the privileged) if called on it by the parent.  That the schools are required to have dorming options is not the same thing at all.

But the kids who didn't live in the dorm still paid for a dorm bed. The school just wasn't sending out armed guards to drag them back on campus every night.

One of the girls assigned to my room went and stayed with her cousin, the ambassador, after finding out that us <French accent> silly Americans expect multiple people to sleep in a single room rather than each getting their own suite of rooms.</French accent> And her mother was scandalized that there were boys and girls on the same floor.

[RetiredAt63]

Does she expect to see penguins on the lake?

Not MMM related but good one yesterday: idiot co-worker, in response to hearing about flight cancellations due to volcanic activity: "Where is Alaska?"
Followed by "I just recently realized how close to the Antarctic circle we are."

[Ashyukun]

I feel this way about some of the food labeling.  I saw something at the grocery store the other day that had a gluten free label on it.  I cannot remember what it was but it was something that would never include any ingredient containing gluten.

My personal favorite, and the first I ever noticed a completely ridiculous label like this, was a bag of cotton candy with the words, "A 100% FAT FREE FOOD!" emblazoned on it.

[KMMK]

Does she expect to see penguins on the lake?

Not MMM related but good one yesterday: idiot co-worker, in response to hearing about flight cancellations due to volcanic activity: "Where is Alaska?"
Followed by "I just recently realized how close to the Antarctic circle we are."

There is zero chance that she knows penguins are only in the south.

[Joggernot]

I feel this way about some of the food labeling.  I saw something at the grocery store the other day that had a gluten free label on it.  I cannot remember what it was but it was something that would never include any ingredient containing gluten.

My personal favorite, and the first I ever noticed a completely ridiculous label like this, was a bag of cotton candy with the words, "A 100% FAT FREE FOOD!" emblazoned on it.

Saw cantaloupe labeled as "Gluten Free".

[Gin1984]

Wait, you think it is a city law that students dorm?  With the increased risk factors, that can't be true.  Google does not pop this up, any evidence of this?

Possibly to prevent people registering as a student for a visa or grant and never even visiting the place?

Where I went to grad school I had to live withing walking distance (defined as 3mi) of the university church !

Doubtful that someone would go through the trouble of college admissions for a visa, because the college is the entity doing the sponsoring. If the student doesn't show up, they will report it to USCIS. There are much easier ways to overstay.

In order to prevent absentee landlords allowing student ghettos to become a blight, I am aware of a few towns that have bylaws along the lines of "no rooming house or room rentals within XXX meters of a higher education facility.

The student ghettos still happen, but at least now there can be the threat of enforcement.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/when-town-and-gown-collide

Yeah, when Georgetown submitted their plan to build more academic buildings, the city's response was "whoa whoa and with this increased capacity, you're going to build at least 600 more dorm rooms, right?" because of the student ghetto problem.

In school we were told it was a zoning requirement. George Washington, Georgetown, and American all have the same rule and same list of exemptions: 2 years on campus if under age 21 unless with parents nearby, married/kids, or religious/disability exemption. AU does things different from the Georges in that they make junior & senior years be the required years, while the Georges have it be freshman and sophomore years.

Note that I said the school is required to house students, not that students are required to sleep in the provided beds. Several girls on my floor got their parents to pay for an apartment in addition to the room & board they were paying the school, rather than live 4 to a dorm room.

Housing students is different than requiring a student to live on campus, I agree.  And that was my point, schools do wave the requirement to live on campus (and pay for the privileged) if called on it by the parent.  That the schools are required to have dorming options is not the same thing at all.

But the kids who didn't live in the dorm still paid for a dorm bed. The school just wasn't sending out armed guards to drag them back on campus every night.

One of the girls assigned to my room went and stayed with her cousin, the ambassador, after finding out that us <French accent> silly Americans expect multiple people to sleep in a single room rather than each getting their own suite of rooms.</French accent> And her mother was scandalized that there were boys and girls on the same floor.

And what I am saying is that the schools will wave the requirement to pay for the housing/live there.  They might have told you there was a zoning requirement but they can make exceptions and all universities do so. 
My bet is what they are referring to is this lawsuit: http://law.wustl.edu/landuselaw/GW_Case.htm but again, they have be required to have the bed, they will not require a student to live there/pay for it IF the parent contests it.  But if you look at the lawsuit, it still was not that all students MUST live on campus.  I've seen it done all across the country including DC. 

[aetherie]

It's waive. Waive the requirement.

</grammarpolice>

[solon]

My manager had a coming to jesus with our CEO about this guy yesterday as it's clear where the problem lies.  Our CEO just told her "Nah, I don't believe he would have done those things, he's such a cool guy, he taught me how to shoot an AK-47 last time I was down there"....Me, her, and the other guy in our office all just looked at him and went "Are you kidding me!!"  The largest POS in our company is now protected from retribution by our CEO, because he's the "cool kid"

That was the moment - right there in that office - the three of you should have announce your resignations, in unison.

[Sibley]

Today a co-worker proudly told me that he just bought a 2016 Ford focus. He said that he was offered 16% interest as he and his fiance have no credit. He said he turned this down because they were only offering him $500 for his Jeep. Instead he took their offer of 27% interest if they gave him $1800 for his Jeep. 27% interest. No that's not a typo.

He said they told him he can "probably" refinance to 2% in a few months. He said he got a steal and that the car pays for itself because of the good mpg.

Gaahhhh it was so hard not to punch him.

I have a 2015 Focus. The mileage isn't that great, trust me. High 20s in the city, mid 30s on highways. My Vibe was better :( (but crunched by someone else)

[Kaspian]

Does she expect to see penguins on the lake?

Not MMM related but good one yesterday: idiot co-worker, in response to hearing about flight cancellations due to volcanic activity: "Where is Alaska?"
Followed by "I just recently realized how close to the Antarctic circle we are."

There is zero chance that she knows penguins are only in the south.

True Story

Co-worker:  "Where's your next big trip?"
Me:  "Scotland."
Co-worker:  "Cool.  Are you going to visit New Zealand while you're there?"
Me:  "Pardon?"
Co-worker:  "New Zealand?"
Me:  "I don't think I'll have the time, and it's a little far..."

[MgoSam]

Does she expect to see penguins on the lake?

Not MMM related but good one yesterday: idiot co-worker, in response to hearing about flight cancellations due to volcanic activity: "Where is Alaska?"
Followed by "I just recently realized how close to the Antarctic circle we are."

There is zero chance that she knows penguins are only in the south.

True Story

Co-worker:  "Where's your next big trip?"
Me:  "Scotland."
Co-worker:  "Cool.  Are you going to visit New Zealand while you're there?"
Me:  "Pardon?"
Co-worker:  "New Zealand?"
Me:  "I don't think I'll have the time, and it's a little far..."

LOL! I'm guessing they are confusing Scotland with Australia.

[Kaspian]

This is in America right? They're likely confusing New Zealand with New England. Its easy enough to do.

In Canada.   I don't think this a minor slip-of-the-mind thing.   Unless it's possible to a person to confuse everything with everything.  Yeah, she's not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

[MgoSam]

This is in America right? They're likely confusing New Zealand with New England. Its easy enough to do.

In Canada.   I don't think this a minor slip-of-the-mind thing.   Unless it's possible to a person to confuse everything with everything.  Yeah, she's not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

She may not even be the sharpest spoon in the drawer by the sounds of it.

Heck she might be that plastic spoon that people keep from their drawer after getting take-out.

[Orvell]

"My mom said it's okay to spend up to 60% of your take home pay on housing, so I went ahead and got the nicer apartment."

(This is from a woman who is 27-years-old for the record.)

[runningthroughFIRE]

[One of the girls assigned to my room went and stayed with her cousin, the ambassador, after finding out that us <French accent> silly Americans expect multiple people to sleep in a single room rather than each getting their own suite of rooms.</French accent> And her mother was scandalized that there were boys and girls on the same floor.

She'd have a heart attack if her daughter was assigned to the dorm I lived in during my freshman year.  One hallway with girls' rooms on one side and boys' on the other.  Open the door and you're staring at a girls' room (not by design, but funny coincidence it worked out that way).  If the sun was up, chances were good that all the doors were wide open, too.

[MoonShadow]

I don't think I"m going to make it the year and a half because guess where the work loads of those 6 people fell...yup, right in my lap. I just told my manager I want a significant raise if they expect me to deal with this.

I suspect that you might just get one, but it won't be enough for 6 people's workload.

[MishMash]

My manager had a coming to jesus with our CEO about this guy yesterday as it's clear where the problem lies.  Our CEO just told her "Nah, I don't believe he would have done those things, he's such a cool guy, he taught me how to shoot an AK-47 last time I was down there"....Me, her, and the other guy in our office all just looked at him and went "Are you kidding me!!"  The largest POS in our company is now protected from retribution by our CEO, because he's the "cool kid"

That was the moment - right there in that office - the three of you should have announce your resignations, in unison.

The other two have worked with this guy in a series of companies they kind of go startup to startup with him so they never would.  Me, if I don't get a HUGE raise, I am not going to make it, I may put up with it for a year for an obscene amount of money but even then I'm honestly not sure it's really worth it to me.  They are also dick enough that they probably won't give me said raise until I put in my two weeks, even though they KNOW they can't afford to have me go right now, but they have been well known to cut their noses off so I need to be ready to leave permanently before I do. 

DH and I talked tonight, he's still against me quitting but admits I am freaking miserable again and that it's not going to get any better this time so I'm probably going to stick it out until after our three week vacation in June.  They don't pay out unused PTO days and I have 35 of them so it looks like I'm going to start taking some days off every month and start cramming my 401k.

[JLee]

My manager had a coming to jesus with our CEO about this guy yesterday as it's clear where the problem lies.  Our CEO just told her "Nah, I don't believe he would have done those things, he's such a cool guy, he taught me how to shoot an AK-47 last time I was down there"....Me, her, and the other guy in our office all just looked at him and went "Are you kidding me!!"  The largest POS in our company is now protected from retribution by our CEO, because he's the "cool kid"

That was the moment - right there in that office - the three of you should have announce your resignations, in unison.

The other two have worked with this guy in a series of companies they kind of go startup to startup with him so they never would.  Me, if I don't get a HUGE raise, I am not going to make it, I may put up with it for a year for an obscene amount of money but even then I'm honestly not sure it's really worth it to me.  They are also dick enough that they probably won't give me said raise until I put in my two weeks, even though they KNOW they can't afford to have me go right now, but they have been well known to cut their noses off so I need to be ready to leave permanently before I do. 

DH and I talked tonight, he's still against me quitting but admits I am freaking miserable again and that it's not going to get any better this time so I'm probably going to stick it out until after our three week vacation in June.  They don't pay out unused PTO days and I have 35 of them so it looks like I'm going to start taking some days off every month and start cramming my 401k.

Hell, just take 7 weeks off and then quit!

[MishMash]

My manager had a coming to jesus with our CEO about this guy yesterday as it's clear where the problem lies.  Our CEO just told her "Nah, I don't believe he would have done those things, he's such a cool guy, he taught me how to shoot an AK-47 last time I was down there"....Me, her, and the other guy in our office all just looked at him and went "Are you kidding me!!"  The largest POS in our company is now protected from retribution by our CEO, because he's the "cool kid"

That was the moment - right there in that office - the three of you should have announce your resignations, in unison.

The other two have worked with this guy in a series of companies they kind of go startup to startup with him so they never would.  Me, if I don't get a HUGE raise, I am not going to make it, I may put up with it for a year for an obscene amount of money but even then I'm honestly not sure it's really worth it to me.  They are also dick enough that they probably won't give me said raise until I put in my two weeks, even though they KNOW they can't afford to have me go right now, but they have been well known to cut their noses off so I need to be ready to leave permanently before I do. 

DH and I talked tonight, he's still against me quitting but admits I am freaking miserable again and that it's not going to get any better this time so I'm probably going to stick it out until after our three week vacation in June.  They don't pay out unused PTO days and I have 35 of them so it looks like I'm going to start taking some days off every month and start cramming my 401k.

Hell, just take 7 weeks off and then quit!

Someone tried to do that with one week then quit...they told him not to come in the next day, that he didn't need to give notice, just to avoid paying it out so that wouldn't work.  If I said 7 weeks they'd know and just let me go right then, I want them to pay out for some free time lol.

[MgoSam]

My manager had a coming to jesus with our CEO about this guy yesterday as it's clear where the problem lies.  Our CEO just told her "Nah, I don't believe he would have done those things, he's such a cool guy, he taught me how to shoot an AK-47 last time I was down there"....Me, her, and the other guy in our office all just looked at him and went "Are you kidding me!!"  The largest POS in our company is now protected from retribution by our CEO, because he's the "cool kid"

That was the moment - right there in that office - the three of you should have announce your resignations, in unison.

The other two have worked with this guy in a series of companies they kind of go startup to startup with him so they never would.  Me, if I don't get a HUGE raise, I am not going to make it, I may put up with it for a year for an obscene amount of money but even then I'm honestly not sure it's really worth it to me.  They are also dick enough that they probably won't give me said raise until I put in my two weeks, even though they KNOW they can't afford to have me go right now, but they have been well known to cut their noses off so I need to be ready to leave permanently before I do. 

DH and I talked tonight, he's still against me quitting but admits I am freaking miserable again and that it's not going to get any better this time so I'm probably going to stick it out until after our three week vacation in June.  They don't pay out unused PTO days and I have 35 of them so it looks like I'm going to start taking some days off every month and start cramming my 401k.

Hell, just take 7 weeks off and then quit!

Someone tried to do that with one week then quit...they told him not to come in the next day, that he didn't need to give notice, just to avoid paying it out so that wouldn't work.  If I said 7 weeks they'd know and just let me go right then, I want them to pay out for some free time lol.

Sounds like a company that treats its employees like serfs. It may be advised to look for a company that respects its employees.

[Kitsune]

My manager had a coming to jesus with our CEO about this guy yesterday as it's clear where the problem lies.  Our CEO just told her "Nah, I don't believe he would have done those things, he's such a cool guy, he taught me how to shoot an AK-47 last time I was down there"....Me, her, and the other guy in our office all just looked at him and went "Are you kidding me!!"  The largest POS in our company is now protected from retribution by our CEO, because he's the "cool kid"

That was the moment - right there in that office - the three of you should have announce your resignations, in unison.

The other two have worked with this guy in a series of companies they kind of go startup to startup with him so they never would.  Me, if I don't get a HUGE raise, I am not going to make it, I may put up with it for a year for an obscene amount of money but even then I'm honestly not sure it's really worth it to me.  They are also dick enough that they probably won't give me said raise until I put in my two weeks, even though they KNOW they can't afford to have me go right now, but they have been well known to cut their noses off so I need to be ready to leave permanently before I do. 

DH and I talked tonight, he's still against me quitting but admits I am freaking miserable again and that it's not going to get any better this time so I'm probably going to stick it out until after our three week vacation in June.  They don't pay out unused PTO days and I have 35 of them so it looks like I'm going to start taking some days off every month and start cramming my 401k.

Hell, just take 7 weeks off and then quit!

Someone tried to do that with one week then quit...they told him not to come in the next day, that he didn't need to give notice, just to avoid paying it out so that wouldn't work.  If I said 7 weeks they'd know and just let me go right then, I want them to pay out for some free time lol.

Sounds like a company that treats its employees like serfs. It may be advised to look for a company that respects its employees.

Wait. Not paying out owed vacation is legal in the US??? Seriously?

[MoonShadow]

Wait. Not paying out owed vacation is legal in the US??? Seriously?

No, it's not.

[JLee]

Wait. Not paying out owed vacation is legal in the US??? Seriously?

No, it's not.

Looks like it depends on where you are: https://www.workplacefairness.org/final-pay#3

[coolistdude]

My manager had a coming to jesus with our CEO about this guy yesterday as it's clear where the problem lies.  Our CEO just told her "Nah, I don't believe he would have done those things, he's such a cool guy, he taught me how to shoot an AK-47 last time I was down there"....Me, her, and the other guy in our office all just looked at him and went "Are you kidding me!!"  The largest POS in our company is now protected from retribution by our CEO, because he's the "cool kid"

That was the moment - right there in that office - the three of you should have announce your resignations, in unison.

The other two have worked with this guy in a series of companies they kind of go startup to startup with him so they never would.  Me, if I don't get a HUGE raise, I am not going to make it, I may put up with it for a year for an obscene amount of money but even then I'm honestly not sure it's really worth it to me.  They are also dick enough that they probably won't give me said raise until I put in my two weeks, even though they KNOW they can't afford to have me go right now, but they have been well known to cut their noses off so I need to be ready to leave permanently before I do. 

DH and I talked tonight, he's still against me quitting but admits I am freaking miserable again and that it's not going to get any better this time so I'm probably going to stick it out until after our three week vacation in June.  They don't pay out unused PTO days and I have 35 of them so it looks like I'm going to start taking some days off every month and start cramming my 401k.

Hell, just take 7 weeks off and then quit!

Someone tried to do that with one week then quit...they told him not to come in the next day, that he didn't need to give notice, just to avoid paying it out so that wouldn't work.  If I said 7 weeks they'd know and just let me go right then, I want them to pay out for some free time lol.

Sounds like a company that treats its employees like serfs. It may be advised to look for a company that respects its employees.

On the plus side, it may help OP never look back. Sometimes it is a good thing for someone to become disillusioned with the workforce. Sorry you are going through this. It sounds like you have lasted far longer than I would have. Nicely done :)

[RyanAtTanagra]

Now, I pretty much hate this job, but only plan on working 1.5 more years (and could probably quit now but DH is against it because he has 5 more years to secure the pension and medical)

Sorry, none of my business, but this really bothered me.  So you could quit now, but your husband would rather you be miserable working a job you hate, because he has another 5 years?

[SwordGuy]

Now, I pretty much hate this job, but only plan on working 1.5 more years (and could probably quit now but DH is against it because he has 5 more years to secure the pension and medical)

Sorry, none of my business, but this really bothered me.  So you could quit now, but your husband would rather you be miserable working a job you hate, because he has another 5 years?

I expect he would have to work EVEN LONGER at the job if she quit early.   So it seems fair to me that he gets some say in this.

[SwordGuy]

My manager had a coming to jesus with our CEO about this guy yesterday as it's clear where the problem lies.  Our CEO just told her "Nah, I don't believe he would have done those things, he's such a cool guy, he taught me how to shoot an AK-47 last time I was down there"....Me, her, and the other guy in our office all just looked at him and went "Are you kidding me!!"  The largest POS in our company is now protected from retribution by our CEO, because he's the "cool kid"

That was the moment - right there in that office - the three of you should have announce your resignations, in unison.

The other two have worked with this guy in a series of companies they kind of go startup to startup with him so they never would.  Me, if I don't get a HUGE raise, I am not going to make it, I may put up with it for a year for an obscene amount of money but even then I'm honestly not sure it's really worth it to me.  They are also dick enough that they probably won't give me said raise until I put in my two weeks, even though they KNOW they can't afford to have me go right now, but they have been well known to cut their noses off so I need to be ready to leave permanently before I do. 

DH and I talked tonight, he's still against me quitting but admits I am freaking miserable again and that it's not going to get any better this time so I'm probably going to stick it out until after our three week vacation in June.  They don't pay out unused PTO days and I have 35 of them so it looks like I'm going to start taking some days off every month and start cramming my 401k.

Hell, just take 7 weeks off and then quit!

Someone tried to do that with one week then quit...they told him not to come in the next day, that he didn't need to give notice, just to avoid paying it out so that wouldn't work.  If I said 7 weeks they'd know and just let me go right then, I want them to pay out for some free time lol.

Sounds like a company that treats its employees like serfs. It may be advised to look for a company that respects its employees.

On the plus side, it may help OP never look back. Sometimes it is a good thing for someone to become disillusioned with the workforce. Sorry you are going through this. It sounds like you have lasted far longer than I would have. Nicely done :)

If you have FU money lined up, and you should if you are this close to FI, schedule a week off because "the stress" is getting to you.   Work a week or three and repeat.   

The worst they can do is fire you without cause, and that will get you unemployment.   

[stylesjl]

Got another little bit from my workplace today. I had a co-worker discuss some shopping he doing for watches and he noticed a certain watch that costed $100,000 and wondered incredulously who would pay that much for a watch ("Must be a very nice watch").

I then told him about some other expensive items like a handbag that costs $10,000 and he then told me that another co-worker paid $2000 for a handbag! I was shocked that someone I know could be that wasteful (note this is not the same co-worker I mentioned earlier that was down to her last 3 dollars).

[Kitsune]

Got another little bit from my workplace today. I had a co-worker discuss some shopping he doing for watches and he noticed a certain watch that costed $100,000 and wondered incredulously who would pay that much for a watch ("Must be a very nice watch").

I then told him about some other expensive items like a handbag that costs $10,000 and he then told me that another co-worker paid $2000 for a handbag! I was shocked that someone I know could be that wasteful (note this is not the same co-worker I mentioned earlier that was down to her last 3 dollars).

Wow.

The most I've paid for a purse was 180$ (at the exchange rate of the time), and it was high-quality thick leather that was big enough to slide a macbook in (I didn't want to carry purse + briefcase + book + lunch - everything can fit in one bag, please). I've worn it, so far, every day for 8 years, and, with a 10$ repair bill recently, it should last at least that long again... and it still looks nice enough that 3 of my colleagues have stopped me to ask where I got my purse, and was it recently, because they're looking for something nice and like mine.

I can understand paying more for quality (hell, I certainly did, and no 30$ cheap faux-leather purse would still be looking good after 8 years of non-careful wear and tear), but 2k on a bag is not quality, it's idiocy.

[Adventine]

Got another little bit from my workplace today. I had a co-worker discuss some shopping he doing for watches and he noticed a certain watch that costed $100,000 and wondered incredulously who would pay that much for a watch ("Must be a very nice watch").

I then told him about some other expensive items like a handbag that costs $10,000 and he then told me that another co-worker paid $2000 for a handbag! I was shocked that someone I know could be that wasteful (note this is not the same co-worker I mentioned earlier that was down to her last 3 dollars).

Wow.

The most I've paid for a purse was 180$ (at the exchange rate of the time), and it was high-quality thick leather that was big enough to slide a macbook in (I didn't want to carry purse + briefcase + book + lunch - everything can fit in one bag, please). I've worn it, so far, every day for 8 years, and, with a 10$ repair bill recently, it should last at least that long again... and it still looks nice enough that 3 of my colleagues have stopped me to ask where I got my purse, and was it recently, because they're looking for something nice and like mine.

I can understand paying more for quality (hell, I certainly did, and no 30$ cheap faux-leather purse would still be looking good after 8 years of non-careful wear and tear), but 2k on a bag is not quality, it's idiocy.

Kitsune, where did you get that kind of bag? I would love to have one of my own.

[MishMash]

Now, I pretty much hate this job, but only plan on working 1.5 more years (and could probably quit now but DH is against it because he has 5 more years to secure the pension and medical)

Sorry, none of my business, but this really bothered me.  So you could quit now, but your husband would rather you be miserable working a job you hate, because he has another 5 years?

I expect he would have to work EVEN LONGER at the job if she quit early.   So it seems fair to me that he gets some say in this.

We are on PTO days but we don't accrue, they are 'gifted' at the beginning of the year and the employment contract states no pay out for unused days.  Not sure if it's legal but people that have contested it in the past have failed.

DH has expensive hobbies, and wants to maintain them in retirement (or get more), so we are beyond FI by most peoples standards on here but not when you take into a account the cost and maintenance of the toys he wants in retirement.  He doesn't have any now because he realizes he's not around to make using them feasible but he's dead set on them in retirement and I can respect that.  I totally agree he gets a say, we built this idea together, and his employment (military) is the one that is providing a huge chunk of it in regards to pension and medical. 

[Kitsune]

Got another little bit from my workplace today. I had a co-worker discuss some shopping he doing for watches and he noticed a certain watch that costed $100,000 and wondered incredulously who would pay that much for a watch ("Must be a very nice watch").

I then told him about some other expensive items like a handbag that costs $10,000 and he then told me that another co-worker paid $2000 for a handbag! I was shocked that someone I know could be that wasteful (note this is not the same co-worker I mentioned earlier that was down to her last 3 dollars).

Wow.

The most I've paid for a purse was 180$ (at the exchange rate of the time), and it was high-quality thick leather that was big enough to slide a macbook in (I didn't want to carry purse + briefcase + book + lunch - everything can fit in one bag, please). I've worn it, so far, every day for 8 years, and, with a 10$ repair bill recently, it should last at least that long again... and it still looks nice enough that 3 of my colleagues have stopped me to ask where I got my purse, and was it recently, because they're looking for something nice and like mine.

I can understand paying more for quality (hell, I certainly did, and no 30$ cheap faux-leather purse would still be looking good after 8 years of non-careful wear and tear), but 2k on a bag is not quality, it's idiocy.

Kitsune, where did you get that kind of bag? I would love to have one of my own.

On a trip to Italy, so you're not gonna find them in stores!

But the brand is I Medici, and I just found the exact bag I have on their website: http://www.imedicibags.com/handbags/i-medici-borsa-leather-shopping-large-tote-bag.html (and the price has seriously gone up in 8 years...)