Overheard at Work

[arebelspy]

My coworkers are currently all trying to convince me to buy a new car, or a sports car, or anything fancier than my last car ('05 Prius). I am shopping for a car (totalled the last one), but they really can't seem to understand that for me a car is a functional vehicle and hardly any of the "features" are important to me. "Don't you want an audio jack?" gets them a blank stare and an "I don't think I had one in my last car." I understand that these things matter to some people, but if they don't matter to me why should I pay for them?

Not just that, but an audio jack in particular is a pretty dumb reason to get one car over another.  My current car has one (2009), but I got one with my aftermarket radio in my last car (1992) which set me back all of ~$40 (the radio, not the car).

Since my car has a USB port I don't think I'll ever go back to wanting an audio jack.

Does the USB port typically do anything other than play audio files off a flash drive?  I have one too but I'm pretty sure that's all mine does (and I know it doesn't have enough juice to charge anything).

You can also use it to charge your phone should the need arise.

You missed sentence two of his post.  :)

Typically that should work though, but apparently not with his.

[With This Herring]

... we had a second new guy, years later, who told everyone all of his own personal info (what he paid in rent, how much money was in his bank account) ... he was just a braggart.

Was he bragging about paying a lot or a little in rent?

I think it was a lot, as in "look how fancy an apartment I have!"  He gave us so much personal info, I almost think we could have gotten his SSN just by asking.  We called him "Topper," like the Dilbert character, because he had to "top" the stories anyone else told.

Normal person to group:  "I ran a 5K last weekend.  It was pretty fun, so I might do this more regularly."
Our Topper replies: "When I was in high school, I was on track and was top of my division!"

Normal person to group: "I saw this guy on the subway who was breakdancing!  It was really cool."
Our Topper replies: "That's nothing!  When I lived in Specific City, there was this guy who got on the subway and was soooo druuuunk he threw up over everything!"

My family had a Korean student living with them as he completed high school in the US.  He told us how when he first came to the country, he thought Americans were rude, condescending, and racist for casually smiling at him. 

Apparently in South Korea it is not common to smile at strangers.  You could smile at children or the mentally disabled to make them feel comfortable.  So if a passing stranger smiled at you, they were implying they believed you were a bit slow mentally.

It took a while before he realized these people were smiling at everyone, not just him, and it was just a thing Americans did.

Oh wow!  I would be really interested in a culture shock thread, if anyone knows of one that is going on the forums.

[Linea_Norway]

My colleague for whom I am mentor, told me today that she also had brought lunch from home, and calculated after lunch how much she had saved. It's good to have inspired someone else to save money.

[Torran]

The word "am" doesn't have contractions the way "are" and "is" do.  English is a silly language.

Yeah, I wish "amn't" was a more widely-accepted term. :(

Well, it ain't.

I'm just being argumentative on the internet today, so: I studied English grammar as part of an Eng lit/lang degree. Most grammar rules were made up in the 18th century to give English some sort of gravitas in line with Latin, instead of it being viewed as a mongrel language. People were quite anxious for English to be seen as a legitimate language, because of snobbery.

Since then a lot of grammar 'rules' have gradually come into being through common usage. A lot of the rules have vanished over time.

The only rule we were given as gospel was that *as long as* people understand your meaning, your grammar is fine.

So when correcting someone's grammar, you have no real basis for doing so. Grammar was not invented by some divine being, it's just trial and error. If enough people say amn't, it will come into being.

Right throw stuff at me if you want now.

[gReed Smith]

The word "am" doesn't have contractions the way "are" and "is" do.  English is a silly language.

Yeah, I wish "amn't" was a more widely-accepted term. :(

Well, it ain't.

I'm just being argumentative on the internet today, so: I studied English grammar as part of an Eng lit/lang degree. Most grammar rules were made up in the 18th century to give English some sort of gravitas in line with Latin, instead of it being viewed as a mongrel language. People were quite anxious for English to be seen as a legitimate language, because of snobbery.

Since then a lot of grammar 'rules' have gradually come into being through common usage. A lot of the rules have vanished over time.

The only rule we were given as gospel was that *as long as* people understand your meaning, your grammar is fine.

So when correcting someone's grammar, you have no real basis for doing so. Grammar was not invented by some divine being, it's just trial and error. If enough people say amn't, it will come into being.

Right throw stuff at me if you want now.

I'll throw the first stone:  as someone from an Appalachian coal town, I can tell you that grammar and pronunciation matters.  I have a degree from a top law school and people still think I'm a dirty stupid hillbilly because my grammar isn't perfect and I can drift back into that old twang/slurred speech when I'm excited or feeling relaxed.  It's worth learning and following the "rules."

[Dave1442397]

The word "am" doesn't have contractions the way "are" and "is" do.  English is a silly language.

Yeah, I wish "amn't" was a more widely-accepted term. :(

Well, it ain't.

I'm just being argumentative on the internet today, so: I studied English grammar as part of an Eng lit/lang degree. Most grammar rules were made up in the 18th century to give English some sort of gravitas in line with Latin, instead of it being viewed as a mongrel language. People were quite anxious for English to be seen as a legitimate language, because of snobbery.

Since then a lot of grammar 'rules' have gradually come into being through common usage. A lot of the rules have vanished over time.

The only rule we were given as gospel was that *as long as* people understand your meaning, your grammar is fine.

So when correcting someone's grammar, you have no real basis for doing so. Grammar was not invented by some divine being, it's just trial and error. If enough people say amn't, it will come into being.

Right throw stuff at me if you want now.

I'll throw the first stone:  as someone from an Appalachian coal town, I can tell you that grammar and pronunciation matters.  I have a degree from a top law school and people still think I'm a dirty stupid hillbilly because my grammar isn't perfect and I can drift back into that old twang/slurred speach when I'm excited or feeling relaxed.  It's worth learning and following the "rules."

If you want to be taken seriously, grammar matters.

A co-worker was telling me how his previous company sent him out with the sales team for a new financial product. He noticed that the brochure had some mistakes, the most glaring example being apostrophes used incorrectly. He said the meeting was the best he'd ever been to. The CEO of the prospective client company read through the brochure, circled every mistake with a red pen, handed it back and said "If you can't even get this right, why do you think I'd be interested in your product?".

On another note, it was funny to hear amn't again. It was frequently used by Dubliners when I was a kid...not so sure about these days.

From an online source: "The NOAD has a note about using aren't, and amn't: The contraction aren't is used in standard English to mean "am not" in questions, as in "I'm right, aren't I?" ... The nonstandard (although logical) form amn't is restricted to Scottish, Irish, and dialect use."

[Chris22]

The word "am" doesn't have contractions the way "are" and "is" do.  English is a silly language.

Yeah, I wish "amn't" was a more widely-accepted term. :(

Well, it ain't.

I'm just being argumentative on the internet today, so: I studied English grammar as part of an Eng lit/lang degree. Most grammar rules were made up in the 18th century to give English some sort of gravitas in line with Latin, instead of it being viewed as a mongrel language. People were quite anxious for English to be seen as a legitimate language, because of snobbery.

Since then a lot of grammar 'rules' have gradually come into being through common usage. A lot of the rules have vanished over time.

The only rule we were given as gospel was that *as long as* people understand your meaning, your grammar is fine.

So when correcting someone's grammar, you have no real basis for doing so. Grammar was not invented by some divine being, it's just trial and error. If enough people say amn't, it will come into being.

Right throw stuff at me if you want now.

I'll throw the first stone:  as someone from an Appalachian coal town, I can tell you that grammar and pronunciation matters.  I have a degree from a top law school and people still think I'm a dirty stupid hillbilly because my grammar isn't perfect and I can drift back into that old twang/slurred speach when I'm excited or feeling relaxed.  It's worth learning and following the "rules."

Both can be useful.  There are times when you want your audience to know you are well-educated and intelligent, and there are times when, if they think you're a little less sophisticated or educated, that's okay too.  Sometimes you want them to think less of you because they'll feel you are less formidable, sometimes because it makes you seem less threatening.  I don't talk to my guys in the shop the same way I talk to the CEO. 

[Paul der Krake]

Grammar matters because we rely on language to communicate. Using poor speech shifts the burden of understanding to your conversation partners and signals that you simply don't care. I have no interest in trying to parse poor communicators' unpunctuated streams of consciousness on the off-chance that there may be something of interest in there.

[aetherie]

I have no interest in trying to parse poor communicators' unpunctuated streams of consciousness on the off-chance that there may be something of interest in there.

You would not enjoy Tumblr.

[solon]

While I absolutely agree with everything Paul just said, I was thrilled to see "amn't" in the wild. It's creative, fresh, and makes perfect sense. "Of course you would contract 'am not' into amn't!", I said to myself.

Grammar matters, and mis-use of grammar is bad. But this wasn't a mis-use of grammar. IMHYCO.

[Torran]

True. Much good comments :)

I think grammar matters sometimes (I and it's useful, and I studied it because I found it fascinating. (It's like a map of a small part of your brain!!)

And sure there are many settings (professional, meeting your other half's parents) when you'd want to be articulate and make a good impression.

However when I see people pulling others up on their 'incorrect' use of grammar I just think... uugh why. Why though. Just leave them alone. If you understood what they meant, then they successfully communicated. Job done.

[MgoSam]

A co-worker was telling me how his previous company sent him out with the sales team for a new financial product. He noticed that the brochure had some mistakes, the most glaring example being apostrophes used incorrectly. He said the meeting was the best he'd ever been to. The CEO of the prospective client company read through the brochure, circled every mistake with a red pen, handed it back and said "If you can't even get this right, why do you think I'd be interested in your product?".

Yeah that is a fair bit of criticism. It frustrates me to no end when my dad sends out long emails to customers because his grammar absolutely sucks. Thankfully he'll email what he wants to say to me and I'll clean it up for him though every once in a while he'll forget to do so.

[Torran]

True. Much good comments :)

I think grammar matters sometimes (I and it's useful, and I studied it because I found it fascinating. (It's like a map of a small part of your brain!!)

And sure there are many settings (professional, meeting your other half's parents) when you'd want to be articulate and make a good impression.

However when I see people pulling others up on their 'incorrect' use of grammar I just think... uugh why. Why though. Just leave them alone. If you understood what they meant, then they successfully communicated. Job done.

Ironically all my posts are riddled with typos.

[plainjane]

I have no interest in trying to parse poor communicators' unpunctuated streams of consciousness on the off-chance that there may be something of interest in there.

You would not enjoy Tumblr.

Tumblr feels like "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra" only with gifs.  Every once in a while I try, but my brain doesn't like working that way. 

And yes, I am aware that I am complaining about allusions by using one of my own.

[SweetTPi]

My coworkers are currently all trying to convince me to buy a new car, or a sports car, or anything fancier than my last car ('05 Prius). I am shopping for a car (totalled the last one), but they really can't seem to understand that for me a car is a functional vehicle and hardly any of the "features" are important to me. "Don't you want an audio jack?" gets them a blank stare and an "I don't think I had one in my last car." I understand that these things matter to some people, but if they don't matter to me why should I pay for them?

Not just that, but an audio jack in particular is a pretty dumb reason to get one car over another.  My current car has one (2009), but I got one with my aftermarket radio in my last car (1992) which set me back all of ~$40 (the radio, not the car).

Since my car has a USB port I don't think I'll ever go back to wanting an audio jack.

Does the USB port typically do anything other than play audio files off a flash drive?  I have one too but I'm pretty sure that's all mine does (and I know it doesn't have enough juice to charge anything).

You can also use it to charge your phone should the need arise.

You can get a plug for the 'cigarette' socket that has usb ports, then plug in both your phone and mp3 player for long trips.  That's what I did with my recently totaled 2009 Corolla (with audio jack cord).

Coworkers and retired boss are convinced that I need a 4-wheel drive new (or very low mileage) car, since once or twice a year I go on a road trip up north at the holidays.  Granted, the accident happened because of snow, but I don't think that's a reason to buy a new Subaru.  In fact, I'm looking at another '09 Toyota with 100k miles on it.  They are of the opinion that it's just not safe without all the new tech.

[ormaybemidgets]

However when I see people pulling others up on their 'incorrect' use of grammar I just think... uugh why. Why though. Just leave them alone. If you understood what they meant, then they successfully communicated. Job done.

With This Herring was very POLITELY pointing out English conjugation to a poster who is from Belgium. WTH even said "English is a silly language" to make clear that they weren't mocking the OP but pointing out something that might seem logical but is not actually correct. In my experience, people who are not native English speakers would rather be gently corrected than continue to say something incorrectly.

The word "am" doesn't have contractions the way "are" and "is" do.  English is a silly language.

[RyanAtTanagra]

I have no interest in trying to parse poor communicators' unpunctuated streams of consciousness on the off-chance that there may be something of interest in there.

You would not enjoy Tumblr.

Tumblr feels like "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra" only with gifs.  Every once in a while I try, but my brain doesn't like working that way. 

And yes, I am aware that I am complaining about allusions by using one of my own.

Tumblr is worse than what went down at Tanagra

[RWD]

My coworkers are currently all trying to convince me to buy a new car, or a sports car, or anything fancier than my last car ('05 Prius). I am shopping for a car (totalled the last one), but they really can't seem to understand that for me a car is a functional vehicle and hardly any of the "features" are important to me. "Don't you want an audio jack?" gets them a blank stare and an "I don't think I had one in my last car." I understand that these things matter to some people, but if they don't matter to me why should I pay for them?

Not just that, but an audio jack in particular is a pretty dumb reason to get one car over another.  My current car has one (2009), but I got one with my aftermarket radio in my last car (1992) which set me back all of ~$40 (the radio, not the car).

Since my car has a USB port I don't think I'll ever go back to wanting an audio jack.

Does the USB port typically do anything other than play audio files off a flash drive?  I have one too but I'm pretty sure that's all mine does (and I know it doesn't have enough juice to charge anything).

You can also use it to charge your phone should the need arise.

You can get a plug for the 'cigarette' socket that has usb ports, then plug in both your phone and mp3 player for long trips.  That's what I did with my recently totaled 2009 Corolla (with audio jack cord).

Coworkers and retired boss are convinced that I need a 4-wheel drive new (or very low mileage) car, since once or twice a year I go on a road trip up north at the holidays.  Granted, the accident happened because of snow, but I don't think that's a reason to buy a new Subaru.  In fact, I'm looking at another '09 Toyota with 100k miles on it.  They are of the opinion that it's just not safe without all the new tech.

I personally don't care about charging, but that's probably because I don't have an MP3 player and my dumb phone battery lasts for days without needing a charge.

Typically all you need are snow tires. A two-wheel drive car with snow tires will perform significantly better in the snow than a four/all-wheel drive car with all-season tires.

[Ayanka]

So we got 2 new interns at work today and I finally have a story. The girl got dropped off by her dad who apparently took 2 weeks off to drop her off every day. It would take approx 75 min for her one way to get there, using cheap public transport or a bit less than an hour if she took the train. Counting in real time connections and delays.

The guy though was even more of a charm. He asked me if there were 'smoskes' ordered somewhere at the company. Smoskes is Flemish closest translation I could find is something like the sandwiches from Subway. Normal price 3-4 Euros a piece. Sadly I couldn't help him more than referring him to the HR department (small company) as they order sandwiches before a certain hour there. I had the idea that packing a lunchbox was a very new thing for him. And he had some problems understanding why you don't ask people about their wage.

I just amn't sure if I am just too frugal or they are quite spendy.

Is the internship only two weeks and her dad is just going to drop her off every day?

You got it :)

And guys, I don't mind the correction, I just learned something new. For the people who think grammar is important, please note that it can be very important in more formal settings and correcting foreigners is fine. But unless you speak another language as fluent as them don't be a grammar nazi. It just doesn't make your true wonderful self come out as nicely ;).

[BlueHouse]

I was thrilled to see "amn't" in the wild. It's creative, fresh, and makes perfect sense. "Of course you would contract 'am not' into amn't!", I said to myself.

Double for me.  Love the word!  After I saw it, I re-read the entire post and saw (what I thought was) perfect grammar and sentence structure and word use in every other way.  The good grammar was the only tip-off to me that the poster could not possibly have learned English in the U.S. 

Guys, we suck at our own language.  Call it evolution if you want, but we really need to try harder if we want to be understood.  Americans are kind of dumb.  Can someone please dig out that old thread about Grammar Police?  I think Miss Primm started it.

[LeRainDrop]

My family had a Korean student living with them as he completed high school in the US.  He told us how when he first came to the country, he thought Americans were rude, condescending, and racist for casually smiling at him. 

Apparently in South Korea it is not common to smile at strangers.  You could smile at children or the mentally disabled to make them feel comfortable.  So if a passing stranger smiled at you, they were implying they believed you were a bit slow mentally.

It took a while before he realized these people were smiling at everyone, not just him, and it was just a thing Americans did.

Oh wow!  I would be really interested in a culture shock thread, if anyone knows of one that is going on the forums.

I would also be very interested in a thread on this topic.  I'm leaving the US in 3 1/2 weeks to visit Guatemala for 4 weeks, including a family homestay.  Aside from what I would consider respectful guest behavior, I'd love to hear any pointers specific to the local culture.

[COEE]

A coworker and I were talking about meat smokers today.

I asked: "Don't you have one?"
He replied: "No - I'm saving up my Cabella's points so I get a free one"

[Torran]

However when I see people pulling others up on their 'incorrect' use of grammar I just think... uugh why. Why though. Just leave them alone. If you understood what they meant, then they successfully communicated. Job done.

With This Herring was very POLITELY pointing out English conjugation to a poster who is from Belgium. WTH even said "English is a silly language" to make clear that they weren't mocking the OP but pointing out something that might seem logical but is not actually correct. In my experience, people who are not native English speakers would rather be gently corrected than continue to say something incorrectly.

The word "am" doesn't have contractions the way "are" and "is" do.  English is a silly language.

Sure, I meant no harm. I didn't intend my rant at all as a personal attack on With This Herring although I can see it very much looked like that, so I'm sorry for causing any offense.

I get a rage-klaxon going off in my head sometimes when grammar corrections happen. Yeah I am so much fun at parties.

[Fomerly known as something]

Not necessarily heard, but during an interview with a 20 year old community college student who also works seasonally in the lawn/snow business who lives at home. 

Me:  What do you drive
Him:  A leased 2016 F150 truck.

Mental Face-palm

[JordanOfGilead]

... who lives at home. 

I never understood saying this when it is meant that somebody lives with their parents. Like, of course he lives at home. Where else do people live? I live at home too, it just happens to be my home.

[Just Joe]

Aren't alot of people implying a person ought to be working towards being self-sufficient at that age rather than spending wildly in ways that will delay this transition (launch to adulthood)?

[plainjane]

... who lives at home. 

I never understood saying this when it is meant that somebody lives with their parents. Like, of course he lives at home. Where else do people live? I live at home too, it just happens to be my home.

My first two years of university I lived in campus housing.

[talltexan]

Son of an English teacher here...I try to use what I understand to be correct grammar. However, language has two uses: conveying information via the meaning, and conveying social information through the subtext/social signalling of the speech.

Using non-standard constructions, words, or even blatantly falsifying statements can be an important tool of social meaning, i.e. conveying that you are a member of a desirable social group.

I choose to convey that I am a member of the "my mom beat these grammar rules into my head far more than anyone should" group.

[JordanOfGilead]

... who lives at home. 

I never understood saying this when it is meant that somebody lives with their parents. Like, of course he lives at home. Where else do people live? I live at home too, it just happens to be my home.

My first two years of university I lived in campus housing.

Ok, but he goes to community college, so campus housing isn't a thing. Doesn't that mean that wherever he is staying (w/parents, in an apartment, in a rental, or owns a house) would still technically be "home" seeing as it's a permanent residence?

I kind of understand it for students at a 4 year university that stay in temporary housing during the school year, but if you're not in a situation where you can differentiate "school" and "home" then it just seems silly.

Example, a co-worker of mine at my last job was a college graduate that lived with his parents so that he could save money. People would say he "lives at home." My first thought as his peer who, at the time, rented a house was "well no shit, where else does somebody live?"

A more accurate statement for somebody in this situation should be "lives with his/her parents" as opposed to assuming that everybody considers their parents' house to be "home."
If I own a house, but I decide to sell it and move back in with my parents, many people would say I was "moving back home," but wouldn't I just be moving out of one home and into another? It just doesn't make sense to me.

[BabyShark]

... who lives at home. 

I never understood saying this when it is meant that somebody lives with their parents. Like, of course he lives at home. Where else do people live? I live at home too, it just happens to be my home.

My first two years of university I lived in campus housing.

Ok, but he goes to community college, so campus housing isn't a thing. Doesn't that mean that wherever he is staying (w/parents, in an apartment, in a rental, or owns a house) would still technically be "home" seeing as it's a permanent residence?

I kind of understand it for students at a 4 year university that stay in temporary housing during the school year, but if you're not in a situation where you can differentiate "school" and "home" then it just seems silly.

Example, a co-worker of mine at my last job was a college graduate that lived with his parents so that he could save money. People would say he "lives at home." My first thought as his peer who, at the time, rented a house was "well no shit, where else does somebody live?"

A more accurate statement for somebody in this situation should be "lives with his/her parents" as opposed to assuming that everybody considers their parents' house to be "home."
If I own a house, but I decide to sell it and move back in with my parents, many people would say I was "moving back home," but wouldn't I just be moving out of one home and into another? It just doesn't make sense to me.

I think the "moving home" idea comes with an unspoken "childhood" to it. As in, moving back to your first home, which is, traditionally, with your parents.  It's the environment in which you grew up (even though it may not be the same house in which you lived as a child).  When I go back to Buffalo to visit my mom, I often say I'm going "home" to visit, even though I haven't lived there in eight years. 

[mtn]

... who lives at home. 

I never understood saying this when it is meant that somebody lives with their parents. Like, of course he lives at home. Where else do people live? I live at home too, it just happens to be my home.

My first two years of university I lived in campus housing.

Ok, but he goes to community college, so campus housing isn't a thing. Doesn't that mean that wherever he is staying (w/parents, in an apartment, in a rental, or owns a house) would still technically be "home" seeing as it's a permanent residence?

I kind of understand it for students at a 4 year university that stay in temporary housing during the school year, but if you're not in a situation where you can differentiate "school" and "home" then it just seems silly.

Example, a co-worker of mine at my last job was a college graduate that lived with his parents so that he could save money. People would say he "lives at home." My first thought as his peer who, at the time, rented a house was "well no shit, where else does somebody live?"

A more accurate statement for somebody in this situation should be "lives with his/her parents" as opposed to assuming that everybody considers their parents' house to be "home."
If I own a house, but I decide to sell it and move back in with my parents, many people would say I was "moving back home," but wouldn't I just be moving out of one home and into another? It just doesn't make sense to me.

I think the "moving home" idea comes with an unspoken "childhood" to it. As in, moving back to your first home, which is, traditionally, with your parents.  It's the environment in which you grew up (even though it may not be the same house in which you lived as a child).  When I go back to Buffalo to visit my mom, I often say I'm going "home" to visit, even though I haven't lived there in eight years.

My great Aunt never married, was a career woman and extremely successful. She was born and raised in Western Kentucky, and left home at 18 to go become a nurse. Her career took her through college, graduate school, 5 or 6 states. Her last stop in her career was Chicago, where she stayed for the rest of her life--over 50 years, and far longer than she lived anywhere else--she was even in her house for over 40 years.

She still went "home" for the family reunion, Christmas, etc. Even though her parents had been dead since the late 70's, and she lived in the same house in Chicago for over 40 years, for my entire life "home" was in Owensboro.

It is a little different in that she did own two houses there, but one was a townhouse that she used basically as a place to sleep (nothing homey in there really, and multiple family members did live there through the years), and the second she bought for her parents and after their death her niece rented it until it was left to her in the will.

[Just Joe]

I think the "moving home" idea comes with an unspoken "childhood" to it. As in, moving back to your first home, which is, traditionally, with your parents.  It's the environment in which you grew up (even though it may not be the same house in which you lived as a child).  When I go back to Buffalo to visit my mom, I often say I'm going "home" to visit, even though I haven't lived there in eight years.

Years ago after the military I moved back into my parents' home for a month. They treated me like I was 15 again so I was out of there again ASAP. Lots of silent vows to never rely on them for anything like that again. Those vows have served me well over the years.  ;)

Back then their home was barely my home. These days my home is wherever my DW and children live. I would not call moving in with my parents "moving back home". That part of my life is over.

I might call it some sort of punishment though... j/k

[Reynold]

My first two years of university I lived in campus housing.

When I was in university, I was crossing the border from a visit to Canada back into my home country of the U.S..  The border officer didn't like the fact that my car was registered in FL, since it was my dad's and I was using it as a student, but I was claiming I lived in another state (where I was attending grad school full time).  Finally he wanted to know where I was going to live when I graduated.  Since that date was still a good two years away, I looked at him, rather puzzled, and told him it would be wherever I got a job.  I'm not sure why an out-of-state student was such a peculiar situation for him, but fortunately he did finally let me go. 

[Alfred J Quack]

So we got 2 new interns at work today and I finally have a story. The girl got dropped off by her dad who apparently took 2 weeks off to drop her off every day. It would take approx 75 min for her one way to get there, using cheap public transport or a bit less than an hour if she took the train. Counting in real time connections and delays.

The guy though was even more of a charm. He asked me if there were 'smoskes' ordered somewhere at the company. Smoskes is Flemish closest translation I could find is something like the sandwiches from Subway. Normal price 3-4 Euros a piece. Sadly I couldn't help him more than referring him to the HR department (small company) as they order sandwiches before a certain hour there. I had the idea that packing a lunchbox was a very new thing for him. And he had some problems understanding why you don't ask people about their wage.

I just amn't sure if I am just too frugal or they are quite spendy.

Is the internship only two weeks and her dad is just going to drop her off every day?

You got it :)

And guys, I don't mind the correction, I just learned something new. For the people who think grammar is important, please note that it can be very important in more formal settings and correcting foreigners is fine. But unless you speak another language as fluent as them don't be a grammar nazi. It just doesn't make your true wonderful self come out as nicely ;).

Yes, feed the troll! The darkside likes you ;)
(I'm dutch though so I speak about 5 languages in varying degrees of corectness)

[Chris22]

Years ago after the military I moved back into my parents' home for a month. They treated me like I was 15 again so I was out of there again ASAP. Lots of silent vows to never rely on them for anything like that again. Those vows have served me well over the years.  ;)

OTOH, I basically paid for my wife's engagement ring by staying with family during my last short stretch in the military and signing a lease with them where I paid $200/mo rent and received a ~$1k housing allowance from the military (all legal).  I actually paid the $200/mo, and my parents gave it all back to me when I left the military and moved out.  That plus the balance of the $1k/mo I had saved bought the engagement ring once I secured a civilian job and moved out.  But I have a great relationship with my parents. 

[MgoSam]

Years ago after the military I moved back into my parents' home for a month. They treated me like I was 15 again so I was out of there again ASAP. Lots of silent vows to never rely on them for anything like that again. Those vows have served me well over the years.  ;)

OTOH, I basically paid for my wife's engagement ring by staying with family during my last short stretch in the military and signing a lease with them where I paid $200/mo rent and received a ~$1k housing allowance from the military (all legal).  I actually paid the $200/mo, and my parents gave it all back to me when I left the military and moved out.  That plus the balance of the $1k/mo I had saved bought the engagement ring once I secured a civilian job and moved out.  But I have a great relationship with my parents.

That's great! Yeah not all parents are the same. I moved back in with my parents after college to save up money and did save up quite a lot but after a few years it became unbearable. I would be saving a ton of money living at home and my parents would be happier, but I would be absolutely miserable there and so I don't like with them.

[ariapluscat]

My family had a Korean student living with them as he completed high school in the US.  He told us how when he first came to the country, he thought Americans were rude, condescending, and racist for casually smiling at him. 

Apparently in South Korea it is not common to smile at strangers.  You could smile at children or the mentally disabled to make them feel comfortable.  So if a passing stranger smiled at you, they were implying they believed you were a bit slow mentally.

It took a while before he realized these people were smiling at everyone, not just him, and it was just a thing Americans did.

omfg this is great. i want to use this to explain my resting grumpy face

[mushroom]

Re: tips for visiting Guatemala. I spent a month and a half there, including a homestay and volunteering at a clinic.

All that really comes to mind is not throwing toilet paper into the toilet (easily clogged) and trying to not get electrocuted by the shower. If you get carsick easily, avoid the chicken buses and pay up for a minibus shuttle type thing to get to other cities (but do not expect it to pick you up on time).

But seriously, people are very friendly, the food is fantastic, and the country is just gorgeous. Volcanoes everywhere. Definitely visit Tikal and Lake Atitlan if you can.

[ariapluscat]

not quite overheard at work and cannot disclose much detail, but for a work project i'm going through old correspondence with the university i work at.
people who have money to donate to charity can have other strange financial goings on and also seemingly inordinate amounts of time to send corrections on university newsletters and magazines.

also tumblr grammar is it's own thing and i feel like there are internet dialects. i seem to come across as quite rude/informal here but on lj and now tumblr my writing style is just conversational. ╮(︶︿︶)╭

[Fomerly known as something]

I'm sorry my comment about living back with his parents was taken as a criticism of the practice.  I meant to use it to illustrate further what a bad idea it was for the guy to have a newly leased F150 truck.  I did not mean for it to be a criticism for living with family in order to achieve some sort of goal or out of necessity. 

Personally I couldn't live at home again.  My mom has some personality traits that would drive me nuts as an adult living with her.   

[Adventine]

not quite overheard at work and cannot disclose much detail, but for a work project i'm going through old correspondence with the university i work at.
people who have money to donate to charity can have other strange financial goings on and also seemingly inordinate amounts of time to send corrections on university newsletters and magazines.

also tumblr grammar is it's own thing and i feel like there are internet dialects. i seem to come across as quite rude/informal here but on lj and now tumblr my writing style is just conversational. ╮(︶︿︶)╭

Just wanted to say, love your userpic! Although I was always a Rei Ayanami fan, myself. :)

[LennStar]

not quite overheard at work and cannot disclose much detail, but for a work project i'm going through old correspondence with the university i work at.
people who have money to donate to charity can have other strange financial goings on and also seemingly inordinate amounts of time to send corrections on university newsletters and magazines.

also tumblr grammar is it's own thing and i feel like there are internet dialects. i seem to come across as quite rude/informal here but on lj and now tumblr my writing style is just conversational. ╮(︶︿︶)╭

Just wanted to say, love your userpic! Although I was always a Rei Ayanami fan, myself. :)

Me too - and we all know that redhead can be a bit rude, so.... pft!

[Adventine]

not quite overheard at work and cannot disclose much detail, but for a work project i'm going through old correspondence with the university i work at.
people who have money to donate to charity can have other strange financial goings on and also seemingly inordinate amounts of time to send corrections on university newsletters and magazines.

also tumblr grammar is it's own thing and i feel like there are internet dialects. i seem to come across as quite rude/informal here but on lj and now tumblr my writing style is just conversational. ╮(︶︿︶)╭

Just wanted to say, love your userpic! Although I was always a Rei Ayanami fan, myself. :)

Me too - and we all know that redhead can be a bit rude, so.... pft!

Asuka's got an attitude, but damn, is she hot.

[Just Joe]

OTOH, I basically paid for my wife's engagement ring by staying with family during my last short stretch in the military and signing a lease with them where I paid $200/mo rent and received a ~$1k housing allowance from the military (all legal).  I actually paid the $200/mo, and my parents gave it all back to me when I left the military and moved out.  That plus the balance of the $1k/mo I had saved bought the engagement ring once I secured a civilian job and moved out.  But I have a great relationship with my parents.

Yeah - that was a great idea. I was never stationed anywhere near my family. And that was partially intentional. ;)

They were a part of why I joined the military in the first place... ;)

In some ways they were very much helicopter parents before that was a thing. When I returned the same rules I had in MS and HS went back into effect. I think their intentions were good but we had already been domestically incompatible for several years before the military. I made a plan and left again pretty quickly. Had a long time girlfriend at that point but that situation flamed out too within a few months.

[With This Herring]

I walk away for two days, and look what I miss!

*snip*

And guys, I don't mind the correction, I just learned something new. For the people who think grammar is important, please note that it can be very important in more formal settings and correcting foreigners is fine. But unless you speak another language as fluent as them don't be a grammar nazi. It just doesn't make your true wonderful self come out as nicely ;).

I can tell you that I speak a tiny bit of Spanish and know a smattering of words in other languages.  It is obvious your polyglot skills far exceed mine.  :)  And I am endlessly grateful that I do not need to learn English as a second language, for it is full of a million rules that change for each circumstance.

Thanks for the defense, ormaybemidgets.  (You're a fan of a certain large-scale band, perhaps? *grin*)

No offense taken, Torran.

I do try not to correct the grammar of native English speakers or infrequent grammar issues.  It is a terrible habit and very rude.  Once someone knows and is accustomed to speaking with correct grammar, that person can choose for themselves whether or not to use it.  But, if such is not the case, that person has little or no control over others' perceptions. 

But, bringing this back around to Overheard at Work, some experiences that have led me to mention grammar issues to non-native speakers:

• At OldFirm, I had a European coworker who is married to an American man.  She wanted to be able to speak English as correctly as possible, as a significant portion of our job required written communication with clients.  She saw that I was asked to proofread certain things that OldFirm sent out, and so she asked if I would pull her aside when I heard her consistently misusing words or grammar.  I did, and she appreciated it.  Her husband did not provide her the same service, as he thought her mistakes and misunderstandings were "cute."  She found this very frustrating.
• Also at OldFirm, a Chinese coworker got confused with the axiom "It is what it is" and began say "What it is is what it is."  He went to another American coworker for help figuring out which one was correct, but that American coworker began to use the incorrect version instead.

[ariapluscat]

not quite overheard at work and cannot disclose much detail, but for a work project i'm going through old correspondence with the university i work at.
people who have money to donate to charity can have other strange financial goings on and also seemingly inordinate amounts of time to send corrections on university newsletters and magazines.

also tumblr grammar is it's own thing and i feel like there are internet dialects. i seem to come across as quite rude/informal here but on lj and now tumblr my writing style is just conversational. ╮(︶︿︶)╭

Just wanted to say, love your userpic! Although I was always a Rei Ayanami fan, myself. :)

Me too - and we all know that redhead can be a bit rude, so.... pft!

Asuka's got an attitude, but damn, is she hot.

^^this  \(★ω★)/ and she's a stellar fighter

[Just Joe]

Care to define what "\(★ω★)/" means? Genuinely interested, computer challenged.

[Chris22]

Care to define what "\(★ω★)/" means? Genuinely interested, computer challenged.

This ω looks like, ahem, a gentleman's coin purse.

[RyanAtTanagra]

Care to define what "\(★ω★)/" means? Genuinely interested, computer challenged.

Looks like a starry-eyed face

[Inaya]

Care to define what "\(★ω★)/" means? Genuinely interested, computer challenged.

Looks like a starry-eyed face

Waving arms, starry-eyed, kissyface.