Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13252532 times)

MrsPotts

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9050 on: July 08, 2015, 10:48:41 AM »
Here, the nut job has a gun.

True, but then so can you.

An eye for an eye, and soon we will all be blind. I just don't understand this American obsession with defending yourself. I have never had to defend myself against violence or home intrusion and I do not know anyone (even a friend of a friend) who has. Yet y'all seem to be convinced there is an axe murderer round every corner. Sure, criminals can get guns in the UK but most gun crime here is stuff like gang warfare, not guns being turned on strangers. I do not want to live in a world where everyone has a killing machine in their pocket. It's a really sad view of humanity. People are, by and large, law abiding and reasonable. If there is a problem, we have the police. And seriously, unless you have your gun with you all the time, odds are you're going to be in the wrong room when the gun-wielding nut crashes through your front window so won't be able to get it and 'defend' yourself anyway. The only gun-based self-defence I can take seriously is against wild animals, which I know exist in America more than the UK.

Q: Y'all go on about this "inalienable right" to defend yourself. We have the human right to freedom from violence, putting the onus on others to not be violent/the state to protect you, rather than assuming that everyone is out to get you and you need to be prepared for the "evil other". Do any other countries have the right to defend yourself violently in their constitution?

Hi She!

I noticed that you are from the UK.  Is "y'all" RP or Yorkshire?

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9051 on: July 08, 2015, 11:17:42 AM »
The real question is, are these guns orange or black? And are they effective at dispersing dense foam? ;-)

OT, my workplace is generally not egregiously anti-Mustachian, so I don't usually have much fodder to contribute here. We do often have the parade of people running out to buy expensive lunches, though.

What would you consider to be an expensive lunch?

I occasionally go out for lunch (maybe once every 1-2 weeks) and spend <$10, but since joining MMM, I find myself cringing at even having to do that.

Yup, me too :-) I'd say I go out for lunch maybe once every month or two on average.

Judging by the assortment of things they return with, they can't be getting out of there for less than $12-15 a pop. Which isn't too unreasonable, but it's EVERY DAY. That's gotta really add up.

cloudsail

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9052 on: July 08, 2015, 12:39:58 PM »
The real question is, are these guns orange or black? And are they effective at dispersing dense foam? ;-)

OT, my workplace is generally not egregiously anti-Mustachian, so I don't usually have much fodder to contribute here. We do often have the parade of people running out to buy expensive lunches, though.

What would you consider to be an expensive lunch?

I occasionally go out for lunch (maybe once every 1-2 weeks) and spend <$10, but since joining MMM, I find myself cringing at even having to do that.

Yeah, same here, lunches in SF downtown are expensive.  $10 is the bare minimum here.  We get catered lunch once a week, and I work from home a lot so thankfully lunch isn't too big an issue, but I used to eat out about once a week.  Since joining MMM if I'm in the office and there's no catered food, I bring lunch or eat the free snacks.  We have things like bread, peanut butter, cheese, humus, salami, avocados, even hard boiled eggs sometimes, so there's no really no need to buy your lunch.

I don't know if it's just workplace culture differences, but it does seem like most of my co-workers are pretty Mustachian too.  We tell each other about free leftover food.  A lot of people eat the free snacks for lunch like me.  A bunch of the engineers were talking about Trunk Club the other day and all of us were flabbergasted by the high price point and a frequent question was: "Who the heck would pay this price for a t-shirt/pair of jeans/swim trunks/etc.??"

shelivesthedream

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9053 on: July 08, 2015, 12:44:42 PM »
Hi She!

I noticed that you are from the UK.  Is "y'all" RP or Yorkshire?

Ha! What a wonderful question! I'm very RP in real life, and while I think of myself as having no particular accent am often roundly ribbed for being 'posh'.

"Y'all" is not English at all and I have never heard anyone use it in real life, expect Texans on TV. However, I spend enough time online to be aware of many Americanisms. Most are degenerate and reprehensible (JOKE) but there are one or two which are quite useful. I studied several Romance languages at school and always appreciated being able to distinguish between the singular 'you' and the plural 'you', especially on the internet where tone fails can result in a lot of fallout. I therefore took to using "y'all" when I mean "you people generally" as it lessens the chance of an individual poster thinking that I am talking about (and possibly insulting) them personally. In this case I used it to distinguish between "you, the poster I am replying to" and "all of you Americans generally".

Another thing I have picked up is the expression "All hat and no cattle" which I think is just FABULOUS but haven't had a chance to use in real life yet!

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9054 on: July 08, 2015, 01:12:30 PM »
Another thing I have picked up is the expression "All hat and no cattle" which I think is just FABULOUS but haven't had a chance to use in real life yet!
I agree on the fabulosity.  The distaff English version is of course the rather vulgar "all fur coat and no knickers" - which I may have thought once or twice but have never yet uttered in company.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9055 on: July 08, 2015, 01:14:34 PM »
Hi She!

I noticed that you are from the UK.  Is "y'all" RP or Yorkshire?

Ha! What a wonderful question! I'm very RP in real life, and while I think of myself as having no particular accent am often roundly ribbed for being 'posh'.

"Y'all" is not English at all and I have never heard anyone use it in real life, expect Texans on TV. However, I spend enough time online to be aware of many Americanisms. Most are degenerate and reprehensible (JOKE) but there are one or two which are quite useful. I studied several Romance languages at school and always appreciated being able to distinguish between the singular 'you' and the plural 'you', especially on the internet where tone fails can result in a lot of fallout. I therefore took to using "y'all" when I mean "you people generally" as it lessens the chance of an individual poster thinking that I am talking about (and possibly insulting) them personally. In this case I used it to distinguish between "you, the poster I am replying to" and "all of you Americans generally".

Another thing I have picked up is the expression "All hat and no cattle" which I think is just FABULOUS but haven't had a chance to use in real life yet!

Born in Texas, went to school in Boston. Without fail, the first time people from New England or the west coast heard me say "y'all" they would immediately ask if I was from Texas. True story. I didn't know it was so region-specific.

It's not.  I'm from Kentucky, and a lot of conversational contractions are in common use here, including Y'all.  In fact, the Florence, Ky water tower that can be seen from I71 Southbound is painted with a huge "Florence Y'all" even though Florence is an exurb of Cincinnati, Ohio.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9056 on: July 08, 2015, 01:15:09 PM »
"all fur coat and no knickers"

That is not without its appeal, actually.  The visual, not the phrase....

Phenix

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9057 on: July 08, 2015, 01:38:16 PM »
Been slowly making my way through this thread since discovering this forum back in October.  I almost gave up during the orange/black box discussion, but I fought through it and here I am today completely caught up and ready to make my contribution for my first post on the forum!

I'm a federal employee working in a finance office full of employees at the GS-12 level and above.  GS-12 employees in my location start out at $71k, but the employee in this post is making around $81k with step increases over the years.  Her husband probably makes around $40k-$50k.  So, household income over $100k, kids are out of the house, and no kids in college.  They have very little saved for retirement, go out for lunch every day (Panera would be a cheap lunch to them so probably >$20/day), constantly give their kids money (both kids have jobs making enough to support themselves), and she constantly complains about their finances.
-They recently built a $200k house because they deserved it, giving them a longer commute in their full size V8 Chevy Trailblazer that might get 16 MPG on a good day (they do ride together to "save money").
-They can't sell their old house that they purchased when they moved here 20+ years ago.  They owe more on it now than what it cost when they bought it (refinanced more than once to pay off CC debt).  The old house is in a slum lord neighborhood.  Most of the houses on their street have recently sold for half of their asking price.  Since it has been up on the market, they have spent close to $20k fixing the place up instead of just dropping the price down $20k as I suggested.
-Her husband smokes a pack a day, orders multiple beers when they go out to eat in the evenings, and has to have the $200/month cable plan.
-Just the other day she was whining about how her husband wants her to pick up a second job (since she has a desk job that is less labor intensive than his) to help foot the bill of the two mortgages.
-Their cell phone bill is in excess of $300/month because their grown kids wanted new smartphones and they put them on the monthly installment plan.

The list goes on and on.  You can tell her what she needs to do, but all she wants is pity and to hear that everything she is doing is okay.  She can't fathom how my wife and I will be able to make it on just my income once we have kids and how outrageous she thinks it is that I "allow" my wife to be a SAHM when "things" are so expensive.  She seems so shocked when I say it was always my intention for my wife to be a SAHM and "things" aren't expensive for us because we don't buy "things" we don't need.

Phenix

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9058 on: July 08, 2015, 01:48:28 PM »
It's not.  I'm from Kentucky, and a lot of conversational contractions are in common use here, including Y'all.  In fact, the Florence, Ky water tower that can be seen from I71 Southbound is painted with a huge "Florence Y'all" even though Florence is an exurb of Cincinnati, Ohio.

It used to say Florence Mall but was changed for legal reasons.  Y'all seems to be a good substitute.  We always stop at that exit on our way down to the lake.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Y'all_Water_Tower

Jouer

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9059 on: July 08, 2015, 02:05:44 PM »
I love the Florence Y'all water tower. Ever since driving through a couple of summers ago, I can't say "Florence" without adding the "y'all". Even if talking about Florence, Italy.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9060 on: July 08, 2015, 02:07:35 PM »
"all fur coat and no knickers"

I have heard that one before but to my mind they are a little different. "Fur coat and no knickers" refers to someone's social situation - someone who pretends to be upper class but is actually common as muck. Whereas "all hat and no cattle" refers to someone's economic situation - they have the trappings of success but no resources to back it up.

Ashyukun

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9061 on: July 08, 2015, 02:16:26 PM »
It's not.  I'm from Kentucky, and a lot of conversational contractions are in common use here, including Y'all.  In fact, the Florence, Ky water tower that can be seen from I71 Southbound is painted with a huge "Florence Y'all" even though Florence is an exurb of Cincinnati, Ohio.

It used to say Florence Mall but was changed for legal reasons.  Y'all seems to be a good substitute.  We always stop at that exit on our way down to the lake.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Y'all_Water_Tower

Interesting, I didn't know that! I always thought it was just a fun, amusing thing they'd come up with- and it does make it very memorable.

Usually my office is reasonably tame as far as anti-mustachian amusement, but I overheard something amusing today as I was getting ready to head out and look at a potential car to buy to flip- apparently this week is 'Burger Week' here in Lexington where (according to one of my co-workers) "Every place in town that serves them has their burgers at $5". So naturally everybody is going out to all the normally-much-pricier places for lunch every day (granted many do eat out fairly regularly, but there are a number of rather cost-effective places nearby and many do usually bag their lunch) to take advantage of the 'great deals'. I'd commend them on 'saving' money, but there's little doubt that they're more than making it up given side dishes and drinks at the places certainly cost more than at the cheaper places most people normally eat...

zephyr911

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9062 on: July 08, 2015, 02:44:27 PM »
Been slowly making my way through this thread since discovering this forum back in October.  I almost gave up during the orange/black box discussion, but I fought through it and here I am today completely caught up and ready to make my contribution for my first post on the forum!

I'm a federal employee working in a finance office full of employees at the GS-12 level and above.  GS-12 employees in my location start out at $71k, but the employee in this post is making around $81k with step increases over the years.  Her husband probably makes around $40k-$50k.  So, household income over $100k, kids are out of the house, and no kids in college.  They have very little saved for retirement, go out for lunch every day (Panera would be a cheap lunch to them so probably >$20/day), constantly give their kids money (both kids have jobs making enough to support themselves), and she constantly complains about their finances.
-They recently built a $200k house because they deserved it, giving them a longer commute in their full size V8 Chevy Trailblazer that might get 16 MPG on a good day (they do ride together to "save money").
-They can't sell their old house that they purchased when they moved here 20+ years ago.  They owe more on it now than what it cost when they bought it (refinanced more than once to pay off CC debt).  The old house is in a slum lord neighborhood.  Most of the houses on their street have recently sold for half of their asking price.  Since it has been up on the market, they have spent close to $20k fixing the place up instead of just dropping the price down $20k as I suggested.
-Her husband smokes a pack a day, orders multiple beers when they go out to eat in the evenings, and has to have the $200/month cable plan.
-Just the other day she was whining about how her husband wants her to pick up a second job (since she has a desk job that is less labor intensive than his) to help foot the bill of the two mortgages.
-Their cell phone bill is in excess of $300/month because their grown kids wanted new smartphones and they put them on the monthly installment plan.

The list goes on and on.  You can tell her what she needs to do, but all she wants is pity and to hear that everything she is doing is okay.  She can't fathom how my wife and I will be able to make it on just my income once we have kids and how outrageous she thinks it is that I "allow" my wife to be a SAHM when "things" are so expensive.  She seems so shocked when I say it was always my intention for my wife to be a SAHM and "things" aren't expensive for us because we don't buy "things" we don't need.
I tend to be extra unsympathetic about other people's dumb shit when it's people with similar means. I'm a GS-12/4, DW makes about 40k, and I seriously just imagined myself in your CW's face with a bullhorn, endlessly repeating the phrase "WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF?"
Not long ago, we lived in a nearly 200K house, had cable and two car payments, and DW was JOBLESS. And life was STILL easy.
Post-MMM, still swimming in near-embarrasing levels of luxury, SR is ~50% and climbing. For anyone to struggle on this kind of income is pathetic and hilarious.

forummm

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9063 on: July 08, 2015, 03:09:32 PM »
"all fur coat and no knickers"

I have heard that one before but to my mind they are a little different. "Fur coat and no knickers" refers to someone's social situation - someone who pretends to be upper class but is actually common as muck. Whereas "all hat and no cattle" refers to someone's economic situation - they have the trappings of success but no resources to back it up.

I thought "all hat and no cattle" meant all talk and no substance--similar, but more broad.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/all_hat_and_no_cattle

MrsPotts

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9064 on: July 08, 2015, 03:41:38 PM »
Hi She!

I noticed that you are from the UK.  Is "y'all" RP or Yorkshire?

Ha! What a wonderful question! I'm very RP in real life, and while I think of myself as having no particular accent am often roundly ribbed for being 'posh'.

"Y'all" is not English at all and I have never heard anyone use it in real life, expect Texans on TV. However, I spend enough time online to be aware of many Americanisms. Most are degenerate and reprehensible (JOKE) but there are one or two which are quite useful. I studied several Romance languages at school and always appreciated being able to distinguish between the singular 'you' and the plural 'you', especially on the internet where tone fails can result in a lot of fallout. I therefore took to using "y'all" when I mean "you people generally" as it lessens the chance of an individual poster thinking that I am talking about (and possibly insulting) them personally. In this case I used it to distinguish between "you, the poster I am replying to" and "all of you Americans generally".

Another thing I have picked up is the expression "All hat and no cattle" which I think is just FABULOUS but haven't had a chance to use in real life yet!

Aaaaaah....

"Y'all" tends to be restricted to our rural friends from lower latitudes.   Here in the PNW we say "you guys."

I am, at this moment, sitting at SeaTac waiting my flight to Heathrow.  Perhaps I will bump into you there? 

Apples

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9065 on: July 08, 2015, 04:15:45 PM »
"all fur coat and no knickers"

I have heard that one before but to my mind they are a little different. "Fur coat and no knickers" refers to someone's social situation - someone who pretends to be upper class but is actually common as muck. Whereas "all hat and no cattle" refers to someone's economic situation - they have the trappings of success but no resources to back it up.

I thought "all hat and no cattle" meant all talk and no substance--similar, but more broad.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/all_hat_and_no_cattle

As someone who has actually used this phrase in real life (no I don't live in Texas), it's a bit of both.  It's usually that someone is all talk and no substance, but referring to their business or business idea, or grand plans they have for expansion.  Or bragging about their business.  So it's usually tied to their economic status.  I wouldn't say it about someone who is saying they have a lot of friends but don't, for example.

zephyr911

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9066 on: July 08, 2015, 04:44:06 PM »
My favorite CW of the 5% SR and hair-on-fire-debt-emergency status once again came in with a restaurant lunch today... *sigh*
He keeps talking about paying off debt and saving more, and thinks this is part of that... "only $6".
I didn't feel like thawing leftovers so I heated up 79 cents worth of Spaghettios... xD

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9067 on: July 08, 2015, 06:27:32 PM »
As someone who has actually used this phrase in real life (no I don't live in Texas), it's a bit of both.  It's usually that someone is all talk and no substance, but referring to their business or business idea, or grand plans they have for expansion.  Or bragging about their business.  So it's usually tied to their economic status.  I wouldn't say it about someone who is saying they have a lot of friends but don't, for example.

Interesting.  I came across it for the first time online about a year ago (reaction: instant glee and a resolve to use it sometime myself, which I still haven't managed to do other than muttering it to myself and giggling a little).  I hadn't quite gotten the nuances though.  :)

gimp

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9068 on: July 08, 2015, 07:27:33 PM »
Man, if I could get a house here for "nearly 200k", I would have signed yesterday.

Chaplin

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9069 on: July 08, 2015, 07:54:13 PM »
... I studied several Romance languages at school and always appreciated being able to distinguish between the singular 'you' and the plural 'you', especially on the internet where tone fails can result in a lot of fallout. I therefore took to using "y'all" when I mean "you people generally" as it lessens the chance of an individual poster thinking that I am talking about (and possibly insulting) them personally. In this case I used it to distinguish between "you, the poster I am replying to" and "all of you Americans generally".

Careful! Y'all is often singular. Use "all y'all" to be sure.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9070 on: July 08, 2015, 08:00:03 PM »
"Y'all" tends to be restricted to our rural friends from lower latitudes.   Here in the PNW we say "you guys."
LOL, do you think the entire South/Southeast is "rural"?  Atlanta here, and "y'all" is pretty widely used by everyone, include Northern transplants like myself (I grew up outside Boston).  I have friends from Alabama and Tennessee who also use "y'all."  I found this neat map in wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y'all#/media/File:Y%27allMap.jpg

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9071 on: July 08, 2015, 08:30:30 PM »
... I studied several Romance languages at school and always appreciated being able to distinguish between the singular 'you' and the plural 'you', especially on the internet where tone fails can result in a lot of fallout. I therefore took to using "y'all" when I mean "you people generally" as it lessens the chance of an individual poster thinking that I am talking about (and possibly insulting) them personally. In this case I used it to distinguish between "you, the poster I am replying to" and "all of you Americans generally".

Careful! Y'all is often singular. Use "all y'all" to be sure.


Y'all is always plural; "all y'all" is reflexive or emphatic. :-)


Another option, used about as often as y'all in this area, is y'uns. Short for you 'uns, of course.

ETA a husband tells me "y'all" was pretty well universally adopted aboard ship (US Navy) because it fills a practical need.

bludreamin

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9072 on: July 08, 2015, 09:02:53 PM »
"Y'all" tends to be restricted to our rural friends from lower latitudes.   Here in the PNW we say "you guys."
LOL, do you think the entire South/Southeast is "rural"?  Atlanta here, and "y'all" is pretty widely used by everyone, include Northern transplants like myself (I grew up outside Boston).  I have friends from Alabama and Tennessee who also use "y'all."  I found this neat map in wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y'all#/media/File:Y%27allMap.jpg

Or these maps:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2336660/Yall-you-guys-Dialect-maps-showcase-Americas-linguistic-divides.html


hernandz

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9073 on: July 08, 2015, 09:44:50 PM »

I miss the days of "youse," not to be confused with "yutes" 

Today, I have to nominate myself for antimustachian wall of shame:  I'm on vacation this week, so I don't have access to the fax machine at work.  Went to the library today and spent $7.50 to send a fax to NYS Tax Dept.  What the hell was I thinking?  I couldn't wait until Monday? 


 

mtn

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9074 on: July 08, 2015, 10:19:36 PM »

I miss the days of "youse," not to be confused with "yutes" 

Today, I have to nominate myself for antimustachian wall of shame:  I'm on vacation this week, so I don't have access to the fax machine at work.  Went to the library today and spent $7.50 to send a fax to NYS Tax Dept.  What the hell was I thinking?  I couldn't wait until Monday? 


 

You were thinking that if you didn't get it done it would have bothered you for the whole vacation. Worth it.

Now, what the hell are you doing on the internet? GO AWAY

cloudsail

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9075 on: July 08, 2015, 10:41:40 PM »
Man, if I could get a house here for "nearly 200k", I would have signed yesterday.

No kidding, if I sold my current home and bought one for 200k I would have over 250k cash left over.  What a boost that would be to my nest egg.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9076 on: July 08, 2015, 10:44:18 PM »
Husband went out with his colleagues for birthday lunch yesterday (my husband usually packs lunch but the boss shouted him).

One colleague is planning to buy a TV with his tax refund.

Me: What's wrong with this TV?
Husband: He said it's not big enough.
Me: How big is it?
Husband: 40".
(Ours is 32" and was a wedding present six years ago.)

My husband always tell me when his colleagues talk finances because he knows I'm interested (he says nosey).

A couple of them are fairly recently separated, and are learning to navigate shared kids and separate finances for the first time.

Occasionally they mention money being too tight to do this or that, from little things like going to the movies to big things like being a teenage son a car.

I have to try not to be too judgmental when I know this one smokes and that one drew down on his mortgage to buy a third car, because they are really lovely guys, and I feel for them.

It's conversations like that which help get/keep my husband on board, because I know he enjoys the total lack of stress around our finances.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9077 on: July 08, 2015, 10:59:56 PM »
... I studied several Romance languages at school and always appreciated being able to distinguish between the singular 'you' and the plural 'you', especially on the internet where tone fails can result in a lot of fallout. I therefore took to using "y'all" when I mean "you people generally" as it lessens the chance of an individual poster thinking that I am talking about (and possibly insulting) them personally. In this case I used it to distinguish between "you, the poster I am replying to" and "all of you Americans generally".

Careful! Y'all is often singular. Use "all y'all" to be sure.


Y'all is always plural; "all y'all" is reflexive or emphatic. :-)


Another option, used about as often as y'all in this area, is y'uns. Short for you 'uns, of course.

ETA a husband tells me "y'all" was pretty well universally adopted aboard ship (US Navy) because it fills a practical need.

What the heck are yinz talking about?

vern

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9078 on: July 08, 2015, 11:15:57 PM »
... I studied several Romance languages at school and always appreciated being able to distinguish between the singular 'you' and the plural 'you', especially on the internet where tone fails can result in a lot of fallout. I therefore took to using "y'all" when I mean "you people generally" as it lessens the chance of an individual poster thinking that I am talking about (and possibly insulting) them personally. In this case I used it to distinguish between "you, the poster I am replying to" and "all of you Americans generally".

Careful! Y'all is often singular. Use "all y'all" to be sure.


Y'all is always plural; "all y'all" is reflexive or emphatic. :-)


Another option, used about as often as y'all in this area, is y'uns. Short for you 'uns, of course.

ETA a husband tells me "y'all" was pretty well universally adopted aboard ship (US Navy) because it fills a practical need.

What the heck are yinz talking about?

There's a Pittsburgher in the house!

The Chinese also have a word for y'all...ni men.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9079 on: July 09, 2015, 12:24:00 AM »

Wasn't the Rabbit from Volkswagen, later to become the Golf?


I know about that, I was refering about the "Dodge Camaro" that never existed neither (mixed model and manufacturer)

Sorry, my bad! Guess I did not go back quite far enough to find the proper context to reply to! ^^;

I am having interesting thoughts trying to picture what a Honda Rabbit would be like. On the other hand, I can't really picture how a Dodge Camaro would be different. (You know, from a... uh...  Ford(?) Camaro... ;) Thoughts?
« Last Edit: July 09, 2015, 02:16:57 AM by JamesAt15 »

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9080 on: July 09, 2015, 08:00:21 AM »
Man, if I could get a house here for "nearly 200k", I would have signed yesterday.

No kidding, if I sold my current home and bought one for 200k I would have over 250k cash left over.  What a boost that would be to my nest egg.
Man, if I could get a house here for "nearly 200k", I would have signed yesterday.
I realize we're fortunate smart to have such LCOL, but the relative affordability wasn't so much the point as noting all the parallels between my/DW's situation and the poor unfortunate spendypants couple who are going broke while we shovel cash into buckets.

I'm still stuck on the image of me with the bullhorn in the CW's face... WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF? WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF? WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF? WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF?

Hehehe

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9081 on: July 09, 2015, 08:29:51 AM »
Man, if I could get a house here for "nearly 200k", I would have signed yesterday.

No kidding, if I sold my current home and bought one for 200k I would have over 250k cash left over.  What a boost that would be to my nest egg.
Man, if I could get a house here for "nearly 200k", I would have signed yesterday.
I realize we're fortunate smart to have such LCOL, but the relative affordability wasn't so much the point as noting all the parallels between my/DW's situation and the poor unfortunate spendypants couple who are going broke while we shovel cash into buckets.

I'm still stuck on the image of me with the bullhorn in the CW's face... WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF? WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF? WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF? WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF?

Hehehe

I'm buying a house, closing in a month, and it's for nearly $200k and I'm worried about it. I can afford it and could pay cash, but this is my first property and the single biggest obligation I've taken upon myself.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9082 on: July 09, 2015, 08:31:21 AM »
CW: Only another 30 more years to go before retirement
ME: At our new salary (just over $70,000) you should be able to retire easily in 15 years
CW: I don't see how ... I have student debt and a few other debts ...(totalling under $100,000) AND we are saving for a down payment on a house and the wedding
ME: Weddings don't cost much ...
CW: What??? The lowest I can find for hall rental and dinner is going to be about $30,000
ME: WHAT??????? ARE YOU CRAZY????
CW: That is what it costs these days ...
ME: (Muttering to myself as I leave the room to make myself a coffee - with all the fixings I brought from home) FACE PUNCH TIME!!!!

Later with same CW ... (after I calmed down lol...)

ME: So what does the $30,000 include?
CW: Hall, Food, Tables, matching tablecloths, WEDDING PLANNER ...
ME: WEdding planner?
CW: Yeah it makes it so much easier to have one ...
ME: Of course .... OMG

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9083 on: July 09, 2015, 08:33:47 AM »
I'm buying a house, closing in a month, and it's for nearly $200k and I'm worried about it. I can afford it and could pay cash, but this is my first property and the single biggest obligation I've taken upon myself.
Why are you worried? You should be excited! I'm excited for you! Assuming you chose wisely, as long as you take care of it, it'll take care of you too.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9084 on: July 09, 2015, 08:54:58 AM »
I'm buying a house, closing in a month, and it's for nearly $200k and I'm worried about it. I can afford it and could pay cash, but this is my first property and the single biggest obligation I've taken upon myself.
Why are you worried? You should be excited! I'm excited for you! Assuming you chose wisely, as long as you take care of it, it'll take care of you too.

I'm excited, but more just thinking of everything that needs to be done beforehand. This is my first purchase, and I can afford it on my own, but am looking for two roommates to move in with.

Yesterday I had my home inspection and the guy was very thorough but could only find a few minor repairs needed. While there I met a bunch of my neighbors in my association, it's a tiny association of 6 people (2 of which are selling their townhouses, including the one that I'm purchasing) and I met 3 of the remaining 4. All seemed very nice and excited to have a new neighbor.

The townouses were built in 1987, so are 28 years old. The 3 neighbors I met have all been living there for 20+ years, which is a very good sign to me.

I'm more worried because this is the single largest commitment I've ever made. I'm hoping that within a few months I can start looking for a house as a purely rental investment, but right now I'm nervous.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9085 on: July 09, 2015, 09:04:38 AM »
I did exactly the same thing with my previous house. It was ~180 and I could have probably bought up to 250 at the time, but it was all I needed and then some. I started with just one roomie at $500 but later got a second, which pretty much covered the mortgage. Living for the price of utilities was pretty sweet... shame I had to get married and FUBAR the whole scenario! ;)

She doesn't share space well and that place was far bigger than we needed, so we rented it out and downsized. It's paying for itself now.

Don't fret. You're doing an awesome thing and it sounds like a good pick.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9086 on: July 09, 2015, 09:40:00 AM »
Posthumane, then I'll posit this question:
Ok. Suppose you smoke, and I'm a hiring manager. It's ok not for me to hire you solely because you smoke? (Also suppose in this situation that being healthy has nothing to do with the company brand or image - ie, this company is not, say, Whole Foods.)
Or suppose you're an employee in my company and I had no reservations about hiring you as an employee despite the fact that you smoke. But I pass over you for a promotion solely because you smoke.
Does that seem fair? I'm not asking whether it's legal, or whether it happens. I'm just asking strictly from an ethical standpoint, does that seem fair to you?
(And of course, it doesn't have to be smoking - imagine replacing smoking with any health related condition or issue)

If it does, then I doubt we'll ever change each others minds.
While I think it depends a lot on the individual situation, I would say that in some cases yes it is fair. There are a number of factors related in selecting a candidate for a job, and not all of them have to do with the performance of the job itself. For small organization especially, personality fit can have a much more pronounced effect on the performance of the unit than the performance of the individual. So, for example, if you're hiring someone to do basic clerical work such as filing and taking dictation (because my hypothetical takes place in the 30's for some reason) then you may end up choosing someone whose personality fits in with the environment but may be second best at their job over someone who excels at the task but you can't get along with. Smoking (or other health/fitness related issues) go along with this. If I'm hiring someone to work closely with me on developing business plans for a start up, their outlook on things like smoking and fitness would have an impact on weather I hired them or not as they are somewhat indicative of how we would get along. In many ways an employment contract is similar to a relationship.

I think it's ethical.  Boss runs the business so he can hire who he likes.  It's fair for him not to hire someone he doesn't like and maybe he doesn't like smokers.  Barring protected classes of course.
I guess I'm contradicting myself here - I do have another question for you.
Replace smoking with practicing Christianity. Or Islam. Or being female. Or being black.
These are all protected classes. I would assume that if I had replaced smoking with any such things, you would have agreed it's not ethical.

So why is smoking different? Dragoncar, you say it's ethical for a boss to hire who he or she likes, and the fact that the boss doesn't like smokers makes it ok not to hire someone simply because they smoke. But you also say barring protected classes. Suppose smokers became a protected class, is it now ethical? Why does it have to be a protected class for it to not be ethical to discriminate against?

We visited a dentist ONCE that as part of his treatment had TV monitors mounted in front of the chair (on the chair) making sure you got a big dose of his favorite televangelist. Ahhh - no thanks.

We love our current dentist. Have seen him for years. Very efficient. Unfortunately he has bad breath. ;) I can endure the short period I deal with him after the technicians are done with me.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9087 on: July 09, 2015, 09:51:11 AM »
Just overheard a co-worker who's fiance just bought a $1.4M house and plans to demolish it to build their own.  I know what range of pay she makes and its less than mine.  Im stressing about turning my mortgage into a 180k with a construction loan.

So basically they paid $1.4M plus demolition costs for a BUILDING LOT.

Someone did that near my parents' place. Bought up a nice house on a nice lot and rather than making repairs and improvements, they just knocked the place down and built something totally different. Note that vacant lots were available I believe.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9088 on: July 09, 2015, 10:07:59 AM »
My boss, who owns two smallish startup companies owns the following:
A condo in downtown Boston (Rent is roughly 3000 a month)
An apartment outside of Grenwhich, CT (Where rich people go to brag about how rich they are).
A Porsche GT6
A Bentley
An Audi S8 (his "daily")
Monogrammed shirts (who even does that anymore?)

While working 80+ hours a week and sleeping 4 hours a night...
I am incredibly NOT-Jealous

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9089 on: July 09, 2015, 10:11:15 AM »
My boss, who owns two smallish startup companies owns the following:
A condo in downtown Boston (Rent is roughly 3000 a month)
An apartment outside of Grenwhich, CT (Where rich people go to brag about how rich they are).
A Porsche GT6
A Bentley
An Audi S8 (his "daily")
Monogrammed shirts (who even does that anymore?)

While working 80+ hours a week and sleeping 4 hours a night...
I am incredibly NOT-Jealous
Sounds miserable. Classic case where the things you own end up owning you.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9090 on: July 09, 2015, 10:15:22 AM »
Yeah, your manhood depends on owning (or being in debt for) a couple of tons of metal that were manufactured in a factory and that anyone can buy, including wimps and females. But a couple of tons manufactured in a different shape (Prius) is wussy. And manhood is also something that you have to insure, and you can lose it completely in a car accident. Gosh, that manliness is delicate, just like testicles.

And sometimes that big lump of American pickup truck badass is actually built in another country like Mexico or Canada. ;)

I once worked on a couple of industrial projects for Harley-Davidson at my employer. Several significant parts of that American symbol of 'Murica were made in Italy, Taiwan, etc. Nice bike no doubt but I didn't want to hear any more grief about my older used Honda that I paid nearly nothing for and rode year 'round (our second family vehicle during that period).

Actually today - let them point and make fun at those "non-American" rice burners while I chuckle about their non-American-but-"American" bikes.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9091 on: July 09, 2015, 10:17:41 AM »
Just overheard a co-worker who's fiance just bought a $1.4M house and plans to demolish it to build their own.  I know what range of pay she makes and its less than mine.  Im stressing about turning my mortgage into a 180k with a construction loan.

So basically they paid $1.4M plus demolition costs for a BUILDING LOT.

Someone did that near my parents' place. Bought up a nice house on a nice lot and rather than making repairs and improvements, they just knocked the place down and built something totally different. Note that vacant lots were available I believe.

Ever seen Bad Boys 2? I heard that the house that was destroyed in it was offered up. Someone bought a mansion and wanted to tear it down and so got some money and the demolition costs covered by the studio as they blew it up for the movie. Pretty sweet deal. Now, buying a house like that on the other hand....

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9092 on: July 09, 2015, 10:37:24 AM »
My wife's birthday was about a month ago, and someone (probably one of her students' parents) gave her a $15 Sephora gift card. She'd never even been in a Sephora store before, but since she needed new eyeliner decided we'd make a rare trek to the mall so she could use the gift card. And promptly discovered that almost NOTHING in that store is under $15. We spent like 15-20 minutes in the store as she looked around for ANYTHING that she had a use for that was under the value of the gift card (or at least near it), spending the entire time voicing her disbelief at why anyone would spend $40+ on eyeliner when she could get essentially the same thing at the grocery store for $5.

I'd give away that gift card before I'd use it if I wasn't absolutely thrilled with what I was buying. Let someone else endure the cost of using it. ;)

Gift giving and receiving has changed for us so much over the past few years as we've disconnected from consumerism. Used to put so much value on a gift we gave or received that we couldn't bear to get rid of a thing. Where does a person store all the gifts accumulated over a few years?

Now if I don't like the thing I'll still be so very grateful for the gift (grateful for the thought) but I won't hesitate to give it away to someone else. I encourage folks to just skip the gift.

Honestly I value someone's time and companionship more than their stuff. Hey, let's cookout some hamburgers and play a board game or watch a movie. Much better than the thingamabob picked up at the mall. i find that the mall has very little these days that I want to own. There are nice things there but I don't want to own them - or them to own me. ;)

Very few average folk seem to understand this. It is a very delicate topic. Reject the gift and they assume you are rejecting them or worse, their style.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9093 on: July 09, 2015, 10:47:46 AM »
I nearly choked on my lunch (leftovers) today as my newest, young CW sat down and happily exclaimed that she'd finally broken down and bought a new phone.  She's going from an iPhone 4S to an iPhone 6.  Then she explained that to keep her "unlimited data and texting" that she's had with her provider (not AT&T), she wasn't able to upgrade her phone, she had to buy the new phone outright - for $800!  Holy mother of pearl!  $800 for a new phone when her old phone worked fine, it was just getting older?  And shes's excited?  Wow...

We just did this - for the second time, for my wife. The iPhone 4s is nearing the end of life meaning none of the software upgrades will work with it starting later this year. Personally we would have run the phone 'til it couldn't do anything - but it died. Bad motherboard. Replacement motherboard that I could install myself would be roughly $100. Will resell the old phone for parts.

So we bought an unlocked, new iPhone 6 from Apple directly for $675. Don't know why your CW paid $800.

Pair the phone with Cricket and the monthly service is $35. Compare that to one of the main carriers with the phone cost built in and we're ahead in 6-7 months I think. It was 6-7 months last time too I think. DW had the old phone for about 3 years. We had Virgin Mobile but due to marketing plans, we could only get the iPhone 5 through them. Their loss. So we switched to Cricket.

This is DW's one lux item. She doesn't shop, doesn't spend, etc. She makes good use of it. Wish she would be happy with a phone like mine ($10 per month, $30 new outright, more or less a calculator that makes phone calls) - but she loves her phone and I don't mind.

We're saving $$$ left and right and driving elderly 17 year old $1500 cars, carpooling every day, etc.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9094 on: July 09, 2015, 10:48:46 AM »
My wife's birthday was about a month ago, and someone (probably one of her students' parents) gave her a $15 Sephora gift card. She'd never even been in a Sephora store before, but since she needed new eyeliner decided we'd make a rare trek to the mall so she could use the gift card. And promptly discovered that almost NOTHING in that store is under $15. We spent like 15-20 minutes in the store as she looked around for ANYTHING that she had a use for that was under the value of the gift card (or at least near it), spending the entire time voicing her disbelief at why anyone would spend $40+ on eyeliner when she could get essentially the same thing at the grocery store for $5.

I'd give away that gift card before I'd use it if I wasn't absolutely thrilled with what I was buying. Let someone else endure the cost of using it. ;)

Gift giving and receiving has changed for us so much over the past few years as we've disconnected from consumerism. Used to put so much value on a gift we gave or received that we couldn't bear to get rid of a thing. Where does a person store all the gifts accumulated over a few years?

Now if I don't like the thing I'll still be so very grateful for the gift (grateful for the thought) but I won't hesitate to give it away to someone else. I encourage folks to just skip the gift.

Honestly I value someone's time and companionship more than their stuff. Hey, let's cookout some hamburgers and play a board game or watch a movie. Much better than the thingamabob picked up at the mall. i find that the mall has very little these days that I want to own. There are nice things there but I don't want to own them - or them to own me. ;)

Very few average folk seem to understand this. It is a very delicate topic. Reject the gift and they assume you are rejecting them or worse, their style.

There are options for reselling them online. Might not get the full value amount, but it's better than nothing.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9095 on: July 09, 2015, 10:49:31 AM »
My wife's birthday was about a month ago, and someone (probably one of her students' parents) gave her a $15 Sephora gift card. She'd never even been in a Sephora store before, but since she needed new eyeliner decided we'd make a rare trek to the mall so she could use the gift card. And promptly discovered that almost NOTHING in that store is under $15. We spent like 15-20 minutes in the store as she looked around for ANYTHING that she had a use for that was under the value of the gift card (or at least near it), spending the entire time voicing her disbelief at why anyone would spend $40+ on eyeliner when she could get essentially the same thing at the grocery store for $5.

I'd give away that gift card before I'd use it if I wasn't absolutely thrilled with what I was buying. Let someone else endure the cost of using it. ;)

Gift giving and receiving has changed for us so much over the past few years as we've disconnected from consumerism. Used to put so much value on a gift we gave or received that we couldn't bear to get rid of a thing. Where does a person store all the gifts accumulated over a few years?

Now if I don't like the thing I'll still be so very grateful for the gift (grateful for the thought) but I won't hesitate to give it away to someone else. I encourage folks to just skip the gift.

Honestly I value someone's time and companionship more than their stuff. Hey, let's cookout some hamburgers and play a board game or watch a movie. Much better than the thingamabob picked up at the mall. i find that the mall has very little these days that I want to own. There are nice things there but I don't want to own them - or them to own me. ;)

Very few average folk seem to understand this. It is a very delicate topic. Reject the gift and they assume you are rejecting them or worse, their style.

I told SIL that, rather than buy me something just so that I have a gift under the tree this year, I'd prefer she post her financial case on MMM forum and receive wisdom from this fine crew.   She msg'd "LOL."  I reiterated I was serious. 

Incredibly, she tried. (yeah!) But she didn't know where MMM lived, so she was blocked from creating an account.  (doh!)  Then she gave up :(.   I need to follow up with her on that.

Oh, but this is overheard at work... must ... not... add ... froth.  How's this: Office workers of Reddit, who is "that guy" and what makes him "that guy?"   
« Last Edit: July 09, 2015, 10:52:28 AM by Malaysia41 »

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9096 on: July 09, 2015, 10:51:36 AM »
I have just that - pale, thin blonde eyelashes that are the same colour as my skin.

That's me, too. If I don't wear mascara and draw in my eyebrows, people constantly tell me I look sick, tired, etc. And it's not just because they're used to seeing me with mascara on - before I started using a little makeup, people always said I looked sick.

It would be hypocritical of me to complain about this, though, as I LURVE dark eyebrows and dark, long eyelashes on men. Men with my colouring are not attractive to me at all.

This is apparently the era (here where I live) of raccoon makeup. Heavy eye make in other words. Anything less and a girl would probably get dinged as odd.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9097 on: July 09, 2015, 10:52:13 AM »
My wife's birthday was about a month ago, and someone (probably one of her students' parents) gave her a $15 Sephora gift card. She'd never even been in a Sephora store before, but since she needed new eyeliner decided we'd make a rare trek to the mall so she could use the gift card. And promptly discovered that almost NOTHING in that store is under $15. We spent like 15-20 minutes in the store as she looked around for ANYTHING that she had a use for that was under the value of the gift card (or at least near it), spending the entire time voicing her disbelief at why anyone would spend $40+ on eyeliner when she could get essentially the same thing at the grocery store for $5.

I'd give away that gift card before I'd use it if I wasn't absolutely thrilled with what I was buying. Let someone else endure the cost of using it. ;)
There are sites online that you can sell the gift card for some % of the value.  I regularly sell gift cards that I don't want.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9098 on: July 09, 2015, 11:23:42 AM »
Yeah, your manhood depends on owning (or being in debt for) a couple of tons of metal that were manufactured in a factory and that anyone can buy, including wimps and females. But a couple of tons manufactured in a different shape (Prius) is wussy. And manhood is also something that you have to insure, and you can lose it completely in a car accident. Gosh, that manliness is delicate, just like testicles.

And sometimes that big lump of American pickup truck badass is actually built in another country like Mexico or Canada. ;)

I once worked on a couple of industrial projects for Harley-Davidson at my employer. Several significant parts of that American symbol of 'Murica were made in Italy, Taiwan, etc. Nice bike no doubt but I didn't want to hear any more grief about my older used Honda that I paid nearly nothing for and rode year 'round (our second family vehicle during that period).

Actually today - let them point and make fun at those "non-American" rice burners while I chuckle about their non-American-but-"American" bikes.

People also often ignore the fact that those foreign car companies "stealing our jobs" in fact have factories in the US and employ American workers. I owned a Subaru with a sticker saying it was made in Indiana. I live about 20 miles from a pretty big (from the look of it) Toyota factory. If Toyota went out of business tomorrow, those (American) people working at that factory would all be out of a job.

To the masculinity thing: It's actually really ironic to me personally because I associate big trucks more with women than men anyway. I worked at a place with a drive-thru for about 2 years and a vast majority of the big trucks that came through were being driven by women and that formed the association in my mind.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #9099 on: July 09, 2015, 11:38:05 AM »
Another day, another debt-laden CW excited about "only" spending $6 on lunch... or as I like to call it, $20K more than I will over the next decade, after market returns.