Author Topic: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?  (Read 173996 times)

dude

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #150 on: March 21, 2019, 07:15:58 AM »
To give the big Middle Finger to The Man.

Metalcat

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #151 on: March 21, 2019, 07:16:58 AM »
The office coffee always tastes burnt, even if I make it fresh and even after we bought a new machine.  How?

Does it have a warmer pan you can't turn off? Or that always seems to be left on so that when the pot is empty the last bit crusts to the bottom and it gets all smokey?

Two jobs ago, we had the same problem. But it was the coffee, not the coffee maker. A fresh batch in a freshly-cleaned pot tasted just as burnt as a pot that had been sitting for three hours. Strangely, the coffee was Maxwell House - which I usually find inoffensive, if not particularly appealing - but apparently this was a special blend of over-roasted beans specially priced for the discriminating, cost-conscious megacorp.

Oh! I know exactly the coffee you are talking about!
It's super oily too, it tastes like burnt microwave popcorn.
OMG it's disgusting.

Mississippi Mudstache

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #152 on: March 21, 2019, 07:39:32 AM »
The office coffee always tastes burnt, even if I make it fresh and even after we bought a new machine.  How?

Does it have a warmer pan you can't turn off? Or that always seems to be left on so that when the pot is empty the last bit crusts to the bottom and it gets all smokey?

Two jobs ago, we had the same problem. But it was the coffee, not the coffee maker. A fresh batch in a freshly-cleaned pot tasted just as burnt as a pot that had been sitting for three hours. Strangely, the coffee was Maxwell House - which I usually find inoffensive, if not particularly appealing - but apparently this was a special blend of over-roasted beans specially priced for the discriminating, cost-conscious megacorp.

Oh! I know exactly the coffee you are talking about!
It's super oily too, it tastes like burnt microwave popcorn.
OMG it's disgusting.

Yes - burnt popcorn is a good descriptor. Godawful stuff. And I drank gallons of it.

Philociraptor

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #153 on: March 21, 2019, 07:43:31 AM »
The office coffee always tastes burnt, even if I make it fresh and even after we bought a new machine.  How?

Does it have a warmer pan you can't turn off? Or that always seems to be left on so that when the pot is empty the last bit crusts to the bottom and it gets all smokey?

Two jobs ago, we had the same problem. But it was the coffee, not the coffee maker. A fresh batch in a freshly-cleaned pot tasted just as burnt as a pot that had been sitting for three hours. Strangely, the coffee was Maxwell House - which I usually find inoffensive, if not particularly appealing - but apparently this was a special blend of over-roasted beans specially priced for the discriminating, cost-conscious megacorp.

Oh! I know exactly the coffee you are talking about!
It's super oily too, it tastes like burnt microwave popcorn.
OMG it's disgusting.

Yes - burnt popcorn is a good descriptor. Godawful stuff. And I drank gallons of it.
I found that adding a pinch of salt and a bit of water fixed the bitterness at least.

Mississippi Mudstache

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #154 on: March 21, 2019, 07:50:37 AM »
The office coffee always tastes burnt, even if I make it fresh and even after we bought a new machine.  How?

Does it have a warmer pan you can't turn off? Or that always seems to be left on so that when the pot is empty the last bit crusts to the bottom and it gets all smokey?

Two jobs ago, we had the same problem. But it was the coffee, not the coffee maker. A fresh batch in a freshly-cleaned pot tasted just as burnt as a pot that had been sitting for three hours. Strangely, the coffee was Maxwell House - which I usually find inoffensive, if not particularly appealing - but apparently this was a special blend of over-roasted beans specially priced for the discriminating, cost-conscious megacorp.

Oh! I know exactly the coffee you are talking about!
It's super oily too, it tastes like burnt microwave popcorn.
OMG it's disgusting.

Yes - burnt popcorn is a good descriptor. Godawful stuff. And I drank gallons of it.
I found that adding a pinch of salt and a bit of water fixed the bitterness at least.

Thanks for the tip - I hope I never have to use it. Current employer has better coffee than what we buy at home :)
« Last Edit: March 21, 2019, 08:39:42 AM by Mississippi Mudstache »

sol

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #155 on: March 21, 2019, 08:37:03 AM »
Oh! I know exactly the coffee you are talking about!

Ya'll should be happy that your employer provides coffee, even if it's bad.  I was a federal employee, and free coffee was explicitly banned as part of the "waste, fraud, and abuse" campaign.  Apparently it was considered illegal "extra" compensation for all of those "overpaid" federal workers.

Amazing how we can bitch about free stuff, right?  I think that's a sign that the coffee itself isn't really the problem, and that people who are unhappy in their jobs will complain about anything.

Mississippi Mudstache

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #156 on: March 21, 2019, 08:48:56 AM »
Oh! I know exactly the coffee you are talking about!

Ya'll should be happy that your employer provides coffee, even if it's bad.  I was a federal employee, and free coffee was explicitly banned as part of the "waste, fraud, and abuse" campaign.  Apparently it was considered illegal "extra" compensation for all of those "overpaid" federal workers.

Amazing how we can bitch about free stuff, right?  I think that's a sign that the coffee itself isn't really the problem, and that people who are unhappy in their jobs will complain about anything.

Yep. My job with the bad coffee had all sorts of perks that would make it theoretically a great job. A vehicle that I got to drive for personal and work use; freedom to eat lunch at home with my wife and kids most of the time; super-cheap health coverage. But the toxic nature of the management was so bad that I couldn't get out fast enough. Our region manager died a month before I left, and I was severely conflicted by the elation I felt at the death of another human being...But he was a wretched person who lived to make everyone under him as miserable as he was.

HMman

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #157 on: March 21, 2019, 09:03:56 AM »
Oh! I know exactly the coffee you are talking about!

Ya'll should be happy that your employer provides coffee, even if it's bad.  I was a federal employee, and free coffee was explicitly banned as part of the "waste, fraud, and abuse" campaign.  Apparently it was considered illegal "extra" compensation for all of those "overpaid" federal workers.

Hear hear. I work for the Canadian federal government, and *any* non-work-essential perks aren't allowed to be free. We have to pay if we want burnt coffee.

I've given it some thought, and I can't think of any petty reasons for wanting FIRE - all of mine seem pretty reasonable to me (freedom of time, pursuing work that's interesting but low/non paying, etc.). Keep the pettiness coming!

Tris Prior

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #158 on: March 21, 2019, 09:52:34 AM »
A couple more:

Not having to deal with the endless cycle of "When can you have this done?" "Well, that depends - when will I receive the info I need to work on it, and what's the scope?" "Uhhhh.... dunno. BUT WHEN CAN YOU HAVE IT DONE?"

Never again having to listen to all the goddamned breakroom discussions about people's Whole30/how they shouldn't eat the cake in the breakroom but are going to be soooo bad anyway/that one guy going on and on about his portion control tactics and how he eats 1 piece of fruit for breakfast and is then stuffed all day, when I am just trying to get a damn cup of coffee in peace. I am so sick of hearing about people's diets, I could vomit.



RyanAtTanagra

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #159 on: March 21, 2019, 09:55:46 AM »
To prove wrong all the people that said it couldn't be done.

Mississippi Mudstache

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #160 on: March 21, 2019, 10:08:06 AM »
I am so sick of hearing about people's diets, I could vomit.

Sounds like some great dieting advice.

Luck12

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #161 on: March 21, 2019, 10:36:28 AM »
Another sort of petty thing.  I have to interview people today and then there's the interviews debrief meeting after (I pretty much just shooting the shit with the candidates b/c my last day is next week, then FIRED!) Therefore, I can't watch all these NCAA games.   

TexasRunner

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #162 on: March 21, 2019, 10:41:46 AM »
Another sort of petty thing.  I have to interview people today and then there's the interviews debrief meeting after (I pretty much just shooting the shit with the candidates b/c my last day is next week, then FIRED!) Therefore, I can't watch all these NCAA games.   

Tell them that you're retiring early and they could too....  It would have been nice if I had heard that at 22.  (Assuming that the interviewees are straight-out-of-college).

NomadMonad

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #163 on: March 21, 2019, 10:56:52 AM »
I really don't like the aesthetic that my industry strives for.  (I'm a software engineer.)

Everything has to be brightly colored with cutesy little logos and cutesy little names like "herringLy" or "toadstool.JS" or something.  And it all has to be built in an open, wall-less "collaboration space", so that we can be "Agile" or "Lean" or whatever the trendiest synonym for "small and fast" is.

I actually liked the image of software companies I grew up with in the late 90s - they looked like serious professionals creating reliable, proven tools.  Whether that reflected reality, I'm not sure, but at least they looked the part.

Nowadays even decades-old billion-dollar multinational corporations are trying to look like week-old startups running out of someone's garage.

Mississippi Mudstache

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #164 on: March 21, 2019, 11:12:48 AM »
I really don't like the aesthetic that my industry strives for.  (I'm a software engineer.)

Everything has to be brightly colored with cutesy little logos and cutesy little names like "herringLy" or "toadstool.JS" or something.  And it all has to be built in an open, wall-less "collaboration space", so that we can be "Agile" or "Lean" or whatever the trendiest synonym for "small and fast" is.

I actually liked the image of software companies I grew up with in the late 90s - they looked like serious professionals creating reliable, proven tools.  Whether that reflected reality, I'm not sure, but at least they looked the part.

Nowadays even decades-old billion-dollar multinational corporations are trying to look like week-old startups running out of someone's garage.

I hope the trend of naming shit that ends in "-ly" dies a quick but painful death.

Steeze

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #165 on: March 21, 2019, 12:03:12 PM »
Oh! I know exactly the coffee you are talking about!

Ya'll should be happy that your employer provides coffee, even if it's bad.  I was a federal employee, and free coffee was explicitly banned as part of the "waste, fraud, and abuse" campaign.  Apparently it was considered illegal "extra" compensation for all of those "overpaid" federal workers.

Amazing how we can bitch about free stuff, right?  I think that's a sign that the coffee itself isn't really the problem, and that people who are unhappy in their jobs will complain about anything.

After your previous comment about considering what we would miss about work I thought of this exact thing. I will miss the free coffee that is ready at the press of a button. FWIW half the office chooses to buy fancy ice coffee for $4+ instead of the good free stuff. I will also miss the unlimited use of a quality scanner, printer, plotter and paper shredder. My workstation is also very fast and has expensive software on it which is nice. ... really though most of those things are not needed unless I am consulting or something, so no real point in owning them.

Mississippi Mudstache

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #166 on: March 21, 2019, 12:09:31 PM »
Oh! I know exactly the coffee you are talking about!

Ya'll should be happy that your employer provides coffee, even if it's bad.  I was a federal employee, and free coffee was explicitly banned as part of the "waste, fraud, and abuse" campaign.  Apparently it was considered illegal "extra" compensation for all of those "overpaid" federal workers.

Amazing how we can bitch about free stuff, right?  I think that's a sign that the coffee itself isn't really the problem, and that people who are unhappy in their jobs will complain about anything.

After your previous comment about considering what we would miss about work I thought of this exact thing. I will miss the free coffee that is ready at the press of a button. FWIW half the office chooses to buy fancy ice coffee for $4+ instead of the good free stuff.

Yeah, this one blows my mind. We have free, expensive coffee at our office, yet one of my co-workers shows up every morning with a cup from Dunkin Donuts or the local gas station. I don't get it.

Arbitrage

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #167 on: March 21, 2019, 12:27:09 PM »
Status reports.  Status meetings.  Roll up the status into another meeting, with another presentation.  More status.  I despise having to type up and meet on this crap just to justify the existence of several layers of management. 

FreeBear

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #168 on: March 21, 2019, 12:34:49 PM »
Awesome thread! 

I FIRE'd 4 years ago.  I'm glad to no longer get "invited" to the annual holiday party.  I also resented being stuck in the office with perfect sunny and 70F weather outside.  It's only really nice at most 3-4 months around here, and I'd climb the walls when stuck at w*rk in good weather.

FreeBear

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #169 on: March 21, 2019, 12:36:33 PM »
Oh, I forgot a few...

Got tired to kissing ass...

Actually, much worse that the w*rk itself, was the entire process of finding a j*b.   I hated the anxiety and, well, the huge amount of effort required.  I think it is worse now.  Back in the day, it involved snail mailing dozens or even hundreds of paper cover letters and resumes printed on "special" paper.  Now I hear it can involve hours completing online applications, one for each and every position.  I'm just glad I no longer depend on w*rk to pay the bills.
« Last Edit: March 21, 2019, 12:45:54 PM by FreeBear »

Metalcat

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #170 on: March 21, 2019, 01:51:00 PM »
Oh! I know exactly the coffee you are talking about!

Ya'll should be happy that your employer provides coffee, even if it's bad.  I was a federal employee, and free coffee was explicitly banned as part of the "waste, fraud, and abuse" campaign.  Apparently it was considered illegal "extra" compensation for all of those "overpaid" federal workers.

Amazing how we can bitch about free stuff, right?  I think that's a sign that the coffee itself isn't really the problem, and that people who are unhappy in their jobs will complain about anything.

Oh no.
I had to pay for the shitty burnt-popcorn coffee.
It was the only option until I smuggled a Mr. Coffee into my lab, which was not at all okay in terms of workplace safety rules.

Luck12

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #171 on: March 21, 2019, 01:55:11 PM »

Tell them that you're retiring early and they could too....  It would have been nice if I had heard that at 22.  (Assuming that the interviewees are straight-out-of-college).

LOL I mentioned it and one of them referenced MMM, says he knows all about it.  Aw yeah.  One of them thanked me for not doing the standard interview.   

Tris Prior

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #172 on: March 21, 2019, 02:07:27 PM »
I am so sick of hearing about people's diets, I could vomit.

Sounds like some great dieting advice.

Yeah, right up there with the guy at work who, overhearing someone in the breakroom talking about food allergies, said, "wow, I WISH I had a food allergy, maybe then I'd be able to lose weight!"

TexasRunner

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #173 on: March 21, 2019, 02:15:41 PM »
Tell them that you're retiring early and they could too....  It would have been nice if I had heard that at 22.  (Assuming that the interviewees are straight-out-of-college).
LOL I mentioned it and one of them referenced MMM, says he knows all about it.  Aw yeah.  One of them thanked me for not doing the standard interview.   

LOL thats great.  I recently had a series of 'non-standard' interviews and getting dinner while talking about job prospects is MUCH nicer than the normal 'sit in front of a panel' bullshit.

In hindsight I have done 3 interviews so far totaling over 7 hours, and none of it was the 'what is your greatest weakness' bs.  Just people trying to figure out if things are a good fit.  Then again, sales has its own little set of rules and I'm betting that those type of interviews weed out the wheat from the chaff better than more technically-focused interviews.

SAR

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #174 on: March 21, 2019, 02:50:12 PM »
I'm loving this thread . . .

It also reminds me of how incredibly good I have it, working at a university in a very nice area. Pension starts at 50, and I have tax deferred 403b and 457 accounts. I just wish I took that stuff seriously when I started at 29.

The thing about my job is that it is an area of academia that is 'proto-scientific'. . . the result is that I have a lot of colleagues who work 80+ hour weeks year round pumping out derivative non-sense.

Then we collectively review people's work to propose pay increases, which means we basically count their publications. Everyone knows that everyone knows the basic process:

"OMG, what a lot of shit so-and-so has published. Yes, but look how MUCH THERE IS!!!"

It appears that this fact about the field attracts small minds with massive egos. When you hear someone talk about a colleagues, it's invariably "so-and-so has X publications, wow!". It's never, wow, so-and-so discovered X! No one cares, it's just the social ranking brownie points of counting publications.

I checked out of the game about a decade ago when I learned that not only were people deeply narcissistic, some who I foolishly trusted are also Machiavellian--working to undermine one another behind the scenes.

Then I learned about MMM about 5 years ago. 

Imma

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #175 on: March 21, 2019, 03:23:30 PM »
I am so sick of hearing about people's diets, I could vomit.

Sounds like some great dieting advice.

Yeah, right up there with the guy at work who, overhearing someone in the breakroom talking about food allergies, said, "wow, I WISH I had a food allergy, maybe then I'd be able to lose weight!"

After I spent a week in hospital with food poisoning, a relative of mine managed to say 'oh, that's an easy way to lose 10 kg!'. Sure, losing fluids from both ends at the same time, for 10 days in a row, until you end up in hospital on a drip, that's way easier than joining Weight Watchers.

I can't imagine how terrible serious food allergies are - for me that was a once in a lifetime thing (hopefully) but people with allergies get violently sick every time they accidentally eat the wrong thing.

HBFIRE

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #176 on: March 21, 2019, 03:28:59 PM »
I was always super envious of those who were genuinely "all cattle no hat"/"stealth wealth".  For some reason on a superficial level this was always super appealing to me, being secretly wealthy without anyone knowing.  I guess that was my pettiest motivator.

dougules

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #177 on: March 21, 2019, 04:13:00 PM »
Yea, I highly recommend retirement to all of you peeps.  Just reading this thread is stressing me out, reminding me of what my old life was like.  It genuinely does get better, I promise.

I too used to make lists of the things I hated.  The reasons I needed to quit, the injustices and idiocy and the repetitive bullshit work that didn't need to exist, but in retrospect that was just me wallowing in self-pity.  Looking back on it now, that version of me feels angry and cruel.  There's just no reason to live like that.

Maybe a more helpful exercise is to identify the things that you think you will miss about your job, the good things, and then make a plan for how to preserve as much of that as possible after you retire.

There actually was a thread about what people who were FIRE missed about work, and the overwhelming response seemed to be either nothing or something trivial.  Not very encouraging for this idea. 

middo

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #178 on: March 21, 2019, 06:10:32 PM »
Another petty reason for wanting to FIRE - I want the time to cook sourdough bread properly.

BuildingFrugalHabits

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #179 on: March 21, 2019, 07:16:13 PM »
^ Couldn't you just fire them? I had a job the was 24/7 365 days/year with holidays on and working outdoors in any kind of weather and weird conditions. It was all clearly spelled out and if they refused they were terminated.

My petty reasons to FIRE was to play beach volleyball and hang with my dogs and cats.

That's not a petty reason but a pretty good one if you ask me!  I fantasize about skiing, hitting the climbing gym every morning trading off climbs with the older retirees and sipping coffee between turns and yes mid-morning walks/hikes with my dog!

NorthernMonkey

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #180 on: March 22, 2019, 12:57:54 AM »
My Dog looks so sad when I leave him in the morning. I want to FIRE so my dog doesn't look so sad

Imma

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #181 on: March 22, 2019, 01:59:11 AM »
My Dog looks so sad when I leave him in the morning. I want to FIRE so my dog doesn't look so sad

We are getting dogs when we FIRE. We grew up with dogs and miss having them so much, but we're away so much that it would be cruel to get a dog now.

Until this thread I didn't fully realise how many petty things take all the joy from my working life. I really need to focus on my side hustle which is much more fun.

Strange enough, the big annoying things at work (like people asking my advice, don't listen to it, run into problems, then ask me for a quick fix) don't annoy me as much. That's what I was hired for, I get paid for that. Drinking awful coffee and listening to terrible music, no one told me about that when I was hired...

I keep instant coffee in my desk drawer now, so I've sort of solved the coffee problem. It's not great coffee but I can drink it without weird facial expressions.

jojoguy

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #182 on: March 22, 2019, 03:43:15 AM »
Being able to quit my job with a smile on my face. Honestly, it probably wouldn't play out that way. I would probably give a months notice in order to help my bosses establish a replacement.

Slow&Steady

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #183 on: March 22, 2019, 06:53:37 AM »
Normally I try to focus on the positive but I am feeling grumpy today and this seems like a fun game at the moment.

1. So I no longer have to listen to excuses about why people can not travel or work a longer day because they have to pickup or drop off their kid. We explain in detail exactly what is required and yet for some reason they accept the position and suddenly after being hired they remember that they have a kid.....

2. I want a dog but I am a responsible person and realize that with my current position I can not be home to let the dog out or give them the proper attention meanwhile I listen to my co-workers give lame excuses about why they can not work a longer day or travel because they have to let the dog out or feed it or whatever.

3. I am so tired of having to interface and rely on people that do not give a damn, are complacent or just do as little as humanly possible without getting fired.


So I don't have to interface with people that think working late and traveling for work are more important than spending time with my family.  You want 1 long day every few weeks, fine.  You want me to travel out of state every other month, ok.  You ask me to travel 3 hours away for a Friday/Saturday/Sunday "test the equipment" (that can be done remotely) trip after I get home from from a week long trip at 11PM on Thursday, F*** you.

True petty reason is that I hate alarm clocks and dress clothes.
I get it but we explained in detail the exact duties and hours of the position and asked the person point blank if they could accommodate that schedule and they said no problem I need the money and welcome the overtime.

About 4 hours after they were hired they said oh I can not do that despite the fact that they said no problem just a few days earlier.

If you can not travel do not apply for a position that clearly states 50% travel. If you can not work the required hours and travel the amount that we were up front about do not lie and say you can.

Is it really asking too much for someone to be upfront and honest when we were upfront and honest with them?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

I guess the upfront and honest part is what is key.

I took a new job last year that did not state anything about travel in the ad.  I was in the very last round of interview with the very last interviewer when I was asked if I was okay with the travel component.  "Um, I am not sure, how much travel are you talking about?"  "Oh, you will need to go the the facilities every once in a while."

Last fall I asked them to clarify how much travel they are actually expecting from me, the response I got was you will need to go to X facility every other month and Y facility on the opposite months (Y facility is only 2-3 hours away and can be done in a day trip).  Now I have also been asked to book flights to 3 additional locations in the next 2 months... plus potentially go do this weekend testing crap. My baby turns 1 this weekend, I did not agree to week long travel multiple times a month when I accepted this job.

DadJokes

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #184 on: March 22, 2019, 07:58:56 AM »
Travel is probably my favorite part of my job. I love my wife and child, but a break every now and then is nice. I always stay at a nice hotel that is never more than 15 minutes from where I'll be working that week. I have a gym on site; I get at least one free meal per day (sometimes two depending on the hotel); and I get a nice paycheck to go with it. Also, my travel is always within the state and is always Monday-Thursday, so I get a long weekend after.

I wish I could do it a little more than a few times per year- maybe once per month.

Chranstronaut

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #185 on: March 22, 2019, 07:59:51 AM »
The office coffee always tastes burnt, even if I make it fresh and even after we bought a new machine.  How?

Does it have a warmer pan you can't turn off? Or that always seems to be left on so that when the pot is empty the last bit crusts to the bottom and it gets all smokey?

It's a mystery.  We bought a new, uncrusted machine 2 weeks ago, and even if I make it with the exact proportions I like, and serve myself right away, it's still burnt.  The best I can do is water it down. I literally fill my mug with water, microwave it to the right temp, and add a few dribbles of coffee until the color looks right. 

It might be the coffee itself, but we rotate brands and they all taste weird.  I started using a french press exclusively at home, and I have one particular kind I get at Costco that I am in love with, so maybe I'm just a snob now *shrugs*

Chranstronaut

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #186 on: March 22, 2019, 08:08:52 AM »
Oh! I know exactly the coffee you are talking about!

Ya'll should be happy that your employer provides coffee, even if it's bad.  I was a federal employee, and free coffee was explicitly banned as part of the "waste, fraud, and abuse" campaign.  Apparently it was considered illegal "extra" compensation for all of those "overpaid" federal workers.

Hear hear. I work for the Canadian federal government, and *any* non-work-essential perks aren't allowed to be free. We have to pay if we want burnt coffee.

I've given it some thought, and I can't think of any petty reasons for wanting FIRE - all of mine seem pretty reasonable to me (freedom of time, pursuing work that's interesting but low/non paying, etc.). Keep the pettiness coming!

I don't know.  I've had four jobs that provide coffee - two free, two paid.  The coffee at the paid places was between 10-25 cents a mug and it was always better.  Always.  The beans were always decent because we shared the cost and it was ground daily.  I guess you get what you pay for.

My new petty reason to FIRE is so people can't tell me things like "you are lucky to have your job, because...." ;) j/k Sol

Physicsteacher

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #187 on: March 22, 2019, 08:20:11 AM »
My horrible boss sends a weekly update that includes a countdown of days until he retires. He's in his early fifties and planning to retire at 65. I'm almost two decades younger and should be free before he is, even while making half his salary.

sol

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #188 on: March 22, 2019, 08:24:33 AM »
My new petty reason to FIRE is so people can't tell me things like "you are lucky to have your job, because...." ;) j/k Sol

I do not miss having an office job, but I sometimes think about my old office coworkers.  These are people that I basically never saw outside of work environments, yet I used to talk to them every damn day.  I knew all about their kids, their health issues, their financial situations, their weird food preferences, everything.  Now, they're just gone.

I've made new friends in retirement, of course, but it's kind of like starting over.  And you don't have the daily opportunity to interact with the same people, when you're not obligated to go to the same place every day.  That can be a good thing, if you found your coworkers annoying, but also a potential drawback for people that you liked.

ender

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #189 on: March 22, 2019, 08:25:05 AM »
My horrible boss sends a weekly update that includes a countdown of days until he retires. He's in his early fifties and planning to retire at 65. I'm almost two decades younger and should be free before he is, even while making half his salary.

This sounds like Dilbert material, your boss actually says something like 5000 days until retirement?

Physicsteacher

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #190 on: March 22, 2019, 08:27:28 AM »
My horrible boss sends a weekly update that includes a countdown of days until he retires. He's in his early fifties and planning to retire at 65. I'm almost two decades younger and should be free before he is, even while making half his salary.

This sounds like Dilbert material, your boss actually says something like 5000 days until retirement?

Every single week.

E.T.

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #191 on: March 22, 2019, 08:33:20 AM »
My petty reason to FIRE is that sometimes I'm just really lazy and want to be able to sleep in and lounge around. Oh and I want to be able to wear fun sundresses all the time without worrying about people at work taking me seriously or being creepy. I hate my boring office clothes but they serve their purpose very well. People at work have told me I'm intimidating (it's a good quality in my office) but it's hilarious to my husband who sees me as I am in my flouncy dresses on the weekend. I'm secretly a silly, young and frivolous softie under my no-nonsense, engineer exterior.

TexasRunner

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #192 on: March 22, 2019, 08:51:23 AM »
My horrible boss sends a weekly update that includes a countdown of days until he retires. He's in his early fifties and planning to retire at 65. I'm almost two decades younger and should be free before he is, even while making half his salary.

This sounds like Dilbert material, your boss actually says something like 5000 days until retirement?

Every single week.

I'll bet he dies before he gets there.  There is good material for a tragedy script somewhere in there...

(Link is to make sure people know I'm talking about a play, not that I wish that dude would die...

BussoV6

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #193 on: March 22, 2019, 08:56:50 AM »
To give my cats a better life ;)

That's not petty at all, it's rather noble.

Petty would be me having to put on a shirt for a webex with video.

Tris Prior

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #194 on: March 22, 2019, 09:51:24 AM »
My Dog looks so sad when I leave him in the morning. I want to FIRE so my dog doesn't look so sad

I saw my cat staring forlornly out the window as I left today. That about broke my heart. :( Even though I know that probably 5 minutes later she was happily playing or destroying something or bopping her brother in the head.

thesis

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #195 on: March 22, 2019, 09:51:39 AM »
I hate LinkedIn. I only keep it out of the fear that I may need it to network for another job if I fall upon difficult times. Ironically enough, I have never gotten a job through LinkedIn or any of my connections on it.

dougules

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #196 on: March 22, 2019, 10:07:32 AM »
My Dog looks so sad when I leave him in the morning. I want to FIRE so my dog doesn't look so sad

I saw my cat staring forlornly out the window as I left today. That about broke my heart. :( Even though I know that probably 5 minutes later she was happily playing or destroying something or bopping her brother in the head.

Yeah, we were saying the same thing earlier in the thread.  I don't think this is petty at all. 

Blissful Biker

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #197 on: March 22, 2019, 10:19:20 AM »
When I get captured by a good book, which I often do, I want to stay up all night to finish it!

FrugalToque

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #198 on: March 22, 2019, 10:57:26 AM »
I'd like to spend more time with my Lego, to be honest.

accountingteacher

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Re: What is your most petty reason for seeking FIRE?
« Reply #199 on: March 22, 2019, 11:03:09 AM »
To prove wrong all the people that said it couldn't be done.

This!  I want my very existence to scream 'I TOLD YOU SO!'