Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?

[PRgal]

9 hours ago, Yeah No said:

 

NYC has every kind of Asian restaurant imaginable from hole-in-the-wall to huge dumpling/dim sum palaces that seat huge crowds.  I've been to those too but not since the pandemic, sadly.

I totally didn't mean that there are NO hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurants in Toronto.  There certainly are.  And there are ones that still serve North American style Chinese food.  But the North American style outlets are really scarce now.  The change probably happened in the mid-80s and into the early 90s when we had A LOT of middle class Hong Kong immigrants come in.  Most wanted that suburban lifestyle AND the foods that they had back in the old country.  This was just to add to the HK-Canadian yuppies, ones who came to Canada for an education back in the 70s (like my parents).  Downtown Chinatown these days serves a lot of students (since it's near the University of Toronto) and those who work in the financial district.  My parents don't live that far from Chinatown but often choose to drive about 45 minutes to Markham (a suburb with a large ethnic Chinese population) to eat!

[EtheltoTillie]

We're hanging out on Long Island.  May go to the outlet mall.  Take a bike ride.   Will meet some friends for lunch.  Taking it easy.  I saw a family of new citizens on the street downtown yesterday.  They were posing for photos in front of the federal building holding small American flags.  Makes me tear up a bit. 

Edited May 24 by EtheltoTillie

[Dimity]

Someone I know is helping a friend out by advertising her tiny house for sale on her social media account.  Anyway I took a look at it out of curiosity and now I am feeling claustrophobic.  I don't live in a mansion (far from it) but I definitely need more room to spread out than a tiny house provides!

Edited May 24 by Dimity

[roseha]

I don't understand the tiny house appeal whatsoever.  I've lived in the same one bedroom apartment in the city for decades, and  I really miss being in a house so much.  I realize that it has its own various problems, but I would love to have the space.

I will say though that my super and the whole building staff, the doormen, handymen are really nice guys.  They not only were so helpful during Covid, but ever since I have had problems with my balance (on top of my recent vasculitis) they have really gone out of their way to be helpful. 

[BlueSkies]

Non verbal communication.  Someone told me once 80% of communication isn't actually spoken out loud.  

 

I'm not sure about 80% but some people do give off vibes sometimes without speaking imo.  

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, BlueSkies said:

Non verbal communication.  Someone told me once 80% of communication isn't actually spoken out loud.  

 

I'm not sure about 80% but some people do give off vibes sometimes without speaking imo.  

Yes, and the non-verbal parts that are crucial to communication get lost in forums, comments, and texting.
Emojis help, but can be misinterpreted too.

However, as an oldster having been present not long after the dawn of text communication, I do think we humans have adapted. 

And, fortunately, with video chat and Zooms, I don't think the non-verbal skills of communication will be lost.

Sorry, @BlueSkies. I think I may have just taken your post off in a direction away from what you intended. 😉🥰 

[BlueSkies]

55 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Yes, and the non-verbal parts that are crucial to communication get lost in forums, comments, and texting.
Emojis help, but can be misinterpreted too.

However, as an oldster having been present not long after the dawn of text communication, I do think we humans have adapted. 

And, fortunately, with video chat and Zooms, I don't think the non-verbal skills of communication will be lost.

Sorry, @BlueSkies. I think I may have just taken your post off in a direction away from what you intended. 😉🥰 

That is a little scary to me Gen Z or whatever the youngest generations are might not be able to have concepts of non verbal communication in person.  

[PRgal]

43 minutes ago, BlueSkies said:

That is a little scary to me Gen Z or whatever the youngest generations are might not be able to have concepts of non verbal communication in person.  

There's hope for Alpha (the generation after Z, what my son is) now that we know how bad screens are for children.  My husband has the habit of phubbing - playing with his phone at, say, mealtimes.  It recently dawned on me WHY he does it.  We have a lot of family dinners with my parents and my husband tends to phub MORE when they're here.  I think he feels left out of conversations because my parents would drop Cantonese here and there, and my husband does not understand Cantonese.  It'll be like me feeling left out because I'm hearing Yiddish with my husband's family (no one in his family speaks it anymore.  His grandparents spoke it and his parents understood it, but only knew a few words/words that have integrated into North American English (or at least places like New York, Montreal and Toronto)).  

[isalicat]

2 hours ago, PRgal said:

There's hope for Alpha (the generation after Z, what my son is) now that we know how bad screens are for children.  My husband has the habit of phubbing - playing with his phone at, say, mealtimes.  It recently dawned on me WHY he does it.  We have a lot of family dinners with my parents and my husband tends to phub MORE when they're here.  I think he feels left out of conversations because my parents would drop Cantonese here and there, and my husband does not understand Cantonese.  It'll be like me feeling left out because I'm hearing Yiddish with my husband's family (no one in his family speaks it anymore.  His grandparents spoke it and his parents understood it, but only knew a few words/words that have integrated into North American English (or at least places like New York, Montreal and Toronto)).  

Not to be hypercritical here, but if screens are bad for children, then why do you allow them at your dinner table? Your husband is modeling that they are okay, when you should all be engaged with each other and not looking at screens. You have a super short time with your kid as a kid, so I learned pretty fast that if they don't get opportunities to talk to you about their day and have your full attention (particularly at dinner time), by the time they are ten years old, you have lost them as co-communicators and in adolescence, forget it - they will be glued to that screen as you showed them which relationship takes priority. This is not aimed at you PRgal, but all parents that allow electronics at mealtimes...I guess its an issue that is important to me as I see more and more silent families in restaurants, all looking at their phones and never talking to each other...😿

[JustHereForFood]

9 hours ago, BlueSkies said:

Non verbal communication.  Someone told me once 80% of communication isn't actually spoken out loud.  

 

I'm not sure about 80% but some people do give off vibes sometimes without speaking imo.  

A lot of people struggle with non-verbal communication, or "social cues", "unwritten rules", etc. I personally would prefer more straightforward, honest communication. 

[Dimity]

1 hour ago, isalicat said:

I guess its an issue that is important to me as I see more and more silent families in restaurants, all looking at their phones and never talking to each other...😿

This irritates me but it irritates me more when someone is watching a show or playing a game in public **with the volume up**.  Please, folks, if you want to be on your phone that's your business but I shouldn't have to hear it!

[BlueSkies]

41 minutes ago, JustHereForFood said:

A lot of people struggle with non-verbal communication, or "social cues", "unwritten rules", etc. I personally would prefer more straightforward, honest communication. 

I hear that.

 

But at the same time conversations online can be a lot more coarse when they are direct and you don’t see the other person.  

[shapeshifter]

35 minutes ago, Dimity said:

This irritates me but it irritates me more when someone is watching a show or playing a game in public **with the volume up**.  Please, folks, if you want to be on your phone that's your business but I shouldn't have to hear it!

Wait. Does that happen? 

(I [CUE MUSIC] don't get around much anymore)

[Dimity]

1 minute ago, shapeshifter said:

Wait. Does that happen? 

(I [CUE MUSIC] don't get around much anymore)

It's weird.  Remember when headphones became a thing and boom boxes went the way of the dodo?  Good times.  Now we seem to have taken a step back and there are people out there who assume everyone wants to hear Super Mario jumping through pipes or whatever.  

[PRgal]

2 hours ago, isalicat said:

Not to be hypercritical here, but if screens are bad for children, then why do you allow them at your dinner table? Your husband is modeling that they are okay, when you should all be engaged with each other and not looking at screens. You have a super short time with your kid as a kid, so I learned pretty fast that if they don't get opportunities to talk to you about their day and have your full attention (particularly at dinner time), by the time they are ten years old, you have lost them as co-communicators and in adolescence, forget it - they will be glued to that screen as you showed them which relationship takes priority. This is not aimed at you PRgal, but all parents that allow electronics at mealtimes...I guess its an issue that is important to me as I see more and more silent families in restaurants, all looking at their phones and never talking to each other...😿

I haven't yet outright banned phones from the table, but yes, my husband and I need a good chat about it.  I do take meal photos since it's important for me to document what we eat (yes, if they're "nice looking enough," they might go up on social or I'll share with my parents.  They STILL don't understand why I eat some of the foods I eat).  Considering how people used to always read the paper at breakfast time, even if it's a family thing, that is really the only meal of the day where phubbing should even be tolerated.  Just don't get into a heated argument on a sports message board about the playoffs (my husband has done that....many times).

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, BlueSkies said:

But at the same time conversations online can be a lot more coarse when they are direct and you don’t see the other person.  

I agree with you.  I've also read that 80% of communication is nonverbal and it extends to more than we commonly think.  It also includes those little "micro-expressions", tone of voice, etc.  Also, people edit what they say to fit the non-verbal mood of the room or the person they're addressing.  Without that component we might say something that isn't appreciated or is misunderstood.  OR we may misunderstand the people who are communicating to US and it just gets worse.

I have been communicating in writing on chat boards and mailing lists since 1996.  I have made great progress in overcoming the disadvantage of not being able to see or hear the people I'm addressing and also express myself more accurately using only written words, and yet I still feel like I am misunderstood in writing all the time.  And to be honest it pisses me off because that doesn't happen to me that often face-to-face.  And unless I know someone primarily in a face-to-face relationship just knowing them on the telephone isn't much better.  I seem to be much better at communicating with people in person than online even as I have improved at that in almost 30 years.

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

2 hours ago, Dimity said:

This irritates me but it irritates me more when someone is watching a show or playing a game in public **with the volume up**.  Please, folks, if you want to be on your phone that's your business but I shouldn't have to hear it!

Wait. Does that happen? 

(I [CUE MUSIC] don't get around much anymore)

It just happened to me when I went to the Olive Garden the other day.  I usually dine at shall we say more "upscale" restaurants where this is not a thing, but I've seen it before, usually in chain or fast food restaurants.  The people at the booth next to us were playing some online game at the table with the volume way up.  Unbelievably rude.  I don't get why the wait staff didn't ask them to turn it down or off, but that's the world we live in today I guess.  I'm sure if we complained about it we'd get the "5 heads" look like we're the ones that are ridiculous.  At least they left by the time we got our food.  I feel like some things have really changed in the past few years and not for the better.

[BlueSkies]

27 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

I agree with you.  I've also read that 80% of communication is nonverbal and it extends to more than we commonly think.  It also includes those little "micro-expressions", tone of voice, etc.  Also, people edit what they say to fit the non-verbal mood of the room or the person they're addressing.  Without that component we might say something that isn't appreciated or is misunderstood.  OR we may misunderstand the people who are communicating to US and it just gets worse.

I have been communicating in writing on chat boards and mailing lists since 1996.  I have made great progress in overcoming the disadvantage of not being able to see or hear the people I'm addressing and also express myself more accurately using only written words, and yet I still feel like I am misunderstood in writing all the time.  And to be honest it pisses me off because that doesn't happen to me that often face-to-face.  And unless I know someone primarily in a face-to-face relationship just knowing them on the telephone isn't much better.  I seem to be much better at communicating with people in person than online even as I have improved at that in almost 30 years.

I know I have an online friend I've never met in person but have talked on the phone too several times.

 

When I talk to her on the phone it's always been pleasant.  I haven't for a while though.

 

Texting can be a little different though.  Sometimes she can be a little on the direct/abrupt side with her responses.  Which causes me to feel I need some space for a little before I respond back.  

Edited May 26 by BlueSkies

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, BlueSkies said:

Texting can be a little different though.  Sometimes she can be a little on the direct/abrupt side with her responses.  Which causes me to feel I need some space for a little before I respond back.  

Texting seems to have supplanted email as a means of communicating with friends, but I've found it leads to a lot of misunderstandings due to the inability to edit a text dashed off in a hurry on a tiny screen with a lot of overlapping. 

Just today I thought my daughter didn't answer a question because she was annoyed with me for asking it, but it turned out she was annoyed because she'd already answered it. 

Or maybe it's just my age showing.

[Bastet]

6 hours ago, Dimity said:

This irritates me but it irritates me more when someone is watching a show or playing a game in public **with the volume up**.  Please, folks, if you want to be on your phone that's your business but I shouldn't have to hear it!

Yes.  Sitting around buried in your phone with sound off or via headphones is only offensive to those at your table you're ignoring, but blasting your shit for everyone within hearing range to be disturbed by is a different offense.

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, BlueSkies said:

I know I have an online friend I've never met in person but have talked on the phone too several times.

 

When I talk to her on the phone it's always been pleasant.  I haven't for a while though.

 

Texting can be a little different though.  Sometimes she can be a little on the direct/abrupt side with her responses.  Which causes me to feel I need some space for a little before I respond back.  

Usually if I have a decent rapport with someone via email and phone it translates into a good in-person relationship.  I've had that happen several times.  

Although once at the dawn of the internet before people used it as much as they do now, I became friendly with a work associate I only had a telephone relationship with.  She worked in the Hartford office of our company when I was working in Stamford.  At first we only spoke about work related stuff but it soon turned into a personal relationship as well.  We finally met at a company sponsored event.  She was very enthusiastic about meeting me until just about THE moment she first laid eyes on me.  I don't know what she was expecting but obviously something about seeing me in person made her do a complete 180 degree turn.  She withdrew from me like I was a leper or something and gave me the cold shoulder after that.  And I don't have 3 eyes and a hump or anything.  We were both around the same age, dressed similarly and I thought we looked like we could be friends.  I don't know what the problem was but it was very hurtful to me at the time.  Let's just say that after that it made having to communicate with her about work issues on the phone very uncomfortable.  I remember that she started sending me very matter-of-fact, impersonal emails, which in 1994 was not the standard way to communicate at work yet.  

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Texting seems to have supplanted email as a means of communicating with friends, but I've found it leads to a lot of misunderstandings due to the inability to edit a text dashed off in a hurry on a tiny screen with a lot of overlapping. 

Just today I thought my daughter didn't answer a question because she was annoyed with me for asking it, but it turned out she was annoyed because she'd already answered it. 

Or maybe it's just my age showing.

I feel similarly about texting.  Perhaps it is our age showing.  I'm a very fast typist on a regular keyboard but texting is dissimilar enough to frustrate me at times.  Maybe it's because I didn't grow up using that tiny keyboard and alternate finger positioning in awkward circumstances like sitting in a car, I don't know.  I tend to use it only for matter-of-fact, necessary communication.  If I want to write more than a couple of sentences I pick up the phone or send an email.  Or a voicemail.  I've noticed that texting has also replaced leaving a voicemail when a friend calls. I admit I do that too but only when it's a brief message.

I have gotten into long drawn out texting sessions but only when someone has cornered me into it.  Fortunately that doesn't happen too often.

One thing I like to use texting for is sending Bitmoji's.  My husband loves the humor in them and how they often fit the situation.

[nokat]

This is an interesting topic -- text vs calls vs email vs face to face. It's so easy to misinterpret a text or email. Calls can be awkward because you don't see the cues that you have face to face. 

I tend to prefer text, but my sister likes to talk.  I use a group chat to have us all get together at a certain time.  Just talking can be like herding cats. Texting everyone is easier.

On to another topic. How is everyone enjoying summer? I have gone to two picnic type gatherings. So the usual picnic fare, like hot dogs and potato salad.  Yesterday it was a beautiful summer day and I enjoyed the bonfire.

[Dimity]

2 hours ago, nokat said:

On to another topic. How is everyone enjoying summer?

We're having an odd start to summer.  We've had some hot days where we needed the AC but we've also had the temp drop and lots of rain.  I admit I'm more partial to the cool weather and rain but it does make planning outdoor events a little tougher!

[BlueSkies]

I looked through my photo album and saw I was in Philadelphia Memorial Day Weekend of 2014.  I mean holy crap that is 10 years ago already!!!

 

There's a selfie of me in there.  

 

And when I look back if life for me is any easier or worse I would say it's ultimately a double edged sword.  Stuff that caused me crippling anxiety back in those days I'm over.  But at the same time I'm 10 years older with more responsibilities.  And my family members are also 10 years older with more I guess health concerns if you will.  

[PRgal]

12 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I agree with you.  I've also read that 80% of communication is nonverbal and it extends to more than we commonly think.  It also includes those little "micro-expressions", tone of voice, etc.  Also, people edit what they say to fit the non-verbal mood of the room or the person they're addressing.  Without that component we might say something that isn't appreciated or is misunderstood.  OR we may misunderstand the people who are communicating to US and it just gets worse.

I have been communicating in writing on chat boards and mailing lists since 1996.  I have made great progress in overcoming the disadvantage of not being able to see or hear the people I'm addressing and also express myself more accurately using only written words, and yet I still feel like I am misunderstood in writing all the time.  And to be honest it pisses me off because that doesn't happen to me that often face-to-face.  And unless I know someone primarily in a face-to-face relationship just knowing them on the telephone isn't much better.  I seem to be much better at communicating with people in person than online even as I have improved at that in almost 30 years.

...and probably why my husband gets into heated arguments on sports groups and message boards (it's NBA playoff time so it can get bad).  It can be bad for TV shows too.  I recently got off one on a Bridgerton thread (on Threads) about how she'd like to see two female characters have a romantic relationship.  I said that it would be interesting, but to portray it realistically in the Regency era, that they'd also have to marry men.  She was all "well, if they're going to be super-diverse ethnically and blah, blah, blah, then why not have out lesbians" and called me "biased."  I'm more on team "you have to draw the line somewhere."  And we all have our biases.  I don't like pickles or sour cream.  I don't like people who scroll on their phones at dinner.  And I HATE people who use a speaker phone in public.

 

ETA:  The Bridgerton boards here are pretty sane!

Edited May 26 by PRgal

[nokat]

8 minutes ago, PRgal said:

And we all have our biases.  I don't like pickles or sour cream.  I don't like people who scroll on their phones at dinner.  And I HATE people who use a speaker phone in public.

Speaking of biases, we self select the media that matches our own ideals. I lean left, so I seek out those that most resemble my own beliefs. I like both pickles and sour cream by the way. I wouldn't force you to eat either one. ;)

That phone scrolling I find rude. Or having the volume up when it rings or you get notifications.

[annzeepark914]

I'm a writin' kind of person 😸 so I prefer to communicate via email. It allows me time to attach something funny that I might've just seen in the news or on a forum. My friends prefer texting. One friend never checks her emails so I text that I've just sent her an email. It gets her attention and then we exchange emails. 

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I'm a writin' kind of person 😸 so I prefer to communicate via email. 

Same. I've always been a very quiet, soft-spoken, shy person, so writing has always been the easiest way for me to communicate with people. I'm not much for talking on the phone (partly because whomever I'm talking to winds up being the one doing much of the talking preciesly because I'm just not a very chatty sort, so I kind of feel like it's pointless for me to even be on the phone as a result). And I'm not big on texting, either - I'll do it if need be, but yeah, I'm not good with shorthand texting and I still always try to make sure my SPAG is still correct when texting, and that just takes up so much time for an activity that is meant to be quick and to the point. Plus, I don't like typing on my phone. I don't like the small keyboards. 

So yeah. Give me emails and message boards like this or a pen/pencil and some paper. That's where I'm most comfortable communicating. 

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I'm a writin' kind of person 😸 so I prefer to communicate via email. It allows me time to attach something funny that I might've just seen in the news or on a forum. My friends prefer texting. One friend never checks her emails so I text that I've just sent her an email. It gets her attention and then we exchange emails. 

I rarely use my cell phone (it's basically a car thing, if I have to call to say I'm running late), and it's a flip phone, so I don't text (which would be a pain in the ass for more than a few words), other than the "Home safe" messages my friend makes me send when movie night was at her house; I don't want to turn on the computer to send an email, when I'm just going to turn it right back off and get in bed, so I text.  Very few people are given my cell phone number to begin with, and they know not to text me.

My best friend is like that with her emails; she does check them, but infrequently enough that if it's something that can't wait a week or more, I text her that I sent her an email so she'll go look at it in the next couple of days and write me back.

For meandering catching up talks, I prefer in person, but obviously that is not possible with people who don't live locally, and two of my closest friends have moved over the years so we schedule calls (that way, we both have plenty of time for however long we wind up chatting; with one friend, it's always a couple of hours, with the other it's about an hour).  Other than that, it's mostly email for social talk in between seeing each other (except my parents; sometimes we'll email each other a question or bit of info, but usually we call).  Professional, phone or email depends on what kind of record I want.

Shifting gears, gods, I love having a Monday off.  Waking up this morning and remembering my Sunday routine of doing a whole lot of nothing can be replicated tomorrow should I choose was a great feeling.  I might get a burst of energy and do a couple of things today, then treat tomorrow like my Sunday, but I can have two Sundays if I want.

Edited May 26 by Bastet

[SoMuchTV]

On 4/17/2024 at 7:38 PM, Bastet said:

Scissors are what I am perpetually looking for.  I can be pretty bad about just setting my tools down on my workbench rather than putting them back where they belong, but in the house I'm very good about putting things back in their place -- except scissors, which for some reason I tend to leave wherever I last used them.  And, of course, by the time I need them again, I can no longer remember where I last used them, so I have to search room by room.  I get particularly annoyed with myself when I don't first check the drawer they're supposed to be in, and it turns out to be one of the rare times I put them away properly, so I just wasted time on a search that didn't even need to exist.

 

On 4/17/2024 at 8:01 PM, SoMuchTV said:

I don’t think of myself as a big spender, but I’ve come to appreciate the value of buying a pair of scissors for every drawer, a remote for either side of the couch, a flashlight for every room…

 

On 4/19/2024 at 1:18 PM, SweetSable said:

I have reading glasses in every room.  

I was reminded of this exchange from a few weeks ago when I saw this:

[Annber03]

47 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Shifting gears, gods, I love having a Monday off.  Waking up this morning and remembering my Sunday routine of doing a whole lot of nothing can be replicated tomorrow should I choose was a great feeling.  

Same :D. I loved waiking up today and remembering, "Oh, right, I have another day off after this!" I'd be happy to have three-day weekends every week. 

[ebk57]

10 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Same :D. I loved waiking up today and remembering, "Oh, right, I have another day off after this!" I'd be happy to have three-day weekends every week. 

That's the best part of retirement - every damn day is a 3-day weekend!!!  I love it!

[Salacious Kitty]

[Bastet]

53 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I'd be happy to have three-day weekends every week. 

Three-day weekends should be the norm (from which, of course, circumstances will necessitate deviation, just as not everyone works days M-F), whether we add Fridays or Mondays.  This current standard is crap.

In a previous career, I wound up with Fridays off (first I negotiated Fridays from home, then Fridays a half day from home, and then Fridays off entirely), but it wasn't long after I decided to change careers, which necessitated going to law school and then starting over as a newbie.  Now I have five days a week but all from home and with no monitoring of how many hours, and when, I work those days.  With that flexibility, I'll take five days a week working from home over a day off but having to be in an office 8+ hours the other four, and I frequently only work a half day on Fridays, but I'm getting pretty close to saying a hard no to any Friday work outside of trials.  I have that leverage.  Most people don't; case by case is never going to cut it -- we need a paradigm shift.

55 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

I was reminded of this exchange from a few weeks ago

And I thought of it last week when I again had to hunt for my scissors.  I don't misplace anything else, so I have no idea why they are a recurring problem.  Since they are, I should just get a pair for every room, but the pair I have are from the early '50s and delightfully solid metal all around (as are my sewing scissors, which I do manage to always keep in one place, as I sew so infrequently), and so easy to maintain with sharpening; I do have a modern pair out in the garage, but they're inferior, and I'm not keen on filling the house with similar.

Edited May 26 by Bastet

[nokat]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

This current standard is crap.

I preferred four ten hour days. I'm there already, so an extra couple of hours. Commute time is a big part of the day anyway. Studies have shown the same amount of work gets done with fewer hours.

[nokat]

I looked outside to see if I want to go for a walk, and heard thunder. I think I'll stay inside.💨

[JustHereForFood]

I've always hated phone calls, ever since I was a kid, especially if I have to be the one who calls. For whatever reason, I have decided in the past that I should overcome this and forced myself into customer support job where I had to take phone calls (thankfully no face-to-face interaction). After 3 exhausting years of that, I now realize that it's better if I choose a job where I can use my strengths rather than force myself to overcome my weaknesses and suffer for it. And I got better at recognizing what my strengths are.

I just wish that companies were not pushing so hard for coming back to the office. I have a new job now and I'm not sure how much I will be able to work from home once I'm done training. The HR guy who I talked to originally said 2 days a week, but now my boss is saying things like, well it's a case-by-case system and for example the colleague who takes two days of home office works there for 2 years already and lives far away. I don't care how far away people live, I think that rules should work the same for everyone, regardless of if they are from the city, have kids (don't get me started on that) or anything else that is connected to personal life.

I work much better from home. At my last job, basically all of us in my team said that we prefer working from home, but the company also forced us to come to the office 3 days a week. I hate that once again, things are being set up to mostly accommodate extroverts. I get that the lockdowns were hard for them, but maybe they could have realized that the opposite is always hard on us and not whined so much that all of the progress that was done with realization that most office jobs can be done just fine from home was basically forgotten. Why not let everyone decide what works best for them personally?

[Annber03]

Yeah, I would LOVE to find a work from home job. One where I can do my work at my own pace, with little interruption. I'd be fine with keeping the same hours I work now (8 to 4:30), but yeah, if I can find something that will allow me to work at home, I will happily take it. 

[Lisa418722]

The other day a coworker was talking about the WONDERFUL holidays we get.  Luckily I wasn't sitting in front of her because I rolled my eyes so hard I saw my brain.  We have four guaranteed holidays and another three possible, but if they fall on the weekend - SOL.  We won't get the Friday or Monday if the holiday is on the weekend. Thankfully Memorial Day is one of the guaranteed paid holidays.  

[shapeshifter]

14 minutes ago, Lisa418722 said:

The other day a coworker was talking about the WONDERFUL holidays we get.  Luckily I wasn't sitting in front of her because I rolled my eyes so hard I saw my brain.  We have four guaranteed holidays and another three possible, but if they fall on the weekend - SOL.  We won't get the Friday or Monday if the holiday is on the weekend. Thankfully Memorial Day is one of the guaranteed paid holidays.  

Maybe your coworker ate a gummy for dessert with her lunch?
I say stupid stuff all the time, and I'm not imbibing anything. 

The 2 decades I worked as a college librarian, "legal" Monday holidays were work days, because classes would be affected, especially, for instance, those that met on only Mondays and Wednesdays.
I wonder if they've changed that post pandemic, being able to reschedule a Monday class over Zoom. I imagine at least some professors do that now, informally. Heck, some did it pre-pandemic with no Zooming.
And librarians do not get overtime or "holiday" pay.
But I didn't mind. I loved the students and most of the professors, and the boss wasn't there. 😉

[nokat]

16 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

The 2 decades I worked as a college librarian

People say this to those in the military, but I'm saying it to you. Thank you for your service.  I've loved libraries since I was very young. I loved to sit in the library to study in college. I still have a library card, and am lucky to have a well funded library available.

[nokat]

This gave me a giggle. I was looking at groceries online, and there was the suggested products up top. Taco ingredients and then a huge pack of toilet paper. Sounds about right. 😄 They might have been thinking about Taco Bell.

[Browncoat]

Was this where we were talking about tornadoes?  Coincidentally, there was one not too far from me on Sunday evening -- in the mountains.  It started as an EF1, crossed a river, and touched back down as an EF0.  It was only on the ground about three minutes, and no one was hurt -- mostly structural and tree damage. The road it crossed is the road I take on my commute home from work, and I had to alter my route slightly this afternoon.

[annzeepark914]

47 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Was this where we were talking about tornadoes?  Coincidentally, there was one not too far from me on Sunday evening -- in the mountains.  It started as an EF1, crossed a river, and touched back down as an EF0.  It was only on the ground about three minutes, and no one was hurt -- mostly structural and tree damage. The road it crossed is the road I take on my commute home from work, and I had to alter my route slightly this afternoon.

We were under a tornado watch yesterday. Around 6:30 PM, the sky had a weird color so I kept a beady eye on the local TV weather reports. The storms were south, and north (MD) of us.  Scary stuff. I think I'm going to create a Go-bag. That will help me feel some control when the weather gets strange. Up to now, I've just grabbed "must haves" & tossed into a tote whenever we get warnings. 

[Annber03]

Continuing on the tornado topic, there was a thing on the Weather Channel earlier talking about how busy this severe weather season has been thus far, and they showed a map of all the states that have reported tornadoes since the beginning of the year, and which states have been hit particularly hard in that regard.

According to that map, my state of Iowa tops the list. 98 tornadoes reported here since the beginning of the year. So...go us? 

Edited May 29 by Annber03

[emma675]

Pardon my French, but fuuuck the weather this spring. We had tornadoes north of me a few days ago and this morning we had a storm with 80+ mph wind. My street is the only one in my neighborhood that still has power and it's estimated to take days to weeks to restore everyone. I spent the day clearing downed branches and trees and I finally have cleared my driveway enough to get out tomorrow. There is a wall of branches in front of every house on my street as people drag things to the curb.

[Annber03]

I saw the coverage of the storms on TV earlier today, yeah! We actually got emails here at where I work - apparently there's a company based out of Dallas that our clinic uses for scanning purposes, and the emails talked about how that company was having site glitches because of the severe weather down there, as a heads up for those who use it up here. 

But good lord, yes, those kinds of winds, and there were tornado warnings, and power outages galore...that'll wake you up far quicker than any alarm clock could. I'm glad you've still got your power, and were able to get your driveway cleared out, too. Hope all goes well with the continued cleanup and power restoration and whatnot, and also hoping your area, and everyone else, for that matter, gets a damn break from these storms, 'cause holy shit, could a whole lot of people use one right about now. 

[Quof]

My computer is on its last legs, and I would like to replace it (including transferring everything) now rather than wait for it to die.   

So I went to the computer sales and service shop I have used exclusively for years.   My "guy" has retired!! The nerve! 

Now I'm lost.   I'm sure the new people are competent, but I trusted my guy's advice and recommendations.  Now I don't know what to do.  I wasn't enthralled with the limited options they have in stock, so started looking at other options including large online sellers like Best Buy.  I didn't fall for the "this is the last day for this sale price" pitch at one shop.  My needs are simple.  I can even find the newer version of the brand and model I have now on Amazon.  But then what do I do to get it set up with all of my data transferred?   I've copied everything to an external hard drive just to be safe (I think I have copied everything, what do I know? At least I have copied all Word and PDF documents).  

I wouldn't ask my IT savvy friends to do it, even paying them rather than as a favour, but I'm hoping they can recommend a shop.  

[annzeepark914]

I use the Geek Squad at Best Buy. They've transferred everything when I bought a new phone (last year) & tablet (this year). I signed up for a program that provides Geek Squad support whenever I need it (I've used them twice: when things got squirrely with my phone, and my Kindle was acting strange). I'm definitely renewing this coverage. I don't have any tech savvy friends & my husband loathes trying to fix these things.