The Bitching Thread

so, back to university, my third year (hopefully, the last year of my BA).
three of my psychology classes seem to be fairly easy this semester: one is a complete joke (about literature and the clinical professions), and two other that I'll be able to get a good grade in with only one or two hour of reading each week.

the last course is a seminar that I'm taking with some 2nd degree students, about perception and intuition and what not. it's gonna be a real kick in the balls because I'm going to need to plan an experiment and learn to operate a special software for that.

I would have switched out, but there's no available alternative.

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Originally Posted by Animeniax

Some asshole keyed my truck. Either it happened the last time I went to the store and just didn't notice it, or they did it while it was parked in my driveway. Probably some punk kids on Halloween (we didn't give out candy to the grubby little beggars). At least they were too chicken shit to do it to the door or hood. They only keyed the rear side panel of the bed. People suck. It's only a utility truck, but still... messing with a man's vehicle should get the perp a beating.

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That's pretty shitty. Keying a person's car is malicious and is very rarely justified. Did you have all the outside lights off at your house and as many interior lights off as possible so it at least looked like nobody was home?

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Originally Posted by fahoumh

That's pretty shitty. Keying a person's car is malicious and is very rarely justified. Did you have all the outside lights off at your house and as many interior lights off as possible so it at least looked like nobody was home?

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No, I didn't want to give the impression that the house was unoccupied at the time. I had the porch light off which is usually how you indicate that you're not giving out candy, but I still had a few people ring the door bell, which I ignored. I'm only assuming they keyed the truck because of that, it might have happened for other reasons though.

It wouldn't surprise me if ignoring the door was the reason, assuming it was keyed while on your driveway. Well, in any case it's still pretty fucking shitty. We didn't give out candy this year so I insisted my mom park her car in the garage and luckily I was out so my car wasn't on the driveway.

We didn't bother because every past subsequent year there have been less and less kids...which raises a bitch: Why is there seemingly an annual decline of trick-or-treaters? I figure it's parents who are paranoid from the newscasts of tampered candy. And following that, what kind of sick fuck would deliberately sabotage candy to harm children?

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Originally Posted by fahoumh

It wouldn't surprise me if ignoring the door was the reason, assuming it was keyed while on your driveway. Well, in any case it's still pretty fucking shitty. We didn't give out candy this year so I insisted my mom park her car in the garage and luckily I was out so my car wasn't on the driveway.

We didn't bother because every past subsequent year there have been less and less kids...which raises a bitch: Why is there seemingly an annual decline of trick-or-treaters? I figure it's parents who are paranoid from the newscasts of tampered candy. And following that, what kind of sick fuck would deliberately sabotage candy to harm children?

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People who hate Trick-or-Treat?

Trick or Treat is by no means big here. I don't think I even had one person come this year. One time a kid came around, and we didn't have anything to give him. (biscuits?)

We said sorry for that, and he said sorry for bothering us. Yeah... spirit of Trick-or-Treat just isn't around..

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Originally Posted by fahoumh

It wouldn't surprise me if ignoring the door was the reason, assuming it was keyed while on your driveway. Well, in any case it's still pretty fucking shitty. We didn't give out candy this year so I insisted my mom park her car in the garage and luckily I was out so my car wasn't on the driveway.

We didn't bother because every past subsequent year there have been less and less kids...which raises a bitch: Why is there seemingly an annual decline of trick-or-treaters? I figure it's parents who are paranoid from the newscasts of tampered candy. And following that, what kind of sick fuck would deliberately sabotage candy to harm children?

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It wasn't the worst keying they could have perpetrated, so it might have been entirely random instead of spiteful. They only keyed the rear quarter panel of the truck bed, and it was really light and nothing offensive like a curse word or anything.

We had a shit load of trick-or-treaters this year. There were dozens of cars parked at the entrance to our subdivision. I guess since it's a middle-to-upper-middle class neighborhood everyone from outside visited to get candy, cause there were a lot of groups of kids out and about. I gave out candy last year but decided not to bother this year.

The odd thing is that this is also a middle-to-upper-middle class neighbourhood and we used to always have a constant stream of kids from 6ish to at least 9:30 or 10. This year I was at my friends' place on the other side of town in a lower income area and there were 20 kids that came by, which was a huge decline compared to last year, according to my friends.

My school does not support people at an economic disadvantage.

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Originally Posted by Sapphire

My school does not support people at an economic disadvantage.

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The world doesn't support people at an economic disadvantage, only countries.

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Originally Posted by Sapphire

My school does not support people at an economic disadvantage.

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Schools normally do so? I always thought it was more of a social security thing.

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Originally Posted by Sapphire

My school does not support people at an economic disadvantage.

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That's what state and community colleges are for.

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Originally Posted by Animeniax

That's what state and community colleges are for.

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No.


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Originally Posted by Sapphire

My school does not support people at an economic disadvantage.

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By "school", do you mean university? If so, there *may* be financial aid programs that are offered by the university but aren't really advertised by the school

My (former) university offered bursaries to all students and awarded basically free money, depending on the applicant's financial status and the little essay they write to explain why they need the money. The only thing was that the university didn't really advertise the program and I didn't hear about it until my 3rd year so I missed out on at least 2 or 3 thousand dollars, perhaps more. But my university is publicly funded, like many other universities in Ontario, so that probably has a lot to do with that bursary program.

Also, the government of Ontario offers a student loan program, and depending on your income you can qualify for a grant, in addition to the loan, which never has to be repaid.

Tired of getting the same email advertisement from companies every day for the last week. Jockey has sent the same 25% off + free shipping coupon email every day for a week. When will they get the message that it's not a good enough deal for me to bite??

Also, I can't believe it's Saturday night already. Third day of the four day weekend almost over :(.

Just looked in the mirror and saw ENTIRE PATCHES of white hair in my recently shaved beard stubble.

I'm too young for this shit.

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Originally Posted by The Heretic Azazel

Just looked in the mirror and saw ENTIRE PATCHES of white hair in my recently shaved beard stubble.

I'm too young for this shit.

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Welcome to old age, friend. I have had a bunch of white hair since I was 19.

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Originally Posted by rockmanj

Welcome to old age, friend. I have had a bunch of white hair since I was 19.

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Silver Fox! You'll be like Anderson Cooper.

...Sort of.

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Originally Posted by Archangel

The world doesn't support people at an economic disadvantage, only countries.

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The US will support certain banks that are to the tune of about $20 trilllion (which is more than our GDP).

I quit my job. I finally had the last straw after being accused of stealing envelopes which I had asked her (some lady, bosses assistant) to take in advance. Like 4 envelopes. I think real low about people who physically flip out over benign things and can't control their anger.

And I only go 1.5 hours a week so the money was shit anyway when commuting costs $5 each time. Also annoyed about other shit, like how my clients were randomly switched out on me with no alerting, making it financially unstable. @_@

Too bad 'cuz otherwise the job is amazing.

Wow rough time to quit a job, with Christmas coming up and all. I'd say "at least you have more time with the family and loved ones during the holidays" but 1.5hrs/wk doesn't really cut into your time.

School is over so I'm working 30-35 hours a week at IT support and it's numbing my brain. I spend most of the afternoons in a half-asleep stupor. I end up talking to people and sounding really uninformed and silly.

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Originally Posted by Ani

School is over so I'm working 30-35 hours a week at IT support and it's numbing my brain. I spend most of the afternoons in a half-asleep stupor. I end up talking to people and sounding really uninformed and silly.

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Uninformed? I sound croaky if I've just woken up... but not uninformed.

Sapphi, your job wasn't worth your time and money. Not by a long shot, from what we've heard about it over the long run.

No, don't think about after you've woken up. It's more like when you haven't slept for a while and really want to sleep but can't because you have to work or be around other people. Then you stop being coherent and you can't have interesting conversations, but you have to interact so you talk but end up sounding kind of dumb and uninteresting.

Oh...

When I get to that stage.. I have to self-inflict pain to stay awake.. that sucks...

So I am doing this project to help people weatherize their homes and someone I know asked me for some of the free kits. I told her that she could get them last weekend, and she forgot. Then I said she should let me know if she wants them yesterday, and she forgot and now wants to get them Saturday. Basically this person has been like this with me since I have known her and today I just told her that if she can't keep her obligations to me, I am not going to bother. There was a time I would have felt bad, but no longer.

There's that coworker that can't do her job in time, or at all. Since her job is quotation and billing, I need to have a clear view of that part of customer care I did not manage myself till now.
Well it's not entirely true, I do all the job of making the quotations and bills and even printing them. Said person just has to control there's no silly mistake and send the damn documents either via post service, mail or fax when the method and coordinates are already mentioned/available.
In the last few months, some of my best customers were asking me about quotations and bills. They truly are good customers for asking for bills, most people easily forget bills if you do forget them yourself...

So I've been checking and of course, said person never sent most of the quotation and bills I prepared for no reason.
She basically argues that eversince I started billing and quoting by myself, she can't manage the job anymore and it's my fault.
But remember I started billing and quoting because she did not do that in the first place.
I've been trying to implement a very easy way of tracking if documents are sent, no results, more bashing.
It's indeed very sad. But very common too.

I guess next step will be sending everything myself, which in turn will probably get me more bashing... but at least we'll get new jobs and be paid for the ones we did...

Maybe she's stringing you along in the hopes you'll make a house call with the kit. Then it's bow chicka chicka wow wow!

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Originally Posted by David75

I guess next step will be sending everything myself, which in turn will probably get me more bashing... but at least we'll get new jobs and be paid for the ones we did...

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Can't you get the person replaced? She's clearly not up to the task, for whatever psychological reason.

Well, it's something I can't do. I'll either have to change job or wait for her to retire (another 4-5 years...)

good thing is that I've been able to set things properly so that I do not need to go to the office anymore. I can do such administrative tasks from home, during peak road trafic hours and then meet customers and do the real job when it's better to move around. So it's not that a bad deal. Moreover, I get a better control of all that has to be done. Working from home is a good thing, when you really are able to manage.

I checked a review for this rice cooker I want to buy... and the dumb chick gives it 2 stars because she and her husband don't use it much because they don't eat rice that often. What the fuck kind of review is that?

Welp, at 24 I'm officially "too old for this shit".

I went to an electro/rave club for the first time. Filled with half-naked 15 year-olds wearing tutus and fuzzy leg warmers and baggy pants. There was a terrible DJ playing some awful "House" music that sounded like someone hitting a pipe with a hammer repeatedly while 5 or 6 twats intensely shuffled around the dancefloor without an ounce of grace.

Some fat girl asked me for drugs. I left shortly after to find people my own age.

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Originally Posted by Animeniax

I checked a review for this rice cooker I want to buy... and the dumb chick gives it 2 stars because she and her husband don't use it much because they don't eat rice that often. What the fuck kind of review is that?

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Translation: "We're both really stupid, and this rice cooker requires too much effort to use, lol. It's not as easy as putting dry rice in and throwing water in. For some reason, it's "non-stick" but we also have to clean it. What's up with that? Totally false advertising! We would have returned it right away, but we're too lazy to go to the post office, so now we can't because it's been more than 30 days."

edit: Wait, I've got more.

"We never ate that much rice before we bought this, but asians are all skinny, and they all eat rice, so it must be healthy, right? But a rice cooker should be all automatic, right? We thought about suing for false advertising, but my husband's roommate is a lawyer, but he said it would be more expensive than the payout.

So...2/5 stars."

I'm trying to be in the holiday spirit and be forgiving and patient with people, but it seems no one else gives a fuck that it's the holidays. Doesn't help that it's raining outside and people in Texas can't drive in any kind of weather except cloudy. Almost was in an accident because some idiot was talking on the phone while driving and didn't look both ways before driving through a T intersection in a parking lot.

Now I get to drive 3 hours to the folks' home. This should suck...

I guess the upside is that you were almost in an accident. How did the drive turn out? Did you end up having a good time at your parents' place?

The drive was much better than I expected, thanks for asking. People still drove like idiots, but not near me and I didn't let the crazy shit people were doing bother me so much. Being in Texas, you get a lot of cowboys driving giant pickup trucks like they think they're in sports cars... and it was raining so that didn't help.

The thing is, I only almost get into wrecks because I pay extra attention to avoid the idiots on the road. It's like I have to give 110% concentration because people only give 50% when they drive. It gets taxing and wears my nerves out having to drive on high alert all the time.

It can be taxing to be on high alert every time you get behind the wheel. It's like you have to always expect most everyone to be grossly selfish drivers who expect everyone else to pay attention for them...if that makes any sense.

Here we have a lot of people in minivans who like to drive like they own a Ferrari.

In any case, it's good to hear the drive was better than anticipated. :)

My incompetent fucking HR department has been taking insurance from my check for three weeks, I still haven't received my card, so I call the insurance company and THEY HAVEN'T EVEN RECEIVED THE FUCKING PAPERWORK. I really need to see a doctor for various problems, and I can't because I keep getting bullshitted around by HR, and I'm out $100 in deductions (thus far) for a service I can't even use.

I'm probably going to get fired if I have to talk to this moron again.

Had a good time planned out for new year's and ended up staying home with a 40 degree fever and hallucinations.

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Originally Posted by Archangel

Had a good time planned out for new year's and ended up staying home with a 40 degree fever and hallucinations.

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Not as strong, but got a cold and very bad nights all my holiday week, when I do not even take lots of holidays... Seems like I should be better for work tomorrow...

I spent my NYE driving 320+ miles in 9 hours round trip to deliver a package to someone and run some errands. At first I dreaded the trip since it was completely unintended but necessary, then the weather and the drive itself turned out pretty awesome and relaxing. By the time I got home I was too tired to do anything to celebrate NYE, so I had dinner and a beer and passed out.

Hope you guys feel better.

I had that feeling in my throat for two days that suggests a cold is going to come one, but that was all it turned out to be..

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

I had that feeling in my throat for two days that suggests a cold is going to come one, but that was all it turned out to be..

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Wrong thread.

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Originally Posted by Archangel

Wrong thread.

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Maybe he wanted a cold?

Sonovabitch just got into this brit series "Peep Show" from a couple of years ago... the first few episodes are hilarious, then the show gets unbearable fast. Mark starts out likeably awkward but then just turns pathetic after a few episodes. Jeremy is silly for a while then turns obnoxious. At first they're both losers you root for, then you realize there's no hope for them and it's a waste of time and energy hoping they'll prevail. Another promising series that turned out shitty.

Oh, and my laptop just died. Working fine, then turned it off, now it won't POST and just beeps at me. Pulled the harddrive and tried to read it from a USB enclosure... CRC errors. Best guess is a power surge fried the laptop, but nothing else connected to the surge protector was damaged.

Redirected Peep Show derail to Peep Show thread.

Please continue bitching as normal.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrydow...ess-gradually/ Now I know what they mean 1st hand. I got a gift card for christmas, so I decided to buy NBA 2k11, as I don't like 12, and it was on sale. It took longer than normal for me to get the game, and once I did, it did not work. I called the help line, they told me to take it to the nearest store, the store had none in stock and neither did their personal warehouse, and they have no idea if any other Chicago location does. They tried to help, but eventually were like "sorry, we don't know what to do". I don't know why their system isn't integrated to every other store's so that they could possibly have them ship the game or something. Nice people, horrible system.

Sorry dude. I never had a good experience shopping at Best Buy for anything, and I have been to a lot of the stores in and around the city when searching for electronics that I needed asap. Most of the time I search online before going to the store but always end up spending a few hours in the store. Their in store service sucks, the employees rather bitch, chat and surf the net than actually do their jobs ( I was pleasantly happy when I over-heard their hours were being cut). There are the few that do a great job but most of the stores are managed and runned by idiots. Once spent an hour waiting on a line that wasn't moving to buy a tv for my parents all the while watching four best buy employees try to figure out how to fill out an in home install for two dumb ass (real assholes) gay guys; no disrespect. The section manager was there as well and didn't have the good sense to open up the other registers so other people could check out. A lot of people just left, if I didn't need the replacement or already spent about 2 hours picking out and getting the damn thing I would have too. If have had opened my mouth to say anything only rage would have erupted (and would have most likely hurt a few people) so I grit my teeth a bared it. That was just one experience. The only time I ever spent less than an hour in that store was at returns, geek squad check the item, went to the return area and my money was refunded immediately.


It's no surprise they are going out of business because I am sure as hell going to do everything possible to avoid having to go to that store ever again and I would like to think a lot of people share that feeling. A lot of people that don't know how to shop online go there, that number is decreasing and their service sucks so it's hard to get people to come back and torture themselves.


p.s. Has anyone noticed just how many Baidu Spider are visiting this site lately( almost 2/3 of the guests) I think they are looking for Ani and Archie.

I worked at a Best Buy and their business practices have always been shitty. They're all about selling extended warranties and there is little supervision or control over the floor sales staff. They can pretty much tell the customers anything they want. They don't work on commission, so there's not much incentive to do the job well. These days Fry's and Amazon have better prices and selection. I see Best Buy going the same way as Circuit City in the near future.

That company can survive because it's one of the last largest remaining retailer of electronics which is a very powerful thing. But they need major internal re-structuring and a lot better organization which I doubt they are willing to do.

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Originally Posted by rockmanj

I got a gift card for christmas, so I decided to buy NBA 2k11, as I don't like 12, and it was on sale. It took longer than normal for me to get the game, and once I did, it did not work.

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Was it new or used?

Best Buy doesn't sell used games, do they? But if it was new, why wouldn't it work?

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Originally Posted by Animeniax

Best Buy doesn't sell used games, do they? But if it was new, why wouldn't it work?

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Yeah, they do sell used games. They even have a $14.99 card like GameStop's Power Up Rewards, called Gamers Club Unlocked. They also have a magazine to compete against GS' Game Informer, called @Gamer.

I find it weird that a new game wouldn't play, so I'm thinking he must have gotten a used copy.

Yes, it was used, but they have a "pre-owned" guarantee. I know a lot of people had problems with that game, but this is ridiculous.

I haven't encountered service so bad over here in Australia before.. but I think in general our stores still have a really big focus on customer service because they recognise its pretty much how they can overcome dirt-cheap internet prices.

Then again, I never expect good customer service. I always just think of it as a bonus.

I'm also one for reading fineprints, so I also don't attempt to return something that's explicitly stated to be non-returnable.

For gadgets and all I pretty much buy online 90% of the time because of both price and availability. Retailers simply don't stock some of the more obscure stuff that I buy. It's also a lot easier to compare prices by tabbing between websites than driving between stores.

Stores will have the advantage when I'm looking for bulky, expensive things that I deem likely to be needing warranty service however - such as fridges, TVs, washing machines..

I know that this is going to sound dumb, but I was just offered a job today. The thing is that another company is interested in me and I think it would be a lot more fulfilling if I can get into that one, but it is not a sure thing. I have studied and prepared for it, so I think I will do well, but it is still basically up in the air. As a pragmatist, I should just take the one that is being offered, but if I were to get into that other company, I think it would be better for my career and more fulfilling.

Rockmanj is greedy. Can't you wait a little so you know if you can get the other job before deciding? A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (Geico, which stole it from somewhere else), doesn't say what kind of birds we're talking about. But sometimes it's best not to be too greedy.

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Originally Posted by dragonrage

Rockmanj is greedy. Can't you wait a little so you know if you can get the other job before deciding? A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (Geico, which stole it from somewhere else), doesn't say what kind of birds we're talking about. But sometimes it's best not to be too greedy.

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Yes, that is the problem...the quote actually comes from the bible I believe (in the late 14th century). I have been thinking that the whole time. I would like to wait, but the other job wants me ASAP. I hope this interview goes well tomorrow; it seems like it would be a great fit for me.

Will you know straight after the interview or something? And do you have to reply on the spot? I suppose the "ASAP" part puts you on the spot a bit. Otherwise yeah, I'd just wait a bit to see which jobs actually send you an offer for the position.

My driver's side headlight burned out. My car is a model such that the entire assembly must be removed to replace the lamp. The assembly is attached with three bolts. Get the first out, get the second out, and the third is wedged in a tiny space. It struggles to come out, and I get it out...where it promptly makes a short drop...somewhere inside the engine compartment. Didn't hit the ground. No clue where it is. I'm hoping it dislodges itself safely in my driveway, rather than depositing itself into a swiftly moving engine component while I'm on the highway, where it will then be projected into other components.

Monday, I was washing some clothes and my washer started making this really loud knocking sound and leaking water. I called GE to schedule a repair and was told they'd have someone out between 8-12am this morning. The repair guy shows up and proceeds to tell me that one of the suspension rods that holds up the basket was broken and he'd have to order a replacement since he doesn't stock the rods for my washer.

About an hour later, I received a phone call from GE Consumer Relations telling me that the rod for my washer is no longer available. I am now without a washer.

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Originally Posted by Ryllharu

My driver's side headlight burned out. My car is a model such that the entire assembly must be removed to replace the lamp. The assembly is attached with three bolts. Get the first out, get the second out, and the third is wedged in a tiny space. It struggles to come out, and I get it out...where it promptly makes a short drop...somewhere inside the engine compartment. Didn't hit the ground. No clue where it is. I'm hoping it dislodges itself safely in my driveway, rather than depositing itself into a swiftly moving engine component while I'm on the highway, where it will then be projected into other components.

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Might I suggest passing a somewhat powerful magnet to where you suspect it might have fallen. You might catch it is a magnetic material.

Marik, might want to check your warranty. Or call up a local repair man they should parts for older models.

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Originally Posted by dragonrage

Might I suggest passing a somewhat powerful magnet to where you suspect it might have fallen. You might catch it is a magnetic material.

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The magnet would stick to the car frame itself, making that trick harder. But I suppose it could work.

Depends on how powerful the magnet is and certain components are made from aluminum (which isn't magnetic). Same concept as a magnetic tip screw-driver or socket wrench.

If you have one try a magnetic hammer, if the screw is magnetic should find it, maybe.

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Originally Posted by Marik

About an hour later, I received a phone call from GE Consumer Relations telling me that the rod for my washer is no longer available. I am now without a washer.

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If it's under warranty and they are out of the parts required to fix the machine, they owe you a new washer. I imagine if you called GE directly for repair, then it is under warranty, because otherwise it'd be a lot cheaper to get it repaired locally.

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Originally Posted by Ryllharu

My driver's side headlight burned out. My car is a model such that the entire assembly must be removed to replace the lamp. The assembly is attached with three bolts. Get the first out, get the second out, and the third is wedged in a tiny space. It struggles to come out, and I get it out...where it promptly makes a short drop...somewhere inside the engine compartment. Didn't hit the ground. No clue where it is. I'm hoping it dislodges itself safely in my driveway, rather than depositing itself into a swiftly moving engine component while I'm on the highway, where it will then be projected into other components.

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I did the same thing the other day while replacing my battery... dropped the little nuts not once but thrice into the engine bay. Luckily I have a magnetic pickup tool and the battery area doesn't have too many crevices.

My car's engine compartment has tons of crevices and shelves for stuff to fall on. It's a sub-compact, the engine compartment is tight and full of supports, braces and components. It's right near the radiator and fan.

So there is metal all over the general area where it fell. Magnets wouldn't help...if I could even snake a tool down in there.

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Originally Posted by rockmanj

Yes, that is the problem...the quote actually comes from the bible I believe (in the late 14th century). I have been thinking that the whole time. I would like to wait, but the other job wants me ASAP. I hope this interview goes well tomorrow; it seems like it would be a great fit for me.

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You could always accept and then tell them you just got a better offer a few days later. What's so bad about that?

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Originally Posted by Ryllharu

So there is metal all over the general area where it fell. Magnets wouldn't help...if I could even snake a tool down in there.

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Train a cockroach to fetch it. They don't even live that long, so taking care of its retirement pension afterwards wouldn't ruin your finances.

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Originally Posted by Assertn

You could always accept and then tell them you just got a better offer a few days later. What's so bad about that?

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I feel like a heel doing that, but it is a dog-eat-dog world and you have to look out for yourself. Maybe the first company will give you a better offer, or maybe they'll blacklist you for wasting their time and it's one less company you'll ever work for.

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Originally Posted by Assertn

You could always accept and then tell them you just got a better offer a few days later. What's so bad about that?

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Ah, the primary one went south, although I think the two I have had the past couple of days have gone well. They asked for references, so that means they are seriously considering me. The 1st place actually got a little pissed that I was taking too long (about 36 hours) to make a decision. Then they criticized my grammar, which was both inaccurate and a bit harsh.

As in the grammar was inaccurate, or the criticism was?

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

As in the grammar was inaccurate, or the criticism was?

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The accusation was. I looked the email over and saw no issues.

It doesn't bode well for the working atmosphere if they see it fit to criticize your first email - and without a reason to boot. Better forget it.

Went back to uni today for this "orientation" day that was compulsory for my new degree.

I sat there for 5 hours today listening:

Not to:

-How to obtain our student ID cards
-How to obtain our timetables
-Information about the structure of the course
-Information about what to expect from each type of teaching environment in the course (lectures vs tutes vs practicals vs placements)
-Information about assessments, workload expectations
-Textbook, labcoat, stethoscope purchases/requirements

But instead we listened to:

-A bunch of academic staff introduce themselves
-The lives of these people and how medicine has changed over the years
-Who to cry to when you see your first death/dead body


While what we did isn't entirely useless, it's pretty stupid to talk about those topics for so long, on the first day of the course. Really, "changes in medicine" could have been the first lecture in a topic called "Professionalism" or "Medicine and society" or something. Death could have been the second lecture.

I wanted to hear about the administrative running of the course, but instead they expect you to learn it yourself since it's available from their online website labyrinth. The online material itself is all over the place and incomplete since if the degree doesn't conform to the normal university calendar, it obviously shouldn't conform to the university's standards about setting the course material up before classes start neither.

Example:
-The site says that med students don't get their student cards like normal students do, and are handed out to them instead on Orientation day. Nobody mentioned this today, so I asked the university support centre. We get our cards the same way everybody else does.
-Email said that our timetables will be available on Orientation day. It seems by "available", they mean online.. and only for the first 2 weeks. Of course, they expected us to figure this out ourselves as well.

All in all, a rather frustrating, uneventful and wasted day.

PS: same shit tomorrow.

enjoy your seven years of non-stop studying.

orientation days are mostly just for you to see for the first time all the lectures. find a senior student (even a 2nd year senior) and get your information from him.

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Originally Posted by Death BOO Z

enjoy your seven years of non-stop studying.

orientation days are mostly just for you to see for the first time all the lectures. find a senior student (even a 2nd year senior) and get your information from him.

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It's a post-grad degree so it's only four years, but then there's one year intern, 2 years residency and other college/specialisation training.. so yeah.. goodbye freedom, lol.

The program went under a complete audit/review for the first time in 30 years or something, so the entire program/structure's pretty much changed. Will see what the student organisation has to say about everything though. (Average age of the cohort is like.. mid/late twenties..... it's kind of weird, heh)

Wow, that's a lot of schooling. I'd say it's worth it though. My brother was 34 before he completed his studies. He's been rolling in success and the fruits of his labor since then, so stick with it. The real world and the daily 8-to-5 grind sux anyway.

Bitch: my retired mother has few things she enjoys doing in her waning years, one of which was going on boat cruises with friends. Now with this cruise ship accident in Italy, that will be one less thing she'll want to do to get out of the house. She's real bad about "once bitten, twice shy," even if she wasn't the one that was bitten.

Thank god she never watched titanic.

I put up some ads to sell off some stuff I have no use for. I got a reply from one guy last night saying he's interested but I never heard back after I responded to his message. Same thing happened this afternoon with some other assclown. What the fuck is up with these flakes? Do they have nothing better to do than waste my time?

I have yet to officially hear back from that company I interviewed with, but I heard that they have been calling my references and members of the project team that I interviewed with have been adding me on Linkedin. I have no idea what is going on, and I turned down a job with another company. I hope I have not screwed myself, and that people don't just randomly add people they interview with on Linkedin.

I told the girl yesterday that I didn't want to move, and she was like, "kay"!

Then five minutes ago, my new roommate tried to force me to move out so her friend could move in again.

me: I have about a hundred books, a desktop, and a shitload of posters. I've lived there for the better part of a year, I like my room, and I have a lot of work to do today. It's really inconvenient for me, and I don't want to.
her: OMG I want to live with herrrrrrr!!! I'll pay you! I asked housing and they screwed me over, omg!
me: No...
her: *storms off*

An annoying girl's one weakness, an even more annoying girl.

She took a page out of Gasai Yuno's book.

This semester is going to be... fun.

You know, she offered to pay you. So instead of telling her no, if she approaches you again, remind her of your tenure in that room and how much of an inconvenience it would be for you to move. Remind her she offered to pay, and then state the price at which you would be willing to suffer the inconvenience of moving. If she comes up with that kind of money, hey, win win :D. If not, well...fuck her ;).

edit: Make sure there are no witnesses and no recording devices on you when she pays you, and demand the payment be made in cash. Bitch might try to screw you out of your money afterwards.

Why are people so unreliable, even for the smallest requests?

I'm filling out a job application that requires supervisor and coworker references. I've been trying every method possible to locate my supervisors and coworkers from a job I had more than 7 years ago. I've emailed them repeatedly, emailed others who might be able to get in touch with them, called their companies multiple times trying to locate them, and even emailed them on facebook... no replies. One of them even updated his profile picture since I emailed him, but didn't bother to reply to my email. Why are people so unreliable?

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Originally Posted by Animeniax

Why are people so unreliable, even for the smallest requests?

I'm filling out a job application that requires supervisor and coworker references. I've been trying every method possible to locate my supervisors and coworkers from a job I had more than 7 years ago. I've emailed them repeatedly, emailed others who might be able to get in touch with them, called their companies multiple times trying to locate them, and even emailed them on facebook... no replies. One of them even updated his profile picture since I emailed him, but didn't bother to reply to my email. Why are people so unreliable?

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They probably don't want to be bothered so they're ignoring you. It's pretty assholish unless they're constantly bombarded with reference requests even from people they barely even knew in passing. This is why it's important to make and keep some kind of contact (i.e. fake friendships) with people you work with. This is true in particular of your immediate supervisor.

If you're finding yourself with no other option, you probably want to keep a-knockin' until they begrudge a response.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Uchiha Barles

They probably don't want to be bothered so they're ignoring you. It's pretty assholish unless they're constantly bombarded with reference requests even from people they barely even knew in passing. This is why it's important to make and keep some kind of contact (i.e. fake friendships) with people you work with. This is true in particular of your immediate supervisor.

If you're finding yourself with no other option, you probably want to keep a-knockin' until they begrudge a response.

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I've always tried to keep a good relationship with all of my coworkers. I don't like the idea of fake friendships just to keep connections, hence my lack of a real facebook account. People have 1000 "friends" on there but they'd be lucky to count even 5 of them as real friends.

As far as the guys I'm trying to contact, I had what I thought was a good relationship with them, though I haven't contacted any of them for 7 years or more. I'm especially upset with my former supervisor who gave my pretty high reviews every year that got me 5% merit increases each time, but now he won't even bother to return a facebook message request.

What really annoys me is how this application process checks that far back in your work history. The way things are in the 21st century, you'll be lucky if you know anyone at your old company once you've been away for a year or two. People switch companies and jobs like it's nothing these days, so keeping track of them is nearly impossible.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Animeniax

I've always tried to keep a good relationship with all of my coworkers. I don't like the idea of fake friendships just to keep connections, hence my lack of a real facebook account. People have 1000 "friends" on there but they'd be lucky to count even 5 of them as real friends.

As far as the guys I'm trying to contact, I had what I thought was a good relationship with them, though I haven't contacted any of them for 7 years or more. I'm especially upset with my former supervisor who gave my pretty high reviews every year that got me 5% merit increases each time, but now he won't even bother to return a facebook message request.

What really annoys me is how this application process checks that far back in your work history. The way things are in the 21st century, you'll be lucky if you know anyone at your old company once you've been away for a year or two. People switch companies and jobs like it's nothing these days, so keeping track of them is nearly impossible.

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Yea, it is a tricky thing. I was always told that now it is good to send a note about every 6 months or so to your contacts just to let them know you are still alive. It is a bit unreasonable for those with large networks. People can only maintain something between 100-230 relationships total (in theory anyway). Hopefully someone gets back to you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rockmanj

Yea, it is a tricky thing. I was always told that now it is good to send a note about every 6 months or so to your contacts just to let them know you are still alive. It is a bit unreasonable for those with large networks. People can only maintain something between 100-230 relationships total (in theory anyway). Hopefully someone gets back to you.

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My faith in humanity is restored somewhat... 2 of the contacts replied, but it was more my diligence than anything. I had "hello" in the subject and I remembered from way back in 2004-2005 when the company was deluged with spam email containing "hello" in the subject which forced us to implement filtering of those email. So I re-sent with a new title and they replied.

Of course, the 2 I contacted using Facebook messaging have yet to reply, though that could be because we're from an older generation and we don't really use Facebook.

See, there you go. Looks like you did indeed handle your networking duties appropriately and simply forgot a little bit of protocol necessary to get attention. My facebook sits virtually unused. I don't usually go on it unless for some reason my friends decide to use it to send out invites to events I'm interested in. So just use the same sense you did for the two that responded, and contact the other two through their e-mails if you have them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Uchiha Barles

See, there you go. Looks like you did indeed handle your networking duties appropriately and simply forgot a little bit of protocol necessary to get attention. My facebook sits virtually unused. I don't usually go on it unless for some reason my friends decide to use it to send out invites to events I'm interested in. So just use the same sense you did for the two that responded, and contact the other two through their e-mails if you have them.

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Thanks for the tips and keeping faith. I've never been good about maintaining contact with people. I'm a bit of a pragmatist in that I focus on the here and now (and somewhat for the future), including with people. So if you're not a part of my daily life, I tend to lose touch with you.

What really bugs me about the Facebook contacts is that I've seen them make other updates to their facebook pages, but they've yet to respond to my messages. Maybe they didn't notice the little '1' flag on their messaging icon because they don't use it much, or maybe their Facebook accounts are tied to email accounts they don't check regularly. But it's the only contact info I have for them, otherwise I'd send them repeated email messages directly until they had no choice but to respond.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rockmanj

Yea, it is a tricky thing. I was always told that now it is good to send a note about every 6 months or so to your contacts just to let them know you are still alive. It is a bit unreasonable for those with large networks. People can only maintain something between 100-230 relationships total (in theory anyway).

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Good ol' "Monkeysphere" (aka "Dunbar's Number"). Out of my list of facebook friends, probably 1/4 of them would draw no reaction beyond a passing "huh... it really makes you think" if I found out they were found dead in some grisly way.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Animeniax

What really bugs me about the Facebook contacts is that I've seen them make other updates to their facebook pages, but they've yet to respond to my messages. Maybe they didn't notice the little '1' flag on their messaging icon because they don't use it much, or maybe their Facebook accounts are tied to email accounts they don't check regularly. But it's the only contact info I have for them, otherwise I'd send them repeated email messages directly until they had no choice but to respond.

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My officemate at work offers another possible explanation. I've seen his facebook front page. At any given time, all three notifier numbers are pegged at some ridiculously high number. IIRC after a certain number they just give up and say like "99+" or "300+".

If you've got more messages to catch up on on facebook than minutes in your day, you'd never notice a legit request in the noise. That's where being a facebook friend and having them provide their current email/phone to friends is useful! Call up and be like "WTF Bitches!!!" and then ask them for a nice letter of recommendation ...

Also, going back 7 years? You getting a clearance? Or just some other kind of background investigation? 'cause IIRC Secret and TS roll out the SSBI and go to 10 years minimum now...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by comp

Also, going back 7 years? You getting a clearance? Or just some other kind of background investigation? 'cause IIRC Secret and TS roll out the SSBI and go to 10 years minimum now...

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I would have thought that Ani just doesn't change jobs very often and one of his "previous 3" jobs or something dates back 7 years ago.

My new small-classroom-permament-study-people group decided to pick Facebook for our communication means. I'll have to use it now. :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by complich8

Good ol' "Monkeysphere" (aka "Dunbar's Number"). Out of my list of facebook friends, probably 1/4 of them would draw no reaction beyond a passing "huh... it really makes you think" if I found out they were found dead in some grisly way.

Also, going back 7 years? You getting a clearance? Or just some other kind of background investigation? 'cause IIRC Secret and TS roll out the SSBI and go to 10 years minimum now...

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It's a background investigation for a job in law enforcement. They actually check 10 years back into your work and personal history but the job I listed spanned from 7 years to 13 years ago in my work history. I won't get a clearance but I'd like to get one eventually as it would open up job opportunities, but that's for the future. Right now I'm thinking locally.

Quote:

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My officemate at work offers another possible explanation. I've seen his facebook front page. At any given time, all three notifier numbers are pegged at some ridiculously high number. IIRC after a certain number they just give up and say like "99+" or "300+".

If you've got more messages to catch up on on facebook than minutes in your day, you'd never notice a legit request in the noise. That's where being a facebook friend and having them provide their current email/phone to friends is useful! Call up and be like "WTF Bitches!!!" and then ask them for a nice letter of recommendation ...

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That could be the case but we're old school... most of the people I worked with are an older generation and do not use Facebook. The person I posted about in particular only has 76 FB friends and not much activity in general. He still hasn't replied, so I used another reference. He was a cool supervisor and a nice guy, so I'm sure there are legitimate reasons he hasn't responded.

Thought this was apropos in light of my criticisms of facebook "networking":

Attachment 1188

I got in an argument with a trainee about how to clearly organize task sheets. (Her own badly done sheets made her screw up.... and were pretty incomprehensible for any outsider.)

She ended up saying "I'll do it your way on your sheets and how I want on all of the other sheets". I was like, wat.

You seem like a combative person, Sapphy. Do you tend to engender defensiveness by being aggressive, or are you the one trying to be nice and that in turn elicits aggressive responses from those you deal with?

My bitch: took an online exam for my community college class today, got 86/100. I hate multiple choice exams. I found at least 5 questions with multiple correct answers, but the test won't let you backtrack to see your responses or change answers. What a crappy testing system.

She takes a lot of short-cuts, and she got pissed cuz she thinks not taking short-cuts is an insult to everyone's intelligence, and use useless "busy-work". I never get angry or provoke a fight at work (or in my living space).

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Originally Posted by Animeniax

My bitch: took an online exam for my community college class today, got 86/100. I hate multiple choice exams. I found at least 5 questions with multiple correct answers, but the test won't let you backtrack to see your responses or change answers. What a crappy testing system.

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I love multiple choice.

There was this exam one time that had 2 questions with the second question dependant upon your answer of the first one. I couldn't get the first question to match any of the choices, so I worked backwards from the possible answers of the 2nd question to find the one that has a matching response from the 1st question.

A good MCQ paper shouldn't allow this to happen.

I'm stuck with 32kbps internet for a week+. :(

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

I'm stuck with 32kbps internet for a week+. :(

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Just think how much more productive you may be without internet access. I'd see it as a challenge to take care of stuff you've been putting off.