The Frying Pan

@Jolenealaska money doesn't automatically make things better. I come from a family which has been exceptionally privileged with respect to material possessions. All they've done is fight over it and destroy it. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself.

Jay

due to frustrational impacts

Faheem Mitha

Apologies for the OT.

Jay

@FaheemMitha money makes things better but plateaus

Faheem Mitha

3:20 PM

@Jay plateaus?

Jay

its flattens out at a certain value

probably anything above upper middle class will plateau

Jolenealaska

comfortable is happier than poor, but rich is no happier.

I grew up rich so I have some basis for comparison - I've been rich; I've been poor. I like rich better, but it isn't the key to happiness.

* comfortable is happier than poor, but rich is no happier than comfortable.

@Jolenealaska csc

seriously wth is csc

bwaahahahahahahah

3:26 PM

crazy sexy cool?

Jolenealaska

he just does that to torment you.

got it on the first guess!

ElendilTheTall

it's like he read my mind

Jay

hah

i wouldnt want to read your mind

Jolenealaska

@Jay it's actually funny how close you are :)

ElendilTheTall

you would get lost in its vast complexities

Jay

3:29 PM

@Jolenealaska but seriously what is csc :(

pweeeze tell me?

ElendilTheTall

we shall take it to our graves!

or yours, whichever comes first

Jay

yours will definitely come first if you dont tell me >.<

ElendilTheTall

ooooo

big words from a little dude

:P

Jolenealaska

I have got to log off and get some work done. The faster I get it done, the faster I'll be back!

cya

Jay

Im actually not that small. I have a stocky frame

ElendilTheTall

3:31 PM

cya hon

Jay

im probably not that much lighter than you

ElendilTheTall

@Jay i could still hold you at arm's length by the head and let you flail yourself tired :D

Jay

@ElendilTheTall I'll knock you over like a bowling ball hitting a pin

ElendilTheTall

uh huh

i'm quaking in my boots over here on the other side of the Atlantic

:P

Jay

yea keep talking big... with the Atlantic as cover, anyone can talk

ElendilTheTall

3:34 PM

you're the one making threats buddy boy

Jay

lol

im hungry

ElendilTheTall

what time is it?

Jay

11:36

almost lunch time

so remember how i said the recruiter wants to meet me today

apparently it has something to do with my contract lol.

ElendilTheTall

yup

Jay

she said its not a negative thing

and to not freak out lol

but im still kinda worrying about it now

what if they want to reduce my pay?

ahhhh

ElendilTheTall

3:38 PM

that would sound like a negative thing

Jay

lol

ElendilTheTall

which she said its not

so don't worry about it

Jay

actually it might have something to do with the hourly and salary thing

ElendilTheTall

maybe she has found a flaw in the contract that will let you sue them for millions

Jay

i think i remember i was suppose to be salary, not hourly

but right now im hourly and need to log all my time

honestly i prefer to be hourly

logging time is a pain but it allows me to have overtime if my manager overworks me in the future

Are you currently hourly or salary?

ElendilTheTall

3:41 PM

salary

Jay

what are your thoughts on either

ElendilTheTall

salary has the advantage of always knowing what you're getting

but then, I do very occasionally go above and beyond for no extra pay

but then I also get time off for dental or medical appointments for 'free'

Jay

3:54 PM

yea thats true

pros and cons to both

Faheem Mitha

4:30 PM

@Jolenealaska being poor is bad, certainly. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Though I was poor for many years (as a student) and didn't really notice it that much.

The main difference between having money and not, is that if you don't you have to keep thinking about it, and that is horrible.

As described eloquently by Gordon Comstock in "Keep the Apsidistra Flying".

Jay

Honestly I think it has a lot more to do with who your peers directly are

For a while when i was unemployed and most of my friends were employed, it was more of the, I want to go and do these things with my friends

but i cant afford to so i cant.

and that made me very unhappy

if everyone around you is in the same situation, it becomes less obvious

Faheem Mitha

@Jay That's true to some extent as a student. But it does depend on what you mean by "around". Students live in earth, not in a castle in the air. And they are surrounded by the rest of humanity. Some of whom are probably making more money than they are.

Jay

@FaheemMitha Around as in who their friends are

who they actively do extracurricular activities(that require money) with

Faheem Mitha

@Jay Yes, I see. But one can be affected by people who aren't ones friends too.

But overall I take your point.

Jay

@FaheemMitha Of course, when you see someone eating a giant steak that you wish you had. Or someone driving a sweet dream car you always wanted

Faheem Mitha

4:43 PM

@Jay For example. Though I personally would not desire either.

Though, interestingly, in Orwell's novel, steaks are given as a specific example. I don't recall any mention of cars though.

Jay

yea i probably dont care enough about cars to covet that

but i wish i made each money to regularly eat wagyu beef

Faheem Mitha

@Jay wagyu? Something special?

Jay

one of the most marbled, tender, flavorful piece of meat you will ever taste

Faheem Mitha

Actually, the novel in question is full of the protagonist/hero's complaints about how he can't take his girlfriend anywhere nice. Which I guess goes to prove your point.

@Jay Hmm, ok.

Jay

11lb for $762 is one of prices i quickly looked online

Faheem Mitha

4:47 PM

@Jay Sheesh.

Jay

$135 for 4x8oz steaks

so 2lbs

and of course that is the raw form

Jolenealaska

@Jay 12 documents (pages) scanned as JPG.

Jay

at restaurant the prices are even more crazy

@Jolenealaska now you can place the jpg and format it however you wish in word

and it should be an easy matter saving the word as pdf

Jolenealaska

I can make seem to make it full-sized

Jay

what are the jpg of?

full time documents?

Jolenealaska

4:50 PM

a lease

Jay

If they are, you might want to lower the margin on your word

Jolenealaska

12 pages

I tried that

I told it 8X11

Jay

im spoiled with the scanner i have because it can automatically group the different scanned images and turn it immediately into a pdf

user116848

Hi all!

Cerberus

@FaheemMitha One can be affected by people who aren't one's friends, but I think this greatly depends on character. I myself couldn't care less.

Jay

4:52 PM

but the good thing about it all is if you are unhappy with how the pdf looks, you can always tweak the word document some more

@Arrowfar hi

Cerberus

I do care when I can't do stuff with my friends, as Jay says. The other thing I do care about is when I have to worry about bills, that sucks.

@Arrowfar Aloha!

user116848

@Jay Yo!

user116848

@Cerberus Hey!

Jolenealaska

got it...just margins of .2

instead of 0

Jay

@Cerberus Yea bills are probably more headache worthy than not having money for extracurricular with friends

Cerberus

4:54 PM

Yes. And bill worries never come without not having money for eating out with friends.

Now you can full-on date people again, now that you're rich!

Jay

@Cerberus lmao

no i am no where near rich

Cerberus

(Of course that was your own idea: I never said I couldn't date if I was poor. Just don't spend much.)

Jay

but i can live comfortably now without worrying about not having money to pay bills. and I can occasionally buy a round of drinks for my friends

@Cerberus But when everything was super tight, after I paid all my month bills i had like $100 left for food for the month

I really didnt have ANY money to spend on a date

Even cheap dates

Faheem Mitha

How stable are "regular" jobs these days (as opposed to wacky academia)? Is one liable to be fired at any moment?

Jay

@FaheemMitha In a bigger company like comcast, it is pretty stable

you would have to do something pretty terrible to be fired on the spot

Faheem Mitha

5:02 PM

@Jay And not excessive expectations, hopefully.

Jay

most of the time if you aren't doing a good job, you get put on a probationary period

Faheem Mitha

@Jay But you can still be laid off, regardless, right?

Do they say "laid off" in the US?

Jay

yes

but as i said, there are generally a lot of warning before hand

Faheem Mitha

Ok, I tend to forget which idiom matches where.

@Jay Yes, I see. So relatively stable jobs and no high expectations?

Jay

at least for the full time employees, im not too sure about contractors

Faheem Mitha

5:03 PM

ok

Jay

there is a yearly performance review which directly affects the pay raise

Faheem Mitha

@Jay yes, I see. You can get bonuses and so forth?

Jay

@FaheemMitha Yea

Faheem Mitha

ok

Jay

The pay raise is a pretty constant thing that happens every year

unles you are in probation you will always get at least a tiny raise

if you are doing exceptionally well, its not uncommon to get high raises

Faheem Mitha

5:05 PM

@Jay Well, there is inflation...

Jay

usually followed by promotions/more work

Faheem Mitha

Though there are plenty of jobs where performance isn't really meaningful.

E.g. customer service type jobs.

Jay

@FaheemMitha on the contrary

comcast implemented a program to track customer service work

Faheem Mitha

I'm thinking of things like phone support.

Jay

and there is programs in place to highly reward the highest performing reps

Faheem Mitha

5:07 PM

Those terrible jobs where you wait for people to call and answer their questions.

@Jay how do they measure performance?

Jay

@FaheemMitha i dont know the exact details since its not a part of my department

Faheem Mitha

@Jay ok

Jay

but i assume they measure the percentage of completed cases

and number of cases they handle

Faheem Mitha

I always assume nobody cares about those people, at long as customers don't actively complain about them. And maybe not even then. Cf. Little Britain.

@Jay What is a completed case?

Jay

when a case is actively resolved

so if a customer calls about a issue with their cable box, the issue is resolves after the rep contacts a tech, and the tech fixes everything and reports back

or if a customer has an issue with their bill

and the rep fixes the issue

but these are just guesses on my part

Faheem Mitha

5:13 PM

@Jay Ok. I guess if those things are actively tracked then.

Jay

Yes they are actively being tracked

at least at comcast

I think its common knowledge that comcast had bad customer service in the past

so this was all a part of the programs in place to turn comcast's customer service around

so i cant speak for other companies

Faheem Mitha

I thought the show with the nightmare customer service lady was Little Britain (something to do with computers) but I can't find it now.

Jay

im not sure what you are talking about

Faheem Mitha

@Jay I see. Comcast is an ISP, right? My experience has been that they have terrible customer service.

@Jay There's a TV show called "Little Britain".

Jay

@FaheemMitha ISP, Cable, Home security, and more less known services

Faheem Mitha

5:16 PM

I thought one of the main characters was someone who work in customer service. And is nightmarishly terrible at her job.

@Jay Ok. By Cable you mean Cable TV I guess.

Jay

@FaheemMitha yes

hmm so little britian is a sketch show

Faheem Mitha

Ok

Jay

they probably had a sketch with customer service

Cindy

Hello all. I made it through the phone screen. It was more in depth than I've seen before. So now the recruiter is forwarding my resume to the hiring manager and. If the hiring manager thinks I have appropriate skills he/she will contact me to set up an interview.

Jay

@Cindy Ohhhhhhh

thats awesome!

Cindy

5:19 PM

Fingers crossed!

Faheem Mitha

No, I think I had the right series. It's Carol Beer. Catchphrase "computer says no".

Jay

dont forget to send a follow up thank you :D

Faheem Mitha

@Cindy Congratulations. Nasty business, looking for jobs.

Little Britain USA - Rude British Receptionist

►

Jay

Yea looking for a job is similar to a puppy begging for a treat

Cindy

@Jay I don't have any contact information except phone number.

Jay

5:21 PM

you do everything, EVERYTHING that you expect the other side want to see/hear

Faheem Mitha

That's the sort of thing. See the last few seconds - it's not that unrealistic.

@Jay There is an argument to be made that the puppy is better off.

At least some puppy's owners care.

Jay

I also correlated job hunting to online dating

you look and search and apply to many, and get replies from very few

Faheem Mitha

@Jay Yes, that's a closer match.

Jay

most jobs that arent interested in your applications just ignore you

Faheem Mitha

And both are murder on your self-esteem.

@Cindy sorry, I guess none of this is helpful. Apologies.

Cindy

5:24 PM

That's okay. I appreciate the thoughts. If the hiring manager contacts me I can always call and quickly thank the recruiter.

Jay

I've always asked for an email from the recruiter after a phone interview

but its less important to sending the thank you note to the manager

so i wouldnt worry about it at all

Cindy

Good point.

Cerberus

@Jay That is too little! I would count that as "worrying about bills"!

Jay

@Cerberus no that was before, not now lol

Cerberus

@FaheemMitha Depends on the country. Here, you cannot be fired at all if you're on a fixed contract.

@Jay I know!

Jay

5:33 PM

but as long as I was conscious about how much i was spending onfood i didnt need to worry about bills

@Cerberus But you can see what i meant when i said I couldnt date on the money i had

Cerberus

5:57 PM

@Jay Kind of, yes...

Jay

@Cerberus But I might not do online dating

I'm going to try other options this time time around

online dating is so disappointing lol

Cerberus

6:14 PM

Heh.

Always?

But everyone is on it?

Have you tried Happen (I haven't)?

It is a mix between Tinder and Grinder.

Jay

Happen? is that a new dating site?

Cerberus

App.

Jay

maybe ill check it out

Cerberus

My boyfriend says it's fun.

Jay

are you in a open relationship?

Cerberus

6:16 PM

Nope.

Jay

or was that from past experience

Cerberus

No, but we are allowed to install fun apps.

Jay

lol ok

ohh so it have built in proximity so you can see people who are near you atm

thats always fun

Cerberus

Yup.

But you can only talk if they like you and you like them.

You've nevr used Grinder or Tinder?

Jay

I have not actually

Cerberus

6:20 PM

Wow, a virgin.

Jay

its too much hooking up and less dating

from what i heard

Cerberus

Depends on how you use it.

I've had several nice, non-hook-up dates from either, no touching involved.

You can have the most boring conversations about jobs and real estate to your heart's content on Grinder!

Jay

lol thats not what i want either

Jolenealaska

Do people meet for Chess, that kind of thing? Or just dates?

Jay

but i generally prefer going into a date with a relationship in mind

as the goal

rather than a one time hook up

i have a lovely shotglass chess set

Im sure you can have many types of fun with that

Jolenealaska

6:23 PM

I'm sure :) Especially since I suck at Chess.

EEK, no way. I Googled it.

Cerberus

@Jolenealaska Romantic dates and/or sex, generally, but occasionally friendship. I have met one friend through such an app without ever dating or sexing.

@Jay Well, well.

Jay

@Jolenealaska What did you google?

Jolenealaska

happen

Jay

o lol

well i installed it

so well see what happens

oh god how awkward would it be to walk by someone at work

and they had the app too

ElendilTheTall

Why it would be any more awkward at work?

Jolenealaska

6:30 PM

I can imagine a lot of awkward moments with that thing! I am going to date again once I have moved, but not with a proximity detecting app.

Cerberus

@Jay Don't ever open the app near work. Or switch to an unrecognisable picture while near work.

@Jolenealaska You could use Tinder.

ElendilTheTall

Ah, the advantages of being married. No scrambling around for dates while the ol biological clock ticks down

Cerberus

You can tell it to only make you see people within a certain radius, but you can't see any lists, it just pops up people in a row at random from within the radius.

Jolenealaska

does anybody in the 50-ish age bracket use those things?

Cerberus

@ElendilTheTall But it's fun!

@Jolenealaska I know many use Grinder (for gays). About Tinder and Happen, I don't know. Probably many fewer than among younger people.

You can pick minimum and maximum ages.

You will find very modern, computer-wise fifty-somethings! Those are the best!

Jolenealaska

6:36 PM

I don't care if they're computer wise, but I am not going to again date a man who hasn't read a book within the past decade.

Cerberus

Hehe.

You can find that out during electronic conversation and block at leisure.

Jolenealaska

I have responded to a couple of ads on Craigslist and one time I put an ad up. It floored me how often I got messages that were almost unreadable. I would write the messages in pretty much the same style I use on SA, and they would respond in gibberish. Way to not get a date, Buddy.

Tom W

@Jolenealaska not opting to go after a younger fella then, hey?

Jolenealaska

Younger maybe, but not illiterate!

Cerberus

6:51 PM

Heh.

Second that.

Jolenealaska

The big secondhand bookstore used to do Scrabble nights once a week. I wonder if they still do. That was a pretty good way to weed out a couple of types I didn't care to see again.

However, beating the poor sap by 200 points or more wasn't always a great thing to do on a first date.

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