I agree with you. I think it will all work out for the better. I just think the path between exploitation and greener pastures may be a rough one if there is no support structure to keep people from getting desperate once they are jobless. It’s hard to look to the future when you’re worried about putting food on the table tonight. It’s a good thing that this is happening, but I sympathize with the people affected because it might get worse before it gets better. I hope they can keep their chins up and see that there is a huge light at the end of the tunnel.
I’m worried that it takes a certain amount of poverty/desperation in the local workforce to be exploited heinously. For them, an exploitative job is probably the difference between eating a little or not eating at all. Yes, it’s good that they won’t be exploited once the mined diamond industry goes away, but I think they’re still getting the rug pulled out from under them. Their income is replaced with nothing, and in a country with a weak economy, there’s probably very little there to help these people in the interim. It’s a desperate situation, even if it’s for their benefit.
This is really cool! I am terrible at crosswords also, but I still do them. I have a rule that if I get stuck, I can look at the answer, but I have to read the Wikipedia page about it.
Same! I bought a chrome cast without realizing I couldn’t watch Prime on it, then I learned about the Amazon/Google dispute. I felt so disappointed in these companies.
I am hoping people get serious about staying home if they’re sick. “I’m not contagious.” If you’re not contagious, then how did the whole office get wiped out?
The description of the hotel with the fireplaces and Japanese baths sounded so beautiful. I forgot for a moment that this was a story of the hotel getting stolen and thought whoever buys it would be well set up to have a lovely business. I feel so bad for the owners on the cusp of retirement then dragged through hell when they should be enjoying themselves.
I am the planner in my friend group. I used to be like, “This thing looks cool, we should all go do it sometime.” Even if we all agree that it’s awesome, it usually gets forgotten except for the occasional, “oh yeah! We still need to do that sometime!” I have found that if I really want to get something together, adding a date and time to the mention of it makes it a million times more likely that it’ll happen. “Would anyone like to go the the fair on Saturday at x time?” We may have some back and forth about times or days, but just having something to start off of really helps get everyone into gear and thinking about their schedules.
Also, I used to be really scared to invite people to do stuff. I didn’t think people would want to go out. Maybe they were saying no cos they secretly hate me. Maybe I’m bothering them by inviting them places. Just silly anxiety fears. Now, I just throw stuff out there and see what sticks.
I am someone who cycles through passions. I used to feel terrible that I wasn’t able to stick with anything. Now, I’ve come to terms with that being who I am. I’ll love something, drop it two weeks later, pick it back up 3 months from now. The way I look at it is it’s my leisure time, and I get really stuck/dissatisfied with life when I feel like my side hobbies are jobs that I should be doing. I am jealous of my friends who find something they enjoy then obsess over it. I just can’t do it. I’ll read 3/4 books at the same time.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, passion doesn’t have to be one note. Passion has ebbs and flows, but there is always something out there waiting for you.
I have a friend like your brother. He literally makes eye contact with everyone down the hall and nods a greeting. At the coffee shop, he will look up and catch the eye of everyone walking in. I think that’s his trick of projecting he’s open to communication.
Heck yes. When I first started in tech, I was all about the working into the wee hours. I wanted to be hardcore. I was listening to a podcast and someone mentioned what you just said, “A major culture problem in the tech industry is glamorizing lack of sleep.” Hearing that gave me the slap of reality I needed. Just because I’m present at the computer doesn’t mean I’m doing my best work. There would be times I was so tired, I’d open an application to do something then sit staring at it for a few moments because I couldn’t remember what I was going to do. Now, I evangelize sleep to all my friends and coworkers. Especially the younger ones. I want to break that cycle.
Same! One week it’s terrible for you. The next week it’s curing cancer. I just try not to have any past a certain hour so as to not interrupt my sleep.
Maybe you have a crazy manager. They see you were online when you were meant to be working. They use this to justify their thoughts you’re lazy. Who knows?
Pretty sure my old job did this. People on programs that were successful would get a little bonus. This ended up changing to “every program across every sector must meet all business goals for bonuses to be paid.” That made it impossible to get a bonus when some programs were experimental or R&D type things that were kind of expected to run on a deficit for a while.
I’m back to a traditional place after unlimited. It’s annoying waiting to accumulate time, but I prefer the lines being clearer. The way my old company did unlimited felt like a cheat to not have to pay a vacation accumulation out if you didn’t use it, but you also felt like you were put on the naughty list for taking too much vacation. If you took beyond a certain amount of leave, someone from higher and higher up the chain had to approve it. Well, you can’t the time of day from the upper echelons of management, so getting your only exposure with them to get approved felt like getting a spotlight put on you for the wrong reasons.
I used to love Google - I can’t believe I’m feeling the same way. Everything is so downhill for them. Searching isn’t as great as it used to be. Popular services get killed to be replaced by replicas (thinking of messaging apps). What the heck is going on with Google? I used to think they were innovators, and now I feel like they’re just Big Brother.
I have a Valve Index. It is the most mind blowing thing to me. I’m really excited for AR to get going. I’ve only seen it for shopping (see what item x would look like in your house). I think it might be cool for collaboration.
Yup! If I can write my work down, I’m okay, but I feel like the numbers slip if I calculate in my head. If I’m trying 9+8, I’ll think 9 is close to 10, so I’ll +1, now I can do 10+8=18. As I work this in my head, I’ll start to forget that I originally started with a 9, and I have to figure out what number I used (+1) to make the problem easier, which often makes me restart the problem. It’s like a loop. I can’t do word problems very well either. There are so many numbers, then you have to figure out what they’re really asking. It’s frustrating because I can tell it’s simple stuff, but I just can’t hold on to everything at once. I guess it’s like a learning disability.
That said, for every pain I’ve had with math, I’ve breezed through with English and writing. When I was younger doing my SATs, I completely tanked math, but had a perfect score in the English and writing sections.
Oh gosh me too!! I’m so embarrassed to do mental math. Unless I have a pen and paper or use of my fingers, I can’t do it. It feels like the numbers start disappearing from my head as soon as I start calculating.
I can’t look up a recipe for boiled eggs without coming upon a 15 paragraph essay with ads in between each paragraph. It’s so obnoxious now. I don’t mind that people want to monetize, but it’s getting off putting when it is so obnoxious.
I usually only have one cup of caffeinated coffee or tea in the morning. However, if it’s late, and I crave a coffee, I keep some decaf on hand. There’s something about the way coffee smells and tastes that gets me in a certain mood. Herbal tea is nice, but there’s something richer about coffee that I really enjoy. I know decaf still has a little caffeine in there, but I wish it didn’t have such negative connotations. You’re almost guaranteed to be made fun of for ordering it, but shoot, it keeps me from staring at the ceiling all night if I have a late cup.
Yes! I love the story with video games - it’s the main draw for me, especially as I get older. It often feels like the plot is held up by having to go do six mundane tasks. I’d be happy having a game where you just walk around and talk to people. Have it almost be like a book, but with the added extras of art and music. Maybe there’s a genre for this, and I just don’t know how to look for it properly.
I’m in the US. It’s not always normal. You might need to support items outside of regular business hours like production updates, or if you’re IT, computers/infrastructure doesn’t often break between the hours of 9-5.
I think the poster you’re responding to is just asking the person to check in with themselves about where they’re at mentally. The original post sounds a lot like myself when I was burnt out and depressed. Sometimes when you’re in that state, you’re looking for a bandaid rather than a fix for the things you’re feeling. I thought it was valid advice, even though it sounds like the original poster is very happy outside their job.
Sounds like you might be burnt out yourself looking for a different job? It’s tough to know you’re a good worker, but feel like companies are passing you up. I’m sorry if you’re going through that. Hang in there. It can take a while, but it gets better eventually!
I just watched “White Boy” on Netflix. The FBI was using a 15 year old boy to get information on drug dealers. He has been in prison for almost 30 years after the FBI had no use for him.
At first, I thought the boy who was informing was with the good guys taking down drug kingpins. By the end of it, I realized the FBI were just manipulating and using up this young kid.