People Reveal The Most Important Things To Ask Before Renting
[rebelmouse-image 18359187 is_animated_gif=A popular financial magazine recently published an article claiming that by age 35, people should have twice their yearly salary saved. People responded ... preeeeeeeeeeetty much how you probably just did. The internet collectively scoffed and pointed out that the financial world isn't what it used to be. With student loans, inflation and insecure career prospects, our goals aren't the same as they used to be. Things like owning a home, having years worth of money in savings, etc. just aren't as easily achieved anymore.
That means more and more people are renting as opposed to purchasing. With all of these people renting for longer, it's important to know what to look for in a rental. One Reddit user asked:
What are the most important things to ask/check when viewing a new property to rent?
We saw answers from property experts, people with horror stories, pizza lovers and at least one person who maybe has never heard of sunglasses... click ahead to read more!
Night Noise
[rebelmouse-image 18359188 is_animated_gif=Go to the property at night and see what the noise is like.
I used to have a neighbor that bought a set of 4-foot tall neighborhood-thumper speakers and decided to start blasting Skynyrd at 12:30 in the middle of the damn night on a weeknight in an apartment building with walls that might as well have been made of cardboard. Like, sh!t hanging on my walls would rattle, and I had stuff falling off of shelves.
I went over and knocked on his door and asked him to turn it down because I had to work the next morning and he told me to go f*** myself because it was his apartment and I couldn't tell him not to.
For the next two weeks or so, he'd fire the speakers up at random times and play one of the same three country songs on repeat for an hour or so before shutting them down.
I'd call the cops and if they'd show up they'd just tell him to knock it off, and he'd turn it down, then half an hour later, he'd pump it again, and the cops had "better things to do" than to come deal with him all the time.
So I watched and figured out his work schedule, then, on a night before he had to work at 6am, I fired up my surround sound at maximum volume blaring Marylyn Manson at midnight, and left that running for about 45 minutes.
I think he got the message because it was never a problem again.
Pizza
[rebelmouse-image 18359189 is_animated_gif=I work for an apartment property investment company. A new thing we implemented when looking at properties to buy is we see if we can order pizza to that location. If they won't deliver there, it's not a good area.
Placement Matters
[rebelmouse-image 18359191 is_animated_gif=We made the mistake of a corner lot two blocks from downtown with a stop sign. This a somewhat country town, lots of lifted trucks and ridiculous exhaust pipes. Apparently this is where you can peel out and accelerate to 70 mph to the next stop sign. I'm somewhat used to it now but sheesh that sh!t is obnoxious.
Hot Water
[rebelmouse-image 18359192 is_animated_gif=I always check if the shower is getting hot and has proper flow. I'll never forget living in my first student flat in a cold winter where the shower wouldn't get hot. That was beyond fucking annoying.
Also check for mold.
Roach Poop
[rebelmouse-image 18359193 is_animated_gif=No one seemed to mention this... but as a kid who grew up in a roach infested apartment in a bad area. The first thing I do when looking at a place is go into the cabinets and crevices and check for droppings. Yes roaches leave tons of s***, even if the owner tries to clean it up, if there are bugs you'll eventually find some droppings. As someone who went through that once, forget about noise and water pressure, this is the most important thing to check for.
No Internet? No Lease.
[rebelmouse-image 18359194 is_animated_gif=What your Internet options are.
And I mean really check. Call the ISP, give the full address, maybe even start filling a request and cancel it in the middle just to see if they can reach your area. A month ago I moved into an apartment that seemed fine. I was waiting a month before getting internet just to make sure I could afford it.
The modem gets mailed to me. It was then that I discovered there were no phone jacks in my apartment... except for one, all the way in my bedroom, that was heavily painted over and looked like it was intentionally concealed. Anyways, it didn't work and AT&T had to send a technician. Of course the phone line was shot, and he had to drill a hole in the wall to get a new line through.
But lo and behold, the guy who sold me the service over the phone lied to me about qualifying for service at my address. It's out of range, as the technician tells me. This is all despite the fact that I live in a decently sized populous city and all. The guy on the phone also lied about the speed, as he assured me this speed was good for gaming and streaming, but the technician told me that the speed could only handle light browsing and no streaming.
"Built To Code"
[rebelmouse-image 18359195 is_animated_gif=If your realtor says "built to code", that means they made the building as crappy as legally possible.
Can You Hear Me Now?
[rebelmouse-image 18359197 is_animated_gif=Check the signal on your phone.
Forgot about that with the house we bought 3 years ago. I can maybe get 1 bar if I stand in the doorway of the master bathroom. Ended up getting a microcell booster because we'd like to be able to call 911 in a real emergency. Which will hopefully not happen during a power outage. The house was built with a landline connection, but no telecom companies are servicing landlines anymore. They're only doing internet phones, which will not work during a power outage.
This is in a suburb of Dallas. We're 1.5 miles west from the nearest cell tower, which is oriented North-South. Our subdivision is on a peninsula in a lake.
We really like this house. It's as old as we are, and will need work in the coming years but, it was a great fit for us from the first walkthrough.
Heads Up
[rebelmouse-image 18359198 is_animated_gif=Know Your Landlord!
And know how much notice the landlord has to give before showing up for whatever reason. Ideally, you want an expressed term of time. I had a lease that stated "reasonable" notice and the law only required the same. As a result, my landlord thought four hours notice was reasonable when I wouldn't even get the message of my phone until much later. I thought 24 hours was reasonable.
Another landlord would give... 20 minutes notice? He'd show up to "check the fire alarm," while I or my roommate was in the shower. Happened more than once. Finally, I googled the law and my state requires 24 hour notice. He and his wife were just banking on the idea that we were all dumb kids. I emailed him the law. When I moved out, he screamed at me that I was not a lawyer and can't quote law to him (I was mentioning the fact that they had built a makeshift locked gate on the fire escape - illegal). He also called me despicable. Get that notice in writing. You can ask for changes to leases before you sign.
Petty Neighbors
[rebelmouse-image 18359199 is_animated_gif=If you're in an apartment complex, check that there aren't a million petty signs up in the foyer telling you what you can't do. A few signs about legitimate issues is to be expected, but if you're finding a bunch of notices about things like a bag of trash outside the door for an hour, kids laughing too loud, parking etc. it's a giveaway that your neighbors are gonna be a problem.
Dumpsters
[rebelmouse-image 18359200 is_animated_gif=I'm a paramedic and have been to an untold number of communities ranging from super high-end to complete nightmares. Regardless of the price range of where you are considering go look at the dumpsters. Nothing will tell you more about the community than how the residents treat the dumpster areas. If you are a jerk that has no regard for other people and is okay just slinging your excrement nonchalantly a community of decent people is not for you.
Utilities
[rebelmouse-image 18359201 is_animated_gif=What utilities are included in the rent, not just this but asking what those total costs are.
On average what is the gas, water and electric bill. I rented a place where it wasn't included (which is fine) and the electric bill was insanely high. There was no insulation in walls to keep heat in so furnace was running constantly. I wish I'd asked the costs.
*Another User Responded: *
The first apartment I ever got was with my sister. We lived in a decent two bedroom and our electric bill was crazy high. I just thought it cost that much. Then she moved for a job, I got a smaller one bedroom apartment, and I thought my first electric bill was a mistake. We had been paying about $300/month and my first bill in my new apartment was $25. Well, no, it wasn't a mistake. The old apartment was basically just walls, no insulation at all, and in Louisiana this means the A/C was trying to cool not just the apartment but the whole neighborhood.
Bed Bugs
[rebelmouse-image 18359202 is_animated_gif=Bed bugs. I moved into an apartment, and when a neighbor moved, I got their bed bugs. It's been hellish, costly, and I just moved back into my apartment last week from staying at my parents for a month. Bought a new bed, and guess what? I might still have them. I don't know. It's like A Scanner Darkly, I'm terrified of itching now.
Here's the rage inducing kicker. I told my apartment manager about the issue, in hopes that they would spray or heat treat for them- since it wasn't me that brought them in. Nope. It's on me. Oh, and if I don't get it treated, they will charge me the cost of getting the place treated and possibly take me to court.
You do not ever want to risk getting bed bugs. It has cost me not only thousands of tangible dollars, but also forced me to get rid of just about every single article of clothing I own, many other possessions (bed, couch, etc), and more than a month of my life.
All because my apartment manager was too cheap to properly treat the units.
(Don't) Go West
[rebelmouse-image 18359203 is_animated_gif=Avoid living west of your work if you drive there. Sun in eyes both ways everyday sucks.
More Power
[rebelmouse-image 18359205 is_animated_gif=Count the outlets. Two per room aren't enough! Also, the number of light fixtures. For some reason, where I live most of the apartments do not have light fixtures in the living room and bedroom areas, so if you forget to buy lamps you have to spend the first night in the dark.
Ghosts
[rebelmouse-image 18353260 is_animated_gif=Who are all of the previous tenants? How did they die? How long did they live after moving into this property? Was the property built on sacred land?
Horror movies have totally prepped me for this.
Orange Discoloration
[rebelmouse-image 18359206 is_animated_gif=As an asthmatic currently having a s*** time thanks to this, have a good look at the ceiling corners in your bathroom. Mold might just be orange discoloration, or straight up black fuzzies.
Moving in June, thank Pete.
Indoor Smokers
[rebelmouse-image 18345799 is_animated_gif=If you are a nonsmoker you're going to want to be sure your apartment has either never had a smoker in it or has been properly cleaned since an indoors smoker lived there. If a long-term resident also smoked indoors, the smell will have permeated in to the walls, carpet, and even the cabinets depending on how long they lived there and how heavy they smoked. Make sure the carpets have been professionally cleaned and open cabinets and closets and sniff for smoke smells. If you smell them, minor cases of bad smoke smells can be fixed with a new coat of paint and steam cleaning the carpet.
Curtains Not Included
[rebelmouse-image 18359207 is_animated_gif=I signed for a beautiful condo that had stainless steel everything, very modern, the works. This included floor-to-ceiling windows. Awesome, right? Wrong. This place didn't have curtains included. I'm talking at least 12 ft windows, sun in my eyes, and visible from the bed. The issues here:
1. There are no curtain rods long enough for the width of the windows
2. There are no curtains long enough for the height of the windows
3. Curtains are !@#$ing expensive when you have to have them custom made, including the damn rod. 4. The building could have not allowed modifications to the walls, which means you can't put up curtains (rare, but happens).
Remember: Just because you see it during the open house/showing, doesn't mean it'll be there when you move in.
Should Be Spotless
[rebelmouse-image 18359208 is_animated_gif=As a land lord let me give you this piece of advice when you are looking at apartments. Look. Take a look at every thing from the moment you arrive to the moment you leave. Is the lawn cut? Is the building landscaped? Is the entry way and hall ways clean. Same goes for the apartment, if it's empty it should be spotless. Try every faucet, flush every toilet, make sure there aren't any drips. Are the door knobs loose? Are any of the windows crack/broken. All of these things are indications on how your apartment will be maintained. If the place looks like shit on the outside chances are your LL isn't going to be rushing over to you place to fix a leaky faucet. If an apartment is empty when you view it, it should be perfect and if there is something wrong ask the LL and if they don't say we'll fix it immediately move along
H/T: Reddit
What people deem appropriate to say in public these days can be shocking.
I know that we all have to vent and share, but you may want to reign in a few thoughts before speaking.
I'm not entirely sure that confessing to crimes and plotting deaths is basic chit chat.
But what do I know?
Everyone is loose with their thoughts today, others be damned.
But don't be shocked if someone calls the police just from chatter over an espresso.
Redditor Phantom_Balls wanted to hear about all the horrible things they've been told in conversation, so they asked:
"What’s the most disturbing thing someone has told you casually?"
Disturbing conversation is just part of dating.
That's why I'm single.
The Criminal
"Dude who ran the local pizza shop had a few drinks one night and mentioned that the reason they immigrated to the US was that his dad, an older dude who was always sitting in the corner of the restaurant reading, had strangled a dude to death in a bar fight and they had to GTFO of their home country to avoid prosecution/retribution."
mejok
No Chance
"16 year old kid on meth at a youth homeless shelter I was at talked about how his dad beat his mom to death. He spoke like he was talking about any other old thing. I’ve not felt so bad for someone before then. He was given no chance at life and he was just a kid."
skippymcflippy2
The Weather
"I am a hairdresser so I hear lots of crazy sh*t but the one that sticks out to me is from a woman, I had been doing her hair for years and who was in her 70s. I hadn’t seen her in a few months which I found weird since she came in weekly but then she shows up one day with long wild hair. I told her I had missed her and it was great to see her again."
"She looks me straight in the face and casually says 'Oh my son drown at the beach a few months ago when we were on vacation and then I had a mental breakdown so they sent me to a mental institute for a while.'"
"Then she just started talking about the the weather like it was the most normal thing ever to say. I also still did her hair for a few years after that until she passed away and she never said anything about that again or acted off. Just so disturbing but I guess losing a child can make you a bit crazy."
Poctah
Cadavers
"My parents divorced when I was a toddler. Afterwards, my mother had a string of boyfriends. Most of them were decent guys, but the last guy she dated before she walked out of my life entirely was clearly a psychopath. He was a Vietnam vet, an army medic. He would tell us how he and his fellow students in med school would get drunk then sneak into where they kept the cadavers after hours and do things with them, like electro shock them, put on music and dance with them, etc."
"He was cracking up laughing reminiscing about it. Keep in mind, too, that he told me this the first time I met him. I was 10. He mentioned this while we having dinner together one night."
TheBoomExpress
The Family
"I knew a woman in college who’s brother was murdered (he was having an affair with a married woman), then her parents were driving to the town where the funeral was to be held and they were killed in a car accident. The woman lost an entire family in a matter of days in two separate incidents."
wyoflyboy68
"I had dinner last night with my bf’s friend and his gf. His gf is super sweet and we bonded over a lot of similarities. She casually dropped last night that her mom died 6 years ago, her dad died 360 days after that, and her brother died shortly after. I had NO idea how to respond."
isweedglutenfree
Losing everyone can drive anyone off the rails.
The Rabbit
"A friend of mine was pet-sitting my rabbit (she had foster rabbits and two guinea pigs of her own). When I went to pick up my rabbit, I noticed one of the guinea pigs was missing. When I asked where he was, she casually proceeded to tell me that he was sick, but she didn't really feel like taking him to the vet, so she put him in her freezer and left him there to die. She said she knew he was dead when he stopped running around and making noise in there. Suffice to say, she never watched my rabbit again."
L00kAlive25
The 12th Hole
"Playing golf (it was a golf outing) with one of my younger commercial lenders (I was regional president at the time) when he admitted to fabricating financial statements to get loans approved. He did this while we were walking to the green on the 12th hole. As we continued to play golf I explained to him that he will be terminated and will likely go to jail. His network credentials and building access was cut before we finished golf. I terminated him in the parking lot. He eventually went to jail."
-Economist-
These are some harrowing things to overhear! We might need some secondhand therapy.
Have you ever overheard something truly unbelievable? Let us know in the comments below.
There are certain life events that are painfully embarrassing to most people, they might never recover from them.
Although plenty of scenarios can make a person want to crawl into a hole never to see the light of day again, the most mortifying experiences typically involve those of a NSFW nature.
Curious to hear examples of this, Redditor stgunknonw asked:
"What's the most embarrassing NSFW thing that's ever happened to you in public?"
The classic wardrobe malfunction is always embarrassing.
Crowd Surf Fail
"I was at a gig. The band playing was called Decapitated. One guy I met that night decided to crowd surf me. It went wrong. I began to fall. My glasses flew off into the abyss. He grabbed my t-shirt and it tore in 2. Then people tried to catch me by grabbing my jeans. Then fell down along with my underwear to my ankles. I was on the floor. Blind and naked."
– T_raltixx
Airborne Judo Pants
"When I was six years old I was super, super, super skinny. My parents enrolled me in a judo class and after about a month or so of practice, the parents were all invited to a judo competition. Before things started, one of the instructors was demonstrating a basic flipping someone over the back technique. I was chosen to be the one flipped by the instructor. When the instructor demonstrated the flip, my judo pants went flying off into the spectators leaving me laying on the mat in just my tightly whities."
– wyoflyboy68
The Midnight Show
"I was performing in a play, and had a very quick costume change off stage and had like....90 seconds to change these victorian-style dresses."
"So my bestie was also in the show, and he was offstage, waiting with the costume so I could get into the new dress, get it zipped up, and we walk out together."
"This dress was an open and low neckline, and I could not wear a bra with it...so I was basically nude while changing backstage. That part wasn't too bad, and he was the only one who got the full shot he was gay and we'd known each other 20 years, so it was all good in that aspect. The main takeaway with this: NO BRA!"
"However... he had forgotten to completely hook the sides that required being sinched up."
"So we go onstage....do the dinner scene.....everything great."
"The dinner scene ends up turning into a chase scene with all characters at the table running around chasing each other. I slip in front of the table, hitting the stage and sliding on my stomach, facing the audience...."
"And my boobs had both fallen right out."
"In front of the audience."
"It was easier NOT to see my boobs - they came right the hell out - I'm splayed out and before I realize what's happened...I stand up and see 'Oh hey....there's my boobs on the wrong side of my costume."
"My bestie comes over and covers me and we get me fixed fairly quickly, (The fall, my boob show, and the fix probably happened within 20 seconds total - it just felt like hours.)"
"He turns to the audience and says 'Folks, you definitely got your money's worth tonight.'"
– TheseCryptographer95
Free-Ballin'
"Wore a costume to a huge Halloween party one year that included an ill-fitting G-string. At some point, my family jewels slipped out of the pouch, and I was too intoxicated to notice. Spent a good portion of the party walking around cluelessly exposed before someone eventually told me."
– xxplodingboy
These former patients had it rough.
Clueless Orthopedist
"Orthopedist walks into the operating room and takes a look at the screen which shows the patient’s right leg with multiple fractures. Seconds later he says out loud: 'How the f'k are we going to fix that?'”
"Everyone in the room falls silent and turns their gaze to the orthopedist and the anesthetiser whispers: 'He’s in spinal anaesthesia…'”
"The orthopaedists eyes widen for a moment, he clears his throat and says loudly: 'We’ll make a leg out of this yet. Scalpel #10 please.'”
– Kyoshiro80
Painful Flight
"I had plastic surgery for cancer on my face. What I didn't know is they pump you full of gas and that the anaesthetic also hits your system pretty hard. I had to fly home bandaged like the Mummy but the bad part was once the plane was pressurized, I had uncontrollable gas and pain in my face. For 4 hours. I couldn't laugh because it hurt, couldn't cry - same reason. So I wedged myself into the toilet after apologizing to the crew and they kept slipping me ginger ale and holding my hand because it hurt so bad. I sent a letter to the airline with all of their names and told the COB they deserved raises. I hope that the smell wasn't so bad that it was killing people near the toilet."
– EmmelineTx
Sometimes it's hard to keep track of all your computer activity. Perhaps these incidents will prevent embarrassment in the future.
Mind They Google Search
"I saw a bad a** documentary on bears. There was a segment about this black bear that had mange and they were trying to save it. They shaved all its fur off and it looked f'king insane. Looked like a monster tbh. Anyways flash forward to thanksgiving my whole family is sitting around a new projector that we hooked up in the living room sharing funny videos and pictures and having a good ol ha ha time."
"My grandma/grandpa, mom, dad, sisters uncles, everyone is present. I’m like 'hey I got a good one I think you guys will think is interesting!' So on the F'king projector in front of my whole family I type 'Naked Shaved Bears' into the Google search, on an 88’ projector. F'king god that day haunts me every time I close my eyes at night."
– FireFromThaumaturgy
Current Activity
"Clicked on a link on a school computer in a full classroom. It lead to a website that played 'IM WATCHING GAY PORN' Full blast out of the speakers with a very NSFW gif, the website was also unclosable."
– prawduhgee
Onboard Entertainment
"When I was 13, I opened my laptop on a Caltrain and other people were around me and my family. As soon as I opened it, the screensaver was an nsfw, pretty tame nsfw pic that I set as a screensaver. I immediatey shut it closed and turned around to see if anyone saw it. An old lady had a mortified look on her face but I turned back around fast. F'k. Repressed memories... thanks a lot OP!!"
– cuntofredemption
What The Customers Saw Inside The Store
"10 years ago I accompanied a friend to a crowded Boots store so he could have a photo of his pet dog printed on to canvas. He had to upload the photo via usb on the store computer… which was surrounded by families. He happily put the usb in… blissfully unaware that instead of being greeted by a picture of his lovable mutt on the oversized monitor, we (and the many people around us) would be greeted by multiple peen pics that he’d neglected to delete. God knows… but I couldn’t question him instantly seeing as by the time I’d digested what I’d seen; he’d already pulled the USB and ran from the store at full sprint leaving me with the hordes of stunned grandmothers, disgusted parents, and upset children."
– BarraDoner
Sound Of Pleasure
"Opened up my laptop in the school library to do some homework, turns out I had not closed the porn that I was watching the night before, didnt have headphones in."
– Lau_wings
A "friend" I was roommates with answered the door for the UPS guy to deliver a package.
Little did my friend know he was also delivering the goods but with a peep show.
The opening in his worn-out boxers he happened to be wearing had a tendency of not closing all the way and revealing his member getting some fresh air.
It's no wonder the UPS guy was scrunching his face bizarrely while waiting for a signature. He was trying his darnedest not to laugh out of embarrassment for him. Or maybe he liked what he saw.
Who know? Some surprises do come in small packages.
When we're kids, we're taught by our parents, teachers, and other adults that what we're being taught is a skill that will stick with us forever, so we'd better master it and do so quickly.
But as any '90s kid will tell you, some things like balancing checkbooks and researching out of an encyclopedia really do become obsolete skills over time.
Redditor hollowreader asked:
"Millennials, what skill did you acquire in the 90s that you no longer use?"
Balancing a Checkbook
"I was taught how to balance a checkbook. I remember learning how to do it and thinking there must be a better way."
- no_onion_no_cry
Navigating the Dewey Decimal System
"I was in a new library recently. This is when I found out that not every library still uses Dewey decimal. They were using the library of the Congreve system. Totally different."
- bobjkelly
The Ones Who Get It, Get It
"Be kind. Rewind."
- spaghettibeans
Computer Knowledge Taking Up Memory
"I'm late Gen-X but I have a LOT of computer knowledge that is absolutely obsolete. BIOS and DOS interrupts, actually having to limit memory usage, storing booleans in actual bits rather than a whole byte, Mode 0x13 graphics, ANSI escape codes, all kinds of junk."
- faceeatingleopard
Making Friends
"I mean, really, when do you get the opportunity? I'm at home, or I'm at work. When I'm at work, I'm working from home, and when I'm at home, I'm at home. There's nowhere to go to have a chance to make friends."
I'm not religious, so I don't have a church as a third place. I don't really drink, so that rules out the bar like my grandad might have done. I'm third shift, so even most evening classes or clubs I might want to participate in are ruled out."
"I don't really consider myself an introvert, but the fact is there's just no chance to meet people to make friends anymore."
- BasiliskXVIII
Knowing VHS Tapes Inside and Out
"No joke, I used to be able to tell the grade and wear of VHS tape by smell. I was part of an anime club that had a lot of tapes being traded back and forth, and I developed it simply from observation."
"I now describe this as The World's Most Useless Superpower."
- worldofcrap80
Communicating via Fax
"Knowing how to send a fax. I have not needed to do so in forever."
- i-need-blinker-fluid
Using a Typewriter
"I learned how to type on a typewriter in '94, and before the typewriter, my grandma had me practice typing exercises on a cardboard box with a QWERTY keyboard layout printed on top. I had to be able to 'type' without looking before I could get the actual typewriter."
"I can type ~130wpm (words per minute) with near total accuracy to this day though, so it did end up being a skill I put to use."
- b***h-cassidy
Sudden Career Change
"I started training to be a travel agent. That career disappeared in about three years."
- jackatman
Living Those Commercial Minutes to the Fullest
"Going to the loo and grabbing a bite to eat in the time that an advert lasts and making it back to my seat just before it starts."
- can_we_just
"Related, the skill required to vault over the furniture with your plate of nachos as your sibling yells, 'IT’S BACK OOOON!'"
- latenightneophyte
Reciting Favorite Episodes
"I watched an hour of 'The Simpsons' almost every day since it played twice on my local channel."
"We had so much less access to media than kids do now. No kid will EVER know the lines to 'Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls' as well as I did."
- ghloperr
Navigating Paper Maps
"Planning routes using a map. I used to buy an Atlas before a road trip and plan out the routes to take, highlighting them as I went. Now I just say, 'Hey Google, take me to ____,' and off we go."
- isisis
Gathering Those Top-40 Songs
"Recording songs from the radio, but no matter how careful you were, a third of the songs had the DJ talking over the intro dedicating the song to someone or repeating some random caller’s apology to his beloved HS girlfriend."
"The 1982 KFOX top 40, 'Here’s to you, Jessica,' overlay by the DJ will always be associated with that particular song even more strongly than the most powerful commercial jingles."
- Batherick
Using Encyclopedias for Research
"I had a massive history paper to write and I needed the internet and/or library to research. We had dial-up and anyone alive then knows how much it sucked and was more frustrating than helpful."
"Dad wasn’t home and my stepmom didn’t feel like taking me to the library for reasons I’m sure are still worthless, so she told me to use the encyclopedia set we had at home."
"The problem was they were published in 1959. I told her they were useless, but she insisted that 'history doesn’t change.'"
"So I asked her to look up the moon landing."
"I was grounded for two weeks and still didn’t get to go to the library."
- pourthebubbly
An Abundance of Worthless Knowledge
"I am fully capable of writing in cursive, using a card catalog, driving a manual shift car, starting a two-stroke motor, modifying an autoexec.bat file, reading a paper map and navigating with a compass, navigating with a VOR, among others and I haven't done any of those things for a very long time."
- Leucippus1
Not only did this thread bring back so many memories from childhood, but it felt bittersweet to think about all the things we learned that we can't really use anymore.
Fortunately, some of these skills might still randomly come up, like using a physical map when in an area with no reception.
We've all had to deal with a boss or manager who we never exactly saw eye to eye with.
Knowing that keeping our job depended on keeping them happy, the most we could do was shrug off their irritating behavior, force a smile, and get on with our work.
Providing, of course, that their behavior didn't surpass the basic standards of human decency.
But when that happy day arrives that you find yourself with an even better job, and a boss whom you actually respect and admire, it gives you the opportunity to let your true feelings be known to your soon-to-be former employer.
While some choose to take the high road and leave as diplomatically as they came, others have no fear of leaving with a gesture that makes no effort whatsoever to hide their feelings.
"What was your final “f*ck you” to a boss you didn’t like?"
Time To Celebrate!!!
"My co-worker bought cake and ice cream for the office."
"Someone asked what we were celebrating.. and he said his last day."- garethrory
Some People Can't Appreciate How Good They Have It...
"I was thinking about quitting but was holding back."
"I scheduled a vacation with three extra days. It was a once-in-a-lifetime type of trip."
"He rejected my vacation request."
"I thought about it for a couple of hours."
"Went to his office and told him 'I'm taking the trip no matter what'."
"The next morning the boss met me at hr and gave me a formal written warning."
"I responded by giving him my 2 week's notice."
"They apologized and tried to convince me not to leave but it was too late."- likn16
I Hate It Here Reaction GIF by CBSGiphyI'm Out!
"I worked at a dry cleaner for a summer."
"Front desk, cash under table type of job."
"I worked 50 hours one week and he told me he'd pay me time and a half for the OT."
"I go into work on payday and my cash envelope is not in the drawer."
"I called him and asked about it and he told me he couldn't pay me for my work yet."
"I kindly informed him that I was taking the money I was owed, and locking up the shop, and left."- DiamondHandDwight
To Think She Didn't Even Notice...
"My boss and I had butted heads a few times after she took over the office."
"After finding a much better job I handed her a list of my job responsibilities, which she asked for because she didn't understand what I did there."
"'This is too much, we'd have to distribute all this to like 4 different people'."
"And I said 'yea' and walked out."
"Spoiler: she didn't do any of that and was fired less than a year later as the office was falling apart."- ijustcomment
Beat Them At Their Own Game
"I gave him a two-hour notice when I quit."
"He had a habit of firing people on the spot when they gave advance notice."- California_Sun1112
homer simpson evidence GIFGiphyThere's A Time And A Place...
"Working retail I quit at the register on Black Friday."
"I had recently gotten another full-time job and was keeping this retail gig because I liked the employee discount and due to my other job this check was pure fun money, all that is to say I didn't need the retail job."
"My store manager comes over at hour 7 of my shift, with chaos and a line 100 people long, and has the nerve to tell me my up-sales (fishing for promo signups, i.e. rewards, credit cards etc) weren't cutting it for how much traffic I was seeing."
"In front of the customers!"
"I already couldn't stand this B so I said, 'You know what you do it, I'm done' and then I apologized to my coworkers on the way out."- GreedoInASpeedo
You Made The Mess, You Clean It Up...
"As far as my life goes it was the sh*ttiest job I ever took."
"Long hours, a lot of crunch, no company vehicle and a lot of travel."
"Every time I'd go to a different site I would get like 20 different phone numbers for the various people I was communicating with."
"Anyway so all of the contacts for these people was on my company phone that was synched up to my personal Gmail (which stored all the phone numbers)."
"At some point management decided my job was redundant and decided to lay me off without notice and without severance."
"First thing I did was wipe my company phone clean before handing it over."
"A few days later they called me asking where all the contact information was stored."
"'Sorry I don't work for you anymore'."- garlicroastedpotato
Season 3 Nbc GIF by The OfficeGiphyNo Man Left Behind...
"I worked hard over the course of a year to get all my former coworkers I cared about new jobs."- stebuu
No Uncertain Terms
"My exit interview when I was asked the reason for leaving."
"I simply said their name and nothing more."- mixologist998
The Game's Up!
"Sent them to the feds for Medicare fraud and they got fined 41.7 mil."
"This issue was important to me because the physicians were actively charting that their patients were at high risk for drug abuse, which was not the case."
"They'd drug test every patient every month who were prescribed opiates."
"The standard for high risk is based on the ORT, which lists things like requested early prescriptions (taking too much meds), prior negative test (likely selling on the street), etc."
"This company used stupid criteria, including but not limited to, drinking caffeinated beverages, being a current or former smoker, to place a patient in the high-risk category."
"All I could think of was how this would impact patients if they were to apply for a job with a need for over-the-top security clearance, or the patient who got in a fender bender and was on pain meds for a month, then ended up in a nasty divorce where their medical records were subpoenaed."
"This kind of sh*t wrecks people's lives, and for what?"
"Greed?"
"Yeah, nah."
"Not on board with that."
"When I 1st reported it to corporate compliance, I was sent home with or without pay (?) because I 'had a bad attitude'."
"After I got home, the HR manager called me."
"So I reported her to compliance for attempting to make an hourly staff engage in company business while off the clock and reported her to USDOL wage and hour division."
"She eventually got fired."
"And I got paid for the hours I was sent home."
"At that point, I didn't give a sh*t."
"They pissed me off, they were potentially ruining people's lives with the chart records, and I was being bullied by my employer."
"So I just started firing off chart notes from my desk."
"They eventually locked me out of the system, but by then I'd already found another job and knew I'd sent enough to bury them."
"If faced with the same sh*t again, I'd proceed the exact same way."
"As much as I'd like to have received a cut, at the end of the day I probably helped some patients avoid all kinds of disaster."
"And that's an awesome payout."- Darwina1226
Safety Of Others Over Blackmail...
"Mechanic at a commuter airline."
"Boss wanted me to sign off a plane pre-flight inspection."
"I refused to sign because the plane was not airworthy."
"He told me if I wished to continue working, then I'd better sign."
"My response: 'then I guess I don’t work here anymore'."
"I picked up my tool box and left."
"I did report it to the head of maintenance as well as the FAA."
"I cannot reveal the airline, but rest assured, they have been absorbed by other major airlines several times and are not flying these model of planes any longer."- Griffie
It's always a good idea to stay professional and keep your cool while at work.
But when you're no longer under their employ, nothing should stop you from letting your true feelings be known about a horrible, incompetent, possibly dangerous boss.