The "no plan B" is dumb when it results in things like the woman who was a lighting designer moonlighting as our box office person refusing to learn or use excel and word because she thought that would make her more likely to take a day job and less likely to succeed as a lighting designer. So she did the whole cashing up process by hand instead of just entering the numbers in the spreadsheet which would calculate for her.

Is Plan B the same thing as a safety net? If so, it could be an accounting degree OR rich parents.

I have so many comments that I could make, but I will mostly say that "different people like different shit" is a reason not to say "I like X, you should, too" NOT an argument against discussing who does or doesn't like X and why.

Oh, and my cobbler told me it would be "expensive" to fix the shanks on some boots, but it was still like 1/3 of the replacement cost, so I went ahead with it.

The people who think that they are too much of an artiste to deal with the daily realities of life drive me nuts.

For example: there was a kid in art school who had THE JOB that everyone wanted -- working in the photography equipment room: all that access to all that equipment and all the darkrooms. And he quit because it "interfered with his art" - and it was only 8 hours a week.

Small child playing with an otter - adorable!

So... How about those tornados?

I onerous tasked!!

I made doctor's appointments for me for the OB/GYN and a physical with my GP. I also made dentist appointments for me and Em which I had been avoiding since I got my fillings and we owed them monies but I paid it today and got appointments scheduled!

This afternoon I am going to go get my flipping blood drawn to check my thyroid levels because my hair is falling out by the handful. It's ridonkulous.

So... How about those tornados?

INORITE???

I see this as potentially being a different issue. Is he failing to deliver on work he promised or otherwise being unprofessional in his work conduct? Or is it simply that the customers object to his professional opinion? It reads like the latter, in which case the issue is, as you said, the "stupid ass sense of entitlement" that keeps notalwaysright.com in business.

More they object to the bluntness of his professional opinion. Much like Jilli's cobbler.

Here: Kensington Cobblers on Yelp.

Much like Jilli's cobbler.

I thought no one was objecting to the bluntness of Jilli's cobbler, and that was the whole point. You don't have to be a dick, so why bother?

I hate the idea that "I'm an expert, I'm an artiste, I'm right, I'm clever, so I get a pass on being a decent human being" is somehow valid thinking. Being civil isn't just for losers. It's for us all.

Melville's 20 years in the customs house came after he had largely given up writing novels, discouraged by the public and critical reaction to his work. If he didn't want to have a plan B, he shouldn't have had four children.

James Dickey survived the indignities of teaching and writing ad copy. P.D. James worked as a civil servant for 40 years, supporting two daughters and a disabled husband. Toni Morrison's work doesn't seem to have been diminished by a plan B of an advanced degree and college teaching.