You walk in worlds the others can't begin to imagine.

Drusilla ,'Conversations with Dead People'


Natter 74: Ready or Not  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, butt kicking, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


sarameg - Sep 07, 2016 6:17:58 am PDT #27168 of 30003

Flip this to:

Theists who bring it up first or are quick to bring up their status as an atheist are generally looking for a reaction.

and it's a quick bias check!

I'm about to set fire to certain teams.

If I say I am unavailable, I am unavailable.I pretty much refuse to work outside normal hours. I make a few exceptions in extreme cases, but I don't even log into my email when I'm not 'at work.' (When I get stupid and do check it, I usually regret it.) NopenopenopeNOPE.


Connie Neil - Sep 07, 2016 6:18:04 am PDT #27169 of 30003
brillig

I was going to make very good money on this deal

"But . . . you're getting overtime," says the puzzled supervisor when you complain about staying late and having to work through lunch for two weeks straight, and your name gets put down on the list of Suspected of Not Being a Team Player.

I think we're supposed to be satisfied with a boilerplate "We're grateful for your hard work and everything you do!" at the end of the email saying "you're going to have to work through lunch again."


Matt the Bruins fan - Sep 07, 2016 6:18:49 am PDT #27170 of 30003
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand

Ha! I know I have been royally cheesing off one of my co-workers because I've been taking a healthier "It'll get done when it gets done" approach and not working through weekends while she's still in an "OMG, MUST BE FINISHED BY YESTERDAY!!!1!" mindset. But when *every single thing* she sends me is on same day turnaround/overdue, my ability to get worked up about deadlines just disappears. And my approach has been borne out by Big Boss also being chill about things needing last minute or after-the-fact corrections.


lisah - Sep 07, 2016 6:24:06 am PDT #27171 of 30003
Punishingly Intricate

I totally get that events arise sometimes that might require a person to work during their scheduled vacation. I've put in work hours during pto myself. But not during EVERY vacation. That's nuts!


Maria - Sep 07, 2016 6:29:45 am PDT #27172 of 30003
Not so nice is that I'm about to ruin a Friday morning for a bunch of people because of a series of unfortunate events and an upset foreign government. - shrift

If I say I am unavailable, I am unavailable.I pretty much refuse to work outside normal hours. I make a few exceptions in extreme cases, but I don't even log into my email when I'm not 'at work.' (When I get stupid and do check it, I usually regret it.) NopenopenopeNOPE.

I wish I could, but it's not done in this industry. I have a lot of scheduling flexibility, so I can go to the gym in the middle of the day, or spend a few days visiting a friend, as long as the work is getting done. I was sick for most of the two weeks prior to Labor Day, and I basically handled what was important in between sleeping 12 hours a day, and I didn't take sick days. Where they go apeshit is in these situations.

I am going to be changing my own behavior though, about putting the work phone on DND after working hours and on weekends. I need to be better about not checking it after I'm done for the day.

I think we're supposed to be satisfied with a boilerplate "We're grateful for your hard work and everything you do!" at the end of the email saying "you're going to have to work through lunch again."

That's what this country gets so wrong. This drive to work, work, work, to the exclusion of everything else isn't healthy, and we all know it. Not to overgeneralize things, but Americans live to work and the rest of the world works to live.

Not wading into the (a)theist conversation right now. My thoughts are a jumbled mess, and my relationship with religion is tenuous enough.


sarameg - Sep 07, 2016 6:37:06 am PDT #27173 of 30003

I'd be really unhappy if the extreme cases happened with more frequency than they do now.


Gudanov - Sep 07, 2016 6:53:52 am PDT #27174 of 30003
Coding and Sleeping

This drive to work, work, work, to the exclusion of everything else isn't healthy, and we all know it.

I think this is a big issue coming down the pipe. What happens when there isn't enough work? Already there is this weird perception that (not among everyone) that automation is this bad thing. Freeing people of tedious jobs should be a good thing, but we don't have any other means to allocate wealth and jobs are so tied to our identity and self-worth so it's seen as a terrible thing. How do we as a society deal with a future where we don't really need everyone to work? How do we create value in creative work to create new options for people besides tedium?


lisah - Sep 07, 2016 7:06:52 am PDT #27175 of 30003
Punishingly Intricate

Omg there is SO much work to do!!! In fixing the infrastructure, in social services, etc. Finding ways to train and then pay them to do that work is another matter.


Laura - Sep 07, 2016 7:11:31 am PDT #27176 of 30003
Our wings are not tired.

Is it possible to be an atheist without coming across as arrogant or offensive?

Religious belief, or lack thereof, is a topic that I avoid when I already know the party's belief because they have it plastered all over their bumper and wear it on their sleeve. I find the militant believers as annoying as the militant non-believers. I'm pretty good at avoiding the topic with saying it is a personal matter. Really good at it with the persistent. More open minded people I am happy to discuss such things with at length. I am perfectly accepting of both the super religious, atheists, and all in between. Just don't ask me to carry your banner.

I work too much. 24/7/365. I know this is true, but haven't figured out how to change it. This morning one of my doctors died. Sudden aortic rupture. He looked seriously healthy to me! He was scheduled to retire in 6 weeks. I would prefer that I get some time off before I die.


Calli - Sep 07, 2016 7:13:42 am PDT #27177 of 30003
I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul—Calvin and Hobbs

I'm lucky that I'm in a job where, most of the time, I can close my work email at the end of the work day and not open it up again until the beginning of the next scheduled work day. There've been a few weekends where, long before the fact, I was asked to take care of a few things, and I did so. Of course, my low pay probably reflects the low pressure.

But vacation is vacation. If your job offers it as a benefit, then it is part of your overall compensation. Working on vacation days while still getting those hours counted against your overall vacation time is wage theft.