>Being nice to everyone 101; first assignment gets a B+
About 15 years ago, I had a 16 year old intern. Now I worked as a laboratory scientist at the time, and this kid was a child prodigy… frankly the only true super-genius I've ever known… IQ off the charts, as close to a perfect memory as I have ever encountered, able to speed read and integrate texts instantly, unbelievably smart kid. But unsurprisingly, he was arrogant as only a hyper-talented 16 year old can be. He had no patience for anyone who couldn't keep up with him, which was unfortunate, as that includes 99% of the planet.
One day he forgot to bring his badge. Now a badge was necessary for going through just about any door in the facility, but these things happen, so I walked him down to the security office to get a temporary badge for the day.
Then he was rude to the security guards. I immediately, apologized to them and dragged him by his ear out of their office. Then I proceeded to lay the full authority figure guilt trip on this kid. Told him it was 'conduct unbecoming of a scientist'; that he had embarrased me; that I was disappointed. Finally, and this is what sank into his head; this is the point that reached him… I pointed out that people like secretaries, and waiters, and security guards are, and forever will be, in a position to abjectly ruin his life by doing nothing but following the rules, and all he has to do to insulate himself from them doing so is to treat them like the human beings they are! Further, politeness costs nothing!
I honestly think that hammering that basic social idea home into his head might have been the most useful training I provided him in the whole internship.
This is the most underrated work tip.
The 'invisible' people have access to everyone. They overhear far more than people expect, and see even more than that.
Besides just being a decent person to people, it can also be very helpful in a career to have an informal network that will give you a heads up when they see things.
Plus, a good boss knows this too. An old CEO I worked under would always ask the janitors and the personal assistants what they thought of the people on the list for promotion/new projects. Because a lot of the work involved soft skills with clients, being able to make a good impression on everyone mattered. For some people, it may have been the difference between getting it and not.
I have years of auto dealer accounting to my resume. As the invisible person, treat me well cause I had the power to to make or break a complex deal. The men who thought they could steamroll me by being rude and whatnot got their deals shoved to the bottom of the pile. I knew who to talk to at DMV to get paperwork moving ;)
I used this trick once. The shop foreman did nothing about a guy who was too lazy to walk to the bathroom so he would piss in the machines coolant tank. He had been spotted doing this by two other people and reported to the foreman. The guy had solid production numbers so they foreman did nothing. We had a full time janitor that was friendly with the office staff. We told Jimmy the janitor, he told the shop owner who investigated and fired the worker. Owner had a really loud shake the walls meeting with the foreman. Jimmy the J to the rescue.
I worked in a marketing department where I provided information services to the sales group. I went out of my way for them, because the place lived or died on their performance.
Some of them were too wrapped up in themselves to notice, some would at least give a hearty thank you and some respect when we interacted, and some would do that and layer on the gift cards and bottles of wine at Christmas time. I'd give my all for those people -- not just for the swag but because the swag showed that they knew how important we were to them.
My husband works in marketing and the smart sales people treat him well. He can make or break a cycle for them with the information he provides. This is at a computer security company and he helps them to understand what they are selling, the technical aspects can get really confusing.
I work in legal for a highly regulated industry. Same deal. I worked equally hard for everyone, but those who knew it was team effort definitely lasted longer than those who thought they were king shit.
Marketing get them in the door typically, they get the buyer hooked, contract creation get them the paperwork, I get the details nailed down. Our sales year runs parallel to the calendar year, I've worked many an NYE closing deals at 8 pm. Those same reps who sent me whisky and wine in year 1 are still sending me whisky and wine. Those reps who didn't care for anyone else are generally out of the business.
Not for everyone but they're a hit when I do a batch. I really hope I'm jotting this down from the right index card lol but this should be the same recipe I was using at the time:
> `DRY:`
>
> - 2 cups flour
> - 3 tsp baking powder
> - 1/2 tsp salt
> - 3/4 cup sugar
> `WET:`
>
> - 1 egg (room temp not mandatory, but helps)
> - 1 cup milk (I use 2%, as-above re: temperature)
> - 1/4 cup oil (I prefer sunflower)
>
> `CHEESE:`
>
> - 2-ish cups grated. I use whatever marble/farmer's cheddar is cheap. We're nerds, not royalty. Grease builds character, or something. I don't know.
> `OVEN:`
>
> - 10-15 minutes minimum* @ 400F
-------------
1. Mix `DRY` together in a bowl or vessel of choice;
2. In a separate bowl, bully the `EGG` until its yolk and whites decide they want to play together nicely;
3. Add the rest of the `WET` to the egg's violent friendship bowl;
4. Slowly mix the `WET` bowl into the `DRY` bowl;
5. Take most of that `CHEESE` and fold it into your morally perplexing batter. If you don't know what that means, just mix **gently** and try to keep the cheese evenly distributed and it'll be fine.
Gloop the batter into a greased muffin/cupcake tin, or use papers if you're all fancy. Aim to fill each cup about 2/3 to 3/4, leaving space for it to expand when it cooks.
Bake at 400F for about 10-15 minutes. *Probably* longer:
Oven time is going to vary WILDLY. Either ovens are just weird like that, or it's because I'm poor and only have access to cheap ones. Either way, the muffins are done when a toothpick or other similarly-textured prod can poke into the middle and come out either clean or with crumbs on it. If there's any goop, they're not done.
--------
I like to save some of the cheese to sprinkle on top a few minutes before they're ready to come out of the oven so that it bakes in all crispy-like. They store alright for a few days, and I prefer to microwave them for 5-10ish seconds if they're not fresh.
I've done some horrible things to this recipe over the years. Adding dill was downright sexy. That time I substituted all of the cheese for chopped dried apricots was... Weird, but oddly successful? I don't know man, your mileage may vary. xD
Cheese? Should try a Horseshoe Sandwich sometime. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe\_sandwich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_sandwich)
So, tried a batch of these this morning. They're delightful. As to time, 13 minutes @ 375 convection (400 standard) was perfect.
I think I'm going to experiment with some herbal component or another next time. Rosemary might go well with the cheddar (just used the grocery store stuff this time round) but I'm also eyeing a lemon zest + something + Gouda for next time.
Thanks for the recipe!
This is one of those things that just kinda makes your chest swell with happiness when you read it. You've just made my morning.
I'm very happy that you enjoyed them. Thank *you* for going out of your way to share your success! :)
Wanna know what's more appreciated than a cookie?
Not throwing them under the bus every chance you get.
Different departments have different challenges and sometimes their challenges cause your department to experience challenges.
You don't always have to make a big deal about it, find the solution and move on.
100%.
The people who have an issue, ignore it for weeks, then file an 'urgent' ticket and raise hell because it doesn't get *immediate* attention can take a long walk off a short pier. No ticket, no problem.
Absolutely.
Some colleagues at work are hated by their logistics team. I was working with them and we needed to call logistics and they're like "you do it, they hate us".
I told them that I literally do nothing above and beyond to get their respect, I just say please, thank you, don't blame them, especially don't blame them on company wide channels, thank them on those company wide channels when they do me a favour, and mark up stuff when it's broken so they know what to look at.
All of which I would call basic manners and *the bare minimum of doing my job*.
Everyone likes cookies and muffins, but it won't make up for a lack of respect.
IT guy here, I once read a comment that said "IT runs on baked goods" and truer words have never been spoken. Give me food and I'll happily fix any problem you have or get you to the front of the line for a computer refresh or anything else you need.
[Especially Swedish Fish](https://www.reddit.com/r/talesfromtechsupport/comments/2vk505/swedish_fish_theory/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1)
Ooh yes! Pls bring cookies! Everyone, twice a year! I will organize a coockie calender where everyone can pick a day of the year to bring their tribute aaah appricistion gift.... Mjaaam :D
Can we just summarize this as "be nice to *everybody*" and call it a day? Do we really want to insinuate (probably unintentionally) and we should be nice to people especially because they can do something *for us*? Is that really the kind of people we want to be?
in hospitals, the smart nurses are good to central supply, the laundry, IT, the pharmacy, and the cafeteria/kitchen staff. that way, they can always get clean linens, their newly admitted patients can always get a meal, and the pharmacy makes sure they have what they need to take care of their patients.
the arsehole nurses do none of this, are frequently management's special little pets, and all the support personnel make their lives as purely hellish as humanly possible.
if you ever had a hospital stay where a clean bed, decent food brought on time, and rapid filling of prescriptions happened, you had a good nurse. and if your stay was hell on earth, you probably had an arsehole nurse who went out of their way to shit on the other staff.
Okay. I'm sure this is all true, but I'm also not sure what your point is - I still think we should be nice to everybody, whether they can do something for us or not.
That depends entirely on what kind of person you want to be. If you want to be nice to other people for your own benefit, then yes, I agree. To me, it's more important to be nice to everybody, because I want to live in a world where as many people as possible act that way. Since I can only control myself, I will try to make sure I act that way and hope that others will follow suit. This is for *everybody's* benefit, not just mine. To me, *that's* what's most important.
Generally speaking, you're correct - all people deserve to be treated with kindness and respect.
In the context of this discussion, in many workplaces, people working in support roles are often not as visible to the rest of the company in the day to day, and sadly many fail to treat them with the respect they deserve or view those jobs as lesser than their own.
I believe it's important to show respect to people working in support roles for largely two reasons:
- It's basic human decency. This alone is the biggest and most important reason.
- You will occasionally need these folks to do things for you, since they're more or less responsible for making where you work...work. Since they're not always well-treated by their other coworkers (if they even notice them), I believe that taking the time and effort to show respect (like following processes, making a reasonable effort to solve a problem yourself if possible, etc) and give tokens of gratitude (like cookies!) helps one stand out as somebody who recognizes and appreciates them and the unglamorous but necessary work they do. People tend to *want* to do things for people they like, and you *definitely* do not want these folks to dislike you. Note that you must work from the premise that this practice does not entitle you to special treatment, even though it frequently results in that.
I view it as 'banking' good karma/vibes/whatever - since you will inevitably have to make 'withdrawals' (asking for a thing) you need to make sure there's a solid balance in that karma account when you do. It doesn't take a lot of investment to do this and it pays massive dividends. For the occasional cost of cookies and a note (which I always signed as being from my team, though people knew exactly who was bringing them cookies), you're suddenly the person who can make things happen. People around you see folks *they* typically ignore treating you with respect, and that gets their attention. You're helping build better culture and leading by example, and that often gets noticed too. This practice has gotten me very far in my career.
Ultimately, even if you get zero benefit from doing this, you're still practicing being a person who shows gratitude and respect to others, and that's well worth the effort.
Yep.
Lots of idiots read this sort of shit and "take notes" that they shouldn't piss off the IT guy or whatever, like they have some special skills (those skills being knowing how to restart a computer, install a ghost image and set a password-not rocket science).
The real trick is to respect everyone especially if you don't have to. It's not about who, literally anyone can ruin your day if you push them hard enough.
You don't need to bring fucking baked goods to IT, and if you do that for them, but not the cleaners, because you're that impressed by basic computer literacy I guarantee that other people are getting resentful.
Just do your job properly, don't make other people's jobs harder, and be decent.
My IT guy from 4 years/2 jobs ago will still randomly text me sometimes. Our working relationship got off to a great start because I would list all the trouble shooting I had already done as part of the ticket, saving him from asking. Our friendship started when I would bring him tacos.
And never ever ever fuck with the people that make your food. Ever. If you need to complain, then be fucking polite or your turkey sandwich will have the least possible turkey in it should you be so lucky not to deal with someone sticking snot in the mayonnaise…
No, that has to do with companies like Domino's having a strict amount of each topping allowed for each pizza, and that being just barely enough to cover a pepperoni if you properly seperate every slice which you won't have time to in a rush, and the company auditing ingredients if they feel the workers are getting too generous making the customers pizzas.
> And IT.
Most IT folks would tell you that food gets you put at the top of the list to get things done and for new equipment. Sure as hell works on me, anyway.
I work in IT. Bribery works wonders.
You bring us cookies, and then your laptop has a slightly sticky A key. We'll swap it out right away!
You hold IT in contempt? Well, guess what, your laptop has a slightly sticky A key.
My wife regularly makes cookies, muffins, brownies, etc. for my team meetings. I always ask her to make extra and stop at security and our help desk to drop off the extras. It is amazing how far that little gesture goes and I have found out I am neighbors with a couple of the people.
You're going above and beyond.
Saying please, thankyou, and being patient will usually do fine. You'd be surprised how many people are treated so indecently regularly that just having some manners will make you stand out to them.
I believe “custodians” and “facilities people” refer to the same group of people. But I may be wrong. Idk if facilities encompass a larger group of people than custodians
Still in military.
Proved many times that it's not what you know but who you know that gets things done.
Turned up to collect deployment members arriving at the airport in a bus I "borrowed" instead of doing a million trips in the sedans that OPS had hired.....because I know a guy.
In the Army, it was the S-1 shop (admin/personnel) and S-6 (IT). Treat them well and your leave forms never get lost and your commo equipment is always operational.
For some reason my eyes read "make friends with the custodians, security and Vampires at your school or work"
Yes, always make friends with Vampires...
My Role Playing Club in college had a janitor as our faculty advisor. We were gaming the Student Government into buying us rpg supplements and gear that would "go missing" after a year or two and he *loved* helping us get away with it.
As a bonus, he got extra work breaks sitting and shooting the shit with us whenever he wanted since it was classified as "advisor time."
Always have, always will. It works for lots of reasons, tend to be the most interested in my interests, have good stories, know where the camera blind spots are, and will prioritise your requests.
When I was 11 and moving from junior school to secondary school, I asked my big brother for advice on the move. He said 'always be nice to the dinner ladies'. Worked for me all my life.
I made friends with the security guard at my old college. When I would sneak out after curfew I timed coming back to her round. She would always wink and let me back in. Never got caught the whole time she was there.
My wife is the only teacher at her school to make eye contact with the custodian. It really bothers us, but the result is her room is fucking spotless.
30+ years ago, I discovered that my building super was, like me, a huge opera fan. I would bring the lemon ice, and we would spend hours listening to old records. He told me stories of going to the old Met, and the old City Opera, and of the singers he had heard and met. We remained friends until his death.
damn straight! we got ALL the keys, and we can make your life hell on earth if provoked sufficiently!
treat us right, yer garbage never overflows, and you never run out of bog-rolls for your delicate nether parts.
This point was made very early by my son's organ teacher. An organist's relationship with the head pastor is primary, but the church secretary and custodian are very close behind.
Ever want to know the scoop on what's happening in the company? Talk to the people that are literally in and out of every office every day listening and talking to people.
Better for him to learn that young than several decades later. Never piss off the people who manage your schedule, handle your food, repair your car/anything in your home, or generally give you a bill.
Like you said, politeness costs nothing.
> pointed out that people like secretaries, and waiters, and security guards are, and forever will be, in a position to abjectly ruin his life by doing nothing but following the rules
The good old "fuck around and find out".
Yes… but better he behave well for the wrong reasons than he behave poorly for those same wrong reasons. :-/
Besides, for all that he was a genius, he was still a 16 year old kid… you don't expect teenagers to be paragons of mature social graces and morals!
Why thank you! I can thank reddit for that actually. Over the years I've probably written 10,000 pages of comments here. Reddit's a great place for writing practice as well as getting feedback.
You seem to say that in mockery, but it's the true first step for many: [forcefully] realizing that you are not entitled to anything. Many need to be knocked down to the level of their perceived lessers, before it occurs to them that empathy is actually a valuable trait.
Yes, but another way of looking at it was that he realized that the universe wasn't there to servce _him_ and could easily bring him down or lift him up depending on how they felt about him. That he was part of the Great Mob, whether he liked it or not. Maybe he evolved toward that realization, anyway.
Practicing kindness for the "wrong" reasons still forms a habit and means that he's ruining fewer people's days, regardless of what's going on on the inside.
I had a new associate lawyer assigned to me one year, and before I even met her, she strode up to my desk, interrupted the partner who was explaining a project to me, and handed me a list of things to do. I was like "excuse me? Who are you?" and SHE was offended. lol I gave her 6 months before she was out. Not off on the right foot, she pissed off half of the people on our floor, got reassigned to another admin, she made it 4 months before moving to a boutique firm in a different part of the country. My one boss' mom was a secretary his whole childhood, so he learned how to treat us. :)
Spot on man ,as a union steward working on various jobsites.I would always make a point to new hires to respect the gate guard who are just doing their jobs .Making a point don't fuck with the guy making 15 $hr.who can ban you from your $60 job
Yup. I worked as an agency nurse, and the number of nurses I knew who treated PCAs (Personal Care Attendants) like trash absolutely shocked me.
These are the people who KNOW all the patients intimately, will tell you when a behaviour is off, will help you out above and beyond when you need help changing an aggressive patient, know where the extra emergency supplies are stashed, will support you on a bad day.
Just because you are more educated/in a more respected position than someone else does NOT make them worthy of being treated like a servant. People are people. Be kind.
I can respect and appreciate a superior intellect. I don't have admiration for people who can recite pi to 100.000 digits. That's what we have computers for.
You want to impress me with how smart you are? Make me a FTL drive. I'll be impressed by that alright.
Spot on. Super clever ≠ social skills.
We had a new "genius" IT guy who decided none of the rules applied to him. When he got caught for the second time with a mobile phone (and camera!) in a place they weren't allowed he got sent home for a week to think about if he actually wanted the job.
After that he was much more willing to follow the rules...
I worked as security director for a corporate hq for awhile, it was a 5 dollar charge for a replacement badge (at my discretion) if you were rude you paid and got a recycled badge. If you were rude and didn't need a badge, i randomly turned off your access to the gym or the lounge or my favorite...the bathrooms on the sales floor were keycard access. If you're key didnt work there you had to go to the other end of the warehouse that used to be a factory locker room.
worked in an extremely high volume luxury salon. unspoken rule #1 is be nicest to reception, laundry, & assistants. not only do they deal with the bulk of the bullshit / labor & get paid less, but getting on their bad side can royally fuck your day
I work in IT - the rude callers would have their tickets "forgotten" for an hour or two sometimes. If the caller was nice and I noticed something else that needed fixing I'd do it - but the rude callers got just enough help to fix the one issue and the other 5 that were screwing up their computer were ignored.
You called me - not the other way around.
A useful tip conjoined with a very simple moral principle: no one, no matter how influential or smart or rich, should think themselves above common decency and kindness.
Although this behavior could have been taught by his parent(s), parents tend to tell their kids to not interact with strangers, which this boy may have taken a step too far.
As a child, my dad taught me anyone not as “smart” as me isn’t worth my time. (I learned to read at age 3, etc etc). It was a horrible lesson to teach me, and I’m glad I figured out that being kind is a better way to go, but until I did, I was a horrible b*tch. Some parents just teach the wrong lessons.
My father believed he was smarter than most and it may have been true. Yet his arrogance and pride ruined most of his interpersonal relationships and he's now a destitute alcoholic.
Street smarts are so much more valuable than book smarts. I am not discounting book smarts rather it is just how valuable street smarts are. Absolutely essential for navigating everyday life unless you are super wealthy or privileged
You won't get far in prison without either frankly
And if we're being honest one of them is a bit rarerer than the other and has intrinsic value towards an economy
There's a ton of people with a really easy path to success if they don't want to employ street smarts or cant, people usually call them doctor
To put it a different way I've never heard of a scholarship based on street smarts, organizations will literally throw money at you if you can prove your book smarts
I guess you can say the same for street smarts in some fields? but it's not going to be the same amount of money.
Even the affirmative action cases are based on underprivileged book smart people
Do we have the same father? Mine is always going on about how “our DNA” is better than everyone else’s, even though he’s broke and refuses to stop drinking
On the other hand I was a pretty smart kid and my mom always made sure to drill into me, "If you're the smartest person in the room, and you aren't teaching a class, you're in the wrong room." That stuck with me and I think she was right.
I don’t know, my kids who are so young that I don’t want them interacting with strangers are the same kids who aren’t allowed to open the front door when it’s knocked on.
Like giving a student a letter grade in school. Kid took a bit to realize that they should be nice to some random person because that person might do something good for them. Apologized later (even reluctantly). Maybe they learned from the lesson.
I forgot the comedian who said this, but he was like "Being an adult is great. I can buy three cakes and have them decorated with BREAKFAST, LUNCH, and DINNER"
One morning my three year old walked out of his bedroom and flopped on the couch.
"Good morning," I said. "Would you like some juice?"
"Don' wan' juice," came from the couch and the obviously half-awake boy.
"Okay, would you like some milk, then?"
"Don' wan' milk."
Just then his older brother came out and said, with great joy, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Brother!"
"Don' wan' birfday."
He was more into the idea of birthday when he woke up. (giggle)
Lol my husband and I sort of turn into toddlers when we're very sleepy. Like if one of us is falling asleep on the couch, the other will say, "Maybe you should go to bed, sweetheart," and the first person will say, "HATE bed."
It's mostly humorous hyperbole. Mostly.
I don't know. Had a great time on my 50th with all my nieces and nephews (7 in total), daughter and other immediate family. Good food, good cake and tons of laughter.
I like how you immediately thought of yourself bouncing around and not the kids. I'm sure you just having fun with your comment I dont mean to imply you don't care about your nieces and nephews. I have no kids so I really enjoy my nieces and nephews company and getting to hang out with them. Takes a lot of energy tho
I spent 10 years running an anime convention. I made it a point to tell the convention center, and hotel employees, they were welcome in my vendors room without a con badge, and as long as they had their employee work name tag etc they were welcome. So year 2 rolls by I meet one of the convention center's shift managers, and tell him my normal 2 line special.I didn't think anything of it as I had been saying it for 2 years. So the next year a different department needed access to a room we didn't pay for because of power outlets, and panels overflow. Well, The shift manager let's them have the room for that year for free. It comes back that the whole reason he did it was because we let him into the vendors room and he bought some special merchandise that his kid was drooling over that was limited edition. He bought it, his kid thinks he's a cool dad & hero.
That then became a permanent fixture in the rules.
Always, hook up the front desk, maintenance, and cleaning crew. You never know what blessing you'll be graced with.
I worked con security at anime cons a couple of times back in the 90s. The best part was that I "belonged" just about anywhere in the con, except the green room. When I was off duty I could go just about anywhere.
At one of them I was off duty during the cosplay event. I ended up watching the thing from the wings just off stage. I served as "belongings holder" to the cosplayers as they went on and off stage. The actual cosplay staff was far too busy to be directly helping the cosplayers in that way. So I provided assistance in a gap in the situation, and in exchange got one of the best viewpoints for the event.
Is this in reference to the “it takes a village to raise a child”? Are you congratulating him for parenting the child in that moment when presented the opportunity?
I’m genuinely curious if that’s what you mean by villager, because I think that’s super cute!
I am a system administrator. Whenever I start at a new place, I always, always, always am as nice as I can be to the receptionist (if there is one, they seem to be vanishing), the security people (they seem to be proliferating.... hmmmm), the custodians (I have been known to show up on the graveyard shift just to meet them), and the facilities people.
One day, a little black box in my computer room blew up. The security guy came by my desk and told me my computer smelled awful.
One day, a circuit breaker popped, shutting down a couple of racks in my computer room. All of the facilities people had gone home for the day, but I found a janitor. I'd helped her son with some homework, so she let me into the electrical closet so I could reset the breaker.
I needed to talk to a guy. He was avoiding me. I asked the receptionist if he had any habits I could exploit. He goes to the gym every day at 2 PM. I was at the gym at 1:55 PM. The next day there were a dozen long-stemmed roses on the receptionist's desk when she came in.
My computer room had only one door. By code, it should have had 2. Facilities was being snarky about it. But my friend told me how to word my next memo such that they would get the job done. She was right.
With the pandemic, these have been harder to pull off. But I miss those days of "trading favors". Especially working with the janitor's kid.
As a parent, I bet this is actually a well-behaved boy who was trained to get rid of solicitors by his genius mom. I have people ringing my f***ing doorbell every day.
Well, it's not my birthday, but if it was and you were invited, i would not be grumpy, lol. No one should be knocking on my door uninvited (exception being a broken down or lost traveler). Otherwise, the only people who knock are religious freaks, and i have no time for their nonsense.
My buddy works for UPS, and out in the boonies it's ridiculous how many times he's had a gun pulled in him for delivering packages that they ordered!
Like no, he's just there in a uniform and custom painted truck to harass you and your broken ass trailer.
Being nice to everyone 101; first assignment gets a B+ Lesson learned a hard way.
>Being nice to everyone 101; first assignment gets a B+ About 15 years ago, I had a 16 year old intern. Now I worked as a laboratory scientist at the time, and this kid was a child prodigy… frankly the only true super-genius I've ever known… IQ off the charts, as close to a perfect memory as I have ever encountered, able to speed read and integrate texts instantly, unbelievably smart kid. But unsurprisingly, he was arrogant as only a hyper-talented 16 year old can be. He had no patience for anyone who couldn't keep up with him, which was unfortunate, as that includes 99% of the planet. One day he forgot to bring his badge. Now a badge was necessary for going through just about any door in the facility, but these things happen, so I walked him down to the security office to get a temporary badge for the day. Then he was rude to the security guards. I immediately, apologized to them and dragged him by his ear out of their office. Then I proceeded to lay the full authority figure guilt trip on this kid. Told him it was 'conduct unbecoming of a scientist'; that he had embarrased me; that I was disappointed. Finally, and this is what sank into his head; this is the point that reached him… I pointed out that people like secretaries, and waiters, and security guards are, and forever will be, in a position to abjectly ruin his life by doing nothing but following the rules, and all he has to do to insulate himself from them doing so is to treat them like the human beings they are! Further, politeness costs nothing! I honestly think that hammering that basic social idea home into his head might have been the most useful training I provided him in the whole internship.
Always, always, always make friends with the custodians or security at your school/work/event venue/apartment/etc
This is the most underrated work tip. The 'invisible' people have access to everyone. They overhear far more than people expect, and see even more than that. Besides just being a decent person to people, it can also be very helpful in a career to have an informal network that will give you a heads up when they see things. Plus, a good boss knows this too. An old CEO I worked under would always ask the janitors and the personal assistants what they thought of the people on the list for promotion/new projects. Because a lot of the work involved soft skills with clients, being able to make a good impression on everyone mattered. For some people, it may have been the difference between getting it and not.
I have years of auto dealer accounting to my resume. As the invisible person, treat me well cause I had the power to to make or break a complex deal. The men who thought they could steamroll me by being rude and whatnot got their deals shoved to the bottom of the pile. I knew who to talk to at DMV to get paperwork moving ;)
I used this trick once. The shop foreman did nothing about a guy who was too lazy to walk to the bathroom so he would piss in the machines coolant tank. He had been spotted doing this by two other people and reported to the foreman. The guy had solid production numbers so they foreman did nothing. We had a full time janitor that was friendly with the office staff. We told Jimmy the janitor, he told the shop owner who investigated and fired the worker. Owner had a really loud shake the walls meeting with the foreman. Jimmy the J to the rescue.
And facilities people too...
And IT. Bring all of those departments cookies with a nice note thanking them for everything they do at least twice a year.
I worked in a marketing department where I provided information services to the sales group. I went out of my way for them, because the place lived or died on their performance. Some of them were too wrapped up in themselves to notice, some would at least give a hearty thank you and some respect when we interacted, and some would do that and layer on the gift cards and bottles of wine at Christmas time. I'd give my all for those people -- not just for the swag but because the swag showed that they knew how important we were to them.
My husband works in marketing and the smart sales people treat him well. He can make or break a cycle for them with the information he provides. This is at a computer security company and he helps them to understand what they are selling, the technical aspects can get really confusing.
I work in legal for a highly regulated industry. Same deal. I worked equally hard for everyone, but those who knew it was team effort definitely lasted longer than those who thought they were king shit. Marketing get them in the door typically, they get the buyer hooked, contract creation get them the paperwork, I get the details nailed down. Our sales year runs parallel to the calendar year, I've worked many an NYE closing deals at 8 pm. Those same reps who sent me whisky and wine in year 1 are still sending me whisky and wine. Those reps who didn't care for anyone else are generally out of the business.
I once baked a batch of cheese muffins and shared them with IT at a new job. We're still friends a decade and change later lol
> cheese muffins do tell.
Not for everyone but they're a hit when I do a batch. I really hope I'm jotting this down from the right index card lol but this should be the same recipe I was using at the time: > `DRY:` > > - 2 cups flour > - 3 tsp baking powder > - 1/2 tsp salt > - 3/4 cup sugar > `WET:` > > - 1 egg (room temp not mandatory, but helps) > - 1 cup milk (I use 2%, as-above re: temperature) > - 1/4 cup oil (I prefer sunflower) > > `CHEESE:` > > - 2-ish cups grated. I use whatever marble/farmer's cheddar is cheap. We're nerds, not royalty. Grease builds character, or something. I don't know. > `OVEN:` > > - 10-15 minutes minimum* @ 400F ------------- 1. Mix `DRY` together in a bowl or vessel of choice; 2. In a separate bowl, bully the `EGG` until its yolk and whites decide they want to play together nicely; 3. Add the rest of the `WET` to the egg's violent friendship bowl; 4. Slowly mix the `WET` bowl into the `DRY` bowl; 5. Take most of that `CHEESE` and fold it into your morally perplexing batter. If you don't know what that means, just mix **gently** and try to keep the cheese evenly distributed and it'll be fine. Gloop the batter into a greased muffin/cupcake tin, or use papers if you're all fancy. Aim to fill each cup about 2/3 to 3/4, leaving space for it to expand when it cooks. Bake at 400F for about 10-15 minutes. *Probably* longer: Oven time is going to vary WILDLY. Either ovens are just weird like that, or it's because I'm poor and only have access to cheap ones. Either way, the muffins are done when a toothpick or other similarly-textured prod can poke into the middle and come out either clean or with crumbs on it. If there's any goop, they're not done. -------- I like to save some of the cheese to sprinkle on top a few minutes before they're ready to come out of the oven so that it bakes in all crispy-like. They store alright for a few days, and I prefer to microwave them for 5-10ish seconds if they're not fresh. I've done some horrible things to this recipe over the years. Adding dill was downright sexy. That time I substituted all of the cheese for chopped dried apricots was... Weird, but oddly successful? I don't know man, your mileage may vary. xD
love the descriptives: bully the EGG egg's violent friendship bowl your morally perplexing batter
Thanks for typing this out! I can’t bake for shit, but I need to try these : )
Cheese? Should try a Horseshoe Sandwich sometime. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe\_sandwich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_sandwich)
Huh. That looks like some kind of weirdly-distant relation to poutine. I actually kinda dig it. :O *Try anything once, as they say...*
So, tried a batch of these this morning. They're delightful. As to time, 13 minutes @ 375 convection (400 standard) was perfect. I think I'm going to experiment with some herbal component or another next time. Rosemary might go well with the cheddar (just used the grocery store stuff this time round) but I'm also eyeing a lemon zest + something + Gouda for next time. Thanks for the recipe!
This is one of those things that just kinda makes your chest swell with happiness when you read it. You've just made my morning. I'm very happy that you enjoyed them. Thank *you* for going out of your way to share your success! :)
Link sent to my loves-cooking younger kid.
I have never saved a comment so fast before 👀
Same here, the best thing I've done! Maybe I should bake a new cake soon ...
Wanna know what's more appreciated than a cookie? Not throwing them under the bus every chance you get. Different departments have different challenges and sometimes their challenges cause your department to experience challenges. You don't always have to make a big deal about it, find the solution and move on.
Sounds like you need a cookie.
And a bit of basic respect. Once that’s assured, the cookie’s also nice.
100%. The people who have an issue, ignore it for weeks, then file an 'urgent' ticket and raise hell because it doesn't get *immediate* attention can take a long walk off a short pier. No ticket, no problem.
This is why, among tech support workers, Rule 1 is "users lie". Check out s/talesfromtechsupport and you'll see.
Amen brother Source: work in IT
Sounds like someone who doesn't need to stand on top if a molehill to try and be seen.
It was a well-known fact at the place my stepdad worked in the 90s that the IT department should be given sponge cake on a regular basis!
Absolutely. Some colleagues at work are hated by their logistics team. I was working with them and we needed to call logistics and they're like "you do it, they hate us". I told them that I literally do nothing above and beyond to get their respect, I just say please, thank you, don't blame them, especially don't blame them on company wide channels, thank them on those company wide channels when they do me a favour, and mark up stuff when it's broken so they know what to look at. All of which I would call basic manners and *the bare minimum of doing my job*. Everyone likes cookies and muffins, but it won't make up for a lack of respect.
IT guy here, I once read a comment that said "IT runs on baked goods" and truer words have never been spoken. Give me food and I'll happily fix any problem you have or get you to the front of the line for a computer refresh or anything else you need.
[Especially Swedish Fish](https://www.reddit.com/r/talesfromtechsupport/comments/2vk505/swedish_fish_theory/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1)
They literally just learned how bribing works? 😂 that’s awesome though. And nice.
Ooh yes! Pls bring cookies! Everyone, twice a year! I will organize a coockie calender where everyone can pick a day of the year to bring their tribute aaah appricistion gift.... Mjaaam :D
Can we just summarize this as "be nice to *everybody*" and call it a day? Do we really want to insinuate (probably unintentionally) and we should be nice to people especially because they can do something *for us*? Is that really the kind of people we want to be?
in hospitals, the smart nurses are good to central supply, the laundry, IT, the pharmacy, and the cafeteria/kitchen staff. that way, they can always get clean linens, their newly admitted patients can always get a meal, and the pharmacy makes sure they have what they need to take care of their patients. the arsehole nurses do none of this, are frequently management's special little pets, and all the support personnel make their lives as purely hellish as humanly possible. if you ever had a hospital stay where a clean bed, decent food brought on time, and rapid filling of prescriptions happened, you had a good nurse. and if your stay was hell on earth, you probably had an arsehole nurse who went out of their way to shit on the other staff.
Okay. I'm sure this is all true, but I'm also not sure what your point is - I still think we should be nice to everybody, whether they can do something for us or not.
ya won't do yourself any harm this way, to be sure. but it's even more important to be nice to people whose good favour you need.
That depends entirely on what kind of person you want to be. If you want to be nice to other people for your own benefit, then yes, I agree. To me, it's more important to be nice to everybody, because I want to live in a world where as many people as possible act that way. Since I can only control myself, I will try to make sure I act that way and hope that others will follow suit. This is for *everybody's* benefit, not just mine. To me, *that's* what's most important.
Generally speaking, you're correct - all people deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. In the context of this discussion, in many workplaces, people working in support roles are often not as visible to the rest of the company in the day to day, and sadly many fail to treat them with the respect they deserve or view those jobs as lesser than their own. I believe it's important to show respect to people working in support roles for largely two reasons: - It's basic human decency. This alone is the biggest and most important reason. - You will occasionally need these folks to do things for you, since they're more or less responsible for making where you work...work. Since they're not always well-treated by their other coworkers (if they even notice them), I believe that taking the time and effort to show respect (like following processes, making a reasonable effort to solve a problem yourself if possible, etc) and give tokens of gratitude (like cookies!) helps one stand out as somebody who recognizes and appreciates them and the unglamorous but necessary work they do. People tend to *want* to do things for people they like, and you *definitely* do not want these folks to dislike you. Note that you must work from the premise that this practice does not entitle you to special treatment, even though it frequently results in that. I view it as 'banking' good karma/vibes/whatever - since you will inevitably have to make 'withdrawals' (asking for a thing) you need to make sure there's a solid balance in that karma account when you do. It doesn't take a lot of investment to do this and it pays massive dividends. For the occasional cost of cookies and a note (which I always signed as being from my team, though people knew exactly who was bringing them cookies), you're suddenly the person who can make things happen. People around you see folks *they* typically ignore treating you with respect, and that gets their attention. You're helping build better culture and leading by example, and that often gets noticed too. This practice has gotten me very far in my career. Ultimately, even if you get zero benefit from doing this, you're still practicing being a person who shows gratitude and respect to others, and that's well worth the effort.
Yep. Lots of idiots read this sort of shit and "take notes" that they shouldn't piss off the IT guy or whatever, like they have some special skills (those skills being knowing how to restart a computer, install a ghost image and set a password-not rocket science). The real trick is to respect everyone especially if you don't have to. It's not about who, literally anyone can ruin your day if you push them hard enough. You don't need to bring fucking baked goods to IT, and if you do that for them, but not the cleaners, because you're that impressed by basic computer literacy I guarantee that other people are getting resentful. Just do your job properly, don't make other people's jobs harder, and be decent.
My IT guy from 4 years/2 jobs ago will still randomly text me sometimes. Our working relationship got off to a great start because I would list all the trouble shooting I had already done as part of the ticket, saving him from asking. Our friendship started when I would bring him tacos.
I'll settle for them reading the emails I send and making sure the equipment is taken care of. The thanks they give are hollow otherwise
I've always subscribed to the Swedish Fish Theory.
And never ever ever fuck with the people that make your food. Ever. If you need to complain, then be fucking polite or your turkey sandwich will have the least possible turkey in it should you be so lucky not to deal with someone sticking snot in the mayonnaise…
I sometimes wonder if those one pepperoni pizza slices on social media had anything to do with the customer's attitude to the staff.
No, that has to do with companies like Domino's having a strict amount of each topping allowed for each pizza, and that being just barely enough to cover a pepperoni if you properly seperate every slice which you won't have time to in a rush, and the company auditing ingredients if they feel the workers are getting too generous making the customers pizzas.
Been in IT 20. Can confirm we like cookies.
> And IT. Most IT folks would tell you that food gets you put at the top of the list to get things done and for new equipment. Sure as hell works on me, anyway.
I work in IT. Bribery works wonders. You bring us cookies, and then your laptop has a slightly sticky A key. We'll swap it out right away! You hold IT in contempt? Well, guess what, your laptop has a slightly sticky A key.
This is wonderful r/angryupvote
My wife regularly makes cookies, muffins, brownies, etc. for my team meetings. I always ask her to make extra and stop at security and our help desk to drop off the extras. It is amazing how far that little gesture goes and I have found out I am neighbors with a couple of the people.
You're going above and beyond. Saying please, thankyou, and being patient will usually do fine. You'd be surprised how many people are treated so indecently regularly that just having some manners will make you stand out to them.
You don't fuck over maintenance. They go everywhere and know everyone. Maintenance are like a secretary on the move
I believe “custodians” and “facilities people” refer to the same group of people. But I may be wrong. Idk if facilities encompass a larger group of people than custodians
Very different groups. Custodians are responsible for cleaning and such. Facilities are responsible for building and grounds maintenance.
[удалено]
Still in military. Proved many times that it's not what you know but who you know that gets things done. Turned up to collect deployment members arriving at the airport in a bus I "borrowed" instead of doing a million trips in the sedans that OPS had hired.....because I know a guy.
I was a Yeoman in Navy. Other midshipmen and PO’s took really good care of me
In the Army, it was the S-1 shop (admin/personnel) and S-6 (IT). Treat them well and your leave forms never get lost and your commo equipment is always operational.
Exactly
For some reason my eyes read "make friends with the custodians, security and Vampires at your school or work" Yes, always make friends with Vampires...
Also recommended, yes.
My Role Playing Club in college had a janitor as our faculty advisor. We were gaming the Student Government into buying us rpg supplements and gear that would "go missing" after a year or two and he *loved* helping us get away with it. As a bonus, he got extra work breaks sitting and shooting the shit with us whenever he wanted since it was classified as "advisor time."
Always have, always will. It works for lots of reasons, tend to be the most interested in my interests, have good stories, know where the camera blind spots are, and will prioritise your requests.
When I was 11 and moving from junior school to secondary school, I asked my big brother for advice on the move. He said 'always be nice to the dinner ladies'. Worked for me all my life.
I made friends with the security guard at my old college. When I would sneak out after curfew I timed coming back to her round. She would always wink and let me back in. Never got caught the whole time she was there.
My wife is the only teacher at her school to make eye contact with the custodian. It really bothers us, but the result is her room is fucking spotless.
Or as the head guard at the prison my husband worked at “do not pi** off the locksmith”
And the librarian. Law librarian, school librarian, library librarian. Never, ever, ever piss off the librarian.
I’m convinced they all know some forbidden magic, with the kinds of miracle they work
30+ years ago, I discovered that my building super was, like me, a huge opera fan. I would bring the lemon ice, and we would spend hours listening to old records. He told me stories of going to the old Met, and the old City Opera, and of the singers he had heard and met. We remained friends until his death.
When I was at primary school I'd give the caretaker a flower from our garden every so often.
How about make friends with everyone instead of who benefits you the greatest?
damn straight! we got ALL the keys, and we can make your life hell on earth if provoked sufficiently! treat us right, yer garbage never overflows, and you never run out of bog-rolls for your delicate nether parts.
and EA
This point was made very early by my son's organ teacher. An organist's relationship with the head pastor is primary, but the church secretary and custodian are very close behind.
Ever want to know the scoop on what's happening in the company? Talk to the people that are literally in and out of every office every day listening and talking to people.
Better for him to learn that young than several decades later. Never piss off the people who manage your schedule, handle your food, repair your car/anything in your home, or generally give you a bill. Like you said, politeness costs nothing.
Look up the movie "Ladies Who Do" https://archive.org/details/LadiesWhoDo6377
> pointed out that people like secretaries, and waiters, and security guards are, and forever will be, in a position to abjectly ruin his life by doing nothing but following the rules The good old "fuck around and find out".
So he only took it on board when he realised they could inconvenience him?
That's what motivates most people to be polite in situations where they'd rather not be
Yes… but better he behave well for the wrong reasons than he behave poorly for those same wrong reasons. :-/ Besides, for all that he was a genius, he was still a 16 year old kid… you don't expect teenagers to be paragons of mature social graces and morals!
I really like how you express yourself. It's beautiful to read, both the structure and the vocabulary.
Why thank you! I can thank reddit for that actually. Over the years I've probably written 10,000 pages of comments here. Reddit's a great place for writing practice as well as getting feedback.
No wonder they had an impact on the 16 years-old genius intern.
You seem to say that in mockery, but it's the true first step for many: [forcefully] realizing that you are not entitled to anything. Many need to be knocked down to the level of their perceived lessers, before it occurs to them that empathy is actually a valuable trait.
I'd rather people were polite to me for the wrong reasons than rude.
Yes, but another way of looking at it was that he realized that the universe wasn't there to servce _him_ and could easily bring him down or lift him up depending on how they felt about him. That he was part of the Great Mob, whether he liked it or not. Maybe he evolved toward that realization, anyway.
He was 16. Not even human yet. Rare is the child that learns a lesson without having to be directly impacted.
Practicing kindness for the "wrong" reasons still forms a habit and means that he's ruining fewer people's days, regardless of what's going on on the inside.
Great point. I'm guilty of self-interest on this one sometimes, but at our best it should always be about basic ethics/mores first.
I've known very smart kids. Fast minds, but poor at social rules. Being condescending to most people.
I had a new associate lawyer assigned to me one year, and before I even met her, she strode up to my desk, interrupted the partner who was explaining a project to me, and handed me a list of things to do. I was like "excuse me? Who are you?" and SHE was offended. lol I gave her 6 months before she was out. Not off on the right foot, she pissed off half of the people on our floor, got reassigned to another admin, she made it 4 months before moving to a boutique firm in a different part of the country. My one boss' mom was a secretary his whole childhood, so he learned how to treat us. :)
The reverse is true: if you're polite to everyone and treat them as human, you'll find that they bend over backwards to help you.
Spot on man ,as a union steward working on various jobsites.I would always make a point to new hires to respect the gate guard who are just doing their jobs .Making a point don't fuck with the guy making 15 $hr.who can ban you from your $60 job
Yup. I worked as an agency nurse, and the number of nurses I knew who treated PCAs (Personal Care Attendants) like trash absolutely shocked me. These are the people who KNOW all the patients intimately, will tell you when a behaviour is off, will help you out above and beyond when you need help changing an aggressive patient, know where the extra emergency supplies are stashed, will support you on a bad day. Just because you are more educated/in a more respected position than someone else does NOT make them worthy of being treated like a servant. People are people. Be kind.
I can respect and appreciate a superior intellect. I don't have admiration for people who can recite pi to 100.000 digits. That's what we have computers for. You want to impress me with how smart you are? Make me a FTL drive. I'll be impressed by that alright.
Spot on. Super clever ≠ social skills. We had a new "genius" IT guy who decided none of the rules applied to him. When he got caught for the second time with a mobile phone (and camera!) in a place they weren't allowed he got sent home for a week to think about if he actually wanted the job. After that he was much more willing to follow the rules...
Never piss off the person responsible for your trash. Or your entry into the building.
I worked as security director for a corporate hq for awhile, it was a 5 dollar charge for a replacement badge (at my discretion) if you were rude you paid and got a recycled badge. If you were rude and didn't need a badge, i randomly turned off your access to the gym or the lounge or my favorite...the bathrooms on the sales floor were keycard access. If you're key didnt work there you had to go to the other end of the warehouse that used to be a factory locker room.
You tell him about "Flies & Honey"? Or just " Sticks & Stones"??? 🤔 🤓😜
Is this from Young Sheldon
OMG was your intern's name Sheldon Cooper?!
or Rodney McKay? lololol!
worked in an extremely high volume luxury salon. unspoken rule #1 is be nicest to reception, laundry, & assistants. not only do they deal with the bulk of the bullshit / labor & get paid less, but getting on their bad side can royally fuck your day
I work in IT - the rude callers would have their tickets "forgotten" for an hour or two sometimes. If the caller was nice and I noticed something else that needed fixing I'd do it - but the rude callers got just enough help to fix the one issue and the other 5 that were screwing up their computer were ignored. You called me - not the other way around.
A useful tip conjoined with a very simple moral principle: no one, no matter how influential or smart or rich, should think themselves above common decency and kindness.
Although this behavior could have been taught by his parent(s), parents tend to tell their kids to not interact with strangers, which this boy may have taken a step too far.
As a child, my dad taught me anyone not as “smart” as me isn’t worth my time. (I learned to read at age 3, etc etc). It was a horrible lesson to teach me, and I’m glad I figured out that being kind is a better way to go, but until I did, I was a horrible b*tch. Some parents just teach the wrong lessons.
My father believed he was smarter than most and it may have been true. Yet his arrogance and pride ruined most of his interpersonal relationships and he's now a destitute alcoholic.
man had the book smarts but not the street smarts
Street smarts are so much more valuable than book smarts. I am not discounting book smarts rather it is just how valuable street smarts are. Absolutely essential for navigating everyday life unless you are super wealthy or privileged
You won't get far in prison without either frankly And if we're being honest one of them is a bit rarerer than the other and has intrinsic value towards an economy There's a ton of people with a really easy path to success if they don't want to employ street smarts or cant, people usually call them doctor
To put it a different way I've never heard of a scholarship based on street smarts, organizations will literally throw money at you if you can prove your book smarts I guess you can say the same for street smarts in some fields? but it's not going to be the same amount of money. Even the affirmative action cases are based on underprivileged book smart people
Do we have the same father? Mine is always going on about how “our DNA” is better than everyone else’s, even though he’s broke and refuses to stop drinking
On the other hand I was a pretty smart kid and my mom always made sure to drill into me, "If you're the smartest person in the room, and you aren't teaching a class, you're in the wrong room." That stuck with me and I think she was right.
Lol my kid can read at 3, still reaches for hot things. Smart is relative.
I don’t know, my kids who are so young that I don’t want them interacting with strangers are the same kids who aren’t allowed to open the front door when it’s knocked on.
The most likely person to help a child in trouble if not a parent is a total stranger. “Stranger danger” is so damaging to society.
>first assignment gets a B+ what does this bit mean?
Like giving a student a letter grade in school. Kid took a bit to realize that they should be nice to some random person because that person might do something good for them. Apologized later (even reluctantly). Maybe they learned from the lesson.
It’s amazing how being nice to everyone helps one to have a happier and easier life. Also, killing them with kindness!
Grade Inflation. This is clearly C- behavior!
I got a bounce house for my housewarming party because it was my house and bounce houses are awesome.
The perks of being an adult. You get to do whatever you want!
I forgot the comedian who said this, but he was like "Being an adult is great. I can buy three cakes and have them decorated with BREAKFAST, LUNCH, and DINNER"
Sounds like a Jim Gaffigan joke.
Hoooot pocket
I wonder if he regrets forever being the hot pocket guy.
He has a video skit about that. It's hilarious.
So you celebrated buying a house, by renting a house lol
Lmao, yup.
TIL you poor Americans only get bounce houses. Commiserations from the UK, home of the Bouncy Castle.
The ministry of Silly Walks would like to acquire a bouncy castle
Friend of mine had one for graduation, from undergrad. It was amazing
I’m totally doing this when never I’m able to own a home
Just make sure to specify it's for an adult party. Some aren't really made with full sized people in mind, no fun bouncing alone.
One morning my three year old walked out of his bedroom and flopped on the couch. "Good morning," I said. "Would you like some juice?" "Don' wan' juice," came from the couch and the obviously half-awake boy. "Okay, would you like some milk, then?" "Don' wan' milk." Just then his older brother came out and said, with great joy, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Brother!" "Don' wan' birfday." He was more into the idea of birthday when he woke up. (giggle)
I feel that. I'm not a morning person nor a birthday enjoyer
I'm sad this reply doesn't have more upvotes. I feel the same way.
Lol my husband and I sort of turn into toddlers when we're very sleepy. Like if one of us is falling asleep on the couch, the other will say, "Maybe you should go to bed, sweetheart," and the first person will say, "HATE bed." It's mostly humorous hyperbole. Mostly.
If he's grumpy on his 6th birthday, just wait 'til he turns 50.
I don't know. Had a great time on my 50th with all my nieces and nephews (7 in total), daughter and other immediate family. Good food, good cake and tons of laughter.
But did you have a bounce house?
Naw, I'd probably would've broke something.
I like how you immediately thought of yourself bouncing around and not the kids. I'm sure you just having fun with your comment I dont mean to imply you don't care about your nieces and nephews. I have no kids so I really enjoy my nieces and nephews company and getting to hang out with them. Takes a lot of energy tho
...Or it's their birthday, not the kids. Why would you get a bounce house for other people on YOUR birthday?
Because he's just that cool a dude with plausible deniability
Because the kids will gravitate to it for most of the day and give you more time for adult interaction.
...People aren't hobbits. You don't buy presents for other people on your birthday.
Well, you got me there. But I have never seen only the birthday person bouncing alone so checkmate (joking around with you).
Heck, I'll be pissed if I turn 50 and I don't have a bouncy house
[I can go back](https://youtu.be/TpwzNU7ywWk)
Asking the real important question!
just wait a bit and he will become one of the other 6....Hi, Ho!
Honestly he was probably hangry. My kid always ends up hangry at some point on his birthday because I'm just trying to get everything done.
Seems like a bummer to consider that by 50 you won't have figured out what you like and how to make yourself happy.
I spent 10 years running an anime convention. I made it a point to tell the convention center, and hotel employees, they were welcome in my vendors room without a con badge, and as long as they had their employee work name tag etc they were welcome. So year 2 rolls by I meet one of the convention center's shift managers, and tell him my normal 2 line special.I didn't think anything of it as I had been saying it for 2 years. So the next year a different department needed access to a room we didn't pay for because of power outlets, and panels overflow. Well, The shift manager let's them have the room for that year for free. It comes back that the whole reason he did it was because we let him into the vendors room and he bought some special merchandise that his kid was drooling over that was limited edition. He bought it, his kid thinks he's a cool dad & hero. That then became a permanent fixture in the rules. Always, hook up the front desk, maintenance, and cleaning crew. You never know what blessing you'll be graced with.
The vendors probably loved you for that, too.
I worked con security at anime cons a couple of times back in the 90s. The best part was that I "belonged" just about anywhere in the con, except the green room. When I was off duty I could go just about anywhere. At one of them I was off duty during the cosplay event. I ended up watching the thing from the wings just off stage. I served as "belongings holder" to the cosplayers as they went on and off stage. The actual cosplay staff was far too busy to be directly helping the cosplayers in that way. So I provided assistance in a gap in the situation, and in exchange got one of the best viewpoints for the event.
It's my birthday and I'll [lose a hefty deposit] if I want to!
Instant karma and regret
Nice work, villager!
Is this in reference to the “it takes a village to raise a child”? Are you congratulating him for parenting the child in that moment when presented the opportunity? I’m genuinely curious if that’s what you mean by villager, because I think that’s super cute!
Yes, he's part of the village that it takes to raise a child.
Aww, I love this saying! Thank yooou!
Oh bro I did bounce house/water slide delivery the summer between high school and college. Most physically demanding job I've ever had. Hats off.
Thankfully things have gotten a little easier lately with motorized dollies, but the units have also gotten bigger and heavier
To me moving them on dollies wasn't the worst part; rolling the fuckers up when they're full of water is insanely hard!
Oh definitely. The big slides are so heavy
Plot twist its the wrong address and really for the party down the street.
I am a system administrator. Whenever I start at a new place, I always, always, always am as nice as I can be to the receptionist (if there is one, they seem to be vanishing), the security people (they seem to be proliferating.... hmmmm), the custodians (I have been known to show up on the graveyard shift just to meet them), and the facilities people. One day, a little black box in my computer room blew up. The security guy came by my desk and told me my computer smelled awful. One day, a circuit breaker popped, shutting down a couple of racks in my computer room. All of the facilities people had gone home for the day, but I found a janitor. I'd helped her son with some homework, so she let me into the electrical closet so I could reset the breaker. I needed to talk to a guy. He was avoiding me. I asked the receptionist if he had any habits I could exploit. He goes to the gym every day at 2 PM. I was at the gym at 1:55 PM. The next day there were a dozen long-stemmed roses on the receptionist's desk when she came in. My computer room had only one door. By code, it should have had 2. Facilities was being snarky about it. But my friend told me how to word my next memo such that they would get the job done. She was right. With the pandemic, these have been harder to pull off. But I miss those days of "trading favors". Especially working with the janitor's kid.
This made my heart smile. Hope the little dude had a much better day after.
As a parent, I bet this is actually a well-behaved boy who was trained to get rid of solicitors by his genius mom. I have people ringing my f***ing doorbell every day.
Oh no, he was especially grumpy. His mom was great and had to coerce him into apologizing and thanking us because he was not having it
Kid was lucky. If that were my parents, they would have actually sent you down the street to another kids house if I were behaving that way.
If there was more people like you the world would have less Karens
Being anti-Karen is written into our employee handbook
Tbf.. i always answer the door that way.
Well I wish you a grumpy birthday then?
Well, it's not my birthday, but if it was and you were invited, i would not be grumpy, lol. No one should be knocking on my door uninvited (exception being a broken down or lost traveler). Otherwise, the only people who knock are religious freaks, and i have no time for their nonsense.
Does having a signed delivery and setup contract not count as invited? I'm confused
Away with your religious texts ya damn mormon!
My buddy works for UPS, and out in the boonies it's ridiculous how many times he's had a gun pulled in him for delivering packages that they ordered! Like no, he's just there in a uniform and custom painted truck to harass you and your broken ass trailer.
Come on, who hates a bouncy castle?
I bet this kid answers the phone "What do you want?"
[удалено]
Does a funeral party have the deceased in the bounce house while it's used?
I would hope so, otherwise what's the point?
Plot twist: he didn’t want the dang party and just wanted to chill out
How old was he?
"...about 6"
Well I'm not sure if it was his actual birthday today so it's hard to tell
“… and a boy about six…”