That’s nothing compared to Slavic-sized!

When I was younger I used to work at a big bank under a team of advisors. I was the main associate for our group, but also lended backup assistance to two other groups. I had a situation where an FA - not the one I worked for - needed me to do a few tasks for him when his assistant was out; nothing crazy time-sensitive. The main way we communicated was through chat/email, and he would get upset when I prioritized my own group’s clients, regularly becoming verbally aggressive.

One day he decided to threaten me with calling HR, so I turned it around on him and replied “Let’s. I’m sure they’d be really curious to know why you think it’s acceptable to talk to me this way.” That one interaction changed his tune quick (apparently he’d already gotten complaints).

Don’t let the older generations bully you in the office. If you’re good at your job, do things by the book, and have receipts, threats are empty.

tag: you’re it

runs away

Leeloo Dallas multipass

No lie, about a decade ago I rented a room in a long-term AirBnB in NYC where the other 3 rooms were also rented out (so no choice in flatmates; shit was wild). One of the other rooms was rented by this 30-yo French girl from Paris who moved there to follow an ex-bf. Off the bat she was weird; she only ever cooked pan seared liver, toast, or white rice while talking about how she planned on getting this guy back. She would also always argue in French with the Belgian dude who was also renting a room while finishing his masters. Anyway, the kitchen was minimally stocked, so I bought an extra pot, pan, and a toaster oven. She would use the toaster oven but left plastic bags of bread on top, so it melted and ruined the toaster. She also burned rice into the supplied pot every day. It got so damaged after only a few weeks that I had to hide my pot from her, as she systematically destroyed every other piece of kitchen equipment and tried to move onto my personal belongings.

I have several stories from that AirBnB alone. Weirdest 10 months of my life.

Smack the like button like your parents smacked you.

Feisty, sure, but that’s his style. He’s the love bug, unlike Horace.

The only self driving car that can be trusted.

TIL you can trademark everyday words in the NL. I need to read more about this!

Edit: turns out this is why

Dutch is so whimsical. I personally giggle at winkelwagen. Winkel = shop, wagen = cart. Also, love that they say helaas pindakaas, meaning “that’s too bad”, but if literally translated means “unfortunately, peanut butter.”

Fair enough, not everyone will have the same experience. The busses can suck; at least the metro is tidy and runs well. My cousin in Georgetown doesn’t have a car, and he manages to travel to and access everything he needs, including going out to Potomac or Silver Spring. Going east/west is tricker, but on the flip side DC is rather small for a major city, and they’re building the purple line. Public bikes and scooters are also everywhere which is nice for visitors. Additional bike lanes and connectivity is needed for sure.

Compare to Baltimore, where they have the one metro line, which is broken half the time.

I can probably offer some insight, as my in-laws live in Wimbledon, some of my family live both near and far from DC/Baltimore, and I live in the Netherlands.

My London experience is on par to yours. Everything is walking distance and the things that aren’t are accessible by public transit fairly easily.

The Netherlands imo is even better planned and connected than the UK. The convenience store is around the corner from my townhouse. Two large chain supermarkets are just a 3 or 7 minute walk depending on which is preferred (the 7-min one is pricier but better selection) and there are more a few more minutes walking. The bus stop is 3 min away, train is a 10 minute walk. Parks and bike lanes all around.

DC is also very walkable and similar to London. Bike lanes. Everything is accessible and public transit is pretty good. Lots of convenience stores, small grocers, and even some larger chains. A few metro lines even go far out to the suburbs. I like the building height limit, which makes the city feel more open. Rock Creek Park is massive and you feel like you’re in the forest.

Once you get to the suburbs there may be a convenience store a 10-20 minute walk away, or a grocer if you’re lucky, but generally this is when you’ll be needing a car, as public transit becomes scant. Many Americans are walking averse; my husband and I are the odd couple that parks at the back of the lot when visiting Costco instead of spending half an hour hoping to get a spot by the doors. Most stores will be in plazas or strip malls.

My father lives out in the country. He loves having acres and acres of no one around. His house is an island. There’s one 7-11 in his tiny village. He’s lucky it’s a 5 minute walk from his house. If I want to get groceries when visiting, the nearest store is 8 miles away (a leisurely 4 hour walk; 10 minute drive). Oftentimes there are no sidewalks; mostly long stretches of road with big shoulders. I don’t think there’s public transit there; I’ve never seen a bus. There are farms everywhere so parks need to be driven to, however, they are pretty big with lots of room for activities.

It’s likely not too different from comparing London to Dartmoor. Much of it depends on where you are (population density). Some areas have great public transit and access to services, others don’t.

Fantastic. I’m going to start using this term.

For sure. Canada too. Actually, the whole continent could use a tune-up and some anti-corruption updates.

Yes, more beans better.

I agree. I currently live near den Haag and the food leaves something to be desired. Kind of a surprise that a country so close to France - a culinary pinnacle - hasn’t picked up a thing or two.

Party’s here!

Never enough beans

Feels like my birthday

It appears I’ve been summoned