I’ve got 2 bush cords to stack…
I could use some help with the metric shit ton of chicken biryani I made a couple of days ago.
That sounds delicious, was there a certain recipe you used?
This one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XlMguO9r-M
There’s a few ingredients missing from the recipe he puts in the comments so watch the video closely if you’re going to try it.
Also 1kg of dried rice - I measured out that amount and yes, it’s the same as he uses but it’s just way too much.
Damnit that’s a great problem to have! 🤤
I’m done with my job.
I hate the company because I’m ethically opposed to the business model, I want to actually help people instead of building more efficient ways to steal money from small businesses and the families of dead clients. On-top of that our latest manager is the next in a line of increasingly intense micromanagers who keeps looking at our engagement scores and is basically making our jobs harder and more annoying in response, he can’t work out why it’s getting worse…
I want a new job, anything that lets me actually help people. Hard to do when you don’t have any official qualifications, a disability and are neurodivergent so interviews are a nightmare.
I went from ethically questionable, highly-paid work to ethically-clean, medium-paid work and it’s one of the best moves I’ve ever made.
I was a software developer, am now an uber driver.
Being able to deliver on 95+% of my promises feels amazing. Back when I was in IT, I kept maybe 20% of my promises.
I’m saying this in order to say: mental health will improve with an improvement in the meaning and ethical cleanliness of your work. Being out of integrity with your conscience will make the neurodivergence and everything else worse (I have that too, and speak from experience).
My depression is basically gone. My social skills are better. I’m industrious in a way I never was before. I no longer have insomnia. I no longer have ulcer-like symptoms. My neurodivergence is more graceful and positive.
This is all to say that, as you change paths, the mental resources available to you will increase. It may not look like you have the supplies needed for the journey, but trust me when I say there’s resources and upgrades along the path.
Give yourself the effort required to get off that shitty path! You’re worth it!
Do you have someone you can practice interviewing with? This is just an idea, but maybe you and a friend can slowly warm up to a challenging interview by working on one bit at a time, taking it slow. And I mean slow. Like maybe this weekend you can do an “interview” for a maximum of 5 minutes, and only practice introducing yourself. Then do it again next weekend. If you get comfortable, make it 6 minutes the third week and start talking about your past work. Then 7 minutes and include what you’re seeking out of your future job. Then 8 minutes and have them start to ask challenging questions. Also, this might be horrible advice because I don’t know you and I also hate interviewing! I will say, when you interview, be your authentic self because if they hire you as your inauthentic self, it might not end up being a great fit.
I’m a software developer but a lot of the work is ambiguous and the instructions are lacking sometimes. My company puts no pressure on me and is amazing with my neuroticism and ADHD. Yet I can’t not wreck my mental state by worrying about things and thinking I’m not cut out for this. This issue is worst Mon-Tue and then gets better towards the weekend. It’s also dependent on the work load and client emails.
Also, crashed my mums car last night by not paying attention and rear ended someone. Then they tried to fight me cause I asked them to all stop screaming as nobody is hurt and it’s only material objects and I’m fully comp so they’ll be fine. Fucking cavemen. I’m not adverse to hitting someone, but it would have to be over something more serious than a minor accident.
How long are you working as a software dev? Basically a lot of new devs want to “save the world” by closing tickets and using that as a metric if they’re doing well or not. The reality is that a software dev’s job is just about as much writing, as dealing with clients, going to meetings, etc. People might value you for things that you don’t think have value. For the cut out for this part - you most likely are. Imposter syndrome is normal, I had it too, even 6 years into my career. Been the “goto guy” for the team, multiple times a teamlead at 3 different companies / teams. Never had a problem I couldn’t google away. Yet in the back of my mind, there was always a “maybe you’ll encounter one on the next ticket? And they’ll fire you for it” etc. I managed to silence that shit and bury it deep behind all of my achievements.
For the second part - some people are just idiots, some are governed by emotion, etc. Also, saying “it’s not so bad” is a shit way to deescalate the situation ^^
Only 18 months.
So my company is less ticket based and more here’s a spec for the whole application go ahead and build it kind of thing. My boss is amazing but he keeps a lot in his head and when I ask for help he doesn’t explain it in way that makes me understand or feel more confident. These issues do pass and they’re never as bad as I make them seem in my head at the time. Then we get emails from clients which we just action as and when. You’re right about it not just being about coding, as a lot of time is in client meetings, email writing and stuff like that.
I don’t know if glad is the right word for you having imposter syndrome, but I’m kinda relieved so many people say they experienced it too.
Yeah I’m an enigma as I’m incredibly socially adept at times, but then others I’m a fucking idiot. Especially, if I think people are overreacting as I’ll then try all the wrong things to get them to calm down. It was just strange that they were screaming and talking to me like shit and the second I’m like fuck this mate they wanna get physical, I’m not adverse to physical altercations but not over something so trivial (in my mind). Perhaps I should watch the way I say things.
Well, there you go - the issue is with the company and the irreplacable boss. He is the weakest link obviously. Imagine he gets into a car crash, gets hit by a bus. Suddenly all his knowledge is gone, either for a while when recovering, or forever. Knowledge transfer is incredibly important. Things like tickets, scrum, kanban etc are used because they work for every type of person - they serve to transfer knowledge, the hierarchy in a team protects the programmers from shit they shouldn’t be dealing with (that’s the project manager’s role, to be a shield for the team, to curate the the messages comming from “higher up” and the ones sent out by the team). The most important thing to know is that “do the needful” is about as shitty of an ask someone can pose to a programmer. People doing that don’t know what they want, and instead rely on what they don’t want - once you actually implement something that remotely fits what they needed. As for clients not reading specs - it might be time for someone to have “the talk” with them (obviously not you). One thing you need to know is that shitty clients can be fired too, once the development starts breaking down, the communication is arse etc.
For the people on the road - they probably took it as you trying to bail on them. But yeah, impulsivity when things are getting heated is never good, it’s better to stay silent for a few seconds and then say something, rather than immediately say something that can be taken very badly.
Oof… Yeah it is hard to deescalate with a person who is primally furious with you. It was probably really scary for them, and it sounds like they might not have been emotionally intelligent enough to handle it. I’m glad you and everyone are ok.
I’m also in software and, yes, depending on what kind of business you’re in people often have no idea what they want. Do you like reading? One thing that helped me in those situations is Don Norman’s book, the design of everyday things. It helps me get into a big picture mindset.
Thanks for the response.
Yeah I agree they were just people not cut out to handle the stress of the accident and just got mad. It was my fault and I owned up to that instantly, I’m just more a chill guy as things could always be worse and no body was injured thankfully.
Thanks for the book recommendation I’m have a look for it.
Yes we are consultants and we write extensive spec that clearly the clients don’t read and then we have to go back and redo a lot of work as “it’s not what they want” but they can’t articulate what they want so you have to infer it and then when it’s wrong they’re like bruh. This is what I struggle with, the ambiguity of it all. I like to know what I’m doing and when, whereas this small company is incredibly chill and don’t expect a lot which I find hard as I’m used to being worked to death in crappy jobs and here it’s like the staff come first the code is second after we are all happy. I am blessed in that regard.
My anxiety is particularly bad today. I woke up with my hands shaking and I got so nervous I started to dry heave.
Would you consider trying a meditation app? A medical professional recently recommended “insight timer”, which has guided meditations and somatic tracking programs and things.
Just a caution, if you do check it out, it will ask you to start a free 7-day trial for their “plus” version, you have to find the “skip” button, and avoid starting the trial so you don’t get charged. I can see how that bit might not be anxiety relieving! But otherwise she had a lot of praise for it. I haven’t tried it myself, but I have it ready to go. I’m in a pretty good place at the moment… I hope I remember it’s there when I need it.
Wow how do you normally deal with that?
I usually distract myself with a YouTube video or a movie. But it’d be nice to have some help with it
Try doing puzzles on Chess.com or playing Tetris. Things that make me think on the fly really help with anxiety attacks.
Life.
Life doesn’t come with a manual, but it does come with an author for its manual.
I like to keep a small size binder (I hate notebooks because I’m very fickle about organization). Like A5 size with some line ruled paper and some grid paper. I keep some in the back for random notes and extra fill. I use dividers, and the very front page I keep a to-do list of things that really need to happen now. The next page are to-dos that i don’t want to forget but aren’t really critical.
Then I have a section where I keep one page for any major problem in my life. I’ll try to do a root cause analysis. “Just keep asking why”. Then I’ll sort of journal some observations over time until I solve my problem.
These can be as simple as being flustered in the grocery store or as serious as co-parenting problems. You need to know what parts of your life you can control, and harmonize with the parts you cannot.
Then, I have a section of sort of “how-to’s”. Simple things can make a big difference, like what order works best for me to get myself ready in the morning… Like start the water kettle before I wash up and get dressed so I can have my coffee while I make breakfast. A lot of these pages will be written (or rewritten!) after I’m ready to throw away my problem solving pages from the other section.
But on a day by day and hour by hour basis, focus on triage. What can you do for yourself and your people that will have the most impact in the shortest amount of time? What can you do that will bring you a little joy, what can you do that will reduce a little irritation? Then do that.
My work. We’re understaffed and underappreciated.
Under appreciate them right back. Try to keep work about funding your lifestyle.
I don’t know how intense or emotional your job is, so that advice might not be practical. But I do think everyone needs to set boundaries, but also emotional boundaries. Please make sure work isn’t wearing you down when you aren’t there. Try taking a few minutes to reset after clocking out, and close the door on your work day.
Thanks. I don’t take my work home as such but I also do have a partner that lends a sympathetic ear when I need it. So I’m lucky in that regard. Truthfully, I get to focus on my home life the moment I’m off the clock.
At the time of answering though, we could have used a few extra hands.
Having some financial trouble and I’m unsure if the money will run out before the next paycheck.
I hope you are able to make the cycle.
i drank too much last night and now i feel a bit too sick. I live alone so cleanup and cooking are a bit challenging
I brute forced myself into cleaning up and cooking healthier meals for myself. It sucks, but if you rinse your dishes right after you eat and put leftovers away instead of “letting them cool” or “soaking the dishes”, everything gets so much easier.
If you want a really tasty, filling cheap fall dish that will 100% help a hangover:
Throw some evoo and garlic into a pan and let it go for like a minute. Then throw in a handful of fresh spinach. Then a handful of halved cherry tomatoes. Then two cans of drained cannelloni white beans. Then a cup of heavy cream and a half cup of Parmesan cheese. Salt, pepper and toast some bread.
Buying all the ingredients at once is like maybe $15 and this stuff can be used for anything. I’ve made breakfast sandwiches with these beans, a fried egg, and some Sriracha on an English muffin.
Crap!
Don’t forget to load in tons of water. Be patient with yourself today. Only do what you have to until you’re feeling better.
I hope tomorrow is a fresh start for you!
Yup, like the others, I’m broke. Month to month barely getting by. Gotta trim back where I can.
It’s hard but you are doing it. Don’t forget to find away to enjoy yourself, is there a friend you haven’t talked to in a long time?
I’m doing fine really, just stressed about money. Working overtime where I can and keeping expenses low.
I play D&D with friends twice a week. Low cost, high imagination way to hang out.
The main issue is that we took in someone in need this last summer who can’t pay their own way and for now, we are shouldering the difference.
It’s worthwhile but taxing.
That’s so kind and awesome of you.
Is it looking like a long term situation?
Probably for at least a year.
There was sewage coming up through my basement floor drains.
Yuck! Did you you get it taken care of?
I broke through the clog, and the water went down, but I’m not convinced it won’t happen again today. 🤞
Any y’all got any tips for getting worries about the future out of your head?
I am not hopeful about our future. But something I came to terms with is that I am going to die. It might be in 40 years or it might be sooner, it could be next year. But it will happen. Also, it’s possible that I don’t just die but life becomes incredibly unpleasant. All the same to me in this current point in time, where I am able and I have means to do interesting things.
I know this is hand-wavy but I heard someone say something along the lines “we need to stop worrying about putting more years in our life, but work on putting more life in our years.”
This sort of mantra helps keep me grounded when I’m deciding what to do with myself and my family on a day to day basis.
What I’ve found that helps me with this is follow through on the worry. For example, maybe I’m worried my boyfriend will leave me, and to follow through on that I think “then what happens?” Well, I would be depressed for awhile, and then eventually get over it. I’ll go through the stages of grief for the death of the relationship but I will survive and move on. This Follow Through thought pattern works best on situations you have actual control over in your day to day life.
Another thought is “you can’t control everything but you can control how you react to things”.
Psoriatic arthritis flared up in my entire body that has made it impossible to sleep or even really exist for the last week and a half.
It would be awesome to just not hurt for a few hours.
I know nothing about psoriatic arthritis but I do know a little about joint inflammation. I read about how an imbalance of omega fatty acids can cause inflammation and after taking a fish oil pill most of the pain went away in my knees. Would that be something you could try?
Diet changes are one of the major things I’ve been working on that has made the last little bit rough. I’ve been cooking a lot more, primarily oily fishes which I love, but I did cut out the trash sugars and caffeine that I use as a crutch.
Almost daily mackerel and salmon has been awesome though. Saba shioyaki is probably my favorite comfort food and I never realized how easy it was to make. I’ll have to give the actual fish oil pills a try though, thanks!
I hope it calms down, I cannot even imagine what that must be like. Do you have access to people with experience with this? Support groups, or even one mentor?
I could probably find one with a little effort but the fatigue is crazy. I can barely keep myself awake during the day and can’t sleep at night.
I think it’s starting to calm down a bit now at least.
I hope that when you’re feeling better you can use that time to find a way to get more support. But more than all, I hope you’re feeling better. Lean on your friends, they love you.
Maybe a checking account with more than a $2,000 daily debit limit so I can pay a fortune to live in a 60’s-era shithole (but it’s “aesthetic”). Or a landlord that accepts modern payment methods.
Gonna have to buy a checkbook probably. What century is this?
If you’re in a hurry and can’t wait for a checkbook you might be able to get a money order. Banks and even some grocery stores will do this for a fee (it was like 0.50 last time I did this… Like 16 years ago omg what happened)
I’ve resorted to that, but I had to buy money orders on different days due to the debit daily transaction limit.
Most banks allow you to pay bills online and they’ll send a check on your behalf to your landlord. You can set it up to go automatically every month too.
I bank mainly online but I did have a shared account with my wife at a traditional bank with that service. Unfortunately they started taking 2-3 weeks to mail it to my landlord two miles away, so I gave up on that.
See if your bank does “bill pay” where you can add bills and they mail a check for you. It’s usually free.
What century is your bank from lol
I don’t use the service, but I know a lot of banks do it. It’s really nice for the bullshit places that add “convenience fees” to pay electronically. Which I always found funny. Since the electronic payment is way more convenient for them than getting paid by check.
Aye I remember fees for paying electronically. In about 1998 😂
I’ve just stripped and primed 6 kitchen drawers. They need 2 coats of paint after that. I have to silicone around the new bath panel later on and maybe make a start at replacing the curtain rails. The old rails and baton need to come down, new wood cut, finished, routed, painted then afixed to the wall. It’ll look good when done, but I’m not looking forward to it.
