Coconut Monkey Cornerclub

[BeardyHat]

What's the most frustrating job-hunting experience you've had?

When I was in my mid twenties I applied for a job at an electronics repair facility that did warranty work for PC manufacturers. I did the interview, which I thought went well, and then the guy handed me a test, looked at his watch, and told me I had 30 minutes.

Now today, as an old man with documented memory and brain fog problems, I'm an absolute moron. I demonstrate that every day, but in my twenties, that was not the case, and I finished the test, which was just a bunch of puzzle questions, in a little over 10 minutes, and I was fairly certain I hadn't missed anything. I thought, "Hell yeah, I got this job for sure."

The guy was very surprised when I told him I was done. He graded it and said, "You would be really bored here."

And that was it. He wouldn't hire me.

If I went and applied again tomorrow, he'd look at me and say, "Sir, you appear to be an ignoramus," and I would say, "So do I get the job, then?"

I once interviewed for a Cold Calling telemarketer. I was fresh out of college and it was a 4-hour interview, with the last hour or two being practice calls to real people.

It was absolutely awful. There was no in hell I could possibly do that job, so I never bothered with the follow-up interview.

I understand it's (become) very commonplace when applying for a software developer job, but I detest take-home assignments. If I have 5 years of experience on my resume, why do I need to spend another couple of hours of my free time doing a basic assignment to show that I'm capable? And even if someone doesn't have any experience at all, I don't think it's appropriate to expect several hours of unpaid work just to assess if someone is capable.

Luckily, I've only had one potential employer ask me for one. They also pushed me to show some of the code I'd written, but I can hardly share code I've written for another employer and I don't think software developers should need a portfolio.

Y'all are making me worried about going job hunting again...

 

[ZedClampet]

Wife is gone for a few days giving Chamber of Commerce talks in a couple of cities along the east coast. Meanwhile, I decided to clean up the inbox on my desk and found a birthday card from 3 years ago that had $300 in it. Sounds like I need to do some shopping.

 

[Frindis]

I have not experienced any frustrating job hunting, but I did experience doing a job interview for a position in a radio show and I was met with the whole crew. A total of 8 people sat around the table and the boss himself asked me questions. It was a kind of surreal experience, but the icebreaker came when the boss asked me if I liked games and we both had an interest in WoW.

 

[Zloth]

I've got a vague memory of a puzzle-like test, too. A bunch of us were asked to do some test with a bunch of puzzles that really wasn't all that hard. I was pretty sure I aced it. Instead, I was told I didn't do well enough to qualify. Huh!? My recruiter (I was going through a consultant - as programmers often do) said they probably decided not to hire me before even handing me the test. From what I heard, the place wasn't a good one anyway - maybe it was the same situation @ZedClampet had? <shrug> Whatever. Water under the bridge, into the ocean, and around the whole water cycle four or five times by now.

And the inane questions.... oh my. Those mostly came from those recruiters, actually. They were trying to match your skills to employer requirements, but they really didn't know what they were saying. Sometimes the managers they were talking to didn't, either. "You say you have years of experience in Visual Basic. Do you know COM objects?" Got that one a few times. It's roughly the equivalent of asking somebody with years of experience in figure skating about whether they know how to ice skate.

...but the icebreaker came when the boss asked me if I liked games and we both had an interest in WoW.

Oh, I would have been burned. "No sir, I don't play WoW, I just play City of Heroes." So close, and yet so far...

 

[Frindis]

Ohhh, just remembered my first job interview. That one was difficult to go through as a young teenager because two people were interviewing me and one of them was always smiling while the other one had a strict facial expression throughout the interview. So I felt that I was getting mixed signals when answering questions, which made the whole interview awkward. Most likely I was just nervous and the guy having a position as a city manager, he probably just had one of those serious-looking faces from all the paperwork

 

[Frag Maniac]

Well, the 2nd bike related item I ordered arrived, but technically it can also be used for tightening lug nuts on a vehicle. It's another torque wrench, this time of the 3/8" drive 5-69 Nm range, so it can be used for crank bolts, cassette lockrings, and pedals. Park Makes a 3/8" drive BB tool of the new 16 notch type, but it's $27. Fortunately there are acceptable alternatives as low as $9. I can also get a Husky 3/8" drive 8mm hex bit for the pedals and crank bolts, which is the $4 item I mentioned above. And RockShox makes a nice 3/8" drive cassette lockring tool, priced roughly the same as getting the typical 1/2" drive one and a 3/8" F to 1/2" male adapter.

https://www.amazon.com/etoolab-8-Inch-Drive-Torque-Wrench/dp/B0DHGYVF1M/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=1MAZN03O2SXR4&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nQHwQ8REbAnzKsareLEXOF4Oy0gaj6VK04U1-yRQkLpHPxiGWHQ9gyPhz33V1gOdRiD4eNGT6C162RhOWKiSUqdSH1mszjND6UcV9x84UPp0Mro2vOqS17mAYk7okmhUOBBg0LwVfnUatPdNmik3t6k0syDOT-JHGm484UyBXCrJWVQR1EsXdGQ-pCrdk2POIBM2rxIQt4RwHOPe6E5DGmkKqiqHikATAikCLkpXmdip1l3aJwAbCbn122tCBl7RjKrAmTFObTT0QNEXRl3-RLWQaFcXzpQWlYHZBynhrI8.cbymaGeo3tz2XVeth1tvxYkh4dyPmz9iQqrqWQxwyhM&dib_tag=se&keywords=etoolab&qid=1733872752&sprefix=etoolab%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

I will need to add these 3 items as needed, the hex bit first.

https://www.amazon.com/PEATOVIE-16-Notch-Bracket-Compatible-Shimano/dp/B09ZTW1TFY/ref=asc_df_B09ZTW1TFY?mcid=07e9c051f9ec30ffa0dfdc2d9ee15b8b&hvocijid=1003806464979706016-B09ZTW1TFY-&hvexpln=73&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=721245378154&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1003806464979706016&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1027691&hvtargid=pla-2281435179498&psc=1

BTW, the bit itself is not stepped like it shows in some pics.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-3-8-in-Drive-8-mm-Hex-Bit-Socket-H3DHBS8MM/202913544

https://www.amazon.com/RockShox-Suspension-Cassette-Tool-Paragon/dp/B06XHKPYJL/ref=asc_df_B06XHKPYJL?mcid=c2da9af41cc9351bb3578f2f24d18392&hvocijid=6255698365545394313-B06XHKPYJL-&hvexpln=73&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=692875362841&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6255698365545394313&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9198466&hvtargid=pla-2281435179258&psc=1

I know I said earlier the pedals and cassette lockrings don't need to be torqued, but I think not setting them to the correct toque is why both often overtighten a bit while riding, especially the first few times stand up pedaling on steep climbs after installing them, which can make them hard to get off.

I didn't get as lucky on the certification with this one, as it averages about 1.65 % off across 14, 42, and 70 Nm tests, vs.5 %, on my 1/4" one, but well under the required 3% to pass. This one required using a large spark plug socket and rubber glove to grip it tight, to test for click at 5 Nm. Again the click was plenty loud enough.

BTW, I just noticed today that these wrenches have a pretty cool adjuster for recalibration. Instead of a screw on the side near the handle like some have, there's an end cap on the butt end of the handle you unscrew, revealing a small nut on a shaft to calibrate the spring tension. My 1/4" wrench came with an O-Ring that seals the end cap from moisture getting into the wrench.

The end cap on the 3/8" wrench though unfortunately is missing the O-ring, and I was a bit concerned when it felt slightly loose when it arrived. I tried to use etoolab's website to ask about this via chat, but after waiting a few minutes there was no response bot or otherwise (perhaps understandable this time of year). So Amazon as they usually do is sending a new wrench.

At least this way I can hope to get one that's measured to be a bit more accurate too. Now I could just go down to a local hardware store and try fitting various sizes of O-rings on it until I find one that fits, but durometer matters too when you need something that holds a seal over time. I also don't want to be blamed for water egress corrosion should that ever happen.

 

[ZedClampet]

My wife is so weird. She keeps ordering food that isn't on the menu. I told her I was going to make an order at this Italian place and asked her if she wanted anything, and she said, "I just want a piece of chicken."

I said, "If you want to order off the menu, I'll hand you the phone and you can discuss it with them." Which I did. They didn't even charge her for it. They just stuck a baked chicken breast in a box and put it in the bag.

 

[red_5ive]

"I just want a piece of chicken."

 

[red_5ive]

My goodness Home Depot... I go to sign into my account to check on an order, and it gives me an option to enter my password or to email me a verification code. So I pick password and enter it in and hit enter. It then asks me to enter the verification code they just sent to my email.

And it gets better. After logging in, I get a "Security Alert" email asking me if I just logged in. OMGLOLWTHWTFROTFLMAO

 

[Frag Maniac]

My goodness Home Depot... I go to sign into my account to check on an order, and it gives me an option to enter my password or to email me a verification code. So I pick password and enter it in and hit enter. It then asks me to enter the verification code they just sent to my email.

And it gets better. After logging in, I get a "Security Alert" email asking me if I just logged in. OMGLOLWTHWTFROTFLMAO

At least Home Depot are great at not charging any shipping on small purchases, and I've never been sent a wrong or damaged item by them.

I just got a package from Walmart on the other hand, a bottle of Orange Seal Endurance tire sealant. The product page didn't say what size it was, but the pic when I hovered over it showed a 32 oz bottle. They sent instead an 8 oz bottle. I knew I should have been wary when it was priced at $31 vs the usual $40.

The product page doesn't even show anymore, but fortunately they offer free shipping labels to return items, and I only have to take it to the USPS office just up the street. The idiotic robot phone assistant insisted this item was non returnable though.

What's weird is the gal I spoke to on the phone said I won't get a refund until they receive the returned item, but I got an email shortly after saying they'd issued a refund and sure enough it's showing as a pending refund on my bank account.

I'm going to send it back anyway though, as I'm finding the bike I was about to purchase has cheap Shimano hubs that are not cost effective to maintain, you can't even rebuild the freehub.

BTW, I've been checking some vids on YT discussing theories behind the decline of mt bike sales. The author thought that it was after the boon caused by covid where people had a lot of free time, and now they are loaded with work. So it gets back to what we were discussing about most people not living close to trails. He did not mention the price of gas though.

 

[red_5ive]

At least Home Depot are great at not charging any shipping on small purchases, and I've never been sent a wrong or damaged item by them.

I just got a package from Walmart on the other hand, a bottle of Orange Seal Endurance tire sealant. The product page didn't say what size it was, but the pic when I hovered over it showed a 32 oz bottle. They sent instead an 8 oz bottle. I knew I should have been wary when it was priced at $31 vs the usual $40.

The product page doesn't even show anymore, but fortunately they offer free shipping labels to return items, and I only have to take it to the USPS office just up the street. The idiotic robot phone assistant insisted this item was non returnable though.

What's weird is the gal I spoke to on the phone said I won't get a refund until they receive the returned item, but I got an email shortly after saying they'd issued a refund and sure enough it's showing as a pending refund on my bank account.

I'm going to send it back anyway though, as I'm finding the bike I was about to purchase has cheap Shimano hubs that are not cost effective to maintain, you can't even rebuild the freehub.

BTW, I've been checking some vids on YT discussing theories behind the decline of mt bike sales. The author thought that it was after the boon caused by covid where people had a lot of free time, and now they are loaded with work. So it gets back to what we were discussing about most people not living close to trails. He did not mention the price of gas though.

Oh I still prefer Home Depot, I just don't often shop online with them. But this was a special order for panels (butcher block, essentially) that they don't stock. We finally got a Home Depot that just opened down the street from me, whereas the other store I used to frequent is about 6-7 miles. Now I no longer have to start at Lowe's (which is a couple miles from me), and end up at Home Depot anyway which I'd say used to happen 75% of the time. The new Home Depot store is about a mile from me.

I've bought a few items from Walmart's website, and I've even risked ordering some vinyl albums from them. Been ok so far. But it's the store that I'm afraid of. I don't go in there without asking for people to pray for me.

I wonder if a decline in sales is the reason why my LBS started selling Specialized, since Specialized is hard to deal with, but they sell. They've historically been a Pivot, Santa Cruz, and Giant/Liv dealer (at least what they stock in the store), apart from special ordering other brands. I've also slowly started seeing them branch out to what might be more mainstream eBike brands like Aventon.

 

[Pifanjr]

I'm going to send it back anyway though, as I'm finding the bike I was about to purchase has cheap Shimano hubs that are not cost effective to maintain, you can't even rebuild the freehub.

I actually have some bike news of my own! My mom gave me her old electric bike with a Shimano e-6000, but it seems the battery is no longer charging. This is about the worst possible timing as well, since these are like the only 4 weeks out of the year where it's dark when I have to bring my kid to school and now my lights don't work.

A new battery will be about €380 apparently, so I suppose I'll have to do without for the foreseeable future.

 

[Frag Maniac]

@red_5ive,

Yeah I have a Home Depot just under a mile away from me too, great staff in there. I was in to pick up a wire brush just before Halloween. They had a big area in the front of the store set up with life size monsters and dads were snapping pics of their kids posing with them, priceless moment.

I know what you mean about feeling cringy walking into a Walmart. I once bought a Panasonic cordless phone from them in store. When I got home I noticed there was no battery in the package. I called them and they said I could bring it in and exchange it for another. I assumed that meant I could just bring it to their customer service counter and swap it for another. When they told me lots of the batteries get stolen out of their phones, I asked if they expect me to look life a thief rifling through phones until I find one that has a battery. They just gave me a dirty look.

So, awkwardly, I checked several phone packages on the shelf until I found one with a battery. I also once spent nearly an hr waiting in line at customer service in a Walmart when I noticed a gallon of motor oil I'd bought online and picked up in store was selling quite a bit cheaper off the shelf. The gal at CS said she can give me the price difference if I get proof of the shelf tag (it wasn't showing in their database). This was before I had a cell phone, so I had to chase down an employee and ask them if they could snap a pic of the shelf tag and come with me to CS and show it to the gal.

I FINALLY got the difference in price back, after having to go to the end of the now LONG line. Their in store customer service is horrible, which is why I never shop in store with them anymore.

@Pifanjr,

Yeah the batteries on any E vehicle is the spendy part for sure.

BTW, Amazon just sent me that other 3/8" torque wrench. It's calibration is a bit less accurate than the first one though, and it too is missing the handle end cap O Ring. So I'm just going to send that one back and hope I can find an O Ring of the right size. Both the 1/4" wrench and 3/8" have the same size handle end cap, so I need one that's 18mm ID, 22mm OD, and 2mm thick. It's unlikely you can get even a small amount of one size of O Ring on Amazon cheap. I'll probably have to stop by a local hardware store here that sells fasteners and O Rings piecemeal. I just don't like getting that "You're nickle and diming us" look from them, but I DID accidentally leave some fasteners there I'd bought last time I was in.

 

[ZedClampet]

Guy on the radio was complaining about having to sit in the car line at school to pick up his daughter.

Let me tell you, the day will come when you would give anything to sit in that line just one more time.

 

[red_5ive]

Guy on the radio was complaining about having to sit in the car line at school to pick up his daughter.

Let me tell you, the day will come when you would give anything to sit in that line just one more time.

And then there's the impatience with parents these days trying to get in and out of the drop off line asap and driving like idiots. We have an elementary school that's less than a 5 min walk from my house so I get to witness it fairly often.

My kids attended the same school, and it wasn't anywhere near that bad some 15 years or so ago. And you're absolutely right, miss those days!

 

[BeardyHat]

And then there's the impatience with parents these days trying to get in and out of the drop off line asap and driving like idiots. We have an elementary school that's less than a 5 min walk from my house so I get to witness it fairly often.

My kids attended the same school, and it wasn't anywhere near that bad some 15 years or so ago. And you're absolutely right, miss those days!

I walk my kids to and from school every (week) day and the amount of people speeding around my hood and completely ignoring the stop sign where we have to cross is ridiculous.

Just last week we had some old bag not paying attention while we were crossing and so we stopped in the street. She finally saw us and slammed on her brakes, then waved us forward like she was doing us a favor.

Edit: what I'd love to have is a raised sidewalk, so people are forced to slow down or ruin their car. But the city always gives us the run around that the firetrucks and ambulance need to get though. I should just agitate more with them, but I'm so tired as is...

 

[BeardyHat]

Sometimes (often), I obsess about stuff. Not in an anxious way (though, I do have plenty of anxiety about other stuff), but just that I have intrusive thoughts that will not leave my brain. Generally, these involve spending money on a thing; though, thankfully, it's always within my very limited means and generally involves me getting rid of things I have (by selling them on eBay) to fund the things I want.

This has happened to me twice this month already. The first was a new eGPU, something I acted on extremely quickly because I both found a good deal and really wanted one to crank-up the graphics performance of my laptop (within the bounds of a relatively limited Thunderbolt connect anyway). That still isn't completed yet, as I'm still waiting on the new GPU to arrive.

But the other thing I've been obsessing over for about two weeks now is a new handheld. I've been doing what I can to mitigate this want, including doing other things, such as laundry, 3d printing, painting, etc. I've been using the handhelds I already have in order to show myself that I do not need a new one (and in fact, spent $140 on a different one in August). I looked at my paltry bank account. I played games on my numerous other options for playing games. I've researched other projects. But ultimately, this obsession would not leave and I knew it could not be resolved until I actually had purchased the new item; it wouldn't matter if I had it in my hand or not, so long as I knew it would be at some point.

At any rate, I've bought a new handheld. It was only $58 and I'm sure it will finally fill the void in my life so that I'll never need to obsess again. I'm sure of it...

 

[red_5ive]

I walk my kids to and from school every (week) day and the amount of people speeding around my hood and completely ignoring the stop sign where we have to cross is ridiculous.

Just last week we had some old bag not paying attention while we were crossing and so we stopped in the street. She finally saw us and slammed on her brakes, then waved us forward like she was doing us a favor.

Edit: what I'd love to have is a raised sidewalk, so people are forced to slow down or ruin their car. But the city always gives us the run around that the firetrucks and ambulance need to get though. I should just agitate more with them, but I'm so tired as is...

Sickening. Glad you're all ok. Our local social media page lights up regularly with stories like that. I hate to have to see PO'd parents posting on there, and sadly a student was hit a few years ago.

Yeah I'd like to see something to get people to slow down here as well. There are of course speed bumps on the school lot, but not in the main street in front of the school, which is residential. There used to be sheriff that I'd see out there regularly, but I haven't see him in a while. There also is a crossing guard, but I feel for that person also putting their life on the line a few dozen times a day as drivers sometimes ignore them, too.

 

[red_5ive]

@Frag Maniac Well, homedepot.com gets an F for service. My order is now available for pick up, but apparently part of the order arrived a few weeks ago at the store, but I never received a call about it and they canceled it. The website also never updated to say that the item had arrived. Fortunately they have that plenty of that portion of the order in stock so I'll just re-purchase it while I'm picking up my order.

I have too many Walmart stories to share so I'll just say it's always eventful lol. But I will say it isn't always in-store. One of the last times I was there someone was asking for gas money. I tend to be helpful toward others so I gave him some cash, but always I still had my guard up. I've never had that happen ever, and it just somehow figures it happened with an apparent Walmart patron.

 

[red_5ive]

but just that I have intrusive thoughts that will not leave my brain. Generally, these involve spending money on a thing;

I can totally relate to this. I can't recall how many times I've obsessed over buying something, big or small purchase, didn't matter. And when I finally made the decision to act on said obsession, still I found myself standing at the store for - at minimum - a couple of hours mulling it over until I start feeling my gerd acting up because I'm stressing the he!! out of myself. No joke.

It hasn't happened as much now that my kids are older. My youngest has one more semester in college, the other graduated a couple of years ago and is out of the house. I think the source of the obsession was that I often considered if whatever it was I wanted was worthwhile - or if I wasn't worthy enough - or should I instead be spending that money on my kids or something.

 

[Frag Maniac]

...I found myself standing at the store for - at minimum - a couple of hours mulling it over until I start feeling my gerd acting up because I'm stressing the he!! out of myself.

Oh man, that sounds so much like me. I was once in the community room kitchen of the prior apt building I lived in doing my part helping with a holiday meal or something. I was in there by myself and a bit tired, so at one point I yawned but there was a bit of flem in my throat. Several tenants then came rushing into the kitchen from the community room and said "You sound just like Chewbacca, do that again!" I'm like, "Do what, all I did was yawn with a bit of flem in my throat!", (not intending on the flem part of course}.

They just looked at me in disgust and walked out, like I'd ruined their Wookie moment.

 

[red_5ive]

Oh man, that sounds so much like me. I was once in the community room kitchen of the prior apt building I lived in doing my part helping with a holiday meal or something. I was in there by myself and a bit tired, so at one point I yawned but there was a bit of flem in my throat. Several tenants then came rushing into the kitchen from the community room and said "You sound just like Chewbacca, do that again!" I'm like, "Do what, all I did was yawn with a bit of flem in my throat!", (not intending on the flem part of course}.

They just looked at me in disgust and walked out, like I'd ruined their Wookie moment.

Darned Star Wars fans, I tell ya.

BTW, Home Depot made up for that canceled order. I had put a somewhat of a large purchase on my Home Depot card to take advantage of the 12 months no-interest, but the canceled order I mentioned above put me below the purchase minimum, disqualifying the purchase from that offer. When I gave them lip about not having ever been notified that part of the order had arrived, they reached out to card services and had everything added back when I re-purchased the items. Normally they leave that to the cardholder to take care of, but they got it done while I was shopping for a few other items. Works for me, I hate calling card services.

 

[BeardyHat]

I can totally relate to this. I can't recall how many times I've obsessed over buying something, big or small purchase, didn't matter. And when I finally made the decision to act on said obsession, still I found myself standing at the store for - at minimum - a couple of hours mulling it over until I start feeling my gerd acting up because I'm stressing the he!! out of myself. No joke.

It hasn't happened as much now that my kids are older. My youngest has one more semester in college, the other graduated a couple of years ago and is out of the house. I think the source of the obsession was that I often considered if whatever it was I wanted was worthwhile - or if I wasn't worthy enough - or should I instead be spending that money on my kids or something.

I do kind of wonder if there's a feeling of discontent I'm not properly identifying that causes this in me. I do think it tends to happen when I don't have something else to let my brain obsess about, be that a particular game or project or something.

I think I tend to be happier when a project of some sort is absolutely eating all my brain space. I don't think my wife loves it, but I do think it's generally helpful to my well-being.

 

[ZedClampet]

@BeardyHat @red_5ive

We have police at every crosswalk near a school every morning and afternoon plus patrol cars that just camp near the schools and pounce on anyone who is speeding through the school zone. In Tennessee a ticket for speeding in a school zone is on the same level as a DUI, so most people behave themselves pretty well.

***
ANXIETY on purchases. Years ago I realized that once I start to obsess on a tech purchase that I might as well just buy it ASAP and get it over with. I suppose that wouldn't work for everyone. I've been very fortunate to not have money concerns for awhile now. That's one of the few advantages to getting older--having a little more money.

 

[Zloth]

They just looked at me in disgust and walked out, like I'd ruined their Wookie moment.

You know, you could always do that noise again, upload it to YouTube, and post it here... what? No?? Oh come on! Be a pal!