What’s on your mind?

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

My new Honda Civic Sport Hatchback has the "S" (Sport) setting on the gearshift right below the "D", and so far I have not used it since I am mainly traveling around town, in lots of traffic. I am looking forward to trying out Sport mode when on a trip sometime, driving on expressways and turnpikes, etc., as that is where something like this will really shine.

Our Ford Escape has the same setting. It also has 'flappy paddle' gear changer thingies on the steering wheel. I find the sport setting good for accelerating in front of idiots at the lights, but it has another use. We have a few roads in the area which are very steep and bendy. Putting the car in sports mode is good for going up, but also for going down. Automatic gearboxes just tend to freewheel down steep hills as fast as they can go. However, by putting in sports mode, and using the flappy paddles, I can lock it in a low gear and use the engine as a brake, just as I would with a manual car.

 

[daimos]

Why I find the thread about the "FIRE mentality" so funny. Genuinely have no clue.

Financial independence, retire early

 

[Madonepro]

Just quit my job yesterday, after almost 8 years. Loved the majority of the people, but found the culture toxic. Decided to return back to the UK from Australia, after being here for above said time, and even though I was thoroughly pleased with myself yesterday, and felt a weight had lifted, woke today with 'apprehension', 'worry' and a feeling of have I done the right thing.
Years ago, I would have just batted it off, but as I've reached my 50's, have become more indecisive. I worry for the future, the pandemic isn't helping, I'm not wealthy, I'm single and I fear reaching an age where I cannot work and have only death to look forward to.
Cheerful start to the weekend. Thanks for reading.

 

[decafjava]

Sorry to hear that but a toxic work environment is never worth it and would eventually wreck your health so worrying about retirement would be moot.

In more cheerful news was laughing like an idiot during a break at the office yesterday (we will be having students in the fall so have to start preparing) because of a couple of silly memes I saw browsing. Thankfully only my boss and another colleague were there.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Just quit my job yesterday, after almost 8 years. Loved the majority of the people, but found the culture toxic. Decided to return back to the UK from Australia, after being here for above said time, and even though I was thoroughly pleased with myself yesterday, and felt a weight had lifted, woke today with 'apprehension', 'worry' and a feeling of have I done the right thing.
Years ago, I would have just batted it off, but as I've reached my 50's, have become more indecisive. I worry for the future, the pandemic isn't helping, I'm not wealthy, I'm single and I fear reaching an age where I cannot work and have only death to look forward to.
Cheerful start to the weekend. Thanks for reading.

Good luck with the move. Try not to worry about the future. Just live in the now. Who knows what tomorrow brings.
My work environment can be quite intense at times. Personally I’d never walk out of one job until I find the next. I have a mortgage (8 years left) again after we waived a couple of years ago and Mrs AFB has no income. So however much work gets to me, I just suck it up.

 

[Richard8655]

Just quit my job yesterday, after almost 8 years. Loved the majority of the people, but found the culture toxic. Decided to return back to the UK from Australia, after being here for above said time, and even though I was thoroughly pleased with myself yesterday, and felt a weight had lifted, woke today with 'apprehension', 'worry' and a feeling of have I done the right thing.
Years ago, I would have just batted it off, but as I've reached my 50's, have become more indecisive. I worry for the future, the pandemic isn't helping, I'm not wealthy, I'm single and I fear reaching an age where I cannot work and have only death to look forward to.
Cheerful start to the weekend. Thanks for reading.

I've found myself in the same boat with similar feelings in these situations as I get older. But maybe it helps to look at it this way. Without change in life, one can never really make progress. Any change brings uncertainty and apprehension for sure, but without risk there's no gain or reward as the saying goes.

 

[AVBeatMan]

Good luck with the move. Try not to worry about the future. Just live in the now. Who knows what tomorrow brings.
My work environment can be quite intense at times. Personally I’d never walk out of one job until I find the next. I have a mortgage (8 years left) again after we waived a couple of years ago and Mrs AFB has no income. So however much work gets to me, I just suck it up.

I'm in my mid 50's and recently have been getting anxious in the mornings? It's like I worry about I have this to do, I have that to do....Then I think to myself, "so what?". I enjoy my job and there is no task that I cannot do, but still this feeling of anxiety in the morning. Your point about just living in the present is correct but not always easy to do. I'll find myself worrying about Monday on a Friday? Like on Monday I'm looking after a different team. But I know them all, know I can manage them quite easily, but still....I can't understand it?

Also, sometimes I'm anxious about the slightest things. I bought some new glasses a couple of weeks ago and found myself feeling anxious about going to go and pick them up! Like 5 minutes in the shop! As I say, I can't understand it. I wonder if it's something to do with COVID and the lockdown we've been in for the past year+? V strange....

 

[Apple fanboy]

I'm in my mid 50's and recently have been getting anxious in the mornings? It's like I worry about I have this to do, I have that to do....Then I think to myself, "so what?". I enjoy my job and there is no task that I cannot do, but still this feeling of anxiety in the morning. Your point about just living in the present is correct but not always easy to do. I'll find myself worrying about Monday on a Friday? Like on Monday I'm looking after a different team. But I know them all, know I can manage them quite easily, but still....I can't understand it?

Also, sometimes I'm anxious about the slightest things. I bought some new glasses a couple of weeks ago and found myself feeling anxious about going to go and pick them up! Like 5 minutes in the shop! As I say, I can't understand it. I wonder if it's something to do with COVID and the lockdown we've been in for the past year+? V strange....

My life is lived hasn't really changed all that much. Had no change other than working from home a bit more often. But I've been out about the same number of times during Covid as I have before it existed.

Generally I only have Saturday's off work, so try not to think about it then. But I always end up working Sunday evening at the latest. But that goes with the territory.

 

[Clix Pix]

I think that yes, for many, the long period of being pretty restricted in movement so that we weren't casually hopping in the car and going here, going there, whenever the mood struck us, has now affected us. Slowly we are realizing that as things are opening up, once again we CAN get in the car and go to this shop, that business, etc. -- and yet there is a curious reluctance to do so even when we can. I'm definitely noticing this in myself! Where once I wouldn't. have thought twice about going somewhere to shop or even to just browse, now I tend to stay home and order the desired product online. Even when I do venture out there is an undercurrent of anxiety there, too, that I didn't have in the past. I find myself postponing necessary errands instead of just doing them. Socializing again? AIEEEE!!! I've seen articles about this very thing, too, so I think that re-emergence anxiety is very real for a lot of people.

 

[Clix Pix]

Our Ford Escape has the same setting. It also has 'flappy paddle' gear changer thingies on the steering wheel. I find the sport setting good for accelerating in front of idiots at the lights, but it has another use. We have a few roads in the area which are very steep and bendy. Putting the car in sports mode is good for going up, but also for going down. Automatic gearboxes just tend to freewheel down steep hills as fast as they can go. However, by putting in sports mode, and using the flappy paddles, I can lock it in a low gear and use the engine as a brake, just as I would with a manual car.

My Honda has those flappy paddle thingies, too, but I haven't even touched them, uncertain as to how to use them. I really need to read the manual again at some point, learn more about them.

 

[Clix Pix]

Just quit my job yesterday, after almost 8 years. Loved the majority of the people, but found the culture toxic. Decided to return back to the UK from Australia, after being here for above said time, and even though I was thoroughly pleased with myself yesterday, and felt a weight had lifted, woke today with 'apprehension', 'worry' and a feeling of have I done the right thing.
Years ago, I would have just batted it off, but as I've reached my 50's, have become more indecisive. I worry for the future, the pandemic isn't helping, I'm not wealthy, I'm single and I fear reaching an age where I cannot work and have only death to look forward to.
Cheerful start to the weekend. Thanks for reading.

That was a brave, but apparently very necessary thing you did, having resigned from your job. It's not surprising that the day after you would have second thoughts about it all, but clearly that sense of a heavy weight having been lifted is your own good instincts telling you that this was the right move for you.

It will be challenging, yes, going back home to the UK, either with a new job lined up ahead of time or having to seek one once you are back in your home country. Good luck to you in this venture and I'm sure that once you are home and once you are settled in a new job that you will be very glad you took the risk and made this change.

 

[Apple fanboy]

My Honda has those flappy paddle thingies, too, but I haven't even touched them, uncertain as to how to use them. I really need to read the manual again at some point, learn more about them.

Generally pull to change up, push to change down. Or one for each function.

 

[Clix Pix]

I'm a little leery of tinkering with something unfamiliar like that while driving a moving vehicle! This area is too filled with traffic and congestion to make it safe to experiment during the normal course of a drive somewhere. What I should do is seek out a large empty parking lot and then give it a try so that I at least know what to expect, etc.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

My Honda has those flappy paddle thingies, too, but I haven't even touched them, uncertain as to how to use them. I really need to read the manual again at some point, learn more about them.

There will be a '-' on one of them (probably the left) and a '+' on the other. Pressing '-' will go down a gear and vice versa.

 

[Clix Pix]

Ah, thank you, Dave! I haven't been in the car in the last couple of days but next time I get in her to go somewhere I'll take a look at the paddles before setting off, just to see.

 

[Madonepro]

Sorry to hear that but a toxic work environment is never worth it and would eventually wreck your health so worrying about retirement would be moot.

In more cheerful news was laughing like an idiot during a break at the office yesterday (we will be having students in the fall so have to start preparing) because of a couple of silly memes I saw browsing. Thankfully only my boss and another colleague were there.

Good luck with the move. Try not to worry about the future. Just live in the now. Who knows what tomorrow brings.
My work environment can be quite intense at times. Personally I’d never walk out of one job until I find the next. I have a mortgage (8 years left) again after we waived a couple of years ago and Mrs AFB has no income. So however much work gets to me, I just suck it up.

I've found myself in the same boat with similar feelings in these situations as I get older. But maybe it helps to look at it this way. Without change in life, one can never really make progress. Any change brings uncertainty and apprehension for sure, but without risk there's no gain or reward as the saying goes.

That was a brave, but apparently very necessary thing you did, having resigned from your job. It's not surprising that the day after you would have second thoughts about it all, but clearly that sense of a heavy weight having been lifted is your own good instincts telling you that this was the right move for you.

It will be challenging, yes, going back home to the UK, either with a new job lined up ahead of time or having to seek one once you are back in your home country. Good luck to you in this venture and I'm sure that once you are home and once you are settled in a new job that you will be very glad you took the risk and made this change.

Thanks, such words of wisdom, and have certainly resonated well with me.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Just quit my job yesterday, after almost 8 years. Loved the majority of the people, but found the culture toxic. Decided to return back to the UK from Australia, after being here for above said time, and even though I was thoroughly pleased with myself yesterday, and felt a weight had lifted, woke today with 'apprehension', 'worry' and a feeling of have I done the right thing.
Years ago, I would have just batted it off, but as I've reached my 50's, have become more indecisive. I worry for the future, the pandemic isn't helping, I'm not wealthy, I'm single and I fear reaching an age where I cannot work and have only death to look forward to.
Cheerful start to the weekend. Thanks for reading.

The very best of luck with it; professionally, nothing, but nothing compares to having to deal with a toxic work environment, the sheer stress of having to face it day after day, week after week.

A good friend of mine, later a judge, who took a considerable drop in salary when appointed to the bench, (and never regretted it for one minute) told me of how he used to throw up with stress every Sunday night while thinking of what faced him on Monday morning - at that time, he was a partner in an exceptionally successful legal firm (he had qualified as both a solicitor and barrister) and hated it, as the environment was so toxic.

While you may worry about the potential costs (emotional, financial, psychological, stability, security) of quitting such a job, I'd also suggest that you ask yourself about the costs of remaining there, for they are bound to come at a far higher psychological cost to you.

If you feel that shattering relief - that almost light-headed relief, a sense almost of delirious and dizzy joy, a sense of escape - when leaving a job, you know that you have made the right choice.

 

[decafjava]

Anyone know if athletes are given special permission regarding travel?

 

[Madonepro]

Anyone know if athletes are given special permission regarding travel?

Can you be more specific? Which country, where are they planning to go, at what level are they competing at, and at what event?

 

[decafjava]

Can you be more specific? Which country, where are they planning to go, at what level are they competing at, and at what event?

Well one of the skaters I posted about earlier, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, who I follow on IG (I follow all of them 😌except Yuzuru Hanyu who is not into social media) posted pics from Courcheval in France where I found out her coach has a summer training camp.
skating camp

I thought they might be old pics and am not sure although it may be pretty easy to undergo quarantine etc. in that setting. I do knw she and many other skaters were exposed or got mild cases of covid and perhaps were vaccinated. Again my Russian is poor so don't know if she is there now or posting pics from 2019.

 

[Clix Pix]

I just ran a quick Google and saw that she has been named to the Russian Figure Skating team for Beijing in 2022 so it is very likely that she is indeed at the training camp, working her heart out now to excel at the Winter Olympics.

 

[kazmac]

Still here… enjoying my job, wishing mom felt better and in process of exchanging the iPad Pro for another iPad Air.
🥺😡🥺 The M1 is now producing the same hiccups in Procreate and runs hotter than every other iPad I’ve tried. And the speakers are awful. With the job being less stressful etc., and the iPad stupidity* I’m finally considering traditional art classes and researching several options. Added bonus: Both online art schools I am looking into have courses with comic book artists I like.

*I can’t give up iPads because of Procreate, but I’ll stick with the mid tier models (Air and …maybe the Mini). And if I go through with traditional art, that’s a back up so I can continue to enjoy and relax through drawing even when the iPad goes on strike.

Anyway, I hope everyone here is okay.

@Madonepro I think you did the right thing. Good luck with the move.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Still here… enjoying my job, wishing mom felt better and in process of exchanging the iPad Pro for another iPad Air.
🥺😡🥺 The M1 is now producing the same hiccups in Procreate and runs hotter than every other iPad I’ve tried. And the speakers are awful. With the job being less stressful etc., and the iPad stupidity* I’m finally considering traditional art classes and researching several options. Added bonus: Both online art schools I am looking into have courses with comic book artists I like.

*I can’t give up iPads because of Procreate, but I’ll stick with the mid tier models (Air and …maybe the Mini). And if I go through with traditional art, that’s a back up so I can continue to enjoy and relax through drawing even when the iPad goes on strike.

Anyway, I hope everyone here is okay.

@Madonepro I think you did the right thing. Good luck with the move.

Glad your enjoying your job. I think I’ve lost count of how many iPads you’ve returned now. Have you considered another product? Wacom cintiq for example? Might give you what you need.

 

[Expos of 1969]

Still here… enjoying my job, wishing mom felt better and in process of exchanging the iPad Pro for another iPad Air.
🥺😡🥺 The M1 is now producing the same hiccups in Procreate and runs hotter than every other iPad I’ve tried. And the speakers are awful. With the job being less stressful etc., and the iPad stupidity* I’m finally considering traditional art classes and researching several options. Added bonus: Both online art schools I am looking into have courses with comic book artists I like.

*I can’t give up iPads because of Procreate, but I’ll stick with the mid tier models (Air and …maybe the Mini). And if I go through with traditional art, that’s a back up so I can continue to enjoy and relax through drawing even when the iPad goes on strike.

Anyway, I hope everyone here is okay.

@Madonepro I think you did the right thing. Good luck with the move.

Are there Procreate user forums? If yes, have you come across others who have the same iPad heat and other problems you have seemingly experienced on every iPad you have purchased over the past few years?

 

[decafjava]

I just ran a quick Google and saw that she has been named to the Russian Figure Skating team for Beijing in 2022 so it is very likely that she is indeed at the training camp, working her heart out now to excel at the Winter Olympics.

Yup and other pics and text I could translate from her fan page and a skating forum I belong to confirmed it...pretty sure they are kept under strict rules anyway.

Here in Geneva in the meantime we are turning into an armed camp cause Joe (Biden) and Vlad (Putin) are meeting tomorrow. I was thinking to myself after having a couple of pints the weekend how things are starting to return to normal well here is further proof. A large portion of the lake is cordoned off with barbed wire (!!!) lots of roads closed and buses rerouted and to top it off, a helicopter was photographed by a friend of mine that I swear was a Mil-24 Russian attack helicopter. I mean sure each side is bringing their security detail but for heaven's sake if it was really a Russian chopper it's not as if the Swiss are deprived of security assets. Oh and as I came back from the station after my day in my wonderful office* there was the pro-feminist demonstration "Greve des femmes" (women's strike) which was very noisy but well-behaved. Ahh the Geneva I know and love..

*No really I love my office as I commute the opposite direction to most and it has a wonderful view of both the Jura and Alp mountains and a huge terrace for lunches but am not there today.