Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.

Lisse24

IT companies have horrible documentation and How-To's.

Just sayin'.

Auspice

@Lisse24 said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

IT companies have horrible documentation and How-To's.

Just sayin'.

There's a reason for this.

They expect their developers to document as they go. And some developers can, but most can't. Either because they're too busy to properly document, because they're 'too close' to the product to explain it in layman's terms, or they just can't English good (there's an actual science to this in that 'thinking in code' can cause the same shift in your brain that immersing yourself in a new language does).

Many places don't want to pay for a technical writer (hi! Like me!) because they have that 'everyone can write' concept, but the truth is that people like me fill a very specific, important role.

So yeah. It happens. It happens for stupid reasons. (Let your developers develop and hire a writer to write ffs). And there's not an end in site.

The very technical industries (think space shit for example) are beginning to hire more tech writers but everyone else is hiring less.

faraday

@Auspice said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

There's a reason for this.
They expect their developers to document as they go.

I think the reason is even more insidious than that.

Technical people don't like reading instructions. (Ironic, right?)

So there's this pervasive philosophy that documentation is worthless.

So nobody writes documentation. Or if they do, they half-ass it.

So then the documentation IS worthless or non-existent.

So then nobody will even consider hiring a tech writer or becoming better at documentation or whatever because they feel that documentation is useless.

And you get this vicious self-fulfilling cycle.

I've written MOUNTAINS of documentation that nobody has ever read. It makes me sad.

Auspice

@faraday said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

@Auspice said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

There's a reason for this.
They expect their developers to document as they go.

I think the reason is even more insidious than that.

Technical people don't like reading instructions. (Ironic, right?)

So there's this pervasive philosophy that documentation is worthless.

So nobody writes documentation. Or if they do, they half-ass it.

So then the documentation IS worthless or non-existent.

So then nobody will even consider hiring a tech writer or becoming better at documentation or whatever because they feel that documentation is useless.

And you get this vicious self-fulfilling cycle.

I've written MOUNTAINS of documentation that nobody has ever read. It makes me sad.

This is true, too. I forgot this point, thank you.

There's a blog I enjoy (I'd Rather be Writing) and he discusses both the points I and Faraday made.

Documentation could be good, but unless companies start hiring more technical writers (and treating them right; I could go into detail on that but I won't rn)... it's probably going to continue sucking in the grand scheme of things.

gryphter

I don't even fucking know anymore. Somewhere between sitting here trying to persevere through a panic attack and complete my work, and erasing my personal files from my (rented) personal computer so I can return it as I can't seemingly afford the one object in this house that sparks joy, I really feel like I am on the brink of a nervous breakdown. Why in the hell am I battering myself against this joyless, soul-killing job only to not afford my life? My complaining about my job and my (new) complaining about struggling with the onset of this anxiety disorder are starting to sicken me, I can't stand to listen to myself anymore, but I also can't continue to grind myself into a fluffy, irritable, panic-ridden dust so that I can eke the minimum possible amount of joy and enjoyment out of life. I want to get the fuck off.

Auspice

@gryphter said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

I don't even fucking know anymore. Somewhere between sitting here trying to persevere through a panic attack and complete my work, and erasing my personal files from my (rented) personal computer so I can return it as I can't seemingly afford the one object in this house that sparks joy, I really feel like I am on the brink of a nervous breakdown. Why in the hell am I battering myself against this joyless, soul-killing job only to not afford my life? My complaining about my job and my (new) complaining about struggling with the onset of this anxiety disorder are starting to sicken me, I can't stand to listen to myself anymore, but I also can't continue to grind myself into a fluffy, irritable, panic-ridden dust so that I can eke the minimum possible amount of joy and enjoyment out of life. I want to get the fuck off.

I've been there, I really have. I was there up until just a month ago.

Job hunting (to get away from the bs) is hard, but I found LinkedIn made it a lot easier on me since many companies let you just do a one-click-apply using your profile. That made it a lot easier to keep at it (the job hunt) on the days I was incredibly depressed. Because hey, I could at least hit the one-click apply button on half a dozen jobs, even if I lacked the mental fortitude to fill out apps or write cover letters.

gryphter

@Auspice I'm trying. I'm looking. This is a bad day; the final bastion of something I could point to and say 'well, at least I earn that from all this mental sickness I'm taking on' falls today. It's dumb; this object shouldn't be so meaningful that it's the thing breaking my shit right now to sit here and strip it clean, but I'll be damned if it isn't. Earlier today I was looking into remote freelancing opportunities... going to need a computer for that, though. Blah. You suppose the 'old' job will just let me keep their rig if I ask nicely? Tee. Tee hee.

Nonetheless, thank you for your encouragement.

Auspice

@gryphter said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

@Auspice I'm trying. I'm looking. This is a bad day; the final bastion of something I could point to and say 'well, at least I earn that from all this mental sickness I'm taking on' falls today. It's dumb; this object shouldn't be so meaningful that it's the thing breaking my shit right now to sit here and strip it clean, but I'll be damned if it isn't. Earlier today I was looking into remote freelancing opportunities... going to need a computer for that, though. Blah. You suppose the 'old' job will just let me keep their rig if I ask nicely? Tee. Tee hee.

Nonetheless, thank you for your encouragement.

Shitty jobs are, well, shitty.

I think if my current job wasn't paying me enough to survive (I got paid today, paid bills, and have enough left to be comfortable: that's not something I've had in at least 3 years) and was a good environment, I'd not be feeling good. The work is hard, stressful, and terrifying at times. I desperately miss my anti-anxiety meds (the insurance for the job doesn't kick in until October and though I can afford MORE, I can't afford all my meds even with stuff like GoodRX so I'm having to pick and choose the important ones out of my 8 scripts).

I know the 'it'll get better' stuff doesn't always help, but I know being able to keep up job apps even on bad days did help for me (because it kept me from beating myself up more for being inactive/lazy).

Auspice

Double-post for my own thing:

I think I'm more sick than I thought I was.

I was messaging with a friend about SGM today during one of my 'awake but not out of bed so I'll lie here and use my phone' moments earlier today and I sent the link to the game.

...or so I thought.

Just realized I sent it to a group text with my parents instead. (and I have no idea how I managed that, so I must have been feverish/out of it)

#fml

Derp

@gryphter said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

Why in the hell am I battering myself against this joyless, soul-killing job only to not afford my life?

So, I feel this. Here's my situation:

I drive to a job that is forever far away.
I drive a 15 year old truck that gets 15 miles to the gallon.
I spend as much on gas in a month as most people spend in rent.
I applied for a loan on a new car, doing all the math to show that getting a new car, including the freaking car payment and insurance AND GAS, would save me roughly 400 a month. Sweet deal right?
Nope. Bank says I need a cosigner. Nobody I know will co-sign a loan, or if they can their credit sucks.
So I continue spending ridiculous amounts of money, and not being able to move because I cannot save money. so I remain in this situation seemingly forever because I have no money to put into anything that would raise my credit enough to not need a cosigner.

Feeling trapped and not knowing why you're doing what you're doing is awful.

ETA: I literally took charts and graphs and formulas and projections and such to the bank with me like I was trying to start a new business. Still no dice.

ETA2: My relationship with my s/o ensures that I can receive a fucking fabulous discount on Hondas too. I even included that, showing that it would be thousands of dollars cheaper than for everyone else, and that the three smaller loans that I've had through that bank all got paid, on time, without a single missed or late payment. STILL NO DICE. WTF, BANKS? Do you not want to make money or what?

gryphter

@Derp All the support, friend. It's funny because you need to push harder to make more money (while you're at the end of your rope). You need to make more money to be able to afford to save money. Money money money money motherfucking money, and the ones that have it are keeping it.

Auspice

@Derp to this day I have no idea how I got my car. I was still in my shitty job where I barely made ends meet (but car was cheaper than the ubers I was having to take), my credit is p bad (tho improving...). But I got the loan.

Do you have a credit union by chance? If not, open an account with one (if possible; thankfully most let you get a savings account with just $5) and try getting a loan through them. They tend to be better than most banks.

Derp

@Auspice said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

Do you have a credit union by chance? If not, open an account with one (if possible; thankfully most let you get a savings account with just $5) and try getting a loan through them. They tend to be better than most banks.

I already thought about that. The two credit unions that I would have access to either:

a) require you to be a Honda employee or a family member of an employee (dating one apparently does not count), or
b) require you to be an actual state employee, versus just a contractor (seriously, as many credentials as I have, why am I always a contractor?)

So those are both no-fly options.

I'm seriously getting to the point where I'm going to google something and see if there's something out there that I can just get approved for. Even at an ostensibly predatory interest rate, it would still be cheaper.

Auspice

@Derp said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

@Auspice said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

Do you have a credit union by chance? If not, open an account with one (if possible; thankfully most let you get a savings account with just $5) and try getting a loan through them. They tend to be better than most banks.

I already thought about that. The two credit unions that I would have access to either:

a) require you to be a Honda employee or a family member of an employee (dating one apparently does not count), or
b) require you to be an actual state employee, versus just a contractor (seriously, as many credentials as I have, why am I always a contractor?)

So those are both no-fly options.

I'm seriously getting to the point where I'm going to google something and see if there's something out there that I can just get approved for. Even at an ostensibly predatory interest rate, it would still be cheaper.

Damn, that sucks. I had 2 options for credit union here in TX (my old bank has no local branches) and they were just 'have an address within the county OR work for these companies...'

TNP

@Derp said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

So I continue spending ridiculous amounts of money, and not being able to move because I cannot save money. so I remain in this situation seemingly forever because I have no money to put into anything that would raise my credit enough to not need a cosigner.

Take out a short term loan. $250. $500. $100. Whatever they'll give you. Make the payments on time then pay it off a couple months early. Consider the interest an investment. Then repeat. That's how you build good credit failing other ways.

Auspice

People can bring their dogs to work.

One lady has keys that sound exactly like a dog's tags. Every time she walks by, I think it's a doggo and am inevitably disappointed.

Ghost

New Peeve: House Flippers.

Also known as: People who buy houses without performing inspections first so their disclosure papers are all 'not aware of', and then if you have a good home inspector you wreck their week by finding all sorts of stuff they need to disclose the next time they accept a bid.

FWEE: No, I did not go with the "Bill Gates of Home Inspectors" who ran Serenity Mush and spammed me with his LinkedIn information a few years back.

Ganymede

@Ghost

That's not a house flipper; that's a hobbyist.

I represent plenty of very, very successful house flippers. Inspections and title examinations are all standard steps before investing thousands of dollars into any property. Cutting corners lead to the problem you've cited, among others.

Good house flippers are common, but usually unheard of because they are good.

Ghost

@Ganymede Yeah, but I'll be keeping better eyes open next time.

I imagine this guy has a much bigger problem on his hands now. It could be someone didnt disclose when HE bought the house or that he didn't get an inspection himself. The issues we found now require him to legally disclose on future attempts to sell. That's not good.

Either way: I love the company who did my inspection. They did me a solid.

silverfox

Half a peeve, but also an optimistic ending?

I have kiddos coming from two different teachers last year. Half had a teacher with strong management even though she was pregnant the last half of the year. The other half came from a teacher who was a TRAINWRECK. Zero management, zero accountability, just... zip.

I can tell which kids came from which teacher based on how they behave. It is so starkly evident it isn't even funny.

Optimistic note: All of them are SWEETHEARTS. Like, run up and give me hugs. I am confident if I give them a proper structure that they'll thrive and blow me out of the water on what they can do. I'm super excited to see where they go!!