Off Topic 2015

[bigbob]

Re: Off Topic 2015

Brad is trying too hard now and it's becoming more obvious with that memory foam thread.

[TheShizNo1]

Re: Off Topic 2015

Brad is trying too hard now and it's becoming more obvious with that memory foam thread.

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[slickdtc]

Re: Off Topic 2015

You guys ever been to a bar so terrible that it makes you actually re-evaluate your life and your choices that lead to you being there, and even go as far as to make you actively try to change that area of your life?

I just had that experience. I'm not much of a bar crawler, but I've never left a bar before midnight to go home.

edit: when I say it was a hole in the wall, I mean THERE WAS A LITERAL ****ING 40 INCH HOLE IN THE BATHROOM WALL WHERE I COULD SEE THE STAGE THROUGH.

The only time I've felt this way was at one of the bars in PA that still allowed smoking inside. This one place had no kind of ventilation so you couldn't even see the other side of the bar. I'm not opposed to the occasional ciggy, but I like stepping outside for a quick smoke to get away from the action.

They actually just banned smoking inside I heard...

[55]

Re: Off Topic 2015

I have not shaved or trimmed my beard since the last week of May or so.

[kingkilla56]

Re: Off Topic 2015

I had a beast beard going since last Jan but had to cut it for an interview in May. Worst decision of my life. I have had one growing since then so I have a 7mo going now. I stay up at night thinking of what a year beard would have looked like.

[tanchl]

Re: Off Topic 2015

Did anyone NOT have to read that twice?

His comment said "1st grade team" but I had to laugh at Countryboy's comment because I had the image that maybe he was teaching in the backwoods somewhere and literally there were first graders old enough to buy beer legally, lol. There are a few communities in my area (heck, maybe even mine) where this could happen. Heck, I had a classmate in 8th grade that drove to school. He parked his old beater right up in the teacher's parking lot...true story. He was a very valuable buddy through the years since that was back in the day when 18 year olds could buy 3.2 beer, plus his parents owned and operated a bar. So you never know.

[dickey1331]

Re: Off Topic 2015

I called DirectTV and they lowered my bill by $35 for 1 year with no contract. I'm happy about that.

[55]

Re: Off Topic 2015

I called DirectTV and they lowered my bill by $35 for 1 year with no contract. I'm happy about that.

Any particular reason why they did? I have them too (the package with every possible channel) and wouldn't mind a discount.

[Majingir]

Re: Off Topic 2015

Any particular reason why they did? I have them too (the package with every possible channel) and wouldn't mind a discount.

I think sometimes just threatening to switch can lead to them offering one of those standard discounts. At least that's how it works in Canada. Regardless who you have, you're actually supposed to call every several months, stating something(like how ___ offered you ____) and then your current provider will give you some kind of discount.

Though the hidden catch on it is that they're not written contracts. So even if they say something like "We'll give you 30% off for the next 12 months", after 6 months they might just drop the discount and start charging you full price again(which at that point,is usually when people call back and complain again and the process repeats itself all over again).

[kehlis]

Re: Off Topic 2015

The key to a good bluff is being willing to go all the way through with it (i.e. cancelling).


I'm sure 55 knows this as well as anyone. I hope it was more than saying he was going to cancel DTV because as much as I would love to shave my bill, that's not a bluff I'm willing to make.

[dickey1331]

Re: Off Topic 2015

Any particular reason why they did? I have them too (the package with every possible channel) and wouldn't mind a discount.

I called asking when my contract ends. He said it already ended. He asked why and I said I was considering switching to uverse and they offered me that deal. I never threaten to cancel.

[Blzer]

Re: Off Topic 2015

So one of my students committed suicide yesterday.

I don't know if I can officially claim him as one of my students though since he was only with us the first week of school (though I had subbed for his classes a bit last year). After that, he was M.I.A. and a counselor reported to me that his family had him in a hospital, as he was very unhappy then but was getting support. I tried to reach out to him via the school e-mail system, but no such luck in response. By the end of September, he was placed in a separate program, and I hadn't heard about him since.

A lot of students in my class have known him since childhood, and maybe even still hung out with him after he joined that other program. I just talked to one of my softball players and she said she just saw him a few days ago. It was he who told her to keep smiling and not be sad, she said.

I'm a bit shaken because I still feel like I impact my students' lives, therefore I didn't do enough for him (but as I should understand, we barely knew each other). I really feel for my students, though. Many of you may know that I lost my best friend at 15 years old, and they're 15/16 right now as well. I lost my first friend to suicide at 17, and it was tough to cope with. I just don't know how to enter tomorrow. It would be one thing if it was the day of, but this is a couple of days after so I don't know how much I should dawn on this in class itself, or if it should even be brought up at all. Remember, he hasn't been with us virtually all year.

Any suggestions on this? It doesn't help that I don't teach any classes there tomorrow until the afternoon, so most everything might be taken care of by then as well. I just wish I could have done more before, is all.

[l3ulvl]

Re: Off Topic 2015

What suggestions are you seeking? How to help similar students in the future?

It's a difficult subject, and I'm being serious here which I rarely do, but depression is often perceived as weakness, and depressed people don't always seek help for that very reason.

The fear of being seen as weak is enough for many depressed people to keep it bottled in, and instead expressing outwardly an opposite emotion. Telling someone to smile and not be sad sounds like an outward projection of how he wanted to feel, and how he wanted to be perceived, while also masking how he really felt.

I don't know if this helps at all, especially since the student had already received some treatment, just my perspective. It's a really difficult thing to deal with, don't feel like you failed, it's just not that simple.

[Blzer]

Re: Off Topic 2015

I'm wondering how much it should be brought up at all. He wasn't in my class very long, and I know him less than the students do. Plus, they will have been in school for probably five hours before coming to my class, already probably having taken care of their own business.

Just wondering which way to approach the topic at bell's ring, or how involved I should be.

[l3ulvl]

Re: Off Topic 2015

I'm wondering how much it should be brought up at all. He wasn't in my class very long, and I know him less than the students do. Plus, they will have been in school for probably five hours before coming to my class, already probably having taken care of their own business.

Just wondering which way to approach the topic at bell's ring, or how involved I should be.

I had this whole big post typed up but deleted it because I'm not a professional and I shouldn't be dispensing thoughts/ideas/advice based on my own personal experiences.

That in itself might somehow be the best advice I can give