the Complaint Lounge

[peeptoad]

I'm usually the most inflexible person in the world, but apparently my biorhythm doesn't care. It adapts like a boss.

I should be so lucky... NOT!

[xianjiro]

I really don't get all this complaining.

REALLY!?!

To paraphrase: If you don't like the complaining, stay out of the Complaint Lounge!

But seriously, I'm falling asleep an hour later (according to the clock) and waking up an hour later (same reason). Same goes for the dog.

[Onderhond]

If you don't like the complaining

We have met before here, haven't we?

[Pretentious Hipster]

I was scared to post this because of potential repercussions, but this is so idiotic. The fact that my partner is defending them is even more absurd, but I decided not to say anything for now to not start a fight.

My partner and a roommate are getting kicked out, and will be cut off from contact with the rest of the roommates. Why? Because they're white. The roommates say that white people as a race are too evil, and they cannot live with them anymore. We were planning to move in together to a new place eventually, but only when we had enough money which was January. I guess that plan has gone to shit and we gotta do it soon, and have an empty living room for the first few months. The roommate will tag along too because she moved here from Toronto specifically to live in that house, and now has nowhere to go, and is unemployed.

If you recall here from the infamous users, I learned one thing: if you write essays when they are not needed, you are fucked up. Their ad for looking for roommates was as large as a Marcel Proust novel. I said it was a red flag, but my partner insisted on living with them. I decided fine, learn the hard way. The first sign was with chores. They said that if white people are living in a home, then it is an unfair power imbalance to have black people do chores too. Also, practically anything a white person does is cultural appropriation (they might literally kill me if they saw my ancient African tattoos).

Keep in mind, I am a hardcore SJW as well. I do agree that white people have done some incredibly evil things. I do believe in cultural appropriation to an extent. I can see why on a systematic level reverse racism is not real, but this makes me think that these roommates are actually racist.

[OldAle1]

I would suggest to them that "white people" (and what do they mean by that term? just people of N. European extraction? all Aryans, including most Iranians and plenty of people from India, Pakistan etc? just Christian white people? it's fairly meaningless) have, yes, done plenty of harm in the world - but that's because they've been the group with the most power. Look at places where Europeans never really had great power - or only had it for limited periods - like China and Japan for example, and see if those places have been less warlike, less violent, less bigoted and repressive, and I think you find the answer is "not really". My brother calls himself a Buddhist and when he was younger and more naive used to talk about how Buddhism is all peace and love etc, and then I suggested he read up a bit about Tibet when it was a Buddhist theocracy. Was it worse than the Holy Roman Empire or Spain under the inquisition? Probably not but it still wasn't what we think of as a just society. Look at the history of the Americas before the conquest - was it all peace and love and women and gay people are equal? I don't think so.

White people get the blame - deservedly so in many respects - because they've had the power, and those with the power ALWAYS use it to dominate those without it. If Africa or India or the Aztecs had dominated the world instead would it have been much better?

[Pretentious Hipster]

Where my parents come from (Poland), they didn't even colonize anyone. It was practically always one of the weaker countries, so makes sense. Closest was indirectly.

It does remind me when people complained that the game The Witcher 3 had a lack of diversity among its developers. They would have a point if it was a North American game, but Poland isn't exactly known for its diverse population... You could argue that they could have outsourced some work, but there are advantages through not doing that like better interpersonal communication, or maybe the fact that some of the developers might not have spoken English.

[Pretentious Hipster]

My brother calls himself a Buddhist and when he was younger and more naive used to talk about how Buddhism is all peace and love etc, and then I suggested he read up a bit about Tibet when it was a Buddhist theocracy.

There was also this https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22356306

[OldAle1]

Short answer: human beings are generally terrible when they have power over others. And to those who might say, "well, that's because men are in charge", my answer is Margaret Thatcher.

[Pretentious Hipster]

The optics of kicking out an unemployed trans woman isn't a good look at all.

We've decided on getting a 4th roommate to avoid a third-wheel situation. I guess I'll start looking for a place soon. The good news is that ODSP will help cover some of my moving expenses. We're finding out right now if welfare does the same thing. After that's sorted out, gotta do tons and tons of interviews to find the right roommate.

[Onderhond]

https://www.businessinsider.com/what-po ... ?r=US&IR=T

Science suggests that there are unusual things happening in the brains of power-holders. Decades of study have shown that the psychology and physiology of powerful people are notably different from those of average people — down to the architecture of the brain's prefrontal cortex, and the way the heart pumps blood.

[xianjiro]

Sorry to hear that Art - sounds like stress nobody needs, especially now.

[Pretentious Hipster]

Sorry to hear that Art - sounds like stress nobody needs, especially now.

Yea this is hell for me. I can't even begin to imagine how it is for those two.

[xianjiro]

Sorry to hear that Art - sounds like stress nobody needs, especially now.

Yea this is hell for me. I can't even begin to imagine how it is for those two.

big s

[mightysparks]

Those people sound insane. Also, looking on Facebook marketplace or Gumtree (or whatever equivalent you have) for free and cheap furniture is worth doing if you can’t afford anything new right now. When we moved out, the only things we had were things for our bedrooms and we furnished the rest of our house with stuff given to us from friends of friends or cheap Gumtree stuff. Cost us maybe $200.

[maxwelldeux]

Those people sound insane. Also, looking on Facebook marketplace or Gumtree (or whatever equivalent you have) for free and cheap furniture is worth doing if you can’t afford anything new right now. When we moved out, the only things we had were things for our bedrooms and we furnished the rest of our house with stuff given to us from friends of friends or cheap Gumtree stuff. Cost us maybe $200.

Yeah, there's a tremendous amount of free/cheap shit available if you know where to look. Like troll around college campuses when classes end for the summer. When I moved out of my grad school apartment (in a lower income area), there was a ton of stuff I didn't want to take with me, so I put it all in the laundry room and said "free to a good home." Nothing lasted more than about an hour.

[Pretentious Hipster]

I spent all day budgeting. I can spare $750 a month if I spend literally nothing on wants and only focus on my needs, which I plan to do. I've found that I can get the essential furniture that looks great for $2000.

It all depends on when they're getting kicked out. They're going to negotiate when that will happen as we speak and I should find out later today or tomorrow. The problem is that what the replacement roommates have to be is VERY niche. They have to be 1) a person of colour 2) a pagan and 3) not cis. I know it's a shitty thing to say, but this combination is not exactly common. If we're given a few months then it should be ok to get enough money for both and furniture and the deposit.

They're proud of my planning. I already have the potential neighbourhoods, average price for 3 + den or 4 bedroom houses, the furniture we want, and these potential reimbursements for disability and welfare.

As my partner is genderfluid and the roommate is a trans woman, we think it's best to have another queer roommate. I found a site but we gotta have our place chosen first and the amount of rent needed, so it's gonna be a chaotic 1 or 2 months of finding the right person. I did help with job interviews when I was a supervisor, so I guess it makes sense that I do the initial meeting.

My partner works full time, and the person on welfare doesn't have access to a bus pass because welfare doesn't provide that, so I'm in the middle ground and gotta do both the house showings and interviewing the potential roommates. Obviously all 3 of us will be involved for the 2nd stage of candidates and houses, but this will be chaos.

I'm new to this, so the more tips given on how to find a place and/or a roommate, the better. I assume the lease will be under one name? Guess my partner will be best for that.

[mightysparks]

The lease usually has everyone’s name on it (I guess this could depend on where you are and other things), but you are considered one entity. Everyone had to be individually approved by the real estate agent. For bills not covered under the rental agreement, we had to sign up with gas, electricity and internet under one name. I was designated the one in charge of finances and talking to the real estate agent, so I got everyone to pay me bills and rent and I would pay everything as they came in. I found it easiest to estimate how much bills would cost and get everyone to pay a set weekly amount with the rent rather than trying to get everyone to pay random amounts for bills when they came in.

[funkybusiness]

That sounds really rough, PH, but it seems you're handling the situation pretty well. Much better than I probably would.

[Pretentious Hipster]

So officially they will be given 2 months notice after the replacement roommates are found. It took them 4 months to find all the roommates last time and this included white people, so there may actually be enough time to save up for everything. Thank the baby Jesus.

They will be ostracized from now on though. They are all pagan and do moon rituals. The white people will no longer take part in them. They will also only talk to them when necessary.

My partner is still defending this and I just can't anymore. None of this adds up. Why move in with white people in the first place? Why have white partners before this? White friends? Only logical explanation is that recently someone white did something bad to one of them, but if so that is INCREDIBLY judgemental.

[xianjiro]

I had to wonder why they didn't add 4) Must be seeking asylum or in country illegally. Seems like a gaping error if they are trying to write the most restrictive ad ever.

[Pretentious Hipster]

I'm remembering another thing now that one of the roommates did that was a red flag. One of his girlfriends asked if they wanted to do some sex act. Dunno what it was, but doesn't matter. He didn't wanna do it, so he said no, dumped her, and banned her from the house.

Like, I get not wanting to do some sex acts, but if you're in a relationship with a person, just say no, and forget about it. These roommates are the SJWs that the right make fun of. I'm so happy that they're not the norm.

[Knaldskalle]

I'm only just no catching up on this thread. Art, I believe the technical term for your situation is "fucked up." I'd save up for as long as possible and then just pack up and leave those jerks in the dust.

[Pretentious Hipster]

I'm only just no catching up on this thread. Art, I believe the technical term for your situation is "fucked up." I'd save up for as long as possible and then just pack up and leave those jerks in the dust.

It's not me living there thankfully.

I might go there soon to meet the roommate with my partner for some reassuring. We won't make her pay 70% of her income for rent (just found out about this today wtf), and will only increase it when she starts working. I also found the suitable neighbourhood too. One of the suburbs. It's only a 40 minute bus ride away from my partner's workplace, and it's SUBSTANTIALLY cheaper, and the houses are a million times better looking ($1900 instead of $2500 a month).

Hopefully all of this planning will make her realize that everything will be fine soon.

[Pretentious Hipster]

Seems like this and the virus is getting to me. I can't sleep because the blanket won't stop moving. The walls and my vision are breathing alongside with me as well.

Funny. Someone asked me a few hours if I'm doing ok and I said I wasn't having any suicidal thoughts or psychotic related stuff so I'm doing ok. I guess I jinxed it lol

[xianjiro]

Well, don't wait too long - no need for it to get out of hand, right? If you need help, it's best to see the appropriate professional and get things fixed.

[Pretentious Hipster]

I feel better now. It did get worse. I do debates on alt right sites sometimes to brush up my debating skills. I then started getting thoughts that the alt right/nazis and the roommates were collaborating to convert me to be a nazi. The nazis think I would be a valuable asset to them, and the roommates don't want another cis white male invading their space.

I spent like 2 hours laughing thinking "it all makes sense now! I'll be Ned Flanders' leftorium's biggest customer because of this!"

[Pretentious Hipster]

It's really starting to make sense now. I made a compromise and will fully believe it if the roommates will say I'm a white supremacist. If so then they are trying to make fascism seem attractive to me, and will drive me away from the left because they will look "insane".

[PeacefulAnarchy]

Ugh, I can talk in front of a class because I've done it hundreds of times, trying to record a lecture is like teaching for the very first time again. I hate this shit so much.

Edit: Grrrr. I just got done and apparently my phone cut off 5 minutes in so now I have to redo this shit. Fuck you COVID and fuck you IT department.

[xianjiro]

Are you recording and uploading or live-streaming? I just assumed this would be done on some sort of U distance learning portal type thingie and had no idea how they'd get cams into every classroom. Shows you how long it's been since I've been in a classroom.

[PeacefulAnarchy]

Recording and uploading at home with my phone because lol at IT giving us any tech besides "try zoom" (zoom is garbage that doesn't do shit worthwhile, I couldn't even get it to do the simplest show my camera, let alone record or have audio or whatever other features they say they have also it's a delivery platform so meaningless on the actual recording side). If I had tried to stream something it would be a disaster instead of just me being frustrated.

You assume preparation by anyone anywhere in the process. Everyone does their own thing. At least I know how to troubleshoot my garbage phone and compress the ginormous video it gives me and upload it to a site that actually works. I can't imagine what the techphobic profs are doing.

[joachimt]

I haven't started digital lessons yet, but it seems things are going a lot smoother here. Every teacher has their own laptop. All student have their own laptop. Everyone has an Office365 account. I'll start today with my tutor pupils. Tomorrow lessons will resume. We're using Microsoft Teams just like more than half of the world right now. I'm just hoping Microsoft can keep up with all the trafic. Lessons will be realtime videomeetings and every lesson will be recorded, so absent student can watch them later.

Been very busy yesterday helping less-techy colleagues.......

[PeacefulAnarchy]

Yeah some of my students don't have laptops so I can't assume anything. Microsoft teams has an app so I might try that. Definitely not using zoom though.

[xianjiro]

You assume preparation by anyone anywhere in the process. Everyone does their own thing. At least I know how to troubleshoot my garbage phone and compress the ginormous video it gives me and upload it to a site that actually works. I can't imagine what the techphobic profs are doing.

Nah, I assume no prep with pretty much every part of this mess we're in. LOL But I'm quite curious to read what you guy's have to write and it's going to be really telling how the haves and have-nots make it through this mess. Rich districts - it'll be a hiccup and the kids will go on. School calendar might be upset a bit. Some schools will wonder what they'll do if classes continue to Independence Day since they don't have air conditioning. But in poorer schools, I won't be one bit surprised to hear they just try to repeat half (or the full) year or something.

And this thing hasn't gotten loose in the slums of Nairobi ... yet. In some ways, distance learning will be the least of humanity's problems.

Just can't imagine every kid having their very own computer. Even in a tech center like my city, kids do homework on the library computers (and other things). There is a very real digital divide still. And then imagine what it's like when you get to places where there are more jackolopes than people.

Good luck to you both!

[Tim2460]

Teams had outages yesterday... Hope it will be fine for your first lessons Joachimt.

Here it took 2 days for the VPN infrastructure to adjust ... and i can work from home again in good condition.
Skype takes us together for the moment.

[joachimt]

Teams had outages yesterday... Hope it will be fine for your first lessons Joachimt.

Had my first meeting this afternoon with my tutor pupils. Most went fine. My app crashed one time. After restarting I could just join the meeting again, which kept going with my students. So first test went okay. No real lesson yet though. This was only to help them get started with the new learning situation.

And you're right, xianjiro. I'm very lucky to live in such a rich environment. It's the same for my daughters. They got assignments today and a lot are digital. They both have a personal iPad, so it's easy for them to work. Some kids in their school haven't got enough equipment at home, like one computer in the house but three kids who have to work. But the school can provide devices to borrow.

So considering how this must be for a lot of people without all my wealth, I really shouldn't be posting in the complaint lounge.

[PeacefulAnarchy]

So considering how this must be for a lot of people without all my wealth, I really shouldn't be posting in the complaint lounge.

Eh, it's all relative. We're complaining about work when some people aren't being paid or even being fired. Those people are complaining about their money worries when others are losing relatives or friends or severely sick. Those people are complaining about having health problems in a pandemic while others have to deal those things on daily basis for their entire lives.

As long as you're aware of the wider scope it's fine to vent and complain about the immediate.

I'm feeling better about my lessons (though I hate hearing my own voice) but live chatting is still something that I can't get working adequately, but maybe I'm being too picky about not forcing my students to install stuff.

[Knaldskalle]

So considering how this must be for a lot of people without all my wealth, I really shouldn't be posting in the complaint lounge.

Eh, it's all relative. We're complaining about work when some people aren't being paid or even being fired. Those people are complaining about their money worries when others are losing relatives or friends or severely sick. Those people are complaining about having health problems in a pandemic while others have to deal those things on daily basis for their entire lives.

As long as you're aware of the wider scope it's fine to vent and complain about the immediate.

I'm feeling better about my lessons (though I hate hearing my own voice) but live chatting is still something that I can't get working adequately, but maybe I'm being too picky about not forcing my students to install stuff.

My wife is in a similar situation. A colleague advised that she just upload whatever video she was shooting to Youtube (or some other video site), because Zoom is bound to crash once people start using it in large numbers. I'm not sure what she'll do yet, but at least she has the advantage of her previous lectures being filmed and made available to students, so if all else fails she can just upload lectures from previous years.

Getting the students to actually watch the videos, though....

[xianjiro]

Teams had outages yesterday... Hope it will be fine for your first lessons Joachimt.

Had my first meeting this afternoon with my tutor pupils. Most went fine. My app crashed one time. After restarting I could just join the meeting again, which kept going with my students. So first test went okay. No real lesson yet though. This was only to help them get started with the new learning situation.

And you're right, xianjiro. I'm very lucky to live in such a rich environment. It's the same for my daughters. They got assignments today and a lot are digital. They both have a personal iPad, so it's easy for them to work. Some kids in their school haven't got enough equipment at home, like one computer in the house but three kids who have to work. But the school can provide devices to borrow.

So considering how this must be for a lot of people without all my wealth, I really shouldn't be posting in the complaint lounge.

So, the big question: did you see a log of what your tutor pupils had to say (about you) while you were restarting the app?

[xianjiro]

So considering how this must be for a lot of people without all my wealth, I really shouldn't be posting in the complaint lounge.

Eh, it's all relative...
As long as you're aware of the wider scope it's fine to vent and complain about the immediate.

I've acknowledged for years that if I lived in a developing country, the likelihood I would have died around the turn of the century is pretty high and given the state of treatment back then, only as a rich white South African would I have stood a chance. Brazil and Mexico are probably more 50/50 - would have depended on my ability to get to the right doctor and get on the right medications. I can't really say how available each were but I do know of people who came to the US from Latin America to have access to treatment options.

The only other country for which I have direct knowledge would be Japan and I'd rate likelihood of success high as long as I was employed (my health insurance was tied to my job, but the company went belly up about the turn of the century, so ). But I did have a Japanese friend who had health problems of his own while another older family member was sick. It was quite clear they don't have the level of safety net support that we do in the US - this may seem counter-intuitive, but I think the idea is the family group is one's safety net there. His problem was he was the only real bread-winner in the family at the point he became too ill to work.

So, even as we complain about the holes in the US safety net and politicians working ferociously both to patch and cut away at it, I know it managed, ultimately to save me.

[joachimt]

Teams had outages yesterday... Hope it will be fine for your first lessons Joachimt.

Had my first meeting this afternoon with my tutor pupils. Most went fine. My app crashed one time. After restarting I could just join the meeting again, which kept going with my students. So first test went okay. No real lesson yet though. This was only to help them get started with the new learning situation.

And you're right, xianjiro. I'm very lucky to live in such a rich environment. It's the same for my daughters. They got assignments today and a lot are digital. They both have a personal iPad, so it's easy for them to work. Some kids in their school haven't got enough equipment at home, like one computer in the house but three kids who have to work. But the school can provide devices to borrow.

So considering how this must be for a lot of people without all my wealth, I really shouldn't be posting in the complaint lounge.

So, the big question: did you see a log of what your tutor pupils had to say (about you) while you were restarting the app?

Everything they chat is saved in the team-thread.

Today I had my first lessons. Went pretty fine actually. Meeting open in MS Teams and I shared my screen so they could see all that I was doing. I recorded the whole sessions and this is automatically saved in the thread. No extra clicking to do so except for "start" and "stop".