Another day, another dollar? No, thank you. Another day, another meme!

That's right, I said it. So sue me! I'm sick of living in a capitalistic society. I think we should change our currency to laughter. Exchange joy and smiles for goods and services. Maybe, I don't know, enjoy helping each other out and making each other laugh? Am I crazy for that? Perhaps. Maybe I'm mad! I don't care. I just want to meme and want to share memes with you! 

Five days a week it's wake up, go to the office, type-yap-type, maybe work out, eat some food, go home, go to bed, and then do it all again. Then there are two days a week that you would think I could spend LOLing the entire time, but no. I have to do all the chores I couldn't get to during the week. I could try and get some LOLs in there with friends, but that usually goes late into the night or takes up the entire day and then I have to go a whole other week without clean clothes again. Like, guess I'll be handwashing my undergarments for now until I'm able to pencil in a laundry day because I'm prioritizing LOLs. 

It's summertime; it's time to make memories and enjoy life. I've said this a million times before, but I want to make sure my readers understand this: We work to live, not live to work! Make sure you are acting your wage and taking all those PTO days you deserve. And, of course, never stop memeing, bestie. It's more MEMEingful than you think 

Why do Karens and male Karens think that the front desk is some kind of magical place where they can fix all their problems? Do they forget that working there is just an employee and not some kind of wizard we three wishes to spear?

All these Karens and male Karens (annoying customers) have this problem of seeing customer service employees as people with the power to do anything. From being able to make huge exceptions to, in this Reddit story's case, getting down the prize that the customer already paid for a room. He had already paid before he asked, what did he suppose was going to happen? They can't do a refund for that. It still baffles me how people love being wrong. The employee can't do what you asked, and somehow, instead of accepting that the common sense of these people is to completely ignore that and demand it, screaming. Yes, that is the way to get things, sure –please note my sarcasm.
 

It's not about the money but about the principle, the friendship, the kindness…

Sometimes we get mad over something, and it defines us as a person when that wasn't exactly why we are mad. In the case of this Reddit story, the user gets mad because she's getting run over by her supposed friends, but as they are talking about money, it seems as if she was mad about the money. She isn't. She is mad at the principle of having friends that don't care enough about her to treat her with the due respect and avoid taking money from her. Is the fact that they preferred to take advantage of her instead of actually asking nicely for her help. Is the fact that they willingly made the decision to be bad friends.

Friendship is a valuable relationship between a group of people that is not just made between people who like to hang out together. It includes values that have to be taken into account between the members of the group. These values include respect, nice treatment, and basically being more than just a good person. You look out for your friends and always wish them the best. A friend is not trying to scam you for money or to make you look bad in front of somebody. A friend is someone who tries to bring the best in you, and who likes you for who you are, is like a family member you choose. If you don't like them, why would you have them as friends?

The fact that this has to be explained. After all, they are still people out there justifying their horrible friendships because they don't want to end them, and being alone is sad. If your friend is making your life harder the he is not only a bad person but also an ungrateful human being who doesn't want to be a part of your life, or at least not as a friend, maybe they are just using you for money or resources. That is not a friend, that is a parasite. 
 

The last customer curse

Anyone who has worked at customer service knows this: there is always a customer who arrives at the very last minute, and then makes you wait for him to finish, and you end up closing the store 45 minutes late because you aren't allowed to say you need him to go asap so you can close. I genuinely don't know where these people come from, nor why they don't seem to have any empathy or understanding of the phrase 'we're closing'. To me, it goes something like this in their minds: They see you there, they think, 'she is physically there, why wouldn't she be able to serve me for five minutes?', but they completely forget that you are a person, that you might have things to do, places to arrive at, or maybe that you have other job-related tasks you need to be doing in five minutes. That's exactly the case of the Redditor who shared this story, which is the one we'll be analyzing today.

Ambivalence makes you crazy

There is countless proof by now, the words that send you into the most painful rumination, and never-ending loopholes are the ambiguous ones, not the clean, blunt truths. One should be grateful every time somebody else grants us the honour of receiving something hurtful in its most beautiful package: a gentle, respectful, harsh reality. I get that the idea sounds a bit too angelical and woke, but as you get older, you start to appreciate those kinds of things. Of course, it's not something one should look forward to or even encourage, but if one really does have to receive it, receiving it in that form is by far the best.

Anyway, my friends, it's not every day you get to have such a wonderful experience of life's adversity; sometimes you get the mediocre version. Sometimes you receive shocking negative feedback from a close friend, but the person never explains exactly what happened, and you stay there, stuck, thinking and thinking, for days on end.

For the sake of old friends

We all have that old friend from high school who was secretly our crush back then. They're not in our lives anymore, aside from the yearly happy birthday message or some random like on a picture here and there. They're just a happy, wholesome memory, about the first times we felt something for somebody else, floating on the internet. I'm not a big fan of going no-contact with everyone you once loved the moment you get into a committed relationship. I'm not saying I'm in the right, I'm just saying I'm not a big fan of that, but apparently, the Redditor who shared this story is.

The other day, I heard a podcaster I follow in an interview saying he broke up with his partner, with whom he had been together for over a decade, and decided to live together for an entire year while they were already separated, before cutting the cord completely. I thought (depending on the breakup, of course) that that was a very refreshing way of handling things. Before you think that's an insane idea, hear me out: There was much love and respect in the relationship; it was just over romantically, the type that has been over for some time, but nobody wants to admit it, and they decided to go through their grief little by little. First, you let go of the kisses, then the relationship grows colder, and you start wanting your own space. The person is still in your daily life, but not in the same way, and you have an entire year to decide who keeps the washing machine and who stays with the cat. To me, it sounds great if the reason to break up wasn't a huge betrayal, and it can be a great way to transition to being friends, which to me, is the most honourable destiny an ex-partnership can have.

Can a landlord really charge you with an invoice from a company they own?

Honestly, this story looks like taken from the TV. We all know that having a good relationship with your landlord doesn't always seem to be that easy. It depends on many factors, but the main one is respect. Since there's a lot of money involved in that relationship is fundamental to be trustworthy and transparent. And all of that has to apply even if the contract had ended.

In this story, the thing that struck me was the amount of money he said he invested in fixing that carpet. A carpet that had been used for multiple years. How can someone pretend that those stains are new and not 100 years old? And the worst part: the address of the cleaning company, which matched his address perfectly. The landlord wants to steal money, if you ask me. I totally agree with the way that the OP is handling the situation. This sounds like a scam, and I'd certainly go with a legal response as well. I'd gather all the evidence that supported my stance and send him a demand letter. 

But, besides the legal fight that is starting to form, I think this could have been avoided if the end goal had been to have a clean carpet. I'm not sure about the landlord's intentions behind his act (trying to see him not only as the bad guy), but if he wanted to have that cleaned up, he could have certainly talked to her and found an arrangement that could have benefited both of them. 

Renting a property comes with all types of problems and unexpected situations. The only advice that I have for you is to try to be respectful and to take care of the place you're renting. Because, in the end, the homeowner is the landlord, but it's the tenant's home.

'It's your friends or me'

In life, we're sometimes confronted with very difficult decisions, some about our career paths, some about our finances, and others about our love lives. It's a tale as old as time: the mean wife makes the husband decide between his friends and her. But in this case, I think the mean ones are the husband's friends, and the wife is not even bringing up the decision.

What happens when jealousy comes from friends and not from the spouse? I might have a controversial point of view on this, but I think we should integrate jealousy as a normal part of our affective lives and work through it to achieve optimal balance. The question is, is that even possible?

Have you ever worked so hard for something, and just when you give up, you achieve it?

Working is stressful enough, but overworking, volunteering to do other people's jobs, and staying after your shift to help out is actually insanely tiresome. Your job is important, especially if you want a career out of it, but you can't make your work your full life. Some influencers talk on and on about work-life balance, and even though sometimes it feels as if they are talking about some magical world, they do have some actual points. You should have some kind of balance in which your whole day isn't overpacked with your job. You also should have family, friends, or hobbies. Or even sleep. Putting so much attention on one single thing can be damaging not only to someone's mental health but also to their physical health. Is important to take breaks and rest. We need to stop.

In this Reddit story, this user has done so much for their company that they don't even remember what their job description was. They have taken over unfinished projects and other coworkers' hours. He does SO MUCH it's actually insane. When he decided to give up and just do what he was supposed to, everything trembled. The main part of the company started to disappear, leaving a big mess behind. His boss noticed it, but instead of thinking he had given up, he thought he was overworked, when actually he had worked the least in his whole time in the company. When he stopped is when the boss noticed. If he had never stopped, he might never have been recognized for his efforts. He needed that break to show everyone how much he was needed. Sometimes, to stop doing something shows more than doing it ever did. 
 

A hospital IT helpdesk worker follows a manager's written instructions to the letter, after staff are expected to arrive early and work unpaid just to load the company's software and be ready when their shift officially begins.

The topic was discussed when an IT helpdesk worker shared a work experience they had in a viral thread. 

In the large hospital they worked in, they were expected to be ready to answer calls the instant each shift began. The problem was that logging in to the hospital's computers and seven different applications took 10 to 15 minutes, forcing staff to arrive early every day if they wanted to meet management's expectations.

As technology improves, work changes. We become more productive, more efficient, and less tied to repetitive tasks. You might think that this would mean that we would be able to work less for more and all get by in better shape, with more time to spend on our own pursuits and aspirations and with our loved ones. 

But that same technology drives home the double-edged sword: the more oversight it gains over every modicum of work, every login, every status indicator, every mouse movement and click, every second of availability. 

It's not enough that productivity has risen by somewhere between 80% and over 100% since 1986. Or that skilled labor earns less comparatively, not just to the equivalent of the time, but even less than less skilled jobs. It's a little bit disheartening to realize that in the 1980s, a factory worker without a college degree possessed significantly higher buying power than a college-educated worker does today. Next time your parents tell you about how hard they worked when they were your age, remind them of these facts.

To top this all off, simply working harder, for more often, for less buying power isn't enough… There has been erosion of the quality of our working life at all ends of the spectrum.

We are, quite simply, exhausted and have little time or energy for our own families, let alone our pursuits and dreams. We are tired, we're underappreciated, and we still have our bosses breathing down our necks demanding more from us. And for what? Even more?

Why is someone's poor planning the fault of an employee who is just doing their job?

It is so common to see customers at the front desk of a hotel complaining about something not being corrected when they are the ones who booked it that way. This attitude is not only seen there, but also with cabin crews in planes and servers at restaurants. Is like a type of people that cannot admit that they did something wrong. They always find a way to blame it on the poor employee who is just doing their job. What makes it worse is the fact that managers and higher-ups defend the customer, knowing that they are wrong, just to preserve an image. If you asked me, I would say that defending a wrong customer over your loyal employees is not the best image for your company. You are taking the world of someone who is SO wrong that they need to start screaming so that people don't realize that what they are saying makes no sense at all.

This rule of "the customer is always right" is so outdated and problematic. The customer is wrong 90% of the time because –shocking for some– employees know their job. If they are telling you that something is not possible, big chances are that it isn't possible. And if they do an exception for one customer, it doesn't mean that now it is possible. It just means that the childlike tantrum the customer caused made the manager step in. But you shouldn't be proud of yourself if you got something because you were behaving horribly and made a scene, and the company just HAD TO to avoid looking bad. That makes you a horrible customer and an embarrassing adult.

In this Reddit story, we are just proven that this attitude may not always work, and that is VALUABLE. Customers need to know that they are out of line and that their requests are not always manageable. If you planned poorly and things don't work as they should, well, deal with it. You are an adult. You cannot be throwing tantrums over things that don't work your way. 
 

Corporations and their unfair double standards and pretentiousness over their employees.

You are happy you got a new job that is way better than the current one, decides that you are going to tell them on Friday and end your relationship with the company completely. On Wednesday your at the office, minding your business, doing your job, when your boss comes over to your desk to tell you that the company will not be needing the position you're filling any longer. Not only are they getting rid of you, but of the whole position. You take it calmly and simply respond that everything is fine, you already have a new job waiting for you, and that you were going to tell them on Friday. Instead of a normal response from your manager, you get hit with "Well, I hope you were planning to give proper notice." WHAT? This is what happened to a user who told his story on Reddit. 

This person just told you that you are done with the company, starting Friday, but he thinks you should give very advanced notice before leaving your job. Where does that double standard come from? They are doing a two-day notice, and you were supposed to give a two-week notice. How is that fair? The company just loses an employee –that they don't even need anymore– you completely loose you income and put your career in stand by till you can find something new. They aren't really having a problem with you leaving. The problem is that they can no longer control you.

I'm tired of this double standard used to control employees, even when they are already done with them. They can be leaving you and your family without the income that feeds, dresses, and maintains your house from one day to another, without one second thought going through their mind, but you have to be mindful of the company and always think of them before you make any decisions. This just proves the corporate world has gone too far. They don't treat employees like people anymore. 

If you're the birthday girl, you deserve to eat at the restaurant you want. It's not your sister's call, it's yours. Why does this family follow what the sister says instead of the birthday girl's wish? We don't know.

There must be something else going on between these sisters. The sister knew exactly which restaurant the birthday woman wanted to visit, but she didn't want to eat there just because she disliked the food. And that was reasonable enough to change the restaurant as she pleased. What is worse, she expected everyone to adapt, and left the poor aunt sitting alone waiting at the original restaurant. Who would do such a thing? Why would the family follow her instructions rather than the birthday woman's? Birthdays are about the person being celebrated, not the organizer. The aunt's choice should have been respected. 

Birthdays are supposed to be a day when people show you love and make you feel seen. Well, this sister did exactly the opposite. I think the issue isn't about the sister disliking Thai food. She also said that she wasn't paying for food she dislikes, but she didn't actually pay for the aunt's meal, which makes her argument so absurd and selfish that it makes me think it's not about the money either. Even her daughter called her out, but instead of apologizing, she doubled down and said she didn't care. 

If you're organizing someone's birthday dinner, the least you can do is let them pick the restaurant. Otherwise, you're celebrating a dinner for yourself and calling it their birthday. You can go to the restaurant you prefer anytime you want, but on someone's birthday, that day is supposed to be about them, not about you. 

Are you ready for summer Fridays at work?

If you are lucky enough to get this little thing called "Summer Fridays" at work, then bravo! That is an iconic work move. In fact, I would argue that that's what will boost productivity and enhance teamwork. If you don't know what that is, it is when you are allowed to leave work early on Fridays during the entire summer. Why? Because some bosses aren't monsters and they want you to enjoy the beautiful weather while you can, instead of keeping you locked up in a cold and dark office building all day. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, remember? Nothing is worse than staring out the window from your desk daydreaming all day about how you could be having a picnic or be lounging by the pool. Obviously, you're not going to get any work done if that just stays a dream. But if you are allowed to go enjoy your summer days and live out those daydreams, then you will work harder and faster so you can achieve those dreams sooner. 

Are you scrolling through these memes on a Friday when you have Summer Fridays? Well, heck, get back to work so you can finish up and gtfo out of that dang office. Are you scrolling through these memes during any other day of the work week? Well, then, proceed. We always encourage memeing on the company's dime. 

Oh man, when that sunlight kisses your skin, and that warm breeze goes through your hair, you start to wonder why you even live in a capitalistic society. I mean, I wonder that every day I wake up grumpy to an annoying alarm… But the sun makes all my worries sizzle away. And if you get me on a sandy beach? I'm cured, bestie! I'm cured. You're going to get the best employee you have ever done seen. 

Let's meme until we are able to get out and enjoy the sun. Wanting to go to the beach or play some kickball with your friends should be acceptable excuses to call out of work, imo. Until then, say it with me: we meme on the company's dime! 

As if call center operators didn't have it hard enough already…

Call centers are really awful places that most employees try to avoid when looking for a job, but sometimes you have to resort to them anyway. Some pay pretty good money, others allow you to work only 4 to 6 hours, and some others aren't really that bad because you don't have to deal with problematic customers. Whether your job is in the service industry or in another one, we all agree that something really important to check when choosing a job is the work environment. Unfortunately, most times you are only able to discover it after working in the company for a while.

When anonymity turns to exposure

I just found out there is a rarely used literal antonym for anonymity, it's nonymity, which means 'with a name', of course. So, what this company conducted was probably a 'nonymous' survey, only they forgot to disclose that. I've had the temptation to be really honest in one or two of those surveys, but I always held back because there weren't many people being surveyed, and it would be really easy to discover who wrote what. Of course, it would all be perfect if we trusted that the people reading the surveys had the emotional capacity to integrate criticism, and stop wasting their time trying to decipher who criticised them, but that's not how it works. It's just like personal criticism; sometimes we get defensive, attacking where it's coming from. There was something to be said here about doing something to a messenger, right? Still, companies should at least try to keep matters formal and not outright reveal that they broke the anonymity contract; they should, but they clearly don't always do.

The proper time to French leave

Having a friendship with a healthy dynamic doesn't come naturally for all of us. Some people relate to friends from a very demanding position, and some don't demand anything at all and never let friends into their inner world. The world is filled with types of friendships, and just like it happens with love, it's only a matter of finding the right fit. There is nothing worse than being strung along to something that will eventually fall apart, and people deserve to be set free in time. If one is not reciprocating the feelings, I think we should communicate it asap.

This woman shared what is happening between her and her newly acquired friend and has decided to leave the relationship, but is wondering how to do it because it's not easy. Thoughts?

Unrequited friendship

Sometimes, with friends, without realizing, we're the ones always texting, always initiating, and always wanting to talk things out. Some people exit our lives with proper goodbyes, they list reasons why they don't want to keep sharing their time with us, they blame the weather, their cat, or their busy schedules; other times, people vanish from our lives without saying a word, they start by forgetting to reply one or two messages, then they stop initiating hang-outs, then you never see them again. One has to have a very special kind of mindset in order not to be affected by something like this. If only we were as patient as monks, but we are not; we push things until we get some sort of resolution, and then, when the glass is finally shattered, we sweep the house, throw it in the trash, and finally move on.

The story below is about a woman who is on the verge of losing a friend, and wonders whether she should try a little longer or just let it go.

When the birthday requirements are over the top

We definitely deserve some form of special treatment from our loved ones on our birthdays, and if we are lucky enough, we get it. Having said this, some people demand a little bit more than special treatment and command week-long tributes, constant attention, praise, and presents. All the while believing those requirements are an obligation for the people around them. Beliefs like that are really hard to shake, and that's exactly what happened to the woman who shared this story about her boyfriend's birthday on Reddit.

Sometimes you just have awful friends, ditch them!

We have this thing where we can't admit when one of our friends isn't the good kind. You have that friend who has shown over and over again that they treat you badly or don't care for you, and instead of ditching them, we make excuses. When somebody tells us how they have spoken badly about us behind our backs, we say they must have misunderstood, even though inside we know they did. We feel their awful treatment towards us and do nothing. We want to avoid the confrontation, thinking it will be worse than simply talking. We prefer to be uncomfortable and sad rather than break a friendship of many years, but the truth is that the friendship ended the moment they started being mean to you. We don't want to be the ones making the decision, but we weren't. It was our inconsiderate friend who decided to end the friendship by treating us poorly.

In this Reddit story, we are presented with an example of an awful friend –multiple in this case– that do not care for us or our wellbeing, and for whom we make excuses even though they do not deserve it at all. Instead of admitting that they have a separate group chat where they specified what to bring to the "hike", the user who wrote this story prefers to think that they simply forgot. Even if they did forget to mention the reality of the plan, they are bad friends for being inconsiderate and not thinking about you. Especially if they knew that this user wasn't big in hiking. Not being mindful of your friend makes YOU a bad friend.

We should stop with the excuses and start being honest. That friend –yes, that one that you are thinking about right now– is not good for you and is not a good person. Either talk to them and explain how you feel or ditch them, but DO NOT carry a friendship just because of nostalgia.