There's nothing like watching your old workplace crash and burn because they failed to appreciate you while you were working there.

You know that meme of 'Disaster Girl', of the young girl looking mischievously at the camera while a house is burning in the background? That is how we imagine most employees feel after they quit their job and learn of all the chaos that followed. When you work at a place that doesn't appreciate everything you do for them, you can practically imagine what would happen when you finally decide to leave. Since you're overworked and undervalued, no one in the company actually knows the scope of all you do, which means that they will only learn about it when you are no longer there to do it. Only after you stop carrying the entire company on your back do the people you work for understand what asset is leaving them, and what mistake they made for not giving you the credit you were due.

That is how we imagine the boss in the story below was feeling. In this factory, there was one guy and one guy only who knew how to operate the machines. Even though multiple people were trained to do so, this one employee was the only one who truly worked to understand the complicated machinery, but still, he was never appreciated for it. When a better-paying job came his way, the employee knew he had to take it. Why stay in a workplace that doesn't value you when you have a better opportunity? So, the employee handed in his notice and spent his last weeks enjoying the new sense of freedom he got. 

It was only on his last day that the big boss realized that his leaving meant that they would have no one to operate the factory's machines, but by then, it was too late. Did that stop him from calling the employee a few months later, begging him to take his old job back? You can bet that it didn't…

You're a little old to still be living with your mother, or is it the other way around?

Leaving the nest is complicated. You have to be responsible, have a steady income, and take care of EVERYTHING. And when I say everything, I really mean it, from washing your clothes to cooking every meal of the day. If you leave clothes on the floor, nobody is going to pick them up for you. If you don't clean after yourself, insects will start to invade your new space. If something breaks, you have to take care of getting it fixed. It's extremely hard for the change that a young adult goes through when moving out of their parent's house, but maybe it's also hard for the parents.

There are many reasons why a parent wouldn't love for their child to move out. It could be a missing issue, not knowing if they are going to be able to take care of themselves without a parent's help. Then we have the financial issue in some cases, like the one in the story below. If your kid was helping out with some money when they move out, the household is going to struggle because even though there is one less person to feed, there are still utilities and other necessities that won't be able to maintain coverage.

In this case, we have a struggling mother who is no longer able to cover her necessities due to her low income. In her case, it is understandable to reach out to family members to try to get some financial help. The problem is that she is demanding to move in with her 31-year-old daughter, and she's not comfortable with that. Even though the mother is going through a hard time, she can't demand that her daughter accept to live with her. This adult in her thirties has every right to deny the imposition and tell her to see if her other children can provide her a place to live.

The thing that really sells the daughter's reasons is that she didn't say she wasn't going to help her. She just explained that she didn't want to share her house with her mother. That is not only understandable but fair. This woman has other children, so maybe one of them can help her out, or at least they can all pitch in financially so every child can maintain his home situation as it is right now. 
 

Retail has a talent for turning ordinary people into philosophers the second they reach the register. That's when the wallet mysteriously vanishes and gets replaced with a burning desire to explain the metaphysical value of what they're holding. It's like watching someone try to tip with a monologue instead of cash.

We love the elderly, but getting them to change their often old-fashioned ways is a challenge not many can deal with.

When older people get used to doing something in a certain way, you will not find it easy to get them to change. Even if your way is better and easier, they will most likely not want to know about it, and won't care one bit that it saves them time and money. That is why most of our parents still call us whenever their phones get a new update, and they start to panic when something, even the smallest thing, changes from the way it used to be. And why most of our grandparents hold on to their old, what we like to call, "dumbphones".

As long as their insistence on keeping at it in their old ways doesn't hurt anybody, we don't really care if they refuse to change. Everyone can understand wanting to be comfortable and not constantly dealing with change. But if their old ways actually get in the way of someone else, like what happens in this story, we find ourselves forced to teach them a lesson.

The elderly man below has been parking in front of someone else's driveway for 30 years now. Somehow, he made it work with the last owner, but now there's a new owner, and they don't like it when their driveway is constantly blocked. They rent that parking spot and pay money every month for the convenience of always having a place to park, so when they get home and always see someone else parked in their private spot, it understandably gets on their nerves.

The fact that this old guy has been parking in that spot for years does not matter to the current owner, and while they tried to be polite with their requests to get the guy to move his car, it has reached a point where words are not enough. After many disputes, the owner realised it's time for action.

Remote jobs aren't as most people think

Working remotely can cause issues with management due to several different things. Firstly, we have the time zones. When you work remotely, you, supposedly, can work from almost anywhere in the world. This can cause problems trying to connect for meetings or arrange things. Secondly, we have the working hours. Some horrible bosses believe that even though your shift is over, if you work remotely, you have to be available all the time, even on weekends or at midnight. Lastly, miscommunication is complicated because it's hard to be aware of how employees are feeling with the job or their goals when you can't even schedule a meeting and never see them at the office.

How should you handle errant parking of non-residents? Well, after getting half the street towed, this homeowner returned to share an update on what had happened in the 2 days since.

Communities and neighborhoods rely greatly on the idea that everyone will respect unwritten rules and social contracts for the greater good. (The greater good.) But it should stand as no surprise that short-term accommodation guests often care little for those things. The problem is exacerbated by the fact they're usually following the rules and directions that have been left by their hosts, who have never spent a single night in the house and also don't care much at all about their neighbors. The instructions they leave can be inaccurate or encourage rule-breaking, which could, in turn, spoil the guests' vacations. 

Parking is always a source of conflict in communities, but some people just don't know how to work with other people.

Since this is an update: This is our coverage of the original post from two days ago. 

But if you just want a brief overview, here is a brief summary:

A man and three neighbors in a popular holiday destination in southern France purchased a previously shared resident parking area from their homeowners association. They converted it into six clearly marked private parking spaces, leaving several unassigned spaces available for other residents. This was following ongoing parking issues with short-term rental guests from online apps who were renting in their neighbor's houses.

During the busy summer holiday season, these guests repeatedly parked in the owners' assigned spaces, leaving the actual owners unable to park near their homes. After posting warning signs, notifying residents, and giving plenty and repeated advance notice that unauthorized vehicles would be towed, they found the private lot full again.

And, well, there was only one thing to do about that: They had every unauthorized vehicle towed.

Chaos ensued. Angry Airbnb guests who wanted refunds. Angry Airbnb hosts who didn't want to pay them. All blaming the wrong people just as long as it wasn't themselves. Several owners and guests threatened legal action over refunds and towing costs, arguing they had not been warned, while the poster maintained the parking ownership had been established for a year, they just hadn't actually been to the houses they owned once in that time to see it.

Keep reading for the updated post below.

When does a neighbor's business become everyone else's problem?

What was once a quiet residential property has become the neighborhood's loudest gathering spot after new owners opened an outdoor restaurant and bar. One frustrated resident says nightly music, shouting patrons, and repeated confrontations have made their home impossible to enjoy. With complaints ignored and authorities offering little help, they're seriously considering moving away.

I'm all about leaving peacefully among your neighbors. And although I always like it when people defend themselves from others when it's their right, I also think that we all have to protect the bond we have with the people next door, because it is an important relationship and needs to be taken care of. Now, when it comes to this particular story, I'm unsure how I would proceed.

For instance, I do think that all of the neighbors (and the restaurant owners, in this case) have the right to have the business running because it's a residential and a commercial area at the same time, is not like he's running an illegal restaurant that can easily be shut down. So, although it hurts me, I do think that the homeowner needs to either find a way to tolerate the business, or he will have to move eventually.

For some reason, I do feel bad for him. Since I enjoy a peaceful living, and I wouldn't like to be living next to a bunch of people who party every night and like to mess around with my trash bin, I would still be angry and sad for having to move because of this behavior. At the end of the day, we're talking about grown adults who clearly don't know how to enjoy a night out without making something crazy about it.

I'm sure that if this were people who could enjoy a meal with some friends without having to cause a crazy deal and going insane during the night, the homeowner could tolerate the situation and not have to move, and the restaurant owner still has his good business going on and not bothering the people who live next door.

What is the problem with builders and engineers? They seem to always be disagreeing with each other and underestimating one another.

Certain professions seem not to get along with others. We have doctors and nurses. The ones with a license to operate and treat patients are usually seen completely underestimating how much nurses know, and they deem anything they have to say as useless. Then we have the police force and the fire department, who don't seem to fully understand that they need one another. And lastly, engineers and builders. This opposition may not happen everywhere –luckily– but they aren't uncommon. These pairs that should be using each other to do their job the best way they can usually end up arguing over minor things instead of learning from each other.

A builder and an engineer need to work as a team to build something. The civil engineer, like the one in the story below, needs to do all the planning with the calculations and the drawings to make sure that the structure that is being built will be able to stay in place. The builder has to do other calculations, the ones that count how much of each material is going to be needed, for example. And then put together a squad of builders to take the drawing and make it real. They need each other. Without one of these positions, we are left without the final product –or with one that won't last.

Working with people who don't have the best qualifications can be hard. Jealousy is a strong force that will likely try to intrude on the matter. But there is no room for it, or at least it shouldn't be. There needs to be teamwork to do things correctly, and that is not possible if workers focus more on petty rivalries instead of the job. The most important thing is to do what you are hired for, and that should be enough to avoid any arguments between colleagues. We all have different qualifications, but that has to bring us together, appreciate the moment, and take advantage of it to learn. That is how a good job is done. So stop wasting time fighting one another and do what you do best. Your job! 
 

Did we forget what a gift means?

I understand people expect useful gifts at their bridal showers, but that can't be an excuse to shake down friends for cash we know they don't have. My point is that we shouldn't shake anyone for gifts or cash, even if the people who are supposed to be making the gifts can afford it. A gift is always supposed to be given willingly. We can't expect our decision to get married to be financially supported by our friends and family. I mean, we can be grateful if it happens, but nothing more. Did it ever occur to this bride that not everyone has the financial means to support another family as well as their own? You're allowed to be frustrated, but you should be able to distinguish what your friends are supposed to do from what they aren't. Commentaries under this post confuse me because they mostly assume one is supposed to give expensive gifts to attend a wedding. I think if that were the case, it should be specified, so people don't think they are only going to a wedding to celebrate the couple's marriage. If it really is mandatory for the couple to leave an expensive gift at their bridal shower, they should be upfront about that; if not, it's the same as scamming, really. Guests don't know what they are really getting into, and they don't know whether it's mandatory. It's a no-brainer for me.
 

Shoulda woulda coulda

Marrying the right person doesn't feel like the movies told us it would feel, and that's ok. One has to work very hard not to get caught up in the what-ifs, because they are a trap. She could've continued with that other relationship, for example, and maybe she would've wasted her time with something that felt so romantic at first but never became a fruitful relationship. Or maybe if it eventually became a fruitful relationship, she might then have started wondering whether she made the right decision or whether she should've stayed single longer. I personally believe that those fantasies are only that, fantasies, and that they show us what we want to bring back to our lives. It could be love, excitement, newness, anything; but the fantasy is there for a reason. I don't think what ifs necessarily reflect anything about the life not lived; they only reflect our current desires.

The shift from real life to virtual life has already happened

I don't think that, at any point in history, people have incorporated so many marketing concepts into their own lives as they do now. Marketing used to be something companies used to sell their products more effectively, to generate desire, or to project an image. With social media nowadays, people have gotten used to thinking about their own public image as if it were a brand, even people who do not own or represent any businesses. Events have transformed from occasions where people shared time and enjoyed things together to gatherings curated to project an image or a reputation dissociated from their actual content. The thing is, weddings have always had social significance; they did not occur in a vacuum. Instead, weddings used to allow the 'realness' of the event to emerge when people were actually together, as well as take pictures and show off how much money the couple invested. Now some couples police what goes on in the event as much as they police how the event is photographed. The vigilance only grows. I would not be surprised to hear weddings start requiring a script. People have gotten so used to being constantly recorded that they start fearing it and adjusting their behaviour to that. I believe you can't coerce people into having a good time, so the events that will inevitably become popular (I'm being optimistic here) will be the ones that leave recordings, and social media outside of the picture.

You didn't pay for it? You do not own it!

Marriage is scary. Imagine you decide that the love of your life is someone who thinks that something you worked really hard for is just as much his as yours. Finances are hard when you are on your own, so I can't even imagine how hard it can be to go from having your separate accounts to joining them when you get married. People tend to manage money very differently, which can cause big problems in the long run. That's why a lot of couples have started to use prenups. They are a great way to maintain what you had before the marriage to yourself and avoid getting into financial fights with your spouse.

Some people think prenups mean that you don't love your spouse enough, but that is far from true. Keeping the things you work hard for in your name should be common. A marriage can end, but you can lose your hard work to somebody else. You are not putting just yourself at risk by trusting them with your money, but also the future of your children or heritage. Your investments are yours, and it's not fair that somebody gets it for free just because. You are the one who lived on a few bucks for years so you could own a property. He didn't. Why would you put HIS name on the deed? Share it with him, live together, be happy, but do not add him to the deed when he didn't provide two cents for it.

This Reddit story got me clear on something. What's yours is yours. Keep your things and your efforts. Protect what you worked hard for. Love, get married, but do not get the finances involved in that. You can have the most perfect marriage without risking your and your children's future over some man that you aren't a thousand percent sure you aren't going to break up with. Marriage and finances are two different things. Do not forget that, ever. 
 

After helping expose years of mismanagement and expecting to inherit the vacant manager role, an employee discovered the promised promotion had been given to someone else, prompting their resignation, which left the already struggling store critically understaffed.

It's not often you come across a story like this on the internet anymore. Something about the way that this story was written makes me nostalgic for an era gone by. 

You used to see plenty of stories like this every day. Messy writing, messy characters, and a narrator that isn't overly concerned about making themselves look good. They're just laying it all out there on the table for strangers on the internet to read without worrying about the judgement. 

Just. Messy. 

To be completely honest, this is an era that I hadn't fully realized we had exited, but I guess it makes sense with everything that has changed around technology and social media. There have probably been other cultural shifts that have contributed besides. 

This employee shared their long-winded story with this online workplace community, detailing the history of their chaotic workplace. After helping clean up the problematic workplace by getting their manager and the district manager fired and being given assurances that the vacant manager role would become theirs

I mean, it kind of makes sense given the situation that management might want to steer clear of anyone involved in the mess. The employee proved instrumental in exposing problems in the organization, from their perspective, but they also proved themselves to be very much a part of that same problem from the perspective of senior leadership.

Keep reading to see the story below. If you get tired of reading and want a TL;DR (Too Long Didn't Read), I have included one at the end of the main story around Item #46. Yeah, this one is long. 

Like I said: Messy. 

Who here hasn't found themselves desperate to complain about something their neighbor is doing, even though they know they have every right to do it?

If your neighbor decides to buy their teenager a drum kit one day and let him play it during permitted hours, as annoying as it might be, there isn't anything you can do to stop them. It is completely within their right to buy a drum kit and play it, even though it is known to be a disturbance to other people. You can ask them nicely to soundproof the room or get those noise-isolating headphones, but as long as they are not breaking any rules, they don't have to agree.

Still, people should try to be as neighborly as possible and ensure everyone who lives around them is happy and content with the living environment. If you know your neighbor has a newborn, you can be a decent human being and not play loud music throughout the day, and if something they do bothers you, you can take the civilized route and simply talk to them about it.

None of that was applied in the neighborly dispute below, which is why no one in the building is happy with their neighbors. It all started when one entitled resident completely disregarded her neighbors' comfort with every single action she took around her home. Constant renovations, security cameras facing neighbors' doors, and nonstop noise complaints were just the tip of the iceberg. No one was happy living next to this person.

It was when she started complaining about one of the residents' AC units that they really had enough. She never bothered to ask them about any of the disturbances she caused, but suddenly thinks she is entitled to demand they make changes in their home based on her convenience? Not going to happen.

Since the resident knows they did everything according to the law, they also know this entitled neighbor can't demand anything of them. Should they still comply? Only the rest of the story will tell…

This is fraud, and standing up for it is the right thing to do!

Fraud, unaccountability, and family drama. Already an interesting story. I know that every family is their own world and that relations are complicated. That's why I don't try to judge family members who decide not to continue to be a part of their own family. They could have very valid reasons, and I have no power whatsoever to judge them. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't condemn fraud. There is a difference between deciding not to take part in the caretaking of your elderly mother –sounds really bad, but you can have your reasons– and a completely different one is committing fraud by accepting government checks for taking care of her while you don't even visit her.

If you don't want to take care of your family, then don't. You may have your reasons. I won't judge. But accepting money that the state provides so that you can help your mother when you don't even call her is illegal. It makes you a horrible person, and it makes you a scammer, a con artist. The son from the story below is taking advantage of the system and his mother. And these neighbors have every right to condemn it. They are taxpayers who help to contribute to the money his receiving illegitimately, but also, they are doing HIS JOB for him for free.

I really wish they could open this elderly woman's eyes and make her understand that his son cannot be taking this money when he isn't doing the job his receiving it for. She can either hire a caretaker like a nurse with that money, or give it to some of the neighbors that are always helping her out and are in the line of poverty. This is fraud, and it needs to be condemned. Social assistance from the government can be extremely useful for some people. To steal that is pure evil. Let's hope everyone gets what they deserve.  
 

Revenge is a gift best served by a bank

Some of us fantasize about something like this happening to us so we can get revenge without planning. We have to be really intelligent to be presented with the chance and be quick enough to see it and take it. I've read countless stories about exes who benefited from their partners' kindness only to resent it afterwards. I guess it's a common attitude. People would like to forget the times in which they were vulnerable and will hate anyone who reminds them of it. I don't like to be alarmist, but beware. Try to keep an eye open for anyone who displays this kind of attitude. Some people see relationships primarily in terms of costs and benefits; we should be attentive if our partners tend to maintain relationships based on usefulness instead of affection, show gratitude only while they're dependent on us, and evaluate people according to what enhances their own image. All those traits are what we should be aware of if we don't want to end up with someone who benefits from our help, and when they're done needing it, pushes us aside to get something 'better'. We should observe how this person treats those considered less successful as opposed to those above them. It's also worth separating a change in compatibility from opportunism; of course, we don't see the whole picture; we only have one side of the story, but it never hurts to take care of oneself.

Having a friend or family member who borrowed money and won't pay you back is annoying. But what do you do when it's your manager who refuses to pay back money you loaned to him on a business trip?

It's pretty natural to want to be seen as helpful in our workplace environments. I think we hope that our faith will be rewarded, and in the back of our mind, we are a little bit wary of telling an employer "No," as well. 

It's not all that uncommon for one negative thing about you to stick in someone's mind—especially when that someone is your manager. As an employee, the last thing you want is for some comment about how you weren't helpful or "a team player" to come up at the wrong time to the wrong people in some boardroom meeting. And then, to have this begin a narrative about you (and against you) that spirals out of control.

These things do happen, and it can be impossible to claw your way back up that slippery slope once the wrong word has been spoken in the wrong ear.

This is why managers need to be careful about the demand they're placing on an employee, no matter how personal the relationship might be between them and how informal the situation is. The blurring of these boundaries—well, it's going to create some problems. 

A manager asking an employee to cover a business expense is an immediate red flag. And while the power imbalance already puts unfair pressure on the request, here there isn't even a grey area. There's nothing personal about asking them to effectively contribute their own money to the business and it should never be a request. 

Sure, it's often the case that an employee will "spot" the company money on a business trip by spending their own money at the time and asking for reimbursement later. I still think that is a weird practice, but it always exists as an established process.

Having your manager off-hand ask you to cover their hotel costs, however, is not. Putting that employee on the spot and then not repaying the amount immediately, and when you said you would, is a major issue. And it repeatedly puts the employee in the awkward place of having to bring it up… over and over again.

Without a doubt, this employee needs to start looking for new jobs. Fast. And find some other way to get their money in the meantime. 

How volatile can a person become when they feel like they're balancing on the tightrope? 

Apparently, very volatile, or so it seems by this employee's experience, who has a manager who lied on her resume and behaves very unprofessionally. This employee reported the manager for all her wrongdoings, and it looks like the company is about to let her go. This led the manager to get desperate and retaliate in the pettiest way possible. As revenge for the employee's report, she told her to run away from work, made unpleasant comments about her to others, and tried to isolate her, as high school kids do. 

It is a very unpleasant situation to be in, that is for sure. But the entire issue speaks more of the manager than of the employee. If all the manager knows how to do is behave like a petty little child, she's obviously unprofessional and not qualified for the role she's fulfilling. The consequences of her actions are catching up to her, and she can't seem to take responsibility for her words or her behavior. 

It's a shame for the employee who has to bear her bad mood and her immaturity, but at least it's not forever. The company knows about it already, and they are taking action to correct the issue. In this case, being a decent worker is paying off, and soon she'll be free of the manager and free to go back to her responsibilities without being bothered. It'll take patience and grace, and a good use of her wits to follow the internet's advice and report every single thing this manager does and says to her. 

Bad bosses are everywhere, and sometimes they are difficult to beat. That doesn't mean it is impossible, and in this case, it very much seems like the good guy is winning. For once, the bad manager is going to get a taste of her own medicine. 

What's more satisfying than finally graduating? Graduating just to spite people who tried to put you down.

That's exactly what happened to this now Doctor of Social Work. He shared on r/pettyrevenge what led him to get his PhD in the end. His grandfather got diagnosed with something that requires him to get constant attention, so since the grandson had a Master's in Social Work, he knew how to get by and get him everything that he needed. His aunt, however, wasn't so happy with the arrangement. She believed she should take care of her own father, since she had a PhD in veterinary medicine and thought she knew better. Mind you, the grandfather was perfectly happy with the original arrangement. The grandson, just to spite his aunt, went and got his doctorate in Social Work, all while also helping care for his grandfather. 

The thing about arrogant people is that they never know when to step aside and let others take care of the situation. A PhD in veterinary medicine is a great achievement, but the biology of animals is not the same as humans'. Illnesses can and do affect them differently. Believing that a degree defines a person's knowledge and competence to handle difficult situations is incredibly shortsighted and speaks more of the aunt's inability to put aside her pride and do what's best for her father. With people like that, it's not enough to tell them that they're wrong. They have to see it for themselves, and sometimes when they finally do, it's too late. 

Everything worked out in the end; the guy got his PhD and the grandfather received the help he needed, while also being extremely proud of his grandson. The aunt must have had to bite her own tongue after it, and that is probably the best part of the story. She must have learned the valuable lesson of not underestimating or diminishing people, and never defining them by their college degree. It's a good way to see that, every time someone tells you that you're not fit for something, it is an excellent opportunity to go outside and prove them wrong. 

Fed-up homeowner in a resort town tows the vehicles of "half the neighborhood" of Airbnb guests, angering guests and hosts alike—Some Airbnb guests told me they will sue for the towing cost

Frustrated with how short-term rental platforms had reshaped the neighborhood, this homeowner, or holiday homeowner, rather, took matters into his own hands. After getting standards set by his local version of an HOA regarding parking, he set out to clean up the streets like a caped crusader. The next time his family went on holiday, and was greeted with a horde of badly and, now, very illegally parked cars. Even the plethora of parking signage wasn't enough to keep them from taking up all the residents' spots. So the homeowner executed the final part of the plan… and had them all towed. Causing a wave of ensuing rage and chaos from the guests and their hosts alike.

Parking is a common point of conflict in neighborhoods. With the limited resources sparking competition amongst residents and creating conflict when careless neighbors refuse to follow even the most clearly marked parking rules. But this gets amplified in situations like this where careless for-profit absentee owners, who use short-term rental platforms like Airbnb, basically turn neighborhoods into profit operations and play victim whenever they're made to follow the rules.

In this post, we'll take a look at the original story that was shared by the homeowner, the advice that was given to the homeowner, and talk about related issues. Usually, I try to avoid doing so, but the original story has been edited here from its original version for readability, as the original poster's English, by their own admission, is limited. My edits have been marked by brackets.