The unintentionally funny story of @japhroiag

[Ratel]

Good man.

[anon33466019]

I promised a month and a half ago to quit raging. And I promise I will. But I may need to file an extension…

[anon67050589]

I’ll second this. No more “won’t take you because of pre-existing conditions” nonsense, thankyouverymuch. You’ll want to explain your situation to the people sitting at computers asking for your insurance card, and ask them if they can offer suggestions, discount costs, and/or defer charges until your ACA insurance is up and running.

[Phrenological]

That sucks, but I imagine if the communication channel was toxic, adding additional steps in between you and the company through contracting could only make that worse

Moving from years of software contracting to permanent has been another world in terms of management caring and cultivating a career path.

[wrecksdart]

@Phrenological

…adding additional steps in between you and the company through contracting could only make that worse…

But if they should suddenly start receiving a regular shipment of dog turd in a ziploc bag…well, anyone could do something like that.

[OtherMichael]

Any follow-up on this, lo! these many-moons later?

[anon33466019]

i need to get back into contact with the guy that fired my ass. he is a good person, but a better business person
sure as hell wish i knew back then what i know now. is this what being a… Grown Up… feels like? cause if it is, i don’t much care for it.

i still am tickled that i’ve now quit a job, been informed of a divorce, and broke up with a semi-girlfriend over text. it feels so liberating to be so… gauche?

Edit

I was going through some pics last night and found a few from that period of time.

The last one is a painting of my ex friend that ran off with my ex wife. It used to hang in my office :D. (it’s gonna be awhile before I can forgive him–i have a hell of a lot more patience about being fired).

All in all, pre April 2015, life was pretty damn good.

[OtherMichael]

#How was Wait, Wait Don’t Tell me?!?!?!?

[anon33466019]

it. was. fantastic! it still had Carl Kassell, and the guest–Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona–was really entertaining/reasonable. never thought i’d see a live NPR show in phoenix of all places.

[OtherMichael]

I wonder if I heard part of that one.

[GulliverFoyle]

@japhroaig

I feel so millennial now. He is a good person, but the culture there is toxic. And can I say I felt… Pleasure… In quitting over text since he wouldn’t actually talk to me?

Maybe he’s a good person, but he’s a bad boss. You did the right thing.

@daneel

What kind of contract involves no pay for 2 months? And for the company that fired you? You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din.

Unfortunately this kind of predatory mentality is rampant in the tech industry. In my opinion, no matter what their other redeeming qualities, employers who treat their workers this way are moral cowards, screwing people over and then steadfastly refusing to face what they’ve done. Fuck 'em.

@SteampunkBanana

COBRA possibly?

Sadly, COBRA coverage is less than stellar.

@japhroaig

I may be tapping my 401k in the next 24 hours.

Do what you have to in order to survive.

@japhroaig

I’m gonna check. I’ve had employer insurance all my life. Didn’t even occur to me.

Open enrollment starts in November. Those I’ve known who’ve used it indicate it’s better than COBRA. If you can delay non-essential surgery until then, they cannot deny coverage based on preexisting conditions.

Open Enrollment Period - Glossary

@japhroaig

i need to get back into contact with the guy that fired my ass. he is a good person, but a better business person

No, I’m sorry, he’s not. He’s burning bridges. It will come back to bite him and his company in the ass.

@japhroaig

i still am tickled that i’ve now quit a job, been informed of a divorce, and broke up with a semi-girlfriend over text. it feels so liberating to be so… gauche?

From what you’ve said, you quit a job with no pay, which now means you have more time to actually seek gainful employment and not get jerked around by self-serving abusers. I’m sorry, I know you still like him. He may be quite charming. But I’ve known so many people like him in the tech industry and I’m sure he thinks he’s a good guy, but jeopardizing the livelihoods of the people who work for you is not okay. Forgive if you must, but do not forget what he did. Don’t let him talk you back into wasting your time for zero income.

Also from what you said, the divorce was you escaping an even more toxic situation.

As for the semi-girlfriend, might I humbly advise just focusing on friends now while you’re going through this. I know you probably don’t want to saddle your grief on others, and if you’re like most human empathetic beings, maybe you’ll be try to “protect” people from getting hurt. But you need allies now and you’re going to be there for them when they have their own hard row to hoe. That’s how this whole friend thing works. Girlfriend is just a label. Friend is a title.

I wish there was more I could do for you. You know you’re welcome in our home any time you’re in Austin.

Don’t invent problems when you have enough. Listen to your docs. Politely press them for more info. Think ahead of time about what you want to ask at consults and have a list. Get second opinions. Live to fight another day, even if it means pain.

[anon33466019]

heh, this was last year
i’m doing better now, and frankly for the most part i’m ready with a giant bucket of no-strings-attached forgiveness. as you implied, they will all reap what they sow, so i really don’t need to harbor much in the way of ill will.

[GulliverFoyle]

Time is an illusion, lunch time doubly so. How has the coverage situation developed?

[anon33466019]

much better. i was on the ACA for a few months, and it’s pretty damn good. currently have bluecross which is alright… i kinda liked the ACA plan better.