Get Your Grump on Thursdays - Was (What's chapping my @ss today?)

[Sbti]

Nice health/fitness/exercise facility. Fantastic place. If this facility does not motivate you, nothing will. Private showers with doors. What is it about taking a shower and all these asshats are blowing their noses with loud honking noises. Hocking loogies all over the place. Shut the &*(&^% up!!!! Why not take a dump in the drain also. We would love hearing all those bodily sounds. Snot rockets off the back of the paceline fine, but this.... shut the ^$*& up!

[Zandr Martin]

also, Zandrrr, working on the other side of the health insurance fence, it is a total shit show there too. i would happily accept unemployment if it meant the whole broken system could be simplified and fixed.

My rant wasn't really intended to be a condemnation of the entire system, angry preamble excepted. Shit's just annoying, man. But politics aside, this thing is fucked. Something needs to change. I'm thankful we have the health insurance we do even though it is pretty bad. Rumors around the office are we won't in 2015; HSA + HDHP will be the only option. They took the 80/20 plan away two years ago, so I wouldn't be surprised to see the 70/30 plan go too.

Nothing's more depressing than thinking about healthcare in America. (I am aware that statement is hyperbole.)

The thing is, I'm keeping in perspective, or trying to at least, that this is not a huge deal. It's annoying, but my wife is fine and we are lucky enough that having $500 taken away from us for no good reason for a couple months is not going to cause serious, long-term financial damage. That said, it's $500 and that's still a lot of money to us, especially with $3,500 in bills hanging over our heads. Also, if I weren't an accountant, I'd be fucked twenty times from Sunday. I really feel bad for the people who don't have any relevant professional experience because being billed by 4-5 different places, keeping track of insurance discounts, deductibles, how much they paid, how much we have to pay, when we have to pay it, etc ad infinitum is just a nightmare.

The hospital bill alone (pre-insurance discount) was almost $14k. The ER bill was almost $9k. JUST the hospital bills - not the doctors, anesthesiologists, x-ray techs, etc. I just don't even know what else to say.

[Matthew J]

Just got an e-mail update from West America (Jordan Hufnagel and friends) promoting, among other swell things, an all new Hufnagel porteur that is just my size. Now I need this bike like a hole in my head, but boy oh boy do I want it.

[Matthew Strongin]

I know there are folks with worse pain and harder recoveries, but I'm in week four of adjusting to my clavicle's new position and shit just hurts. I'm comfortable sitting on a bike or sitting on the couch. Walking, standing, driving, really anything where my weight isn't mostly on my ass with light support for my arm goes from uncomfortable to shooting pain very quickly. I'm over it.

Bonus grump: after my first full day back in the office in weeks and hours of typing, I'm realizing that my hand got really jacked up in the crash as well. I can't even rest it on my desk without some pain. Definitely not optimal for responding to hundreds of emails. Grumble, grumble.

[G-reg]

Not so much because of the weather itself, it's good training for the Arrowhead135, but the heating bill to keep a crappy house built in the 50s above 60deg

[davids]

This storm has forced me to delay a software upgrade two years in the making. Every last bug and glitch identified and resolved. But not the weather...

[justinf]

Some nasty yet hilarious motherfucker left a fried chickenbone on my car.

[Lionel]

It's not Thursday but who cares.

I am heading tomorrow to Vegas for the worst week of the year. CES. Back to back meetings all day starting with breakfast meetings, then meetings every 45min to 1h. Then two (yes two) customer dinners per day followed by after dinner entertainment. It really sucks.

To top it off, I am going there with British Airways on which I have no status at all and will be stuck at the back of the bus with all these Brits ;-)

Last year I think I gained about 5 pounds in 5 days, took me a solid one month to recover from that shit.

This new year resolution is to try to not gain more than 1 or 2 pounds and be back in the room before midnight most days.

[burgess1108]

I am heading tomorrow to Vegas for the worst week of the year. CES. Back to back meetings all day starting with breakfast meetings, then meetings every 45min to 1h. Then two (yes two) customer dinners per day followed by after dinner entertainment. It really sucks.

Don't lie. We all know you're going for CES, but really hanging at the "other" show.

[Lionel]

Don't lie. We all know you're going for CES, but really hanging at the "other" show.

Yeah, I wish. Not even sure it's at the same time any more.

[jjmstang]

Lionel is actually going to Vegas to see Britney Spears and doesn't want to admit it :-)

[Tom]

(1) I did not buy that Zipp 303 wheelset SignatureJustin was selling. I am a complete idiot.
(2) The usual work stuff - meeting invitations that say, and I swear I am not making this up, "Agenda: TBD"
(3) We're whipsawing from single digit cold to rain to cold to rain.

[David Tollefson]

I am not your (not anyone on VS) mental garbage can. Deal with it, and don't just blast me with your negative.

[znfdl]

My direct reports that cannot follow simple directions and write a complete sentence.....

An 18 year old that is too stressed out by taking three college courses.

[nahtnoj]

I was updating by "bio" earlier this week for a proposal. Using the template, I have "over 8 years of experience...blah, blah, blah". Why is this phrase acceptable? I have 8 years until I have 9. I'm looking forward to the day when my bio can say "been living in the woods for over five years, not talking to anyone, because Jon has enough money now and no longer has to subject himself to your bullshit".

[Nierman]

Some nasty yet hilarious motherfucker left a fried chickenbone on my car.

Some finger-lickin' yet irresponsible parent left a 10pc in my puppy's stomach.

Picture 31.jpg

[chasea]

It's been over 7 months and the insurance company for the van that hit me still can't come to terms with an $8k steel bicycle; even with an itemized list of parts. Their new excuse (besides not being able to open email attachments, or not being able to use Google or even fucking ask us "What does 3T make? Okay what is a stem for") is that they don't trust the bike shop that's been holding my bike for the past 7 months.

Okay. Let's play rough.

I texted my lawyer that I'd be getting an second estimate for them. I'd include the shoes and clothing that was destroyed/cut off in the ambulance for an extra $1000. The estimate would come from a premier bicycle fit studio who deals exclusively in custom bicycles. Naturally their labor costs will be more; but you can;t argue with their level of expertise. I'm also throwing in the cost of the bicycle fit which was performed to get me more comfortable on that bike.

So an 8k bike just became a 10k bike because this insurance dude has been an unreasonable prick for too long.

But what I'm really grumpy about is that my lawyer didn't pass on the most important piece of information:
"Tell (redacted) I'll also need his address; because I'm going to rent a van he insures and drive it into his fucking home."

[Dallas Tex]

Folks that ask me for press-fit bottom brackets or tapered head tubes.

You are asking me to add, to your steel bicycle, something that was designed to decrease the manufacturing costs and/or address problems associated WITH A CARBON FIBER FRAME. These aren't upgrades, they are just 'new'.

[Jonathan]

This is how it feels.

[rphetteplace]

But what I'm really grumpy about is that my lawyer didn't pass on the most important piece of information:
"Tell (redacted) I'll also need his address; because I'm going to rent a van he insures and drive it into his fucking home."

1. Telemarketers
2. Used car salesmen
3. Insurance adjusters.