In the end he was only able to afford two out of three fingers.

I hope one of those was the middle finger.

The point is moot! Since the GOP is gutting medicare/medicaid anyway.

one of the richest countries in the world yet doesn’t have universal healthcare

We’re working on that … the “richest country in the world” part, not the universal healthcare part.

Not to mention the cost of the ride there! My mom had to go to the ER a few years ago. We called 911 and an ambulance came to our house and transported her to the local hospital. After she got out, she got a bill for the ride for $2800 (which is actually pretty cheap for an ambulance ride). Then, a few weeks later, she got another ambulance bill for $2800 from a different ambulance company. It turned out this second company was the one affiliated with the hospital, and this made them feel entitled to bill people for a ride even if a different company’s ambulance showed up and actually provided the service.

My mom was all set to pay this second bill because she’s from a generation where they just pay any bill that shows up no matter what. I was like no fucking way are you paying this, and I called up this ambulance company and allowed myself to get really angry on the phone. They threatened to send it to collections but they never did, maybe because I yelled “fucking do it!” to them over the phone. Just the shittiest pieces of corporate shit I’ve ever encountered, sending out completely illegitimate bills to old people because they know some fraction of people will just pay it.

I was in Atlanta for the 2000 New Years celebration and I randomly bought a red and yellow zoot suit to wear, with matching shoes. I have NEVER IN MY LIFE gotten more attention from women than that night.

Yeah, in the US a standard college education is four years. Although in the last few decades it’s become a lot more common for that four-year program to take five years or more.

Good luck! I got out of the field entirely myself and now I drive a school bus.

I wish I’d gone into nursing. I own a skoolie (used school bus converted into a motorhome) but it’s basically not possible to legally live in it anywhere. A lot of remote nursing jobs not only pay you but they also provide an RV hookup.

you might be better served going to a trade school and learning a trade like plumbing, electrician, carpenter, etc

There’s a college of the trades near me that has fucking free tuition - everything is paid for by its (very substantial) endowment. I don’t understand why young people aren’t killing each other to get into that place. I’ve always been a staunch advocate of a liberal arts education but my parents paid my tuition for me. I just wouldn’t see the same value in it if I had to shell out $75K+ per year. Learn a well-remunerated trade and fucking read books in the evening.

2.5 years

I hate to say it, but that’s way too long to work at one company. ABC (Always Be Churning).

I think most students treat traditional four year colleges like a drinking club.

I chose Anthropology … and I love being a school bus driver!

I guess The Shining was anti-woke since the only person to die (other than Jack) was the black guy.

When my last company went to an open office plan, everybody (even the CEO) had to be out in the open because the whole company moved into one big room (with a little cordoned-off area for meetings). Granted, this was because we were on the edge of folding and we moved into the one big room to save on rent. But it did produce a nice “we’re all in this together” vibe because it sucked ass for everyone.

My entire career could have been an email.

One thing I don’t understand about my childhood is that neither I nor anybody around me knew that Freddie Mercury, George Michael and Boy George were gay. Hell, we didn’t even think Boy George was a man.

We didn’t even know Elton John was gay. But we did think Rod Stewart was gay.

I enjoy using “you can’t solve problems with your mouth”.

I briefly had a Windows Phone circa 2010 and it had fantastic sound. It even had a little folding stand so the speakers could be uncovered.

there once was a time that when boomboxes were pretty common

I’m from the boombox era. They fucking sucked way harder than people playing music on their phones, because they were way louder. The music was better at least, although I didn’t appreciate that at the time. Nowadays I love hearing old-school hip-hop out in the wild.

I just did one of my 50 mile rides this morning on a bike trail, and I passed a bunch of people with their phones mounted on the handlebars, watching videos of some sort. Like, I guess I could see having a GPS app open, but watching videos? Why the fuck are you even out here? Get a stationary bike and be safe at home at least.

Many people riding and walking on the trail are playing music through their phone speakers instead of using earbuds. It’s somewhat less annoying since you don’t have to be around them for long, but it’s still annoying.