The joy of quitting a shit job with an asshole boss
I hear you, and honestly? You’re not wrong. There are too many places where all the talk about “team” ends up being just a way to squeeze more out of people without giving anything back. That kind of exploitation deserves to be called out, and I’m with you there.
In our case, I do think our company tries to be generous in a lot of ways. But no, my team (and myself) don’t get paid more based on performance. So when I talk about respect, reliability, or rising to a challenge, I’m not saying the system rewards that. I’m saying you do.
What I wanted to share was really about a different kind of return on investment: the kind that lives inside you. Growth. Character. Reputation. Confidence. The way you carry yourself. The way people start to trust you without question. All of that sticks with you, no matter where you go or who signs your paycheck.
Being great doesn’t mean being a doormat or ignoring unfairness. It means choosing a higher standard for yourself, even when others haven’t earned it, but because you are worth that standard. This mindset has helped me build a career I’m proud of, even in imperfect systems.
Thanks for the push back. It helped me realize I needed to say this part more clearly.
I’ve spent the last year trying to make it work with one of my guys.
At first, I told him the rest of the team was having trouble connecting with him. He would wander off without telling anyone where he was going or what he was doing, which gave the impression that he wasn’t working. I explained that optics matter, because we’re all in this together. If we can’t count on each other, it makes it harder for everyone. He appreciated that conversation, but things didn’t improve.
He continued to show up late or call in sick, often on days when he knew we’d be busiest. I talked to him again about reliability—how it's the most basic form of respect. Not just for your workplace, but for yourself. When you say you're going to do something or be somewhere, it’s vital that your word means something. If you can’t be counted on, how can anyone rely on you?
I didn’t just tell him this. I lived it. I showed him with kindness and consistency how important those basic values are.
Last week was the busiest week our team has ever faced. It was also one of the most critical in terms of proving what we could do together. I prepped the team ahead of time and told them how proud I was to step up to the challenge with them.
On the first of the two most important days, he was late. The first 15 minutes were the most crucial of the entire day, and he missed half of them. I wasn’t angry. I handled it myself. But when he arrived, I told him how stressful that time was for me, and I reminded him again how important these two days were. He said he understood. He said he was sorry.
The next morning, I was 15 minutes into busting my ass alone. I texted him: Where are you? Nothing. Radio silence. No reply that day. Not a single call or message.
The next day, he told me he was sick and had a doctor’s note. The note was timestamped 3:45 p.m., and it said he was cleared to return to work that day.
I just stared at it for a moment. I didn’t get angry. I didn’t yell. I just said, “Okay,” and continued working. We worked in silence for most of the day.
Later, he said casually, “I heard you were upset yesterday morning.”
I replied calmly, “I was. Yes. It was stressful.”
He shrugged and said, “Sorry about that.”
I didn’t respond. I just kept working. Then, just before I left, I turned to him and said this in a calm but measured tone:
“Let me clarify something. Yesterday, I was upset because it was stressful. I’m not upset today. I’m disappointed today. I wanted to be able to say to the rest of the team that I could rely on you when it mattered most. But I can’t say that. I can’t defend you to the team when they feel like you leave them to figure it out on their own, because you left me when I told you I needed you the most. I’m not upset. I’m deeply disappointed.”
He tried to defend himself with the doctor’s note, but I raised my hand to stop him. He waited for me to say something else, but I didn’t. I let the silence speak, then walked out.
I’m sharing this because I saw this meme and it made me feel sad and reflect. I know it may be counter to the fun of the meme, but I thought the point was worth sharing.
Sometimes, jobs are crappy. Sometimes you work for people who don’t care but still expect you to. In those cases, I understand the temptation to stop caring or to burn bridges that don’t seem worth crossing.
But here’s my advice:
Respect—not because others have earned it, but because you are worth giving it to.
Hold yourself to a higher standard, not for them, but for you. Elevate yourself because it's worth doing. Be better to yourself.
And when others who also respect themselves find you, they’ll recognize that quality in you. That’s when you find people worth teaming up with. That’s how you build something greater, something that’s not just productive, but meaningful and fun.
I've said this for a while now. You want to make a dent? You go after the ego.
Picture this: an endless stream of totally “realistic” phone-recorded AI videos of Trump playing golf. He lines up the putt—misses. Tries again—air ball. It’s literally an inch away now—misses again. Doesn’t blink, just traps it in, smirks, walks off like he nailed it. Over and over.
The key is subtlety. These can’t look staged or flashy—make them feel like someone’s nephew filmed it from the cart. Make it look like he’s genuinely terrible but thinks he’s crushing it.
Then blast them everywhere. Flood the algorithm. Turn his “I’m the best at golf” schtick into a punchline.
This is how you use AI to actually take Trump down—with a thousand tiny ego papercuts.
I had one that turned 1/8" into it's own radio frequency. It was really shitty but it worked!
Edit: just looked and they still sell them! https://www.amazon.com/Transmitter-Adapter-Built-iPhone-Players/dp/B076X3GSMH
You’re clearly very passionate, so I thought I’d offer you a bit of friendly advice. Not about the content of what you wrote, that’s a whole different conversation, but about how you’re saying it.
What you’ve posted is a textbook example of something called the fallacy of verbosity. That’s when someone overwhelms the reader with so much information, so many accusations, claims, and ideas, rapid-fire and without evidence, that it feels like you’re trying to convince through sheer volume rather than reason. It’s not persuasive. It’s exhausting.
You’re not giving people a chance to digest or respond to a single thought before you’re already three topics down the road. It doesn’t feel like a conversation, it feels like a rant. And that’s likely why you’re getting downvoted. Honestly, I doubt many people are even reading it all the way through. It’s not necessarily that they’re rejecting your worldview (though some might), but the way it’s presented comes across as incoherent, aggressive, and conspiratorial.
To someone who already agrees with you, maybe this kind of intensity resonates. But to anyone outside that bubble, even someone trying to listen with an open mind, it reads like shouting in a crowded room. No paragraph breaks, no sources, no structure… just a flood of unverified claims, many of which sound reckless or even dangerous without context.
If your goal is to actually reach people, to get them thinking, to change minds, you’ve got to meet them where they are. Speak with clarity, not chaos. Choose a point. Back it up. Invite discussion, not submission.
Right now, you’re not inviting anyone in. You’re just pushing people away.
Seriously, it's just right-wing exploitative language. And yet, it's the same left-leaning outlets repeating it again and again.
I wish there were more bold takedowns and real accountability, but it's all so watered down now. Less like a pile driver and more like a sternly worded memo.
Why would anyone be stupid enough to not honor them? Now, even if they backtrack, their name is mud. It's so stupid.
Fast food and major chains have gotten absurd. I used a gift card at Red Robin a couple months back. It was $19 before tip for a dry burger and bland fries. Two bucks more could’ve gotten me a seat and meal at a five-star local place just down the street. The value just isn’t there anymore. Eating local almost always tastes better, feels better, and costs the same or less. Why settle for mediocrity when better is right around the corner?
Add it to the list. Might take you a while to find the bottom.
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Excellent news! Slava Ukraini!
"And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?... The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If...if...We didn't love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation.... We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward."
Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn , The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956
Huh. For some reason all I see is *******.
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Don't worry. Trump is gonna remove taxes on tips. That's like, so much money! /s
Also, it's a terrible idea.
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How long do you think the Supreme Court is gonna wait to wipe their ass with constitution again and overturn the ruling? Any bets? I say about 2 weeks.
Please understand: trimming a cat’s nails is not the same as declawing. Trimming is like cutting your own nails—quick, painless, and healthy. Declawing is a surgery that removes part of the bone, like cutting off the tip of your finger. They are completely different. My cat lays in my lap and purrs when I trim his nails.
Millions of cats are born and raised indoors and never go outside. For those cats, keeping their nails trimmed is necessary. It helps prevent painful overgrown claws, reduces accidental injuries, and keeps their paws healthy. That’s not cruelty—it’s just responsible care.
Cats can absolutely stay healthy and happy indoors with trimmed nails. It takes time, patience, and positive reinforcement—treats, love, and trust. That’s not “Stockholm syndrome,” that’s training and bonding, just like with any pet.
You're right that cats are predators by nature—but domesticated cats are not wild animals. That’s what “domesticated” means. Any animal whose natural life cycle has been altered by humans lives a different kind of life, and it’s our job to care for them in the environment we’ve created.
Trimming a cat’s nails is completely different from declawing—it’s more like giving your cat a manicure than anything drastic.
Regular nail trims are important for indoor cats. They help prevent damage to your furniture, reduce accidental scratches, and keep your cat’s paws healthy by avoiding painful overgrown nails.
It’s also a great opportunity to bond with your cat. With time, patience, plenty of treats, and snuggles, nail trimming can become a calm, positive experience for both of you. Start young if you can, and make it part of your routine—it’s well worth the effort.
You’re 100% right that respect should be a two-way street. I said "should" be. It often is not. Especially when it comes to systems like fair compensation, time, and effort. No argument there. If a company or a boss is disrespecting your time and well-being, that needs to be addressed, period.
What I was trying to explore in my story is a different layer. Something personal and internal. Though respect should be a two way street, it is still a street worth walking alone. That even in imperfect systems, even when others don’t “earn” your respect or see your effort, there’s still a kind of power in choosing to show up with integrity. Not because they deserve it, but because you do.
Choosing to be reliable, communicative, and accountable, even when others aren’t, helps shape who you are. It builds character, trustworthiness, and personal dignity. It teaches you to lead yourself. That’s the kind of respect no one can take from you, even when the outer rewards aren’t there yet.
It’s not about obedience. It’s about owning your path.
It transforms your mind and, in turn, your life. It is a path worth walking.
Thanks again for engaging with the nuance. I really value conversations like this.