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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   2364 thread views

Wellness Wednesday for November 8, 2023

The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:

  • Requests for advice and / or encouragement. On basically any topic and for any scale of problem.

  • Updates to let us know how you are doing. This provides valuable feedback on past advice / encouragement and will hopefully make people feel a little more motivated to follow through. If you want to be reminded to post your update, see the post titled 'update reminders', below.

  • Advice. This can be in response to a request for advice or just something that you think could be generally useful for many people here.

  • Encouragement. Probably best directed at specific users, but if you feel like just encouraging people in general I don't think anyone is going to object. I don't think I really need to say this, but just to be clear; encouragement should have a generally positive tone and not shame people (if people feel that shame might be an effective tool for motivating people, please discuss this so we can form a group consensus on how to use it rather than just trying it).

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I posted a while ago asking for advice about switching from a job I really love, to a job with much higher pay (and apparently vacation time) and full remote. Well, I ended up getting that job, and start in a few weeks. So now I'm trying to set up a nice home office so that the remote work part doesn't turn into a negative. I have a sense of what kind of aesthetic I like, but I'm trying to find good artwork or desk decorations to add the final touches. Anyone know a good place or site to get inspiration for this? is the answer just pinterest/etsy or is there something I'm overlooking?

Buy a Putin themed calendar, like Japanese businessmen

I personally have some conversation starters in my background (that I actually find appealing).

I also have a small fridge next to my desk, and a couch for quick naps.

I am working on improving the overall appearance of my office.

Artifacts or artwork? how did you select your conversation starters?

I really like the idea of the small fridge, thank you

In this case, I have "The" massive Lego (Millennium Falcon) displayed behind me.

If I had my druthers, I'd have vinyl album sleeves up for the less nerdily-inclined and a representation of another hobby that I can speak deeply about. This is 2-birds 1-stone, because then you can use your office as a hobby item storage location, you just have to keep it neat and organized. I did like the idea of AI-generated artwork if you want it, but don't feel pressured to pander or shy away from abstract/purely aesthetic art.

Do think about potential downsides, though. For instance - I don't have anything with firearms displayed behind me for many reasons.

Man, what's with you and like 3 others suddenly landing significantly better jobs? I'm getting envious myself haha.

As for art, I think barring a few pieces I've saved over the years, I'm going to have an AI make something bespoke for me, you could give that a try.

Come to the US, we’ve got cost disease!

Though a lot of my industry has been struggling lately, and I couldn’t say whether that holds for the rest of the economy. Perhaps it’s the fabled “nonzero interest rate phenomenon.”

Come to the US, we’ve got cost disease!

Praying I can make it as a doctor, and then contribute to the rising cost of medical care 🙏

I dabbled in learning programming for a few weeks, but a few Leetcode easies in, I realized that with current visa restrictions being what they are, there's no way I can get credentials or competency high enough that I can beat the millions of other Indian programmers fighting for the same deal.

You decrease the cost of medical care wherever you practise medicine.

I certainly hand out medical advice for free on the Motte, so I can't imagine it gets cheaper than that haha

I have enjoyed playing around with AI to make various joke images, but I fear I'm not creative enough with my prompts to generate something interesting I'd actually enjoy looking at. Still, I'll give that a try.

In my case, I just got super lucky. A guy I worked with a few years ago reached out on linkedin and asked if I wanted to work at the company he now works for - I asked how much, he gave an answer and I had to take it. I think the key here is that the job is fully remote, but the salary is definitely keyed to being "acceptable" for the city the closest office is located in, which is a high cost of living city. I happen to live in an extremely low cost of living city (bought a 5 bed, 3 bath attached garage house for 300k in 2020).

I happen to live in an extremely low cost of living city (bought a 5 bed, 3 bath attached garage house for 300k in 2020).

Ouch. Don't remind me how much value ruble has lost. I could buy some land and build a similar house in a car-dependent suburbia of Moscow for about the same amount of money.

If the misfortune of others makes you feel better, a decent apartment or house in one of the major Indian metropolises costs about as much one in SF or London. And we make a tenth the money!

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