Community Chat Thread

· 6 days ago

· 5 days ago

I don’t wanna go back to work tomorrow, boo.

OP · 5 days ago

On Nov 1, 2026, Daedalus said:
I don’t wanna go back to work tomorrow, boo.

I’m in the same boat right now. 😭

· 5 days ago

Daedalus said:
I don’t wanna go back to work tomorrow, boo.

I’m off tomorrow, but I had to work 5 days in a row to get here, including one overnight shift.

OP · 5 days ago

On Nov 1, 2026, Cory said:
I’m off tomorrow, but I had to work 5 days in a row to get here, including one overnight shift.

Glad to be a 9-5, Monday-Friday because of reasons like this. 😅

· 5 days ago

prophet said:
Glad to be a 9-5, Monday-Friday because of reasons like this.

Yeah, inconsistent schedules can sometimes suck. No surprise there being in retail, especially around the holidays.

OP · 5 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, Cory said:
Yeah, inconsistent schedules can sometimes suck. No surprise there being in retail, especially around the holidays.

Yeah, always been something that I’ve hated. I used to work in the restaurant industry as a manager, I don’t think I’d ever go back unless I was forced.

· 5 days ago

prophet said:
Yeah, always been something that I’ve hated. I used to work in the restaurant industry as a manager, I don’t think I’d ever go back unless I was forced.

What do you do again now? I work at the arts and crafts store, Michaels. I’ve been in the retail and food industry my whole life. I have no idea what else I could do.

· 5 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, Cory said:
What do you do again now? I work at the arts and crafts store, Michaels. I’ve been in the retail and food industry my whole life. I have no idea what else I could do.

Coding/programming? Database management or IT?

· 5 days ago

Daedalus said:
Coding/programming? Database management or IT?

I’ve thought about being a web developer a lot. It would be near impossible to find such a job in my current position, though. I know the bare minimum for web developers these days, AI being as prevalent as it is now would make it tough to sustain a job, and I live in a small-ish town where little to no positions are available.

· 5 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, Cory said:
I’ve thought about being a web developer a lot. It would be near impossible to find such a job in my current position, though. I know the bare minimum for web developers these days, AI being as prevalent as it is now would make it tough to sustain a job, and I live in a small-ish town where little to no positions are available.

I tried to run a New Zealand web development business where I would create sites for local business using Wordpress but no matter how much I tried to market myself and my business I literally only had 2 clients. One was a charity and one was a local business. Once I went bankrupt due to some stupid decisions earlier in my life I had to close the business.

· 5 days ago

Gizmo said:
I tried to run a New Zealand web development business where I would create sites for local business using Wordpress but no matter how much I tried to market myself and my business I literally only had 2 clients. One was a charity and one was a local business. Once I went bankrupt due to some stupid decisions earlier in my life I had to close the business.

I’ve tried doing some freelancing stuff myself. I’ve probably made close to or a little over $1000 since I started doing coding on the web. It’s hard to find clients in such a competitive market, and dealing with money online can be fickle. Most money I make on the web is from selling trading cards on eBay.

· 5 days ago

Have you looked into applying for those positions for banks or stores or such?

· 5 days ago

Daedalus said:
Have you looked into applying for those positions for banks or stores or such?

Wouldn’t I have to work at a corporate headquarters or something like that?

· 5 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, Cory said:
Wouldn’t I have to work at a corporate headquarters or something like that?

Not necessarily. My friend manages the servers for a company and he works remote sometimes and other times in a warehouse in an office.

OP · 5 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, Cory said:
What do you do again now? I work at the arts and crafts store, Michaels. I’ve been in the retail and food industry my whole life. I have no idea what else I could do.

I work as a Financial Advisor for a large bank in the United States. I previously was with a couple different brokerages, but felt that banking was the way to go for me to be able to move up, instead of making lateral moves.

· 5 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, prophet said:
I work as a Financial Advisor for a large bank in the United States. I previously was with a couple different brokerages, but felt that banking was the way to go for me to be able to move up, instead of making lateral moves.

A lot of banks here in New Zealand seem to be moving away from traditional banking and towards digital services. We're seeing quite a few branches close, which isn't always great for elderly customers who prefer doing things in person. Is that happening over there in the US as well?

OP · 5 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, Gizmo said:
A lot of banks here in New Zealand seem to be moving away from traditional banking and towards digital services. We're seeing quite a few branches close, which isn't always great for elderly customers who prefer doing things in person. Is that happening over there in the US as well?

We have a lot of online banks, but in person customer service and assistance isn’t going anywhere (at least anytime soon) to my knowledge. My bank has closed some branches, but it’s mostly branches that were being leased instead of being owned by the bank.

· 5 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, prophet said:
We have a lot of online banks, but in person customer service and assistance isn’t going anywhere (at least anytime soon) to my knowledge. My bank has closed some branches, but it’s mostly branches that were being leased instead of being owned by the bank.

I didn't realize but at some point the main traditional New Zealand banks signed a collective agreement to stop the closure of any branches until at least 2027. Excluding lease expirations, safety/earthquake requirements, or local closures outside this agreement. No idea what the plan is after that though.

I use an online bank called Revolut in addition to two traditional banks.

OP · 5 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, Gizmo said:
I didn't realize but at some point the main traditional New Zealand banks signed a collective agreement to stop the closure of any branches until at least 2027. Excluding lease expirations, safety/earthquake requirements, or local closures outside this agreement. No idea what the plan is after that though.

I use an online bank called Revolut in addition to two traditional banks.

Now I will say, online banks generally give better rates than traditional banks, but there’s still a lot of customers that bank with paper (depositing/cashing/writing checks).

· 5 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, prophet said:
Now I will say, online banks generally give better rates than traditional banks, but there’s still a lot of customers that bank with paper (depositing/cashing/writing checks).

The one issue with digital services is the identification process. I hate facial identification because no matter how many times I try, it still takes at least ten minutes for it to be happy with my ID checks. I put my face into the camera but apparently I’m either too ugly or it just doesn’t like me 😛

· 5 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, Gizmo said:
A lot of banks here in New Zealand seem to be moving away from traditional banking and towards digital services. We're seeing quite a few branches close, which isn't always great for elderly customers who prefer doing things in person. Is that happening over there in the US as well?

I would be surprised if it did with the way a lot of loan services work.

· 5 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, Daedalus said:
I would be surprised if it did with the way a lot of loan services work.

Buy now pay later services are really bad here and the companies do not assess the person’s credit whatsoever. In our country we have a welfare system and those on welfare get stupid credit amounts on Afterpay of like $3000 and then end up having to plead hardship when they can’t pay.

OP · 5 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, Gizmo said:
Buy now pay later services are really bad here and the companies do not assess the person’s credit whatsoever. In our country we have a welfare system and those on welfare get stupid credit amounts on Afterpay of like $3000 and then end up having to plead hardship when they can’t pay.

It’s the same thing here. I see it all the time. Unfortunately, I also see a lot of people turn to Payday loans and pay 400% APR and are never able to get out of debt. 😕

· 5 days ago

Your comment made me wish there were more reactions @prophet

· 4 days ago

Daedalus said:
Not necessarily. My friend manages the servers for a company and he works remote sometimes and other times in a warehouse in an office.

I’ve always been a bit leery about applying for a remote job. How do I know I’m not working with scam artists?

prophet said:
I work as a Financial Advisor for a large bank in the United States. I previously was with a couple different brokerages, but felt that banking was the way to go for me to be able to move up, instead of making lateral moves.

Nice, you have a much more successful career than I do!

· 4 days ago

Cory said:
I’ve always been a bit leery about applying for a remote job. How do I know I’m not working with scam artists?

Well if it’s a reputed company and has a history with the BBB, I would hope they’re not. You genuinely don’t and it just comes down to what you do and don’t feel comfortable about.

OP · 4 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, Daedalus said:
Well if it’s a reputed company and has a history with the BBB, I would hope they’re not. You genuinely don’t and it just comes down to what you do and don’t feel comfortable about.

I worked remotely/very seldom in office when I was with my brokerage company. I enjoyed parts of it but I struggled personally because my wife and first child were always in the living room distracting me. 😛

· 4 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, prophet said:
It’s the same thing here. I see it all the time. Unfortunately, I also see a lot of people turn to Payday loans and pay 400% APR and are never able to get out of debt. 😕

I ended up having to go bankrupt a number of years ago because I got sucked into the telco offers such as free phones etc. I wish I never did but sometimes those offers are hard to dismiss 🙁

· 4 days ago

I think it just comes down to what you personally want in your work.

OP · 4 days ago

100% agree. I would go back to WFH if I had the option though. 😛

· 4 days ago

On Nov 3, 2026, prophet said:
100% agree. I would go back to WFH if I had the option though. 😛

WFH?

OP · 4 days ago

On Nov 3, 2026, Daedalus said:
WFH?

Work from home.

· 4 days ago

On Nov 2, 2026, Daedalus said:
Well if it’s a reputed company and has a history with the BBB, I would hope they’re not. You genuinely don’t and it just comes down to what you do and don’t feel comfortable about.

I’m often uncomfortable finding a new job, in general, which is probably why I’ve been stuck in the same fields for so long. If I am ever in serious need of a new job, I may have to do some searching for something more outside of the box that I can relate to.

· 4 days ago

Try one of those temp agencies and see if they can slot you in one of those jobs so you know if it fits you.

OP · 4 days ago

I’d agree with that. I had to get out of my comfort zone as I used to work restaurant industry, moved to finance, stayed in finance so that I could feel some actual “progression”. I made good money as a manager in the food industry, but everything was so taxing and I felt like I never got to see my wife. 🙁

· 4 days ago

It was a huge step out of my comfort zone with self-publishing my novel.

OP · 4 days ago

On Nov 3, 2026, Daedalus said:
It was a huge step out of my comfort zone with self-publishing my novel.

I didn’t know that you published a novel? What kind?

· 4 days ago

It’s a fantasy young adult novel.

OP · 4 days ago

On Nov 3, 2026, Daedalus said:
It’s a fantasy young adult novel.

Awesome! I’ve tried writing some things before, mostly a light novel related that whenever I was inspired by a few manga/manhwa that I was reading. Never really got past a couple of chapters and dropped it completely because I realized that it just wasn’t for me. 😛

· 4 days ago

I wanted to try to get into a writing a webtoon or comic.

OP · 4 days ago

On Nov 3, 2026, Daedalus said:
I wanted to try to get into a writing a webtoon or comic.

Artwork is difficult, I’m not much of a drawer either.😪

I tried convincing my wife that I wanted a pen/pad for my computer but that never really came to fruition, although I do think that it would be super enjoyable.

· 4 days ago

You should try sketching and looking into the free art tools that Cedric.

OP · 4 days ago

On Nov 3, 2026, Daedalus said:
You should try sketching and looking into the free art tools that Cedric.

I actually JUST downloaded those, and I’m amazed. I haven’t really dabbled into Photoshop that much lately and just whipped up a few things that I was considering releasing.

· 4 days ago

I downloaded them yesterday but haven’t played with the photo editing yet. If it is anything like the old CS2, I’ll be in love.

· 3 days ago

On Nov 3, 2026, Daedalus said:
Try one of those temp agencies and see if they can slot you in one of those jobs so you know if it fits you.

I’ll have to keep my eye peeled for what’s available out there. I know my town is mostly retail and restaurants, but I’m sure there’s many jobs to fill the void.

OP · 3 days ago

On Nov 3, 2026, Cory said:
I’ll have to keep my eye peeled for what’s available out there. I know my town is mostly retail and restaurants, but I’m sure there’s many jobs to fill the void.

If you don’t mind the travel, the metroplex has tons of entry-level jobs that pay fairly well.

On Nov 3, 2026, Daedalus said:
I downloaded them yesterday but haven’t played with the photo editing yet. If it is anything like the old CS2, I’ll be in love.

I’d say that the photo editing was more similar to cs4/5 imo.

· 3 days ago

prophet said:
If you don’t mind the travel, the metroplex has tons of entry-level jobs that pay fairly well.

I’ve considered working out of our city before and have even applied to a few jobs outside the city. I don’t want to travel too far on a daily-basis, but it’s definitely worth exploring.

· 3 days ago

Good morning everyone.

OP · 2 days ago

On Nov 4, 2026, Cory said:
I’ve considered working out of our city before and have even applied to a few jobs outside the city. I don’t want to travel too far on a daily-basis, but it’s definitely worth exploring.

I typically travel about ~30 minutes for most jobs over the last 5ish years. If the pay is good and the benefits are too, I can’t complain. 😛

On Nov 4, 2026, Daedalus said:
Good morning everyone.

Good evening from me now! 😄

· 2 days ago

Good evening back to you sir.

OP · 2 days ago

On Nov 5, 2026, Daedalus said:
Good evening back to you sir.

Did you do anything/have any plans for tonight?

· 2 days ago

prophet said:
I typically travel about ~30 minutes for most jobs over the last 5ish years. If the pay is good and the benefits are too, I can’t complain.

I might consider it if all else fails.

I should be at work right now, but our weekly truck isn’t coming in till 3:00 AM due to mechanical issues. Instead of working till 8:00, I have to work till 11:00 now. It’s going to be a long night.

OP · 1 day ago

On Nov 5, 2026, Cory said:
I might consider it if all else fails.
I should be at work right now, but our weekly truck isn’t coming in till 3:00 AM due to mechanical issues. Instead of working till 8:00, I have to work till 11:00 now. It’s going to be a long night.

Man, that sucks. I can’t imagine working overnights with the kids.

somehow managed to take a 3 hour nap, just woke up about 30-40 minutes ago and i should be in bed in less than a hour...

· 1 day ago

On Nov 5, 2026, prophet said:
Did you do anything/have any plans for tonight?

Negative, I just played Starcraft 2 and posted on forums.

S

· 21 hours ago

Leaving a hosting service after 15+ years!

Should be finalized by these weekend.

I still have my domains though the old hosting service, but I’ll probably find new homes for them in time.

The old host just left a bad taste in my mouth.

· 14 hours ago

On Nov 6, 2026, shawn gossman said:
Leaving a hosting service after 15+ years!
Should be finalized by these weekend.
I still have my domains though the old hosting service, but I’ll probably find new homes for them in time.
The old host just left a bad taste in my mouth.

What hosting service was that?

OP · 12 hours ago

Hope everyone has had a good evening so far. I’m exhausted. Just finished getting things ready for my daughters birthday tomorrow (set up her bike, scooter, etc.)