The official thrift/discount store bragging thread - Page 3651

Originally Posted by pnutpug 

Do what I do better than I do it and you can have my job. It's called capitalism. Bitch.

Originally Posted by acosbysweater 

Um, thrift flip brag..

 

SPOO LEVEL STATUS, BOYS.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110977423358?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

 

I feel a Nataku Polo bear sweater saga coming on, but I'm hopeful it won't be THAT bad.

Originally Posted by acosbysweater 

70,000?  So that puts you, conservatively, at 50,000?  I would take 35,000 and skip happily down the street.  I live basically paycheck to paycheck as a bike mechanic.  Jeez, the perspective I get posting on an internet forum is incredible.

Originally Posted by pnutpug 


I don't want to piss you off here, and without being familiar with your situation, I can only speak in generalities, but here goes.
I was intrigued because you mentioned journalism, which is my line of work. Well, old sport, experience does count in that field. I do not Tweet. I do not have a Facebook page. I am not Linked In. I do not own a smartphone. Or an Ipad. Or an I-anything. I cannot upload stories to the web on my own. I cannot fathom why anyone would bother with Outlook. But I do have a few things going for me.
I know how to spell, and I never learned how to use a spell-checking device back in the day when you had to press some sort of button to make it happen. I know how to get people to tell me things, whether they want to or not. I know how to read court documents and municipal budgets. I know a PRP from a NPDES. I can write 2,000 publishable words in an hour. I know that when the cops find a body riddled with bullets inside a church, it's a homicide, not a murder, at least for the time being. The phone numbers that are my bread-and-butter are in a Rolodex, not a computer that turns useless in windstorm, and that Rolodex has home phone and cell numbers for the mayor, several judges, the sheriff, the state's attorney, I can't count how many other elected officials and sources with only initials. I can write an obit that will make you cry and an expose on wasteful spending that will make you mad and a gotcha that'll make someone resign and a review of buffet restaurants that will make you laugh.
I can do all of that now, but I could not do that when I was 29. My point is, tech whizzes are common these days, but true journalists are hard to find. Knock on wood, I've never had trouble finding a job. But I have seen younger folks struggle who have all the cutting-edge technology skills but cannot look a politician in the eye and say "You, sir, are without clothes." Or write a sentence with fewer than 40 words and eight prepositional phrases. Anyone (except maybe me) can learn the technology. But there is no substitute for experience when it comes to this line of work, especially now. All the dead-weight dinosaurs with bloated salaries got laid off or took early retirement long ago. The ones who are left tend to be pretty darn good, which is why they're still around.
Again, I don't know your situation, and I really like your posts on the thread and seeing the stuff you find. I'm glad you've got another job--I wouldn't be on this soap box otherwise. But just because someone knows more about the digital world than someone else doesn't necessarily make them a better journalist. That's all I'm saying.

Originally Posted by pnutpug 


A bike mechanic? You are doing God's work. Seriously. We'd all be better off with more good bike mechanics and fewer crafty lawyers. People who fix bikes or cars or sinks or airplanes are actually doing something, which can't be said for a lot of other folks. I imagine your time spent in meetings is minimal.

Originally Posted by acosbysweater 

 

70,000?  So that puts you, conservatively, at 50,000?  I would take 35,000 and skip happily down the street.  I live basically paycheck to paycheck as a bike mechanic.  Jeez, the perspective I get posting on an internet forum is incredible.

Originally Posted by pnutpug 


A bike mechanic? You are doing God's work. Seriously. We'd all be better off with more good bike mechanics and fewer crafty lawyers. People who fix bikes or cars or sinks or airplanes are actually doing something, which can't be said for a lot of other folks. I imagine your time spent in meetings is minimal.

Originally Posted by AndroFan 

You've already covered young tech-savvy journalists and lawyers...you should do veterinarians or Catholics for the internet toughguy offensive hat trick of the evening. 

 

Originally Posted by Towers 

How's capitalism working out for the newspaper industry? See you in the bread lines when they replace you with an AP wire, Bitch.
Back to the thrift show bros!

Originally Posted by 330CK 


Oxxford. Fits me pretty well, but the color... Eh.
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

Originally Posted by AndroFan 

You've already covered young tech-savvy journalists and lawyers...you should do veterinarians or Catholics for the internet toughguy offensive hat trick of the evening. 

Originally Posted by pnutpug 


Actually, it is working out very well for me, thank you. I can't speak for the newspaper industry, although I do work for a newspaper. If the newspaper that employs me goes bust and the entire industry does the same, then I imagine I'll have to find something else to do. I think that I could do that. In the meantime, no complaints. I have, thankfully, thrifted a wide range of pith helmets to protect me from the Skittles that keep raining down from the skies above me.
Not to pry, but you sound bitter. Bitch.

Originally Posted by GMMcL 
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

 

Originally Posted by 330CK 

Very jealous of all the Arc'Teryx stuff found lately. This isn't on the same level, but still exciting to find in South Florida:

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

 

Originally Posted by pnutpug 

A bike mechanic? You are doing God's work. Seriously. We'd all be better off with more good bike mechanics and fewer crafty lawyers. People who fix bikes or cars or sinks or airplanes are actually doing something, which can't be said for a lot of other folks. I imagine your time spent in meetings is minimal.