Coffee Break: Playbill Collage Storage Box

87 Comments

1. Any tips on giving notice without being emotional? I always find that I end up crying when quitting a job- even if I am excited about the decision.

   1. Just let yourself tear up? Seems non-problematic to me.

   2. It’s OK to be emotional!

   3. Keep it short. Rehearse a few times and try to focus the conversation on recommendations for wrapping up things and setting a meeting time to formalize pulling everyone in on a plan for wrapping up things. Also, be prepared if they suddenly cut you from everything. I’ve had a few friends were company policy is to immediately cut you off your company phone and laptop access. Make sure anything personal, contacts, work samples, access to any employee handbook, etc. are with you. You probably already know this, but it never hurts to have the reminder. You can have the best boss and colleagues, but if the company security folks are hardcore it can make leaving sting a bit.

   4. I wish I had tips! I cry in 95% of tense work conversations. I hate it.

   5. I didn’t last time. I remembered my anger about why I was leaving a job I had previously loved, and that helped. I do have a history of crying, so trying to feel some other emotion helped me.

   6. The Onion once had an article headlined “Employee Leaving Company Unsure How To Break It To Coworkers Who Don’t Really Care Whether He Lives Or Dies,” and perhaps reading it will help you out, ha.

2. Just a vent — I’m tired of unethical business practices. I went to an AT&T store a few weeks ago to buy a new iPhone. I made clear that I wanted to pay cash for the phone, but they told me several times that I could not do so without enrolling in some sort of installment plan. After a lot of back and forth, I paid almost a grand for a full-price phone, with the remaining $30 or so of balance in a $1.00/30 month installment plan. I was able to pay off that last bit by calling a customer service line, but then discovered that store had also signed me up for an insurance plan with monthly payments without getting my consent and after I told the associate point blank that I wanted to decline all coverage. Logged onto Yelp and saw several reviews complaining about the same surprise charges. I’m guessing the store receives some sort of commission for enrolling others in insurance coverage and installment plans.

   I tend to keep a close eye on the bills, but it worries me thinking about people who might not be so cautious — my elderly parents tend to make tech purchases in-store because they value the advice of the associates and still don’t like making major purchases online. Argh!

   1. I have had these issues at the AT&T store so now I always buy phones directly through Apple. It’s not worth the minor advantage of having AT&T transfer your phone data when it’s quite easy to do myself.

   2. Buy your iphone from Apple!

      1. I definitely, definitely will next time. This was an emergency purchase mid-business trip, and it’ll be the last time I ever buy tech directly from a store again.

      2. +1

   3. This would annoy me so much I would see if you can return it and buy from the Apple store instead.

      1. Yes, I understand this logic.

         If people don’t see repercussions for their actions, they will never change.

   4. I too had to buy in installments to get my phone.

   5. Arrgh. Totally with you.

      I’m not in US, so don’t know your system, but locally I would have sicced the public consumer watchdog ombudsman on them for breaking the law, hopefully ending in hefty fees.

   6. I hate AT&T for just this reason.

   7. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll be buying a new iPhone come September.

   8. I would switch carriers over this, TBH.

3. small rant: my lunatic neighbor, who once threatened to slash a contractor’s tires, just went up to the men installing a fence around our vegetable garden and yelled at them about how ugly it is (it is not) for a full five minutes. as if they had anything to do with the aesthetics!

   1. I raise you one wackadoo neighbor who lives on our north side who yelled at our landscaper to cut the bushes of the neighbor who lives on our south side (yes, we’re the middle house in this. And the bushes look totally fine, actually better than his). Like, dude, we don’t mind–and it’s our property that is next door to them. You literally have no property affected. And maybe if it is such an eyesore to you, you put on your grown-up pants and talk to the homeowner. Not the poor landscaper who is just trying to get by doing the jobs he has been hired for. I think retirement does evil things to people sometimes.

      1. Omg yes to your last sentence! Too much free time to get obsessed about the smallest things. That’s why people need hobbies!

         Idle hands(minds) are the devil’s playground.

   2. Our neighbor once threatened a painting crew working on our house that she was going to come over and shoot my dog if they (the painters!) didn’t stop him from barking (I wasn’t home at the time but he’d been barking for less than two hours). We’ve had tons of interactions like this, but that one really took the cake.

4. I have to say I’ve never thought of saving my Playbills, though I don’t splash out for performances with the original cast, etc. Am I weird?

   1. If you’re weird, I am, too!

   2. I definitely don’t save playbills, and I wouldn’t even with the original cast. I can always Google who was in the cast if I forget. So this sounds like a category of stuff like museum guidebooks where I might think I want to look at it later for the memories, but I never do.

   3. I have a big box with some old cards that I throw them into sometimes but honestly I never look at them and I wonder why I bother. They’re also so cluttered with advertising these days that i barely even read them when I am in the theater.

      I have gotten into the habit of saving tickets stubs and putting under the glass top on my desk at work. It’s a similar idea of saving a momento but much more day to day useful.

   4. I do splash out and consider theater a hobby but do not save playbills or tickets. I stopped collecting mementos a while ago. I already have too many useful things, so don’t want to add trash to that.

   5. I don’t save playbills unless I know one of the actors or musicians, and even then I just save it long enough to show a few mutual friends.

   6. Nope I’ve never saved them and I’m a bit of a theater nerd.

      1. +1

   7. My Dad was a huge theater person, and saved his tickets and used them as bookmarks.

   8. I might save one for a show that I had an amazing time at, but definitely not every show I’ve been to – I go to too many shows (regional and community) that it wouldn’t be feasible. I do, however, always take a picture of the playbill at the theatre ahead of the show and post that to my Instagram, so I have a virtual box of sorts.

   9. I save mine, but I don’t think you’re weird for not. I keep mine in playbill binders. The only time I’ve done the stage-door thing was when Jim Parsons was in Harvey; I got his autograph on the playbill. (I also just realized I did not get a friend’s autograph when he was in Wicked. Oops. He did give me a backstage tour, which was super cool).

5. Snack ideas if you want healthier snacks but not necessarily just fruits, vegetables or hummus?

   My go to healthy snack was always yogurt but that’s fallen away as a snack idea as I’m eating it more regularly now with meals to get probiotics in. Recently realized that I was eating too many junk snacks – total junk like packaged Rice Krispy treats and Oreos. IDK if it actually had an effect but my gut wasn’t feeling great, so I’ve decided to lay off that kind of processed sugar or HCFS and up the things like yogurt. But now I’m hungrier probably because I am only eating meals with few snacks and also because I don’t have as many empty calories. It’s only been a week so we’ll see how long I can keep this up but what are some healthier snack ideas?

   1. Pistachios or almonds with a few pieces of chocolate. Dried figs or prunes. Babyel cheese or the little mozzarella balls that come three to a package. Rice cakes. Maybe those peanut butter crackers?

   2. Dove individually wrapped chocolates, either the very dark chocolate ones or the dark chocolate with almonds. It’s not my favorite chocolate on the planet, but it’s not bad, and just letting one of these get melty in my mouth hits that chocolate note that I’m often craving.

   3. I really like cottage cheese as a snack. I also like a half a (pre-baked) sweet potato.

   4. For me, nuts satisfies the salty/fat craving. I love getting the lime chili almonds. And I keep fresh berries of all kinds washed/cut/ready to eat in the fridge. That helps for the sweet. And always something chocolate if possible after dinner. Usually I am so full from dinner I am less likely to overeat the chocolate treats, but sometimes I do.

      1. Berries have a decent amount of fiber, too, which helps with satiety.

   5. I plan for 3-4 snacks a day. I always do a fruit, a veg and a nut. If I need a 4th snack I’ll do cheese (sometimes with crackers, sometimes just cheese) or peanut butter toast or crackers.

   6. Cheese, apple and peanut butter, nuts.

   7. these are my boring snacks but they work for me without having to think much: handful of nuts mixed with cheesy popcorn, apple with peanut butter, apple and some cheddar slices, avocado toast, hard boiled egg plus jam and thin slice of toast

   8. My current favorites: apple and peanut butter, hummus and carrots, tuna/salmon salad and cucumber, precut fruit, plain nuts.

   9. Hard boiled eggs; string cheese.

   10. I’m all about a seeded crispbread with toppings. Cottage cheese, tomato, black pepper; avocado, pink peppercorn, sea salt, chili flakes; peanut butter; peanut butter and honey; salmon; cream cheese and salmon; Swiss cheese and Turkey. Plus you get the minerals from the seeds in the crispbread (mine is usually made of sunflower, chia, sesame, flax)

   11. Oat milk lattes! I kid, but consider drinking more things throughout the day in lieu of eating more snacks.

       Other snacks I’ve eaten recently: chips and salsa, cucumber slices and hummus, slices of cheese and ham, bananas, glasses of orange juice, grapes, greek yogurt topped with fresh cherries. But my default is seltzer or another cup of coffee.

   12. String cheese, popcorn, pickles are my current go-tos. If I need sweet, a few dark chocolate chips with nuts or dried fruit, and I drink an Egyptian licorice tea that is sweet tasting with no calories.

   13. Hard-boiled eggs
       Olives
       Cheese (I often eat cottage cheese with black pepper, or a chunk of Brie)
       Avocado
       Caprese salad
       Prosciutto ham and cheese rolls
       Tinned mackerel
       Carrots and guac

   14. Don’t sleep on nuts! Trail mix without sugary stuff is fantastic for your gut.

       I make oat / almond butter balls pretty regularly. Just take some old-fashioned oats and mix in almond butter and whatever else sounds good. My usual mix-in is dried tart cherries.

       Protein shakes are great. If you consumed dairy, Pure Protein is the best. If you don’t, OWYN is the best.

       Guacamole!

6. How did you indicate your change of name in your email signature? Got married 2 years ago and just recently decided to change my name. Did you just add a f/k/a in your signature or something else? And please, no comments on my decision to change my name – I thought long and hard and decided this was best for me.

   1. First (Maiden) Last

      Congratulations!

      1. I’ve also seen: First NewLast (formerly: OldLast). After six months or so (maybe shorter if your workplace is small and you’ll communicate with everyone in 1-3 months) you can drop it.

         1. And yes, congrats! Hope you’re treating yourself to new stationery or something fun to celebrate.

         2. I like this.

            I’m mixed on the idea of sending out an email announcing the change. A new associate we had did the firm-wide email and it sounded so girly and twee, but I got married and didn’t send out the firm-wide email and the managing partner gently chided me about “Who’s Henrietta NewName??” (I’m obv the only Henrietta. And obv I had told my group that I was changing my name.)

            1. I would feel weird about doing an email announcement but do you have a company Slack or Teams chat?

            2. I see no reason to announce via email or other channel your name change. This happens every single day with out any grand gesture. Just change it in your sig block using the parenthetical and that will get the job done. Linkedin allows you to do the same.

               “First (Maiden) Last”

               Don’t over think it.

      2. This, or First Maiden Last for a few months and then change to First Last.

      3. Same – First (Maiden) Last

   2. I did FirstName (OldLast) NewLast in my email signature for about 8 months, which seemed like long enough for people to learn my new name

   3. Thanks for the replies! I went with First (Old) New. Using f/k/a was giving me “the artist formerly known as Prince” vibes.

      1. Heh you say that like it’s a bad thing…

   4. I got married about a month ago, and I’m using First Married (Maiden). I’ll keep it that way for 6 months or so. I put this in my signature and as the sender appearing in a recipient’s inbox.

7. Thank you for getting my Christmas shopping started! I have a hard-to-buy-for friend who sees a crazy number of Broadway plays and this is right up her alley. Order placed!

8. I’m feeling pretty good about my Prime purchases today! All things that were on my list to buy for fall: 2 Columbia fleece jackets in youth sizes (lucky colors only), socks for DS, and running shoes in a style that DD has worn before and loved. It came to about $100. And … I’m done. I have to say, I’m fascinated that all the fashion bloggers I follow recommend so many of the same items. Are they getting additional affiliate money, beyond the norm? It can’t be coincidental that literally every blogger I follow is recommending the same lip mask.

   1. “Guys, it’s SO GOOD.” And yes, it’s almost always the same matching set, ruffle dress, makeup, etc.

      Most influencer culture simultaneously grosses me out and fascinates me.

9. In the vein of some threads this morning soliciting gift ideas, I’m looking for a 40th birthday gift for my friend. She loves wine so that would have been my first instinct, but she already has a significant collection, so she’s constantly looking to offload her surplus wine onto others. She’s currently trying to cat-proof her house in anticipation of getting cats, so I’m leaning consumable rather than something that will create clutter. She doesn’t cook so nice olive oil is probably not the best gift.

   1. How about chocolates? If she likes scents, I liked the fancy hand soap or shower gel idea from this morning.

      1. I have a good friend who has been retired for five years, and her take on meeting up is that since I’m working and busier, I should be the one to set up a get together. (This wasn’t her take before she retired) I’ve suggested that if she is near my neighbourhood, or if I’m near hers, that we text and have an impromptu coffee, but she prefers that I email her to set up a dedicated time.
         Normally, I’m fine with this, but I’m coming off of and intense work period, both husband and I are super fatigued after minimal activity— and we are active people (our doctor believes it’s mild long Covid), my husband had a surgery a few months ago, and my parents are independent, but getting older. We have a staycation booked for several weeks, and I’ve been trying to catch my breath, get conditioned physically to where I was a year ago before I had Covid. I want to meet up with my friend, but it feels like one more thing to organize — in addition to appointments and other life stuff I’m trying to catch up on. My friend is understanding, but has never been that much into emailing, or texting— even during Covid, she is okay with a life update, but doesn’t want a back and forth. I feel very guilty, as I’ve been off for a week, and I’m just starting to feel a bit more like myself, but organizing this is making me anxious, and as much as I look forward to catching up, I feel so much pressure, as though it’s all up to me. She is also older than me by12 years, so I think this is just her style. Is there any way I can reframe this to feel less pressure?

         1. Sorry nesting fail!

         2. If it was as important to her as you think, she would be an adult and make the plans. Your “style” can’t be doing all the work in a relationship.

            1. That makes me feel better. She’s a very kind person, and I think she feels she is giving me space. I appreciate your feedback.

   2. I am turning 40 and I want a fancy candle and jo Malone perfume and most of all flowers! Especially if she doesn’t have the cats yet.

      1. I’m also a Jo Malone fan. Wearing Blackberry & Bay today.

         You can’t go wrong with a Diptyque or Jo Malone candle.

      2. Not sure if this completely blows your budget, but NAS has some sampler Jo Malone that I’m eyeing.

   3. how about some nice acrylic wine glasses? should be nice ones out for patio season right now at fancier stores like neiman marcus, etc. (then if the cat tips over the wine at least the glass doesn’t break)?

   4. If she’s turning 40 there’s a good chance she has everything she needs. Take her out instead! Go to a local winery and enjoy a few glasses together or a tasting. Cover drinks and food and Ubers there and back. Memories over stuff (if that’s a vibe she’d be okay with).

      1. I love this idea and will keep it in my back pocket, but want to show up to her party with something in hand.

      2. +1 – I’m turning 40 in a few weeks and would love that. I do not want candles (I have a designer candle subscription…), acrylic wine glasses, or anything else. I want time with loved ones – and if I don’t have to own scheduling/planning – even better!

   5. Gifts I got for my 40th (in addition to wine) that I loved were a travel backpack (one designed specifically for travel) and a new cool check-in suitcase. Gifts I have given to others include small gold earring that don’t click in to close and a monthly flower delivery.

   6. My friends and I went with solid gold jewelry for each other (group presents). Recommend.

      1. +1

         My friend group did this with our 30th birthdays, we got each other jewelry. It was really nice.

   7. What’s your budget?

      1. $50ish. So far the suggestions of chocolate, acrylic wine glasses, and fancy candle would fall nicely in that range.

10. I posted late last week about a company recruiter that reached out to me about a job posting – everyone’s responses were super helpful, as this was the first time I was approached for a role of actual interest in this manner.

    She did not get back to me by EOD Monday – so I reached out to her today, and they are finalizing the posting by EOD today.

    I plan to apply. Please send me all of your good thoughts/vibes – at this point I just want an interview!

    1. Good luck!! Sending all the good vibes!

    2. Hoping this works out for you! Good vibes your way!

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