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Updated: Apr 11, 2020 131 Comments · by

Coffee Break: “Start Standing Now” Standing Desk

Coffee Break |

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2020 Update: Our more recent recommendation is $37 and also available at Amazon. This standing desk is only $25, and it's gotten pretty good reviews. It's certainly not much to look at — it's sort of an ugly little thing — but if you've been thinking about ergonomics at the office and starting to stand while you work, you can't get cheaper than this. You can use a laptop or a iPad along with a Bluetooth keyboard, and it can even hold a regular monitor. There are three sizes according to the user's height: small (under 5'4″), medium (5'4″ to 5'11”), and large (over 5'11”). The Perfect “Start Standing Now” Standing Desk This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

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And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

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Comments

  1. Amour Vert

    I have a few silk tops and jeans on order. Anyone have thoughts on the quality? I like the idea of sustainability and quality over quantity, but haven’t heard much about the company.

    • AmourVertFan

      You won’t regret it! I have slowly been building my collection as their store is local. The Miley, Nicola and Priscilla dresses are workhorses and in constant rotation as I’ve bought the different colors. No pilling and they just get softer over time. I also have several shirts and love the simple elegance of them all. I’ve gifted the Priscilla dress to several corporate friends and they’ve loved it too.

  2. Temporary TTC

    Another having children t/j, apologies to those of you who are sick of these.

    Have any of you (or do you know anyone who has) taken maternity leave during a short-term position (e.g., clerkship, fellowship)? I am 30, several months into a two-year position, and DH and I feel ready to start TTC. I know that it could take a few weeks or several years, but I’m not sure how it would be received at work (or what mat leave I’d be eligible for) if it were to happen quickly. Half of me knows there is no perfect time, the other half is terrified for my career and reputation.

    • Anonymous

      I’m a federal clerk right now and my judge mentioned that another clerk in a prior term became pregnant during her term and was put on bed rest for several months. Not exactly the same situation, but his attitude was “things happen, family first” and he was flexible about it. He seemed happier that his clerk and her baby were healthy than annoyed about the bed rest situation. (Granted, my judge is just awesome in a lot of ways so YMMV with a different boss.) So, while financially it might be harder because you probably won’t get paid, if you can afford it and feel ready, I wouldn’t put TTC on hold.

    • Anon

      Assuming you don’t intend to take a leave longer than ~12 weeks I think a two year fellowship is long enough not to worry about the time off. If it was a one year fellowship I’d probably say to wait three months into the fellowship before trying so baby would be born afterwards but with two years I think you should just go ahead now.

    • anon

      I gave birth twice during my postdoctoral stint (typically ~3-4 years doing research before searching for a tenure-track faculty position). My supervisor was very understanding and accommodating, and I went on maternity leave with her blessing. This wrecked any chance I had of continuing on the academic career path, as I was competing with the (mostly) men in my field who worked 3 uninterrupted years. In part, I remain furious that that path was closed to me. On the other hand, I’m in a better paid and less stressful (but also less prestigious and less interesting) position now. No real lesson here, since every field is different. But, I feel like women in my position rarely speak up, because who wants to advertise their “failures”….

    • BankrAtty

      You should do your own research, but mine concluded that federal law clerks fall within a personal staff exception that means they can be fired for almost any reason–including being or becoming pregnant, and thus requiring extended medical leave. Check out Gupta v. First Judicial District of PA, 10-4418 (E.D. Penn. Dec. 23, 2010). I will post the link below.

    • anon

      yup, once during a fellowship (fixed term, but ended up being 4 years in length) and once during biglaw (indefinite term, but I was done after 2 years). it was fine. i took california statutory 18 weeks post-birth for both. for the one in biglaw, i also took the standard 4 weeks before birth.

    • Anon

      I had a baby in the middle of a one-year federal clerkship. My judge quickly found a replacement so I could take time off with baby and rehired me for a subsequent term. It was pretty stressful worrying about how the judge would react but I could not have had a more supportive or wonderful boss.

    • Anonymous

      I had a baby during a 1-year clerkship, and I got essentially zero maternity leave. I should have been more aggressive negotiating with my judge but, yeah, that sucked.

    • Anon

      I think it is a cardboard desk. That said, I might get it to try out for a bit before I committed to buying a real standing desk.

    • ALX emily

      It is cardboard, but it’s great! I have it to try out the idea of standing (and work won’t pay for one) and it works perfectly for what I am using it for. Plus recyclable if/when I give up on standing.

    • J in Seattle

      One of my coworkers had one of these, and it looked a little DIY to be honest. Not a problem really, just something I noticed.

    • Ellen

      I LOVE my new standing desk. Mine is made out of wood, and it is adjusteable, meaning I can press a button and it goes up and down. In fact, it can go so high that I can NOT even see the desk. It is made for all kinds of people. Dad told the manageing partner to get it for me b/c I am sitting on my tuchus all day, and he convinced the manageing partner that I would NOT win as many cases if I wind up with a tuchus that is to big. He is mabye exagerating a bit, but it’s true that the Judge likes me the way I am. I would prefer to sit in my chair, but Dad says NO. He calls Lynn and makes her tell him if I am sitting and if she says yes, he yells at me. FOOEY b/c I walk to work each day (over 2 miles each way) and I am tired, so why does he INSIST that I stand? B/c he want’s my leg’s to look good (as do I). I know his heart is in the right place, but I must be the ONLEY attorney at law to have to stand to and from work as well as most of the day AT work. DOUBEL FOOEY!

    • Jo March

      I can’t decide whether this is a smart way to test if a standing desk is something your like or a total waste of money when you could just make a pile of books or something to serve the same purpose.

  4. Mel

    irrational vent: 4 person office in huge skyscraper. one unisex single bathroom in our suite, and I sit right near it. suite opens to hallway with shared water coolers for the whole floor. one co worker drinks the water from the bathroom faucet. lord knows what’s in the pipes in this building, but also the sink is 1 foot away from the toilet which has no lid. so every flush basically spits out a cloud of yuck, right? there is no reason I should be totally preoccupied by this small thing but I am both fascinated and grossed out every time and now I can mind my own business because it’s off my chest.

    • Anonymous

      I’m with you re: doing this in an office, but do it at home all the time. That said, there usually isn’t testing of the water that is provided in coolers (it can just be tap water too), so I actually only drink water from my office’s kitchen faucet versus the coolers.

    • crash

      No, every flush does not spit out a cloud of yuck.

      The water from the faucet is the same as from any water fountains, kitchen sinks etc.. elsewhere in the building, most likely.

      I also drink from my bathroom sink at home, which is millimeters away from my toilet.

      Can you turn your desk? Wear headphones? Ask that a screen be put up in front of the door?

      • Germophobe

        Try search-engining “toilet plume” and see if you feel differently.

        • Anonymous

          And yet…there’s no scientific basis that pathogens are spread via toilet plume. We checked. I was in a microbio class this spring, and one of my lab mates purposefully did not clean her bathroom for a week, kept the lid up, and swabbed the faucet for coliforms (bacteria in poop). She found nothing.

          FWIW, I no longer complain about my water/sewage bill (water treatment is hella important). I stopped worrying about germs on every single surface because every surface we tested came out clean. And we tried to find the grossest places to test. We really tried. Even the flusher on the men’s urinal in the grossest public toilet my lab partner could find in our large, urban city didn’t harbor organisms we could grow on a general purpose medium.

          • Cookbooks

            I was a microbiology major. Water fountains. Water fountains are the worst offenders. You get plenty of growth in a petri dish.

    • Anona

      Honestly, that is irrational. Maybe they want to drink fluoridated water or something? There’s nothing gross out it. It’s running water coming out of a pipe.

  5. Anon

    Hi! My best friend’s mom just suddenly died. While I’m waiting for information on when she wants me to come out I need advice one what to do, what is helpful in this situation, and what should be avoided. We’re in our early 30s, her mom had a heart attack, everyone is in shock-mode, but she mentioned she would need help once her husband and 3 year old daughter get to her. I live in Chicago, she lives in Maryland, her mom and dad lives/d in Tucson–so the geography is complicated and making me feel useless. Any and all tips would be appreciated.

    • Anon

      This happened to me. If she is your best friend in the world – and you have the means and somewhere to stay – can you fly to her? If so I have suggestions

      • Anon

        Oh yes, sorry–I should have been clearer. I’m definitely flying to see her. I just need more information from her one when she wants me. In a perfect world I’ll be there for 3 days, it’s what my time off and budget will be able to handle. I’m thinking of coordinating with her husband and trying to make sure I’m there for when he arrives with their daughter. And, I’m expecting all activities to be in Tucson, but her mom may have had alternate location wishes so I’m not 100% on that yet.

        • Anon

          Oh perfect – So lots of advice then. Do the stupid things for her that she will not even have the brainspace to think about. Find gluesticks and get pictures printed for memory boards, go out to get the little one a black dress (or get her clothes). I was so grateful for people doing Target runs for me and buying a blouse and pantyhose.

          If you know the family and friends, offer to be the point of contact for everyone asking what they can do to help. Everyone wants to know when they can come over and if you want food, and I was eternally grateful for a friend who took control of that.

          If there is a wake, keep bringing her tissues and take the dirty ones. Have a sign for if she needs a break. People like to dump their grief on the family for some reason in shocking deaths like these. If needed, literally move people away from her.

      • Anon

        This happened to me too. A few friends flew halfway across the country for the funeral and even though I had limited time to spend with them it meant so, so much to see the faces of “my” people. That said, she will honestly probably need you even more down the road once the dust settles and everyone else sort of goes on with their lives. Losing a parent is always going to be awful but the shock of the sudden passing has been really hard for me to reconcile. The people who have checked in periodically, especially around every “first” since she passed (all of the “firsts” are hard and sucky), have also been super helpful. Since you don’t live in the same place you could also send meal deliveries once they get back home. I wasn’t ever really able to articulate anything I needed so the most helpful people just said things like “so what night can I bring you dinner or take your kid for a few hours or take you out.” I’m so sorry for your friend – it is a rough, rough experience and grief is a long, up and down process.

        • Never too many shoes...

          +1Million to reaching out to her for all the “firsts” throughout the year. It meant so much to me after my father died when people would call to check in months afterwards.

    • C

      Think “how can I make her life easier?” This may mean showing up and taking care of daughter, cooking meals, and helping to coordinate funeral, but it also might mean being the person outside the chaos who she can call anytime to help her process everything. Make sure she knows you’re a shoulder to cry on, even if it’s a virtual shoulder. If in-person help would be best but you can’t travel to her, consider arranging for meals to be delivered or paying for a cleaning service. My grandmother always said one of the worst/strangest things about when my grandfather died was how guilty she felt that all of these people were coming to her house and she hadn’t cleaned it first. Look into services that will send useful things- flowers are lovely, but she’d probably appreciate practical help more.

    • Anon

      My grandmother (expectedly) and aunt (mom’s sister, unexpectedly) passed away within a day of each other last summer. My sisters and I flew out with my mom to where they lived, and a few of mom’s best friends flew out too. They were instrumental in getting people rides to/from the airport (they rented cars) and generally helpful in making food/goodies, both for the out of towners that were staying with us/day-visiting at my parents’ second home and we were somehow responsible for hosting and for the reception after the funeral service, which we accomplished with a lot of fried chicken, mexican, cookie bars, lemonade and dollar store plastic serving dishes. And being mom’s person to talk to before the day got going – some things you don’t want to discuss with your children. Also helpful to run interference with the people who may not always get along, since funerals bring out ALL the family. They also helped with running to the drug store for tolietries, photo prints for the memory boards, transporting stuff to the church, etc.

    • Anonymous

      Can you coordinate with the husband and see if you can send a cleaning service to their home in Maryland, so that she comes home to a clean house, with clean sheets and towels.

      If she doesn’t have a sibling or relative to help with this, offer to help her write up / type up the obituary — you can even do that over the phone before you get there.

      When my mom passed away, my brain was simply fogged over, and I couldn’t think through the simple things that are ordinarily no big deal to manage.

      • Anon

        Oh yes – the obituary and picture for the obituary were something I couldn’t even fathom coordinating – another friend took care of it and got my approval to send

    • Anonymous

      Organize the various offers of help. People will reach out not knowing what to do and your friend won’t know what to ask for. You be the point person. Set a schedule for who is dropping off what type of meal/snacks when. Put a cooler outside the door and keep it stocked with ice (or delegate this task) so she doesn’t have to be home/answer the door. This is particularly helpful in the week or so after the death because people are always stopping by to pay their respects and she might feel like she should feed them. If people ask about sending flowers to the house, ask for sandwiches instead. Make sure she eats.

      Schedule babysitters, cleaning, lawn maintenance, grocery shopping – whatever you can get people to do. Schedule someone to house sit during any services that get advertised in the paper (people read obits to pick houses to break into). Get hand sanitizer, vitamin C stuff, cold/cough/allergy meds, lots of tissues – she’s going to be hugging lots of people, she’ll need to fend of germs. Does she have a charity? Tell people about it if they ask.

    • LondonLeisureYear

      Offer that she can stay with you in a hotel room in Tuscan if you are there for some reason and her husband is not yet due to travel with the small kid. Sometimes people just need to sleep in a room with someone they feel comfortable with and it gives her an out from sleeping in the house with all the memories of her mom.

      At the funeral stick near her and if anyone starts saying stupid crap to her- be her bodyguard. People say the worst stuff at funerals.

      Follow her lead- there is no right or wrong way to grieve and sometimes people go crazy paths with it.

        • Anon.

          when she books her flight makes she she says its for a funeral of a close family member – they usually will give you a discount on the flight cost.

          • Anon

            I think only American does bereavement fares now – and shop around, sometimes you can find regular fares cheaper. You have to call American to get it and it does come with a wavier of change fees. When my grandmother/aunt died, I ended up delaying travel a day because I decided the night before I was supposed to head out (a few days early to help my mom) I just wasn’t ready to leave my husband who was staying home and interact with strangers to go to the funeral. They changed the flight no problem.

    • Anon

      Some things you can help her with – checking that the family all have appropriate funeral outfits, maybe finding a babysitter for the funeral if the littler girl is too small to be there, doing the obituary, making plans for the funeral, ordering food to be delivered for guests etc. Calling people to inform them that her mom died might be a good task to take over, so she doesn’t have to make all those calls – however sometimes its comforting to talk to all the people – just depends. Making a photo memorial if that is needed. Hiring a cleaner for the house to come in to tidy if lots of guests are there over the next few weeks.

      You can also help her slow down – i know some people immediately are like “oh no we need to cancel their credit cards and call all the magazines and tell them they died and we need to sort out her will etc” and its helpful to say….all that can happen in the future. It doesn’t need to happen now. Just take a deep breath.

    • NOLA

      This is so stressful. My Dad died suddenly about 4 years ago and it was a shock, but thankfully, I was already visiting a friend about 2 hours away from my Dad and stepmom. My friend who I was visiting took me immediately to buy a black dress and shoes (I was on vacation and had no dress clothes). Where my parents live/d was remote, so I couldn’t have done that once I got there. I picked up my brother the next day and spent the week with our stepmother. We helped gather photographs for a slide show in the sanctuary during the visitation, ordered family flowers, wrote the obituary, planned the funeral, helped my stepmother host a big family dinner the night before, ran interference with crazy relatives, made sure people left her house at a reasonable hour (her bedroom is somewhat open to the living area), cleaned out the refrigerator before everyone left (she was panicked about being left with tons of food), and helped her clean out my Dad’s closet (she couldn’t stand to look at it). Hiring a cleaner might be helpful as well. I remember needing to buy groceries and change my manicure from my fun summery color to something funeral appropriate. There’s just a lot to do in a short amount of time.

    • Stati

      My best friend flew (Iowa to Arizona) to be with my during my dad’s visitation / funeral. At one point during the visitation, she pulled me out to the parking lot of the funeral home where she popped her trunk and had a bottle of wine, solo cups, and a package of Chips Ahoy cookies. I had no idea how badly I needed it. This simple gesture meant the world to me.

    • Anon-OP

      Thank you all. Sorry I did not check back in, I was monitoring comments and suggestions while making flight reservations and finding a place to stay. You’re all the best!

  6. Anon

    Hi, very sweet of you to be so concerned with your friend and how to help her. If I may make one suggestion it’s this: don’t try to tell her what is good about her mom dying. You probably read that and think, “I would never do that!” But our culture does that. “She’s in a better place now,” and, “at least she went quickly,” and things like that. If your grieving friend says that, great. But you should be there just to listen and agree with everything she says and feels (other than blaming herself, which is also normal.)

    • Anonymous

      Good point. You really have to follow her lead. When my friend’s longtime BF died, she was very focused on the fact that he went quickly. Another friend’s husband had just died after a long battle with cancer, so my friend felt almost grateful that he didn’t suffer like that. She found it very comforting that losing him quickly might’ve been more hurtful for her but it was so much less hurtful for him. It gave her a sense of… idk… purpose maybe? Like she was making a sacrifice for him to have a peaceful death. But that would not be a welcomed sentiment for everyone.

  7. Anon

    Anybody seen anything nice (but not a “splurge”) in fawn, mushroom, or light tan lately? Cool blouses would be ideal, but dresses, skirts, or accessories might all help me out too.

    • Cait

      Ahhh, I love these types of colors but I just can’t wear them with my coloring! I’m jealous of your search and hope you’re successful because I think they’re such gorgeous neutrals.

  8. Migraines in pregnancy

    Lots of helpful migraine discussion lately. Here’s another question: how do you treat migraines during pregnancy when you’re not supposed to use triptans? Note- I’m not one of those people who is afraid to medicate during pregnancy. I take Tylenol regularly, drink caffeine daily, and take the Fiourcet and Percocet as prescribed by my doctor. But nothing works like the triptans, and the migraines have been brutal this pregnancy. Any advice?

    • Triptans

      If you google it seems to indicate some triptans are relatively safe in pregnancy–probably as safe as fioricet? Did your doctor say not to take them?? (I’d link to the articles but figure that would put me in moderation) That said I use triptans but am not pregnant (nor do I expect to be). Best of luck?

      • Migraines in pregnancy

        Unfortunately both my OB and my neurologist said not to take the triptans.

      • Anon

        I suffer migraines and am pregnant with my first. I also take a preventive for my migraines as well as triptan. My doctors have said no to the preventive but I can stay on the triptan. The only thing that will be a cause for concern is if I am taking the triptans too much.

    • Wehaf

      Pregnancy can change how migraines act, so the caffeine may be contributing to them, even if it helped before. Regular Tylenol use can cause rebound headaches, too. Is cutting back on those two things an option?

      I’m not pregnant, but I find I am far more susceptible to migraines when I am not well hydrated. Are you drinking enough fluids?

      I wish I had more suggestions; I hope you find some relief.

    • Anon

      Tylenol + suffer in silence (actually copious amounts of complaining). Banned from caffeine because it was giving the baby an erratic heartbeat, even at low doses. But pregnancy has reduced my migraine frequency considerably – maybe only 2 so far and I’m 8 months – but they have been brutal. As I keep telling my husband, pregnancy sucks (but looking forward to the baby).

    • CJ

      I know this might sound flip, but have you tried icing your head and neck? My understanding of triptans (which I use) is that partially they restrict the blood vessels in the brain/head. I have found putting a “headband” type ice pack around my forehead and around my neck to help when I don’t have my meds with me or during the 30-45 minutes they can take to work. It isn’t 100% successful. And, it sometimes leaves a mark. And you always look ridiculous. But, seriously, if it helps and will have no effect on the baby, right?

      Also, magnesium has in some studies been shown to reduce migraines. This isn’t a “time of” treatment, but rather take it every day. The “side effect” of magnesium can be diarrhea, so you might need to “work up” to the dose. Again, not 100% effective. But if it cuts out one migraine a month, then it would probably be worth it, right?

    • Anonymous

      I did tylenol + caffiene and then suffered in silence. But you can take anti-nausea meds!! So ask for promethezine or Zofran. The nausea is one of the worst things about migraines for me. They will just make you and baby a little sleepy but they’re safe for baby. Also, 400mg of magnesium EVERY day as a preventative. Take it at night because it will also make you a bit sleepy as it relaxes your muscles. There are legitimate studies on magnesium as a migraine preventative. Lastly, and I didn’t have this done but my friend did, you can get an ocipital nerve block injection. Safe for you and baby, and they last a few months. They don’t work for everyone, but if they work they can be a lifesaver.

  9. Sloan Sabbith

    I had a very cool moment today with my chronic illness- long story short, my lungs are in better shape than they’ve been since early 2015, and a lot of it probably has to do with my commitment to exercise since early spring. I’m going to hit 3 months of 10K plus steps tomorrow and want to buy myself something fitness-y to celebrate both of these things. I don’t run (and it’s a thing I have decided I don’t care about doing), so sneakers are out, and I have workout clothes I like. Lululemon pants are not a thing I am interested in because I fundamentally refuse to spend $100+ on pants I am designed to sweat in. No judgment to those who do, they are comfortable but not my jam. I have a Fitbit Alta and I credit that with a lot of the motivation to work out.

    What would you buy? Budget is flexible (under $400), toss out ideas!

    • Rainbow Hair

      Congrats on your good news!

      Some good bluetooth headphones? Or something else tech-y and fun?

      Or a great gym bag?

      • Sloan Sabbith

        I bought myself some headphones I love after the other almost new ones I had disappeared. Anker Soundbuds Slim! (and of course I then found my others…)

        Ooh. Apple Watch? Anyone have one? Thoughts?

        • January

          Your budget and preferences seem designed for an Apple Watch. Just sayin.

          (I don’t have one, so I can’t comment on it).

    • Anonymous

      I would actually buy sneakers because they are great for walking! Alternatively I’d splurge on fun fitness- a 10 pack of passes to the fancy gym, aqua spinning, the Korean day spa, something like that.

      • Sloan Sabbith

        I bought awesome Pumas earlier this year is another reason sneakers are out. Plus I kiiiiiiind of am out of shoe storage in a bad way. ☹️

    • cbackson

      Oh, lots of ideas, at various price points!

      1) Nice daypack or fitness backpack (I have a running backpack, for example, that would also be awesome for long walks where you want to carry a few things and not have to schlep a purse).

      2) A night or two in a state park cabin where you can celebrate your awesome health with some fun hikes/relaxation in nature.

      3) If you live some place with real winter, snowshoes so you can still do fun outdoor stuff when it gets snowy.

      4) A nice headlamp. They can be expensive, but are so awesome if you are camping, night hiking, or just going for an evening walk and it’s super dark. Also: power outages.

      5) A gym bag with awesome organization so you feel totally together when you arrive at your workout establishment of choice.

      6) Massage, because self-care is health.

      7) A class, clinic, or pass for some fitness activity you’ve always been curious about, whether it’s swimming, rock climbing, paddleboarding, yoga, paddleboard yoga…

      • Sloan Sabbith

        Love the idea of a daypack. Kind of considering a Hanover to encourage me to walk to work. Also considering a few nights at my cousin’s beach house with just me and the puppy, walking and swimming.

        Ooooooh paddle board yoga.

        • cbackson

          I tried paddle board yoga and it was surprisingly awesome. So relaxing. And I hadn’t really paddleboarded before – it was beginner-friendly! REI in my area offers it regularly.

    • Torin

      Do you have nice workout sunglasses? Oakleys (or whatever brand you prefer) can be pricey, around $100, but are so nice when you’re outside and sweating. I bought mine to run in, which I know you don’t do, but found myself grabbing them even to walk the dog because even at a brisk walk if I’m sweating my cute fashiony sunglasses slide around my face and annoy me.

      • Sloan Sabbith

        I need sunglasses, period. I have glasses so prescription glasses would totally fit this and be useful generally.

        • Torin

          I wear prescription glasses too, and the prescription sunglasses are so, so, so worth it.

          • Anon

            +1. I got the Transitions ones from costco (they go from light sunglasses to dark sunglasses, not like the actual clear to dark transitions) because the regular costco ones had terrible (i.e., non-existent) polarization.

    • LondonLeisureYear

      Wow!!! Thats really awesome!!!

      One idea is to research if there is a book of walks for your city to give yourself new walks to keep up the exercise.

      I also am intrigued by these guided walks: https://www.detour.com/

      Or a subscription to audible to listen to books on tape while you walk?

      I don’t know how cold/wet it gets where you live but a really nice cozy jacket, scarf, hat, mittens or raincoat are always on my list. Or really excellent socks always make my feet happier.

    • Marshmallow

      I’m really late to this thread and you’ve gotten awesome suggestions, but I just wanted to weigh in with my congratulations on your health news!! That’s fantastic.

    • Bonnie

      Congrats! If you walk outside or want to try hiking, get a camelbak hydration bag. So much more comfortable than carrying a water bottle, keys etc.

  10. Paging Summer Learn

    If you are still interested in learning GIS over the summer, you could contact the prof who was intending to teach the course and see about getting access to a school computer where ArcGIS is installed, or getting an educational software license on your own computer. ESRI (the parent company) is pretty generous about educational and non-profit licensing because they want to keep up their market share.

    As someone else suggested, there are a lot of free online courses offered by ESRI. But I think you’ll get more out of them, especially more professional skills, if you are able to practice on the full suite of software.

    • Summer learn

      Thanks for this suggestion! I’m glad I checked the site today, will definitely look into it.

  11. Anon

    Nice headphones? Maybe a pair of bluetooth ones so you don’t have to deal with a cord to your phone

  12. BB

    Rant: Why do some companies think it’s a good idea to send MULTIPLE ad emails a day? I’m talking totally legitimate companies too! PetCo literally sends me 4 emails a day – different ones, to the same email address. I unsubscribed, but it’s still in the 48 hour waiting period to clear. Like, I’m happy to skim through a weekly email to look at interesting offers, but when it’s multiple per day, I hit “unsubscribe” automatically. Ugh.

    • Anonymous

      Gmail does a great job filtering ad emails for me. They go into a separate tab I never look at, but I can still search for coupon codes. Love

  13. anon for this

    Vent… I am having a frustrating day. I made a pretty significant mistake at work–fixable, but it doesn’t make me look good. I also let a “trial subscription” roll into an automatic $20 charge that I don’t want… I think I can get the company to reverse it.

    On top of the stuff I’m responsible or, I spent an hour on the phone with my mortgage company because they made a mistake and were going to charge me an extra $270/month for escrow. And my dry cleaner couldn’t find one of my dresses this morning, and appears to have double-charged me. (The owner is out, and her sister is covering for her. I planned to stay away this week, but I caught a train and figured I should use the time productively.)

    Obviously, nobody is perfect, but I’m mad at myself for making mistakes, and I’m frustrated with the time it has taken me and is going to take me to undo other people’s mistakes.

    • Jo March

      *hugs* it sounds like a rough Monday. Get yourself a nice little chocolate bar (or indulgence of your choice) and hopefully tomorrow will be better!

    • LondonLeisureYear

      I firmly believe that everything is more manageable and less grim after a hot shower and a good night’s sleep! Tomorrow is a new day!

    • Torin

      Any day you have to talk to your mortgage company is not great — the rest of it too is a lot! My sympathies.

  14. Jo March

    There’s been a lot of personal finance discussion here over the last few days, but I have one more (quick) question to add to the mix: should I roll over the funds in my 401(k) from my old job into the 403(b) offered at my new job or open a traditional IRA at a brokerage like Fidelity or Vanguard?

    From a convenience standpoint, I’m thinking it would be easiest to just have 1 account with my new employer, but am I missing something here?

    • anon

      I’d open a traditional IRA at Vanguard. First of all, depending on the provider for your 403(b), you may have higher fees and/or more limited selection of investment options. Secondly, this probably won’t be the last time you change jobs, so it is convenient to have one traditional IRA where you move the retirement funds every time you leave a job. Yes, it means you have two accounts, but your IRA (which will eventually become your biggest/main account, later in your career) will be stable with a single provider. It will still be there if you lose your job, if you move to a job that doesn’t offer a retirement plan, etc.

      • Mpls

        +1 – I’d do an IRA, which you own, instead of the company plan, which the company owns. Part of my feelings on this is the result of working at a place that had a weirdly long (but legal) break in service period for their 401(k) and profit sharing plan, which meant you ended up keeping your money (and whatever money you rolled over) in the plan until that date, which no control over the fees or little control over the available investments. So, I would not have wanted to move MORE money in there.

        My current employer uses Vanguard to run their 401(k), which is where my IRA is as well, so the 2 accounts thing doesn’t really bother me, since they are both in one place.

    • Anna

      The main thing to compare is your investment options in your current 401k, the new 403b, and a Vanguard IRA. For example, my current 403b has access to all of the Vanguard funds, but with lower expenses than I’d get if I opened my own IRA with Vanguard, so it’s definitely the best option, but your options could vary.

    • Morgan

      This had been my plan but my 403(b) has MUCH more limited investment options, so it’s still in my 401K but I like the rationale behind transferring the 401K into a traditional IRA. Candidly, the 401K has done so well since I left that my inclination has just been not to touch it.

  15. Torin

    I got home from 3.5 days out of town late yesterday, and this morning I went into my workout room and found dried dog urine on the floor. If my dog walker was actually coming 3x a day as asked, I find it hard to believe that the urine would have dried without being noticed — she should have been coming often enough that she would’ve come in when it was still wet at some point and she MUST have smelled it. I smelled it as soon as I walked into the room when it was dry, and if it was wet it should definitely have been noticeable when she walked into the house. I feel like she should have cleaned it up — is that crazy?

    The floor was concrete so it’s easy to clean and obviously was in no way harmed by being peed on.

    • Anona

      It’s possible she didn’t come, or maybe she didn’t go into that room and just didn’t notice.

    • LAnon

      I don’t think it’s crazy, but I would give her the benefit of the doubt.

      What are the chances she didn’t go in that room? Unless it’s on a path between the door and wherever you keep the dog supplies, I’m guessing there’s a good chance she didn’t go in, unless part of your agreement is specifically that she’ll check every room.

      You’re very used to how your own home smells, so new smells are very noticeable, but if you’re a professional dog walker and in and out of lots of different homes, I can see how you might not notice immediately.

      All this being said, more and more sitters and sitting services are starting to email pictures and updates when they visit. You could ask your sitter to start texting or emailing you updates if you’re concerned about her showing up. (If you don’t want to seem suspicious or confrontational, mentioning that a friend’s pet sitter does this or something along those lines.) You could also explicitly ask her to check all the rooms for messes.

      • Torin

        It’s next to the kitchen where the dog food is, and there’s no door between them. It’s happened before and I did notice right away when I got home because the urine was still wet, so the smell was strong. But good point re the familiarity vs not of the odor. I also have a somewhat sensitive nose.

        Asking her to just check each room next time is a good idea, thanks!

        • LAnon

          My mother has a very sensitive nose. My sister and I used to call her The Bloodhound because she could always suss out any wrongdoing immediately upon walking in the house, just by sniffing the air. “Why does it smell like cleaning products? Did you have to clean something up?” or “It smells like there were boys here – did you have people over?”

          Not sure if you have kids, but if you do, your sensitive nose will come in handy when they are teenagers! :)

    • Anonymous

      I would never have noticed this unless there was a reason to go into the room. I have a terrible sense of smell.

    • Anon.

      Once my cousin’s VERY LARGE snake died while he was on vacation. Turns out the caretaker who was coming for the dogs and other pets didn’t have any sense of smell and since the snake got fed only like every other week he didn’t realize that the snake was dead in the cage even though the snake basically had rotted til it liquified. The caretaker couldn’t figure out why the dogs were barking and going crazy by the door to the snake area in the basemet. My cousin walks into the house after their trip and nearly falls over from the smell of rotted meat. Note to self- always ask pet caretakers if they have a sense of smell!!!

      • anon

        ……..the caretaker didn’t think to open the door to see what was going on? I mean… really?

        • Anon.

          The caretaker did look but the snake’s rotted ness stayed inside its skin until it was touched and then it burst opened.. And this snake lived in a huge cage – like 10 feet by 10 feet with lots of stuff in it. So it looked like it was fine. He thought what had happened was that one of the rats that my cousin raises to feed to the large snakes had escaped the rat shed and gotten into the house and died somewhere and thats what they were freaking out about.

          • Anonymous

            I think I could have lived today without reading about this.

            But maybe not. When else will I EVER read a sentence that starts with “the snake’s rottedness stayed inside its skin until it was touched…”?

          • AIMS

            This is a fantastic story. Anonymous@7:21 thank you for literally making me laugh out loud.

          • Jaydee

            I have said before that if dogs could start a fragrance line, the two best sellers would be rotted snake innards and goose poop. No wonder those dogs were going crazy.

            Also…EWWWW

      • June

        Not sure whether to laugh or cry, but thank you for this story ( which made me laugh at your telling of it).

  16. Does leather stretch?

    I had some boots I got on sale online delivered today. They are a nice black leather, knee high and exactly what I have been looking for. BUT the foot feels abit tight/narrow—and I am not someone with wide feet. I tried them on in the evening when I suppose my feet are more “expanded” from walking around during a warm day. So right now I am weighing whether to keep them in the hope they will expand with wear versus returning them. Ordering another size isn’t possible for now coz this was a clearance piece. Should I count on leather expanding?

    • LAnon

      Leather does stretch, over time. However, if they are so tight currently as to be uncomfortable, they might not stretch enough or you might not be able to convince yourself to wear them enough to get them to stretch.

      If it feels like it’s a little bit snug but not uncomfortable, they will probably fit really well in a few weeks or months, depending on how often you wear them.

      If it feels like you’re squeezing your feet in, or wouldn’t want to walk around for a few hours with their current fit, they are probably too small.

      I would suggest trying them on tomorrow morning when your feet are at their “morning” size.

    • Never too many shoes...

      Leather does have some give. You can buy expandable stretchers to focus stretching on the problem area. Or just wear them around your house with thick socks for a few nights and see if that helps.

  17. Sloan Sabbith

    After more than a year and a half of treatment similar to chemo I was declared clear of an incredibly serious, potentially deadly infection today. This was after my first success this morning. My doctor called it a miracle. I didn’t expect to ever be clear of it. And I am. Wow. I can’t stop crying I am so relieved and overwhelmed.

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