Random Fail: First World Problems

[thetruepandagod]

Watch the general public start caring about space exploration again when we run out of helium balloons.

I hate every single person that does not prioritize space travel as being of the utmost importance.

[Aphmau]

Have you tried google? Honestly...

This was one of those moments where I looked outside and was all "Shit, I gotta rake the lawn, better get them pumpkin bag things since October and what not." Literally called Lowes the second I looked outside, without thinking. In hindsight I should have Google'd what the darn things were before calling... They're called "pumpkin leaf bags." Go figure. :I

?

Yeah! Like those needs more pumpkin.
I'd post a link of what they look like, but unable to. Google "Pumpkin Leaf Bags".

[Apelila]

http://0.tqn.com/d/landscaping/1/0/w...en_pumpkin.jpg

[Cail]

Random fail: Aphmau's text.

[Tajin]

lol wtf at the helium

[NynJa]

Random fail: Aphmau's text.

I've never understood that, you're actually going out of your way to modify the font. Very far out of your way since its not even in the "quick reply" toolbar.

[Silenka]

Some people just gotta be special snowflakes, man.

[BaneTheBrawler]

Tonight, I experienced a problem so first world I cringed:

I was forced to trim my online Lego shopping cart from ~$2k to under $1k because I'll be damned if I spend that much money on Legos all at once, even if i can afford it for the moment (For the record, yes, there's a lot of shit I could do with that money that even I would would consider better- but fuck that, its my money, my future-proofing is already sufficient, and I want some goddamn Legos.) I still felt bad about spending almost 1k all at once, but I just keep reminding myself that I have to spend the money anyway (government reasons) and that these kits are going to allow me to complete several different projects I've been working on, and start some new ones.

What made me cringe was that it was actually difficult. I ended up prioritizing by the parts they contained. I need more dark green, brown, tan and similar earthy tones... and also interesting windshields etc. So i trimmed out a lot of kits that didn't meet those criteria, despite being really cool.

[Apelila]

If I had 2k to blow on Lego's and I thought of that instead of a party weekend somewhere, I totally would.

[Gadritan]

I have to spend the money anyway (government reasons)

Wait wat

[hey]

Wait wat

The government likes forcing people to spend their money on garbage, with use it or lose it conditions.

[Melena]

Working for the Sheriff's office, we go by the same rules other government agencies do. Buy what you want, then ask for what you need. Hell we have one Lt. who blows his entire IT budget on whatever random shit he wants then complains when the 5+ year old computers start running like shit and break down.

[BaneTheBrawler]

My income is nonexistent. The huge sum of money I got was the back-pay for the disability I haven't been collecting when I could have been (It only goes back so far, but it amounted to ~$13k). I am also applying for Social Security Income, which is separate from the disability. Now, because I got this money FROM the government, I get a couple months where it doesn't count, but in order to qualify for SSI, you can't have more than $2k in what the government considers assets: Stocks, cash, vehicles (You get ONE vehicle that doesn't count, if it's your primary mode of transport), certain types of life insurance, etc. I started to apply for this previously, but discovered my Grandpa had bought $10k in stocks for me when I was born, which I had to liquefy as well (It had depreciated to about 8k).

All of this might strike you as financially irresponsible, and you're right. It is. But not for me; for the government. Even if they had appreciated significantly, the stocks would never have produced enough dividends to live off of, and keeping it until retirement is stupid if I can't financially survive until then (Also, I'm 24). Same goes for the 13k. I can't put it into stocks or I don't qualify for SSI, and I can't just stick it in a bank account to accrue interest, for the same reason. So I have to spend it. Quickly. In addition to the Legos, I'm buying a car from my parents, getting my teeth fixed (didn't take care of them), and giving the rest to my parents for future PC/gadget upgrades and general "oh shit" funds. So yeah, the feds are forcing me to act irresponsibly in order to be responsible. I can't live off the money I'm bringing in now, so I need to spend what I've saved up to increase my income. It's idiotic... but fun.

[Brill Weave]

[Cleverness]

My income is nonexistent. The huge sum of money I got was the back-pay for the disability I haven't been collecting when I could have been (It only goes back so far, but it amounted to ~$13k). I am also applying for Social Security Income, which is separate from the disability. Now, because I got this money FROM the government, I get a couple months where it doesn't count, but in order to qualify for SSI, you can't have more than $2k in what the government considers assets: Stocks, cash, vehicles (You get ONE vehicle that doesn't count, if it's your primary mode of transport), certain types of life insurance, etc. I started to apply for this previously, but discovered my Grandpa had bought $10k in stocks for me when I was born, which I had to liquefy as well (It had depreciated to about 8k).

All of this might strike you as financially irresponsible, and you're right. It is. But not for me; for the government. Even if they had appreciated significantly, the stocks would never have produced enough dividends to live off of, and keeping it until retirement is stupid if I can't financially survive until then (Also, I'm 24). Same goes for the 13k. I can't put it into stocks or I don't qualify for SSI, and I can't just stick it in a bank account to accrue interest, for the same reason. So I have to spend it. Quickly. In addition to the Legos, I'm buying a car from my parents, getting my teeth fixed (didn't take care of them), and giving the rest to my parents for future PC/gadget upgrades and general "oh shit" funds. So yeah, the feds are forcing me to act irresponsibly in order to be responsible. I can't live off the money I'm bringing in now, so I need to spend what I've saved up to increase my income. It's idiotic... but fun.

I don't feel bad about you having Crohn's anymore. At least for a day.

[Brill Weave]

Seriously lol.

[BaneTheBrawler]

lol, yeah, I got that check in the mail and I thought "Holy crap, that's a LOT of fucking money." and then spent the next 10 minutes trying to decide if it was worth the ~8 years of pain and suffering. It's not, but damn, it sure does feel nice to actually have money for a while.

[Apelila]

If your parents are ok with it, get them to open a savings account in their name and put some in there. Or at least some of it, just don't put your name on it.

It sucks that is a lot of money to have to waste. I'd be travelling/partying.

[BaneTheBrawler]

Yeah, that's what I mean by giving it to them. As far as they're concerned, everything I don't spend on the car will still be mine... but it'll be in their names and I won't have direct access to it at all. We'd like to do that with the whole big chunk, but in addition to the fun stuff I'm using it on, we do have some practical concerns that, while not extremely urgent, do need to be addressed and are also expensive. Like my teeth.

But yeah, it feels dirty to take a huge chunk of change like that and NOT stick it in stocks or a nice savings account. It felt even worse when we liquefied those stocks last year, since they had depreciated. Especially once I got my hands on the goodies.

[Mojo]

The position you are in is awkward, but there are countless other things that you could have done other than spend thousands of dollars on legos.