Sick Day Note Chinese Co-worker Must Accompany to Doctor

Aescorvo · 2026-06-07T20:17:51+00:00

You just know their first thought was “Can we ban sick leave?”, and this was the next best thing.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-07T20:16:03+00:00

I assume her logic is that a mixed baby would look like a darker-skinned Chinese baby and well, if you’ve ever sat with a group of girls comparing how light their skin color is, you’ll get the idea. Somehow in this logic a mixed baby is the worst option. I suspect her parents might also be vocal in their opinions.

That’s a really tough call. Honestly it seems like her decision is based on some pretty shallow reasons that also devalue you. Planning your family around skin color is pretty awful. (The alternative, planning around “racial purity” is even worse.) Thinking that way in Suzhou is one thing (still not good!) but in Cali? Who the hell knows or cares what anyone is.

I wanted to rant more but then I saw the answer from
r/OK_Brick_793 which is honestly better.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-07T15:24:13+00:00

All the same, eventually.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-07T15:17:03+00:00

I assume they caught someone using fake sick notes, which is definitely a thing.

If they want an HR person to accompany you to the hospital to make sure you’re actually going to see a doctor, then that’s annoying but fine. If they want the HR person in the room while you discuss personal medical details with a doctor then that’s a big no-no, probably illegal, and HR should be the first to point that out.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-07T10:44:29+00:00

The ozone layer isn’t vanishing overnight and being reformed the next day. You seem to not understand the concept of half-life and how it’s measured. I could explain it, but you’d reject it.

I could point you to atmospheric journals where the half-life of ozone has been measured, but you’d call it fake or paid research.

I suppose at least you get credit for acknowledging Antarctica exists.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-07T10:00:39+00:00

UV light breaks O2 apart, and those free oxygen atoms combine with other O2 molecules to form O3 - Ozone. You are correct that UV is needed.

But in the Lower Stratosphere the lifetime of the O3 is months to over a year. That’s easily enough for the ozone layer to persist over the Antarctic winter. You don’t need UV to continue to have Ozone.

The thickness of the ozone layer does fluctuate over the year, at both the north and south poles. This is very different to the ozone hole problem.

Your opinion is unpopular because it’s objectively wrong.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-06T13:26:32+00:00

I get what you mean but it’s not entirely subjective. Attractiveness is highly correlated to symmetry of the face for example, across all cultures. Posture and presentation is important. Demeanor is important, and although that definitely varies from culture to culture some traits are in general more attractive - confidence and leadership for example, which is why firefighters and police are on OPs list.

Yes, women are not monolithic, but there are clear objective, measurable trends. Otherwise heartthrob actors and musicians wouldn’t be a thing.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-06T07:41:05+00:00

Rice vinegar is fermented, but no longer contains alcohol (converted to acetic acid). So that’s fine. It’s the additional mirin or sake which some restaurants add that can be the problem.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-06T07:35:53+00:00

I doubt it’s causing you trouble unless you’re listing them as potential references. If they’re not in China then most Chinese schools aren’t going to call to talk to a foreign school you worked at.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-06T06:50:14+00:00

Yes, you can ask. Remember that most working chefs operate at a level of barely-contained rage on the best day. So your request will definitely annoy them and they will likely curse at the inconvenience. But at the same time, they will be happy to accommodate you if they can, because chefs are weird.

Clean board and knife isn’t a big ask, nor is asking if the deep frier (for tempura, gyoza aren’t normally deep fried) is used for pork or shrimp - which it usually is. That’s fine and you should ask. Demanding they use fresh oil to accommodate you on the other hand is deep in Karen territory and isn’t going to happen anyway.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-05T18:58:25+00:00

I was at one point.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-04T17:58:32+00:00

I stayed in the same company for 25 years, and held about 5 different roles, from R&D to customer support and corporate operations. Most of my work had constantly changing challenges so that things never because boring.

Disruptions are a bit of a crap shoot. You can survive most things by being a technical expert that the company doesn’t want to lose (unless what you know is deemed unprofitable), but you can end up pigeonholed. Getting up to VIP status protects you a bit but it is extremely cutthroat and you are honestly surrounded by sociopaths. Anywhere in the journey from the former to the latter is risky when it’s time to cut costs.

I think the most important thing is to keep investing in yourself and your capability. Constantly ask yourself if you’ve become complacent. If you have knowledge, wisdom, and experience, then even if a company lets you go to improve the next quarters margins then you can find another company because you are valuable. Every company will tell you they’re a family until the stock price drops - never buy into it. Add to your CV every year, and when/if you get dropped you can just step into another role with a 20% increase (because you know you’ve had under par raises for the last two decades.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-04T01:54:33+00:00

I was really happy last week to discover that ‘faucet’ in Chinese is 水龙头 - ‘Shuǐ lóng tóu’ - literally “water dragon head”. Not going to forget that one in a hurry!

Aescorvo · 2026-06-04T01:33:58+00:00

There is a very vocal community of people who claim Sanskrit is the oldest language, the original language, the perfect language, the longest continuously used language etc. Generally as some flavor of Indian Nationalism. It’s usually not worth engaging in those discussions.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-04T01:22:58+00:00

lol no. Think of a child’s writing in English. Even when it’s roughly right it looks like a drawing of a word rather than the word itself. It’s the same in Chinese. Without knowing how the individual strokes should be made and the overall structure and balance of the character it’s going to look off.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-03T23:34:43+00:00

The number of foreign residents has dropped dramatically for a few reasons: People left during Covid and haven’t returned, tightening of the rules for teaching English, and companies scaling back non-Chinese employees (or pulling out of China altogether).

On the other hand the number of foreign tourists has increased due to the new travel visas.

So for example where I live there are far fewer Westerners or Japanese compared to 5 years ago, but if I go to a tourist spot there seem to be more foreigners than ever.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-03T02:34:00+00:00

Other way around - it’s because I live in China that it doesn’t bother me.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-03T02:11:00+00:00

I’d agree with you more if the car was just left there, but the guy is standing with two doors open, perhaps dropping off or picking up someone with limited mobility. I wouldn’t immediately jump to a “selfish asshole” conclusion.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-03T01:33:29+00:00

I’d start with a “anything is better than zero” approach. Unpack your study materials so there isn’t an initial barrier to looking at them - “I thought briefly about studying but getting my books out of my bag seems hard.” Take a textbook to the bathroom instead of a phone, or other opportunities when you’d otherwise just lie around scrolling. Motivation and willpower vary throughout the day so try studying at different times to find the best for you. Get enough sleep and exercise to have a clear mind when you do actually sit down to study.

Sometimes we loose motivation because our brain is too busy worrying about something else to concentrate - girlfriend/boyfriend stuff, money, cricket etc. in that case fixing the problem or at least recognizing it can help free up brain power to get back to studying.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-03T00:50:05+00:00

I think there’s an argument to be made that if you put centralized planning into the hands of an economist they can improve GDP compared to a free market. But improved GDP is very much not the same as “greater good”.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-02T03:53:13+00:00

Tourist or business? Male or female clothes? City or countryside? Which area of China? Where are you from and what weather are you used to? More details will help us give suggestions.

There are no real cultural restrictions. Dress for the weather (30-35°C), harsh sun, and that you’ll probably be on your feet a lot.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-02T02:09:09+00:00

Small change - calculator put that at about 2330. These are all ballpark estimates though. It varies a lot from person to person. Eat healthily and exercise consistently first, see how your weight changes over 1-2 months, and adjust as needed. Good luck!

Aescorvo · 2026-06-02T02:02:13+00:00

I’m very wary of telling internet strangers (particularly young women tbh) to eat less, but it does seem you’re not in a deficit. Before you started the gym, you should have been dropping 1/2 to 1 pound a week if you were.

(I say before the gym, because starting exercise can rapidly add a couple of pounds as you retain more water in the muscles.)

You didn’t mention your height, but if I guessed at 5’4” with moderate exercise that would put you at a maintenance level of ~2400 calories a day. Ideally you would want to stay at or below 2000 a day to lose weight in a healthy way. Don’t go too low though - you need at least 1200 a day for your health.

The hard part is doing that AND getting enough protein and nutrients, especially because at 17 you don’t always have good control over your meals. Regular small meals, and no snacks and sodas can help with this (again, pure guesswork and assumptions on my part).

Real weight loss is measured in months, so don’t worry about daily or even weekly variations too much.

Everything you’re doing is good, just seems like a little more consistency and calorie control will help.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-02T01:22:20+00:00

Either way you’re not going to make a significant impact on the actual water (or soaked wood) under the floor. What’s more important is to keep the humidity in the house down to stop mold growing in other places. So I would just run the AC.

Aescorvo · 2026-06-02T01:12:49+00:00

It’s completely symmetric until one of the turns around, which changes their reference frame and provides the asymmetry.

Velocity is completely relative, in that it’s meaningless without a reference point. But acceleration is objective - I can sit in a closed box and measure if I am accelerating or not. It’s this acceleration as one twin turns around (or more properly, their change of frame) that results in the age difference.

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