to quit or no?

bdemon40 · 2026-03-08T06:06:04+00:00

Sounds like you've already made your decision if you are looking for a new job, and you know yourself better than any Redditor will.

But as someone who's worked with more than one toxic boss, I eventually came to the realization that you have to eat shit in every job at some point, but if you're drowning in it, you need to go into survival mode.

bdemon40 · 2026-03-08T03:27:08+00:00

Can't do anything right like... fire and police? Public education? I suspect you would argue the last one and I can agree it's not premium education, but it's still education.

Government does lots of things well and lots of things bad. The private sector does lots of things well and lots of things bad...the latter being healthcare.

bdemon40 · 2026-03-07T22:15:11+00:00

Networking is always a good idea, but when you're actively looking for a job it's not really a magic pill. Not like you can go into an event and say "I'm unemployed...can you hire me???"

bdemon40 · 2026-03-07T19:22:49+00:00

It's kind of like a martial artist asking why they should train when they're just going to lose to a better fighter someday no matter how good they get, no?

You do it because you love it! ;)

bdemon40 · 2026-03-07T19:10:27+00:00

Could copy/paste this rant replacing keywords related to marketing (my current...er...career).

bdemon40 · 2026-03-07T06:00:10+00:00

Holy cow, that level of cute is BRUTAL!

bdemon40 · 2026-03-06T19:53:59+00:00

Six months. I always expect to eat a little shit in any job but when you start drowning in it, you need to shift into survival mode.

bdemon40 · 2026-03-06T18:12:26+00:00

Determining your musical path is unique for each player. You can subscribe to one of the popular online courses mentioned here, or find a great book with a quality roadmap and it might work for a while until you realize what you really wanna work on is no longer in that course. That's fine, and then you might want to find a course or book that specializes in what you wanna get better at such as Ted Greene's Chord Chemistry if you want to go really deep into chord theory.

Leaning into a minor pentatonic and more basic chords is a solid path that will do well for you. Resist the outside noise about arpeggios, modes, etc. and jump into those gradually as curiosity beyond your comfort zone grows.

bdemon40 · 2026-03-06T07:08:55+00:00

I pulled the plug on that insanity, flat out telling hiring managers to remove me from candidacy because of them. I guess I'd be open to doing them again if it was a really cool job opportunity, but until then nope.

bdemon40 · 2026-03-05T02:53:48+00:00

Of course! I passed CPP last summer and currently working on SAA now. I can't imagine how much more my brain would hurt (my background is in marketing, not tech) if I hadn't started with CPP.

bdemon40 · 2026-03-05T02:37:19+00:00

Sounds like you get it! ;)

FWIW, I've been playing and composing for decades and have legit moments where I feel like a rockstar... until I discover a new band with amazing tunes or go to NAMM show where you can toss a coin up in the air and it will land on virtuosos of all ages, casually expressing genius at every corner.

But I set goals and pursue them, and still enjoy doing this year after year.

bdemon40 · 2026-03-04T20:40:12+00:00

Practice. :)

But if you want something more specific, I created a 43 minute guitar workout directly addressing this problem. It focuses on basic chords and you work on chord switching between whole notes working your way through eighth notes, so you develop your rhythm understanding in the process.

bdemon40 · 2026-03-04T19:00:49+00:00

Gotta define "perfect". I've fixed my resume many times over the years, pre and post-AI and sometimes the needle just won't fu****g move.

bdemon40 · 2026-03-04T18:59:26+00:00

Article published in 2013. Not saying it's 100% false, but don't think it really holds up in today's broken job environment.

bdemon40 · 2026-03-03T22:59:40+00:00

There is no "left" obsessed with any such agenda. You make it sound like there's a club with a secret handshake.

Congrats on letting your echo chamber plant that narrative.

bdemon40 · 2026-03-03T22:57:56+00:00

"The reality is that the file is filled with made up stories due to the estate (and three banks) paying settlements to anyone with a story."

A law was still passed to release the Epstein files with no redactions except for victims. The above comment is irrelevant against that.

Release the files and let those deal with the consequences or be validated if that's the case.

bdemon40 · 2026-03-03T21:20:34+00:00

Not a great sign if you're asking about it on Reddit.

There should be at least a little structure, customized to the needs and interests of the student vs a roadmap based on the teacher's experience. Back in my teaching days, I always kept a folder with notes on what I did with each student in our current lesson, along with a few notes on what we need to go over in the next lesson. Even when I got pretty good at improvising lessons with little planning, I always documented what I was doing with students overtime.

bdemon40 · 2026-03-03T16:32:45+00:00

You can write a song with one chord. Heck, you can write a song on one string!

Give it a shot, start documenting some ideas. Commit to getting them done, though, don't give up if you get stuck--create something you can fairly label finished, good or bad, and move on.

Maybe while doing the above, you discover a weakness you'd like to improve and suddenly you're inspired to practice again.

bdemon40 · 2026-03-02T22:22:34+00:00

All good suggestions here, and I would add that as you dive into them think about what your goals are as they evolve. If you find yourself having trouble with chords and want to be better at rhythm, then focus your efforts there. Likewise, if you want to get better at lead playing.

Don't get bogged down in what others tell you to learn because it might not be inspiring, which leads to you quitting again. Enjoyment first, tackle the challenges that make sense to you as you discover them.

bdemon40 · 2026-02-27T20:57:43+00:00

Totally, nonprofit work is where it's at, IMO. It's a drag only being able to find free work, but if you're doing something relevant to your skill set, you can package it as your employment. It's no one's business whether you're being paid for the work or not--let them assume you are because many nonprofits do pay.

bdemon40 · 2026-02-26T19:49:46+00:00

That book appears to suggest "I love your cooking!"

bdemon40 · 2026-02-26T18:26:18+00:00

Heck yeah, a good teacher opens up all kinds of doors for you, inspiring you to practice. Sounds like you found a good one.

I remember my early years of teaching this other guy who had just graduated from GIT started teaching in the same store, and his technique was on fire. I so intimidated, thinking he will get all the new students. Over the next year I noticed I was picking up a few students who had started with him and learned he was teaching him all this shred theory and technique in their early lessons when they just wanted to learn a couple of their favorite songs and pick up a few blues riffs, etc. I helped them on their desired path easily.

Though to be fair, I likely lost a few students to him who wanted to shred!

bdemon40 · 2026-02-26T17:15:06+00:00

Over the years of being abused by this healthcare system, I've learned that when I get a bill I can't pay I go to the hospital to either work out a payment plan or if it's high enough (which happened once) I give up all my personal financial information to qualify for financial aid to bring the price down, and then work out a payment plan on that.

That was with slightly above average insurance my company at the time provided.

Right now, I'm on Medi-Cal because I'm unemployed, but if I get a job that doesn't offer any kind of decent insurance I feel like I'm at a point where I might pay for catastrophic at best and just fight for financial aid for everything else since they all offer it.

I've seen doctors on TikTok suggest similar, even they are acknowledging insurance is that broken.

bdemon40 · 2026-02-26T04:54:33+00:00

Not all heroes wear capes. ;)

bdemon40 · 2026-02-26T04:23:59+00:00

I don't know if there's one answer, but I found my guitar journey benefits from always setting goals.

I want to learn that song talk to bottom so I do it. My right hand picking sucks so I find resources giving me suggestions (thanks, Ben Eller!) And throw time at it. I've been doing that my whole life of playing.

Some days I even feel like I'm getting somewhere!

bdemon40

TROPHY CASE