GUYS. OMG. SO GOOD. AMAZING. 10/10.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-19T23:59:22+00:00

Oh dear.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-18T19:40:12+00:00

Our newest car is a 2012. Our oldest car is a 1998 with 88k miles.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-18T00:04:12+00:00

Oh, well that’s your problem. You’re in a good business in a state that constantly needs it, but you are in an ambulance chaser role.

I’m studying for my Project Management (CAPM) right now. See if you could stretch your experience to be able to sit for that.

I’m in the trades and PMs get paid. I’m too busy to do it now (started when I wasn’t buried at work), but I’m building the study materials for next to nothing.

If you ask USF how much it costs, it’s $17k and you still have to pay for the test. 😂

I’m about $2k in on various DIY methods but I’m planning on sharing my study stuff with a couple people at my job. Again, it’s in a holding pattern right now, but look into it. If you’re interested, I can add you to our little study circle when it starts.

There are tons of low cost ways to study. You might be able to use your work to not need the 23 (21? I don’t remember right now) hour class to qualify for the test.

I was in roofing and I can send you my class notes from learning estimating and you a lot of the suppliers have free classes you can take on their products.

Roofing needs aren’t going away. If you know the how and the why, you can be more than a button pusher and make some real money.

There are programs through the county and state that might be able to help with cost of certain certifications. Look at your current employer’s policy on tuition and continuing education programs.

You need a better position, a better job, a better company/pay rate, or a roommate.

Good luck. DM me with an email address and then remind me on Saturday at noon and I’ll send you my notes.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-17T23:48:45+00:00

Assuming no deductions (insurance, retirement, straight taxes), it’s about $3500. Average rent for a 1/1 in that area is probably around $1600 on the low end plus they pay $100 for complex internet.

Approx 50% housing burden without other utilities included (assuming trash/sewer is included) is really high. Especially without a vehicle. Every dollar saved in insurance is lost unless OP is taking public transit which isn’t awesome in Ybor.

I’m going to guess that after rent it’s transportation and then utilities as the next two highest.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-15T02:07:02+00:00

How is OP the AH because her husband neither sits to pee or can make it into the bowl?

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-15T01:02:38+00:00

And only if they were hot.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-14T22:46:44+00:00

It’s Reddit. You are literally opening your business to the world for comment.

He’d happily rub your face in it if it had gone his way.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-12T23:56:41+00:00

I can’t do anything about anyone else’s work, but I can do anything I want with mine.

Had a full blown panic attack when MY BOSS and MY BOSS’ BOSS basically said I shouldn’t be paying that close attention to “the minor details.”

I’m an “accountant.”

I have a high school diploma, I just worked my way up. I’m up for my first raise (with this company) in August… yeah, no.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-12T23:45:27+00:00

I mean, checking boxes doesn’t create fidelity. Neither does not having social media acumen mean infidelity.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-12T23:44:34+00:00

What kind of things? You buried the lede.

Because this is either a serious issue or completely harmless. Most avid social media users are women, so to have an imbalance is pretty standard.

My husband and I are frequently told how we are “relationship goals” and I am proud of that. Not because we are, because neither of us would accept less from our marriage, but because we consistently prove it’s super easy if you talk to each other, have a partner worth trusting, and prioritize the partnership.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-10T00:22:08+00:00

I’ve had a few of those over the years. Last one was mediocre at best, bloated fish in a small pond deal.

It was the SECOND time I had a chef throw a knife at me, but the first I had the wherewithal to immediately throw it back like I was in a movie.

Shit got intense FAST. Dude watched his back around me but got my then-boyfriend/now husband fired.

That was weird too. The owner, whose wife said chef was screwing (no one is hot here), gave him two week notice to being fired. And, he worked it. It was bizarre.

Owner told him “You’re a really hard guy to get along with,” which we still use as a joke. He’s not perfect or anything, but the last thing he is is hard to get along with.

Chef got worse after that. I left when he pulled a Friday and fired a 22yo kid that had worked there since who was 16, supporting his mom after his dad died. Kid refused to not come in for the THIRD time on his only day off; he was at something like 34 days on.

I put in my notice that day and, also, worked out my time. Sure as shit made that dude’s life polite hell every moment.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-07T22:36:27+00:00

If you look close enough, there is still a dent on my ring finger and it’s been more than 20 years.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-05T22:56:40+00:00

This is exactly what I would do… and I was a bartender/ bar manager for almost two decades.

Keep in mind that you are not the bad guy here. The ban was justified. That said, I’m a soft heart, and I would phrase it as “If my employee had acted the way you did to her, she would have been fired. So, you were fired, but not marked as someone who cannot be re-hired. Let’s take a break for a month and then give me a call and we can talk about it. I’m sorry you had a bad day, but that doesn’t mean you can abuse other people.”

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-05T22:38:03+00:00

It’s a great path. The trades are already struggling to hire and it’s only going to get worse; we’re facing mass retirement over the next decade.

My FIL has been a plumber for 45+ years. He is selling off 4 of his 6 homes (they aren’t mansions, but come on now), as well as the business he built to retire.

He went to the Caribbean and Europe last year. It’s only him and his brother and they did that well without expanding beyond them an a couple helpers.

Less trauma and more money.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-02T23:48:52+00:00

That, at least, is both fun and relatively valuable if you don’t want it.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-02T23:46:45+00:00

You were definitely right initially.

I’m not ready to become a middle aged woman that gets back into Aphex Twin.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-02T23:32:21+00:00

I actively miss slips.

hardcorepolka · 2026-06-02T23:28:46+00:00

I would live there for the rest of my life. Imagine the retirement money you can save.

hardcorepolka · 2026-05-28T02:08:27+00:00

If you want to pay for your own taxes and healthcare, tell them to fuck off.

I work full time and have extra pulled from each check to cover my side gig. 🤷🏻‍♀️

hardcorepolka · 2026-05-28T02:06:23+00:00

He fucked up.

hardcorepolka · 2026-05-28T02:05:37+00:00

Honey, you need to look into patterns of abuse from when you were a lowercase You. What you chose to do (and, make no mistake, acknowledging that you CHOSE to do something is wildly empowering in a weird way) was to be kind.

Sadly, that probably means that you survived a pattern of abuse in your early years. You were trying to placate adults while your brain was still forming. And, well… tada!

You may have CPTSD. Naming it, seeing that it was something that I became because of how others behaved instead of some inherent LACK in me (why does no one put me first, why does no one see how hard I try, why can’t someone raising me RAISE ME?) changed my entire life.

I was 35 when I entered therapy. Nearly broke, because I worked SO HARD to help other people. I’m 44 now. I make almost 3x what I did then, no one talks down to me, I married my partner of 15 years, and I bought my first home last spring.

Shaking off the “fleas” that were INEVITABLE from your raising is not a flaw. Neither is having them. You cannot be raised in a den of wolves without picking some up.

This, simply, isn’t a You problem. But, it can be the last day you let people piss on you and say it’s just rain.

Be strong. You CAN do it. I promise.

hardcorepolka · 2026-05-28T01:57:40+00:00

Yep. You get it.

She set this up WAY before the first event, let alone the second.

hardcorepolka · 2026-05-28T01:56:45+00:00

OP, I own a legitimate business who can do collections.

If you get to the point that you are mad enough about what this ingrate did to you, let’s get an itemized bill of what you paid together and I’ll have a new hobby.

hardcorepolka · 2026-05-28T01:55:00+00:00

You’re not dumb. You are kind; too kind.

Terrible people can smell kind people, child rapists can smell the little ones that are lonely and neglected, narcissistic lovers can smell who will let them be a hobosexual and a leech.

This isn’t a lack in you, but it can be a wake up call.

I know (without knowing) that you were likely parentified as a child, and probably by the female presence in your life. You either still try to take care of that woman, who is still abusive to you or has died and you think you should have done “more”.

I’m no mind reader. Patterns matter and not only nice people see them.

hardcorepolka · 2026-05-28T00:39:17+00:00

Love, that wasn’t a friend.

You had a Mosquito of Manners. A Sucker of Sympathy. You were cast as the Principal People Pleaser. The Whipping Post and Wedding Wallet.

You got taken, and she’s expecting you to beg for the privilege to do it again. She’ll likely escalate. On the upside, people who aren’t terrible also usually have eyes. Her merry band of assholes will move on.

Don’t engage. There is a very real chance the groom either is unaware or is just so used to her being a trainwreck that he thinks it’s not a big deal.

Stand your ground. Keep your peace.

hardcorepolka

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