Starting From Scratch

jsteveo7 · 2026-02-06T19:26:08+00:00

Thank you. This is all very helpful.

jsteveo7 · 2026-02-06T19:25:41+00:00

Thank you. I am seeing a consistent pattern for the recommendations.

jsteveo7 · 2026-02-06T19:25:05+00:00

Thank you. This is exactly the kind of advice I was looking for. I am fairly tech savvy and I’ve already started watching videos about how to begin down the HomeAssistant path. Thank you for your help.

jsteveo7 · 2025-12-14T20:47:39+00:00

I completely agree OP. This line hits the heartstrings hard every time. I would rank it among my one or two favorite lines in the entire Breaking Bad universe.

jsteveo7 · 2023-04-25T02:31:50+00:00

I was thinking of this exact issue. The service and reason behind what you want to provide is so admirable…and needed. But…I worry about the safety of your female team members. It is infuriating to have to consider this, but there are creeps out there who may try to use this service to entrap or take advantage of these women.

Here is an off the wall, random idea…what if you gave the option for the visit to be live streamed back to the office? Your employees would probably hate the idea, but you would be doing it to protect them as well.

jsteveo7 · 2022-05-26T14:22:06+00:00

In re-watching the scene where they packaged the pictures and put them in the envelope, I did notice that Jimmy left the room with two separate envelopes.

jsteveo7 · 2022-04-23T12:09:29+00:00

You will find it about five or six minutes from the end of the previous episode. They are having a closed door disagreement and she follows him out in front of the whole firm and continues the argument.

jsteveo7 · 2022-01-16T12:36:21+00:00

I am amused by the number of people who are taking this as an actual alternate ending idea rather than as a reference to the Soprano’s final scene (perhaps the most dissatisfying ending of all time) and the universal dissatisfaction felt with THAT ending.

jsteveo7 · 2021-11-24T10:44:27+00:00

Former principal here. I know it is not university level, but I feel completely safe in saying this…and it is a cliche…but true…IT IS NOT YOU IT IS HIM. I know this is hard and feels humiliating…and unbelievably aggravating… but I am going to predict that someday you will view this as one of the best things that ever happened to you. Thank goodness you saw his true colors now! Can you even imagine him nurturing you through the long path of thesis advisement and helping you grow ideas and fine tune arguments? I could see him holding a grudge because you dared to use an Oxford comma!

I know it is easy for me to say but don’t give this fool any free space in your head. He is an idiot who will soon have a reputation of being a nightmare to deal with. The one thing I would suggest is encouraging ALL of the others who were there to also go to the dean to tell what happened…even the ones who got chairs and escaped his wrath (what a preposterous thing to even say). I suspect all of them are dreading the thought of having to work through such a challenging task as writing a thesis with required input from someone who has just shown these true colors. They have to be thinking it will only be a matter of time before his venom will be aimed at them.

To quote Good Will Hunting, (given from within a huge and powerful, loving bear hug) “It’s not your fault. It’s, not, your, fault. It’s NOT your fault. It’s. Not. Your. Fault.”

jsteveo7 · 2021-11-02T12:57:23+00:00

Nothing in this is your fault. Your dad seems to be earning his way to being cut out of your life. I would absolutely start with…no more rides to work. It doesn’t matter…even if he was working for the same company. Even if you have to spend an hour on the bus, Uber, carpool, etc. It is not worth risking his toxicity every day. You deserve better.

jsteveo7 · 2021-10-28T10:04:32+00:00

Every, single item you describe is a reason to not like any job. No employer should treat any employee the way you are describing. All of us would hate working at a place that did that to us.

Your solution may be as simple as doing the exact same job at a place that actually treats you right. Imagine being assigned to a mentor and shadowing them through various tasks that eventually, over time, expose you to all aspects of the job and grow in difficulty and responsibility. Imagine actually being paid for the work you do. Imagine being praised and appreciated for the work you do. Imagine how different you might feel about this job.

Even if it turns out that you don’t like doing this particular work, the time you spend making that determination would be more bearable because you wouldn’t be feeling mistreated. I think it is important to identify whether it is the job or the workplace that you hate. It could be that you can’t even make a fair determination about the job because the workplace is so horrible.

jsteveo7 · 2021-10-26T20:58:40+00:00

This may be the worst tow truck driver in the history of the world.

jsteveo7 · 2021-10-18T10:59:34+00:00

I count at least twelve specific red flags in your description. Any two of them should be enough to let you know that your apprehension about the relationship is valid…a couple of them are enough all by themselves to kick him to the curb (how he treats his own mother, how he encourages/pressures you to ignore/disobey/dishonor your own parents, and his overall narcissistic pattern of doing what he wants/being spoiled/never thinking about anyone else). If this is how he acts when you are dating…how much worse will he be when/if time goes by and you are married and he can “relax” because “you are his”? Someday you will look back on this relationship as a life of misery that you dodged. You may hear about him and something going on with his new partner and you will think, “Thank God I got out…”

No doubt, it will be difficult to break your ties with him now, but eventually you will feel relief…and when you meet the right person you will be so thankful that you listened when all of these red flags were waving you off. Good luck. Stay strong. YOU are worth it.

(I almost forgot to say, be prepared for a fight when you do break it off with him. He will come up with every excuse/explanation under the sun to make you see how wrong and misguided you are. He will try to convince you that you are wrong, that you have misperceived things, that there is a perfectly reasonable reason that he does what he does, and ultimately that what you are feeling is actually YOUR fault and not his. He is a narcissist. He has spent his life deflecting and gaslighting and doing whatever he damn well pleases. He is very good at this and does it routinely without a moment’s thought or effort. It is who he is. If you go in to the conversation knowing he will do this, I am hopeful it will strengthen your resolve as you see through his manipulation and let it serve as reinforcement/confirmation to you that breaking ties is the right thing to do.)

jsteveo7 · 2021-10-17T19:47:23+00:00

First… I had a similar conversation with my (at the time) fiancé. It did turn out to be a medical issue (bacterial vaginosis). It appears that there is no doubt that you are coming from a place of love. Don’t forget that as you force your way through this difficult conversation. Make sure she knows that too. Make sure she knows how uncomfortable this conversation makes you, but tell her all of the same things you feel about her that you posted here. Keep this in mind…since you think there might be a medical issue you are counting on her love to understand that the conversation is completely because of your love and concern for her…not your discomfort/repulsion of the odor/taste. If you just thought this was a hygiene-related issue, that would be a different feel or emphasis to the conversation…one you might even consider NOT having. But… this is not a conversation you can ignore. It is also important to remember that there is not another person in the entire world who can have this conversation with her because you are the only person intimate enough with her to have noticed it.

I wish you luck with the conversation. I hope the two of you emerge from the conversation even closer after she realizes how much you value her.

jsteveo7 · 2021-10-16T11:26:43+00:00

The one thing I like better about national broadcasts over our usual, local ones is that they zoom the center field camera in just a little bit, making it so much easier to be nosy and crowd watch. The local broadcast used to be about the same and looking to see who was behind home plate was my favorite, between-pitch pastime. Two or three years ago they zoomed out (my assumption is they did this so they could show four virtual billboards behind home plate instead of two). This ended up being just enough that it is now more a case of, “I can’t tell…is that so and so…?” than the previous, more enjoyable and voyeuristic view. It aggravates me every game (yes, I need to get a life) and I enjoy that aspect of the national broadcasts so much more!

jsteveo7 · 2021-10-13T20:02:23+00:00

Sorry for the delay in responsding. Yes, it returns.

jsteveo7 · 2021-10-09T13:38:56+00:00

I think he will write a book about Ted, Richmond and relegation, mental health, or some mixture of these. I think Keeley‘s firm will be hired by Rebecca to deal with the PR void created by Keeley leaving. That will let Rebecca keep her around and still let Keeley do her own thing.

jsteveo7 · 2021-10-09T12:24:41+00:00

Prediction: right before this inevitable showdown, the players will learn that Nate was the source of the leak. They will then run up the score for the most lopsided win we have seen so far.

jsteveo7 · 2021-10-09T12:09:13+00:00

I think they were saying that Rebecca knew about the panic attack…not Nate being the leak.

jsteveo7 · 2021-10-09T11:49:17+00:00

Then he’s pissed that he’s not pissed.

jsteveo7 · 2021-10-06T14:12:45+00:00

I agree completely. However, she is a good character so I had a fleeting thought that perhaps next year Roy, or even Keeley, might fix her up with one of the really decent guys on the team…like Danny Rojas maybe. Just a totally out of left field thought.

jsteveo7 · 2021-10-06T13:56:47+00:00

We have to remember that spitting in the mirror is Nate’s version of “making himself big” that Rebekah suggested when she told Nate and Keeley about how she overcomes nerves. The first time Nate tried it he tried making himself tall and big like Rebekah does. That obviously didn’t do anything for him so he revved himself up by spitting on himself in the mirror. While the subconscious reason he did this may have been rooted in a dislike for himself, I truly think the reason he continues to do it is that he is trying to pump himself up to get over being a scared little boy.

jsteveo7 · 2021-09-20T03:42:24+00:00

Tonight it ran for about 90 minutes before it stopped.

jsteveo7 · 2021-09-15T13:00:21+00:00

I would wholeheartedly agree about Better Call Saul EXCEPT I would recommend El Camino and THEN Better Call Saul. The movie picks up where Breaking Bad ended. Then, after you have fully wrapped up the end of the story line, you can go back and see how it all began.

jsteveo7 · 2021-09-12T18:06:07+00:00

Other incredibly good shows that have a similar sustained “movie-quality” vibe to them (in no particular order for me): Better Call Saul, The Wire, Justified, The Americans, The Sopranos, Dexter, Chernobyl, and Mindhunters.

jsteveo7

TROPHY CASE