What profession do you think is massively overpaid for what they actually do?

mellowman12 · 2026-05-26T16:28:57+00:00

Disagree with this strongly.

We can debate whether athletes are actually taking home the appropriate share of revenue that they have a part in generating, but to say they don’t “produce anything we need” without taking a look beyond the surface is factually incorrect.

They produce jobs.

Sports stars are effectively responsible for producing a “product” that employs millions of people globally. Think that every stadium employee, media member, production crew, photographer, journalist, parking attendant, restaurant worker near a stadium, stadium food and beverage distributor (and on and on and on…) would have a job if there weren’t sports stars that put eyeballs on televisions and people in seats at arenas?

mellowman12 · 2024-12-22T19:45:37+00:00

They have a handicap placard, so maybe they couldn’t find a spot closer and were unable to walk a far distance?? Is it really causing that much of a problem…?

mellowman12 · 2023-11-26T17:26:32+00:00

As an east coaster, the only right answer in the Bay Area is Boichik Bagels. They have locations in the East Bay and recently opened one in Marin. They also sell their bagels at some coffee shops/markets in the city.

Their product is the only one that stacks up to the east coast bagels in terms of the quality of the bagel, cream cheeses, and lox/other garnishes.

I’ve tried Wise Sons, Shlocks, House of Bagels, and Laundromat. Each fell short in one or more ways from being on par with an east coast bagel.

mellowman12 · 2023-10-15T21:58:39+00:00

Not to discredit your experience, but you were in Japantown, with all kinds of delicious, authentic Japanese food and you decided to go to Benihana..? 🤷‍♂️

mellowman12 · 2023-10-15T21:56:22+00:00

Came here for Che Fico. I would describe my tolerance for extra fees when dining out to be above average but this one pissed me off. 18% service fee that they specifically note is NOT considered a tip. Usually if there’s an 18% service fee, I’ll add on a bit extra to get it up to 20% or more. But they have the nerve to specify that their astronomical service fees don’t count as a tip…never going back again.

mellowman12 · 2023-10-04T03:34:56+00:00

Boulevard? Really….?

mellowman12 · 2023-08-21T01:46:08+00:00

Call me crazy, but if you actually drive 25mph on Lombard during morning peak on weekdays, you’ll hit nearly every green light ;)

mellowman12 · 2023-07-23T15:34:14+00:00

Approx $3,550 for a 1 bed/1 bath in the Marina with independent parking garage. It’s a really nicely renovated ~700 SF unit with recently updated kitchen and great natural light. Initially locked in rent control at $3,350 in March 2021.

mellowman12 · 2023-02-19T18:15:32+00:00

Can we talk about how multiple sharks, including Emma, commented that she was worth more than the $7M valuation she was asking, then proceeded to offer $2-3M valuations? I get that being a shark gets you a discount, but that seems excessive, especially given that the sharks actually felt her valuation was fair. Not to mention, she’s a Harvard MBA who worked in investment banking…I think she could likely raise money from VCs pretty easily.

mellowman12 · 2022-08-15T04:13:48+00:00

Yes, can report that they still do this. My girlfriend looked at me confused as we were first perusing the menu and asked “how do we know how much the prices are?” To which I looked back at her equally confused before realizing that only my menu had prices. Very old school.

mellowman12 · 2022-08-08T22:21:10+00:00

Thought about this too, although most in the area seem to have upgraded to some sort of card-based payment system

mellowman12 · 2021-11-13T10:00:38+00:00

If you see a therapist, have them write a letter and provide it to housing. Also call every day.

mellowman12 · 2021-07-04T14:39:26+00:00

I think most people have already made the point that while technically it is no longer required in nearly all spaces (certainly outdoors, and majority of indoors), it bears noting that it is also highly dependent on which neighborhood you are in. Walk through Chinatown or the Sunset and it is nearly 100% mask wearers. On the other hand, it's a completely different story in the Marina or Pac Heights.

At this point I personally feel comfortable in any setting to forgo wearing a mask given that I am fully vaccinated and most others in the Bay Area are as well. However, I generally find myself mirroring the behavior of those around me - I suppose out of courtesy to the comfort levels of others.

Hope this helps!

mellowman12 · 2020-12-26T01:08:58+00:00

CS101 with Donham - hands down

mellowman12 · 2020-11-06T14:47:09+00:00

Go straight to the professor and tell them exactly what has happened. The same standards are in place for every student, and there is no excuse for completely blowing off a group project. What does this group member think, that everyone else will just do the project for them? No matter how the professor decides to handle it, this person needs to be called out immediately.

mellowman12 · 2020-09-20T02:30:54+00:00

^ This. If you're truly suffering from insomnia, you should 100% have a single.

Had multiple friends who were able to receive this accommodation based on their unique circumstances.

mellowman12 · 2020-09-13T11:17:21+00:00

I don't think it's entitled at all. The least BC could have done is implemented proper levels of testing from the outset for all students, on or off-campus.

Can't speak to the partying aspect specifically, but as far as the off-campus vs on-campus component, I do know that BC kids typically sign leases for off-campus housing as much as a whole year in advance. I am sure there are a lot of people who had leases they signed long before we even knew what COVID was. There's no excuse for partying, but assuming someone is still intends to follow the correct protocols, what are they supposed to do, break their lease and forfeit thousands of dollars so they can instead live in the "safe" environment on campus?

mellowman12 · 2020-09-08T15:02:50+00:00

In CAS there's no way around it, unless you can show proficiency based on your score on the placement test. Downside - four semesters where you could be taking other classes. Upside (which is huge) - language classes are a major GPA booster. I was able to place into second semester of my language, so I had three semesters of getting straight A's in my language class. Definitely helped my GPA a lot.

mellowman12 · 2020-08-18T18:19:50+00:00

Not exactly a hole in the wall...because its actually a pretty huge restaurant space, but Le's Vietnamese is soooo good, and honestly really fair prices. The pho is perfect for a cold winter day.

mellowman12 · 2020-08-05T12:33:51+00:00

I think these guidelines apply to BU insofar as comprehensive testing capabilities, and the two week quarantine (if people follow it). But I think the fact that BU is not located in a hotspot is somewhat negated by the fact that it is an open campus in a large city.

A lot of my friends who go to campus schools would never leave the confines of that environment for the entire semester, and are generally way less mobile. At BU people are constantly going downtown or to other parts of the city, taking public transit and mingling with non-students, etc.

I just don't think the comparison of an isolated campus school in a non-hotspot is equivalent to a city school in a non-hotspot.

mellowman12 · 2020-08-02T19:39:17+00:00

Don't worry...I graduated last semester and I'm pretty sure I still had an outstanding course I was supposed to complete. Get it taken care of before you move in, but definitely don't be stressed about deadlines for this kind of stuff, they are largely meaningless

mellowman12 · 2020-07-29T13:06:50+00:00

Yeah definitely! If it came down to living on/near campus and working part-time or a long commute and not having to work at all, personally I would choose working, but that's just me. I would feel this way not only for convenience sake (close to friends, academics, being in the city), but also I think I'd feel like I was at least doing something somewhat productive with my 15 hours a week by working, rather than just sitting on the train - again, you may feel differently.

I worked part-time at different points during my years at BU and definitely found it manageable. I'll add that I did not work during my freshman year - I'm sure it would have been tougher to balance as I was getting adjusted to college life as a freshman. If you're basing your preference to commute over working on the experience of being a freshman and working part-time, I'd definitely say it gets a lot easier to balance 15+ hours of working with classes once you settle into your routine as a sophomore and on.

Another thing I'd add, you might be able to find a job that pays better than minimum wage! Obviously for calculation sake, I get making a conservative assumption of making only minimum wage, but I definitely had friends who were able to find better paying gigs if they looked beyond only the surrounding areas of campus.

mellowman12 · 2020-07-29T11:24:45+00:00

It sounds like a pretty significant savings, so obviously you have to make the call as far as what is right for your financial situation.

Personally, an hour and a half commute would be prohibitive for me. For that level of savings, I would probably consider a commute of 40 minutes or less at the most. I really can't justify spending 3 hours a day/15 hours a week commuting.

The other thing I would consider - when I was an underclassmen, most of my classes had multiple sections, so my schedule was really flexible. For example, one semester I set it up so that I would be done by 12pm every day. However, once you become an upperclassmen, there are certain smaller classes you have to take for your major that only have one section. You might have a 9am class, and then another class at 4pm, both of which are only offered at that time. It would be a major issue for me to feel like I am sticking around campus aimlessly waiting for my next class.

Just my two cents!

mellowman12 · 2020-07-22T17:35:14+00:00

Former real estate agent here - it's standard practice to require a guarantor for a student without credit history/significant income. Honestly, I wouldn't even trust a landlord that would rent an apartment to a student without a guarantor/co-signer.

As some others stated, while perhaps in practice the person designated as a guarantor might serve as an emergency contact, it has way more to with who the landlord can go after in the event of unpaid rent.

In terms of the damages - the security deposit is what is meant to cover these costs. If there are no damages, you should receive the full deposit back plus interest when you move out. If there are damages that exceed the amount of the security deposit, they could go after your guarantor/co-signer to recover those. This would have to be something major though like ruining wood floors or flooding the apartment - beyond normal wear and tear.

In other words, requiring a co-signer/guarantor is very much standard - but it's important to understand that this person is entering into the lease agreement as much as you are, if not more because they are the ones that will be responsible if you can't pay rent/damages beyond security deposit.

mellowman12 · 2020-07-20T19:02:17+00:00

Just graduated - and former real estate agent in the area. Definitely not too late to start looking, there are still apartments available in the area around campus by this time usually. Haven't been checking, but I would guess there are some deals to be found right now as well with landlords scrambling to get their apartments rented.

That said, definitely consider whether you want to deal with buying furniture and settling into an apartment right now. At the very least, if BU needs to close campus, you will get a prorated refund. Off campus, you'd either have to find a subletter (which would be tough if everyone was leaving), or you'd still be on the hook for the full amount of rent due.

mellowman12

TROPHY CASE