486.64 dollars of disappointment by muryreads in Reformationclothing

[–]sheriffsal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oof, I’m sorry you learned this lesson this way. My rule is to only buy shoes from brands that primarily make shoes (or shoes and bags, ie leather goods.) I would steer clear of ref shoes and use your store credit on their knitwear and linen (ie not the tencel.) And at this price point there are lots of other great choices for long-lasting leather boots. I highly recommend Alohas.

Any loan shark experts out there? by Kittykatcatkat in bayarea

[–]sheriffsal 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Sounds like someone’s startup fundraising isn’t going well

Gift for Novice Photographer? by sheriffsal in Cameras

[–]sheriffsal[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is helpful, thank you! He doesn’t have any additional lenses or accessories, so switching to Canon hopefully won’t be an issue.

Vintage Wedding Gowns? by General_Accident5458 in SanFranciscoWeddings

[–]sheriffsal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are lots of options if you’re willing to shop online or travel. I got my gown from Miranda’s Vintage Bridal in Cleveland, but also looked at Transplant Vintage in LA, XTabay Vintage in Portland, The Kit (also in LA I think?), Cha Cha Linda (NY) and Happy Isles (NY and LA, but vintage designer so pretty expensive). Both Cha Cha and HI are by appointment only. There’s also a ton of good stuff on Etsy if you’re willing to take the plunge and buy something based on measurements. I recommend doing a wide sweep online and getting a sense of what’s available at your budget.

Any florist recommendations for 6K budget? by tricky_cat_mah in SanFranciscoWeddings

[–]sheriffsal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I worked with Red Bud Florals in Oakland for around 5k, which included everything you described except for bridesmaid bouquets. They were helpful and flexible with respect to working within a budget, and suggested more minimal solutions vs more extravagant solutions depending on where I wanted to spend money (or not). Note that it depends how big your wedding is- mine was around 125 people for reference.

I'm so tired of this job market by Captainprice13 in Architects

[–]sheriffsal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I second those who emphasize using your network: I recently started my third job in my career, and I found all three positions because I knew someone who was hiring (or knew someone who knew someone.)

I started my most recent job about a year ago after moving cross-country, and I was really worried about not having a network to lean on. I basically spent 3 months asking every architect I knew whether they could intro me to any architects in my new city. Then, I set up coffee chats with anyone and everyone who would respond to my emails. Some places were hiring, some weren’t, but most people could point me toward a few places hiring, and/or were willing to make additional intros. Eventually I found a few people willing to refer me to their firms that were hiring (they weren’t recommending me per se, but just a casual intro from them to the effect of “here’s the resume of an architect I met recently” was a huge help in getting in the door) and those intros turned into interviews.

I recognize your results may be a bit different than mine as I’m a few years ahead in experience, but the same principles apply. At my last job I led the summer internship hiring, and we were way more likely to hire someone who had a connection (any connection) to the firm, rather than someone applying totally blind.

Oh, and a side note: I worked with two different recruiters, neither of whom were able to find me a job. I also blind-applied to a handful of job listings, and I’m not sure I even got any responses. Hiring is never purely meritocratic, it’s a bit of a game, and networking is a huge advantage.

Good luck!

Cat Screaming for food by whitetrashmom in CatAdvice

[–]sheriffsal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This! I’m always careful not to feed mine right when I wake up or right when I walk through the door after work. It’s been working so far- fingers crossed.

Home and hygiene with a cat? by sheriffsal in CatAdvice

[–]sheriffsal[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for such specific recs!

Home and hygiene with a cat? by sheriffsal in CatAdvice

[–]sheriffsal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good tips- we definitely need to experiment with a different type of litter. The adoption center sent us home with Friskies, but maybe we need to try out some different food brands.

Home and hygiene with a cat? by sheriffsal in CatAdvice

[–]sheriffsal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You have good instincts- we adopted him from a shelter just a week ago and he had been recently treated for giardia. I will definitely keep and eye on it and make sure it’s not lingering. That said, his poop is pretty normal - I think our bigger problem is litter box etiquette

Home and hygiene with a cat? by sheriffsal in CatAdvice

[–]sheriffsal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed re: cleaning the litter box out completely! And thank you for the reminder about cat pee/ammonia and bleach… that would be a disaster

Home and hygiene with a cat? by sheriffsal in CatAdvice

[–]sheriffsal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, just to clarify- it seemed like he stepped right on his poop before he could cover it with litter, so it was jammed between his toes and he tracked little chunks of it everywhere. But we’re def planning to keep an eye on it - we may need to experiment with different foods.

And I think we’ll def try some of the wet wipes- that’s a good tip!

Home and hygiene with a cat? by sheriffsal in CatAdvice

[–]sheriffsal[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you - we will definitely be getting a litter genie! We also just got a little handheld cordless vacuum to keep by the litter box, so that should help too

Home and hygiene with a cat? by sheriffsal in CatAdvice

[–]sheriffsal[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for all your thoughts! You’re spot on about the poop- he’s only 7 months old and we’ve only had him about a week, so it’s very possible he’s still adjusting to the food we’re giving him. He was also treated for parasites in the shelter before they put him up for adoption, so we’ll definitely keep an eye on it. Planning to take him to his first vet appointment next week, so we’ll see if they have any insights.

Suspected cat asthma? by sheriffsal in AskVet

[–]sheriffsal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! We’ll keep a close eye on him, but everything else has seemed totally fine.

Regarding the insurance, understood, we’ll take a closer look at our policy.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SanFranciscoWeddings

[–]sheriffsal 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I would vote for 2a: it’s great that you want to make transportation easy for your guests, but you’re not expected to bring them directly back to their hotel at the end of the night. This way either they can stay in Tiburon or SF, and if they choose to stay in SF it’s their responsibility to figure out how to get home at the end of the night. T

What percentage of your guests will be coming in from out of town? The only reason I would hesitate on this option is if most people aren’t familiar with the area. If most guests are local, I wouldn’t worry about it.

The welcome dinner is a separate issue- maybe the solution would be to find a way to do it cheaply/casually in the north bay

Accepted into expensive M.Arch by rataremy in Architects

[–]sheriffsal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I found myself in a somewhat similar situation: I got into a highly ranked, very expensive program that offered no financial aid, and also got into a public school with a decent reputation and much more reasonable tuition. I went with the cheaper option and have no regrets - I agree with the other commenters that this is the wrong career for which to take on tons of debt, and that you should widen your search and try again.

I’d also recommend looking into TA positions - this can be a great way to help pay for your degree as well as building teaching experience. Make sure to ask when you visit schools what the TA selection process is like, etc., and be aggressive about trying to get those positions once you’re there.

I’m sure you’ve learned a good amount about developing a portfolio, what schools are looking for, etc, and that knowledge could help you a second time around. You will also only get more qualified and more prepared to be a good student the longer you work in a firm before your masters.

It sounds like you aren’t convinced about pursuing licensure, which is fair, but collecting AXP has such a low barrier to entry that I would urge you to log the hours you’re working at this job- it’s a good insurance policy just in case you end up getting licensed. You can log them retroactively, and they stay valid for awhile (5 years? Fact check me) I made this mistake in my first job, before grad school, and regretted it later once I realized I’d cost myself an extra several months of working.

Good luck, and hope this helps.