3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Where are you and where are you going?
Ama
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by Ama »

Your pigeon updates reminded me of a strange museum in LA, Museum of Jurassic Technology, which has a very peaceful rooftop aviary with doves (not pigeons, but similar poetry)

Dream of Freedom
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by Dream of Freedom »

The chicken eggs from the store are not fertilized. They will not hatch. They are bird ovulations not baby birds. This is known because they keep the males separate from the females. You don't know that when it comes to pigeon eggs.

Crusader
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by Crusader »

I had some pigeon lay an egg on my balcony once. I immediately destroyed the egg because I knew that waiting any longer, I would have a difficult time with it (for the same irrational/emotional reasons you mention). I also have a friend who kept telling me stories of how difficult it was to get rid of bed bugs (she had to throw away ALL of her clothes eventually) and that she got them from pigeons on the balcony.

Anyway, the pigeon kept coming back even after I had destroyed the egg and nothing would help, including fake owls that emit sounds that I got from AliExpress. It is only after the winter came and the building completely renovated the balcony that it stopped coming back. I hope it doesn't come back and if it does, I'll have to get one of those balcony nets.

white belt
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by white belt »

According to this article, pigeons don't actually spread bed bugs, but rather pigeon mites: https://blog.epa.gov/2012/06/26/pigeon- ... ng-humans/

Apparently the mites only leave the nest at night, so if you keep the balcony door/window closed at night you should have nothing to worry about. Although I'm sure the bites are annoying, the article points out that the mites can't reproduce on human blood and rarely cause a health hazard.

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Alphaville
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by Alphaville »

if you want to be nice to the birdies just sprinkle some diatomeaceous earth on their nest and you'll rid them of mites. i did that with my chickens--who didn't have mites, i just did it as prophylaxis.

NuncFluens
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by NuncFluens »

ertyu wrote:
Thu Mar 04, 2021 1:02 am
I am also probably going back to work abroad for at least a couple more years. Without anyone in the apartment, the pigeons will surely be back. Once I am back here full time, I will get a cat. I am sure the cat will like stalking the occasional ill-advised pigeon on my balcony which should serve as a natural deterrent.
Just a throwaway idea that might or might not help you, but if it's allowed by regulations for your building you could try setting up a cat net on the balcony. This should keep the birds out as much as it keeps the cats in. Unless they chew through, but I have no idea if that's realistic.

ertyu
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by ertyu »

either that or keep making mini-omelettes :lol:

ertyu
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by ertyu »

On a related topic, my last frost date is approaching. I am starting to think that I should plant something in the couple of pots I have inherited from the dead guy. What crops does it make most sense to plant on Pigeon Balcony? It's fairly large and runs along 2 full rooms, and it gets a lot of sun. It faces south-west, so it gets sunlight almost all day starting 11AM. I am thinking of something that can provide dry spices for the winter to follow, or maybe mint leaf to dry for tea. I really want to plant tomatoes and legumes because I like both, but I doubt the yield would be worth it. How much tomatoes can a pot plant tomato stalk produce anyway? Certainly not enough to eliminate my dependence on the market for an entire category. So that's why it seems to me spices are best. Anything else?

Der Leiermann
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by Der Leiermann »

ertyu wrote:
Sat Mar 06, 2021 11:15 am
Anything else?
I’d suggest herbs. Easy to grow, expensive to purchase fresh.

Leiermann’s hot 100:
  • Coriander
  • Basil
  • Parsley (flat leaf and ‘shrivelled leaf’ if you’re into garnish. If not, stick with flat leaf for taste)
  • Rosemary
  • Thyme
  • Mint
  • Lemongrass
  • Lavender
Keep up the good work and keep posting pictures, always great to see how things are evolving.

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

+1 for herbs. Basil does well in a pot for me.

You may not have to wait for the last possible day for frost to get started. You should be able to find a table for your location showing the probability of a frost on different days of the year. Many people play the odds with frost, as in, they accept a low possibility of frost killing their plants in order to get the plants in the ground sooner. With plants in a pot you could also cover them or bring them in when frost is predicted. I'm not an expert though, do your own research.

Nice job on all the progress with the apartment. :)

DutchGirl
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

Growing your own tomatoes and legumes can be nice, but they will probably be ripe when they are also cheapest on the market. So you'd probably not save a lot of money on that.

Maybe next year or so, if you can for example start the seeds early (inside) and possibly have a cold greenhouse outside, it could be worthwhile to enjoy these tomatoes and legumes early in the season.

I'd guess some herbs would be nice to have!

Frita
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by Frita »

Another thought on growing if tomatoes is heirloom or gourmet varieties that are expensive and don’t go on sale. Chose a variety that can be harvested quickly. We’d grow yellow pear tomatoes and got three crops per season. My MIL grows chocolate cherry tomatoes which are also delicious.

I’d also grow lettuce and greens for salad. The later will grow into fall/winter and can also be frozen. Nasturtiums are a flower with edible blosfoms and peppery leaves. I’d add those too.

ertyu
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by ertyu »

Applying for jobs again. My burnout and depression, as well as the fact that I was pulling back from literally anything not directly related to my job to deal, has meant I now have an extremely spotty CV and few people who are willing to serve as references. I feel better now but my past job performance and job history is still weighing down on me. No comments necessary on this one; I just had an interview where I had to justify and elaborate on my past failings and it got to me.

Zanka
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by Zanka »

Maybe a solution with the pigeons: The city next to mine had these beautiful owls nesting in a very nice spot where people could watch them. It was a pretty rare thing so it got some attraction in the national news etc. The politicians got excited and wanted to honor the owls so they got some artist to make a very nice, big, statue of an owl to sort of mark out the spot..... And ofc the owls got scared of this new big owl that had moved in so they left :)

ertyu
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by ertyu »

hahahaha thank you for this zanka :lol:

it was needed.

ertyu
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by ertyu »

ertyu wrote:
Tue Mar 09, 2021 3:54 am
Applying for jobs again. My burnout and depression, as well as the fact that I was pulling back from literally anything not directly related to my job to deal, has meant I now have an extremely spotty CV and few people who are willing to serve as references. I feel better now but my past job performance and job history is still weighing down on me. No comments necessary on this one; I just had an interview where I had to justify and elaborate on my past failings and it got to me.
I slept on this and I think I fell for what must be a classic manipulation tactic. They knew what my CV looked like and they called me for an interview regardless. Yet they spent the entire interview cornering me into justifying my many failings and making me feel crap about myself and my worth as a professional. Well, if I'm so bad, why did you call me? I fell for a classic negging set-up. Now when they low-ball me, I'm supposed to be thankful and glad because after all who will hire someone like me.

I should have realized this and not let it get to me.

I guess the conclusion here is, if you're a sociopath, go into hr. underhanded shit like this is probably what constitutes being good at your job

7Wannabe5
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

I don’t think the true professionals in HR behave that way. My DD29 is a boutique head hunter and she complains about having to sit in on interviews where the non-professionals associated with hiring ruthlessly grill the candidates she went to great trouble to round up.

It’s also quite analogous to what often occurs with online dating. Interrogation is a sign of anxiety or lack of experience.

Frita
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by Frita »

Hm...it seems like the classic “kick down” to me. Since 2008, younger and inexperienced hires seem to be the norm. That fuels the existing baseline level of anxiety to maintain a job. I wonder if the shitty interview techniques are fishy to see if you put up with it and will accept/participate in the dysfunction. Also, @ertyu, I wonder if someone like yourself who has worked in multiple companies/countries and can directly discuss anything “negative” threatens them. Know your value, man.

Also, I have observed that one is never treated any better than during the hiring process.

rube
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by rube »

@ertyu sometimes there is a fit, a click (populair said). Sometimes there is simply not. I once had a first interview which went pretty well. During the second interview (with the hiring manager) we both concluded half way that this wasn't going to work. I still can't tell why exactly but his questions didn't make any sense to me. He's probably still thinking the same about my answers.
Indeed, don't let it get to you, sooner or later there will an employer that likes you and you like them. At least good enough to work for, for a while.

ThriftyRob
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Re: 3 yrs to FI: ertyu's journal

Post by ThriftyRob »

I've had crap interview experiences, where the interviewer's questions just seemed weird. Some people look at the C.V/history and make judgements about the candidate's values, thinking and motivations then ask a series of questions to confirm their views.

My mental model for a recruitment interview is to frame it as a martial art in which I deflect and redirect the interviewer's power towards information that promotes my suitability for the job. Some employers use 'criteria based' interviewing in which they will ask for examples of how you have dealt with specific challenges. In the hiring pack, the person specification usually gives these so you can prepare in advance. Particularly unprofessional recruiters may choose to seek evidence of 'stress tolerance' by putting you under pressure with their line of questions. And sometimes the person scheduled to interview bails out and a substitute manager fronts it unprepared.

I have found that being honest/assertive always works for me and I feel better after the interview. I had a poor experience in an interview to join a highly regarded tech company where the questions and line of enquiry didn't make sense, so I said 'I applied because of your company's reputation, however, it feels to me like you're interviewing the wrong candidate because your questions don't relate to my strengths and experience, which I'm finding pretty uncomfortable. Are you getting what you need from this interview because I don't feel I'm giving you a sense of my capabilities and potential?' In the situation you experienced, assert your feelings: 'this feels like you're discounting my achievements and I'm feeling manipulated'. If your reading is that the interview is not going your way then there's no harm in asserting that.

It is a numbers game and only one person gets hired for each vacancy so disappointment is inevitable. Your challenge is to demonstrate you can relate and communicate with the people who interview you, so being relaxed, using humour, etc all make a difference. The hirer is looking for someone with the capability to do the job and not be disruptive. Any gaps in your employment record are red flags to be explained, so have your plausible explanation ready to cover these and to allay fears that you are a serial offender who has been imprisoned (recruiter's worst fear!).

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