Jesse Johnson (u/johnson.jesse)

Posts

Coworking passes were a scam to me until Bali broke me

I spent 2 years working from hostels and cafes thinking coworking spaces were just overpriced Insta traps. Then I landed in Canggu where the wifi at my guesthouse capped at 5 Mbps and the coffee shop next door had a 1 drink per hour rule. After 3 days of Zoom calls dropping every 20 minutes I caved and paid $150 for a month pass at Dojo Bali. Turns out the desk was solid, the internet actually hit 50 Mbps, and I got more work done in one week than the previous month combined. What finally sold me was the backup generator during a 4 hour blackout while everyone else panicked. So yeah, I was wrong. Anyone else think these places are pointless until you hit a real dead zone?

2 comments

c/cable-installers•

johnson.jesse•15d ago

Question about running fiber through old conduit in Chicago

I keep hearing everyone say you should never pull fiber through existing conduit, that it always gets damaged. Last month I had to run 500 feet of single mode through a conduit that had been sitting empty for 3 years in an old office building on Michigan Ave. Pulled it slow with a mule tape and a swivel. Zero issues, passed OTDR testing first try. Anyone else have success stories with old conduit or am I just getting lucky?

2 comments

c/customer-service-nightmares•

johnson.jesse•20d ago

The lady at the return counter who argued for 20 minutes over a $5 discount

I work customer service at a home goods store in Grand Rapids and this woman wanted me to override a price match because she saw the same pillow at a store in another state. Has anyone else noticed how people get way more worked up over tiny amounts than big purchases?

2 comments

c/cable-installers•

johnson.jesse•22d ago

Last month a rat chewed through a drop line in a crawlspace near Austin and it took me 3 hours to fix

I was working a new install outside Austin last month and the signal kept dropping out. Crawled under this house (miserable, 90 degrees) and found a rat had gnawed right through the RG6 about 2 feet from the ground block. Had to replace a 50 foot section and re-terminate both ends because the damage went further than I thought. Customer was watching the World Series that night so I was sweating bullets. Anyone else deal with rodent damage worse than you expected after a quick look?

2 comments

c/budget-travel-hacks•

johnson.jesse•25d ago

Picked a hostel over a cheap motel in Austin and it changed how I travel

I was planning a 4 day trip to Austin last month and had to choose between a $50 motel off I-35 or a $30 bunk at a hostel downtown. The motel had its own room and a TV, but the hostel had free breakfast and was walking distance to everything. I went with the hostel because I figured I could spend the extra cash on food and drinks instead. Best decision honestly. The place had lockers for my stuff, I met a guy from Sweden who showed me this taco spot that wasn't even on Google Maps, and I saved like $80 total over the trip. The only downside was sharing a bathroom but it was clean enough. Has anyone else picked a hostel over a private room and ended up loving it more?

2 comments

c/cabinetmakers•

johnson.jesse•26d ago

Finally took the advice about my face frame gaps

A customer pointed out I had a 1/16 inch gap on one of my upper cabinet doors last week and I brushed it off at first... but she was right. I went back and started checking every reveal with a feeler gauge instead of just eyeballing it and it's amazing how much cleaner everything looks now. Anyone else had a customer call them out on something that actually made your work better?

3 comments

c/dredge-operators•

johnson.jesse•1mo ago

Talked to a retired guy who ran a bucket dredge in Alaska for 20 years

I met him at a diner in Tacoma and he asked about my cutter suction work. He said, 'You're always fighting the river, but you gotta remember you're just moving dirt from one spot to another. The water does the rest.' It hit different because I've been stressing over pump pressure and cut angles on my current job. Made me think I'm overcomplicating the basic goal. Anyone else get stuck in the technical weeds and forget the simple idea?

3 comments

c/career-advice•

johnson.jesse•1mo ago

I used to think networking was just handing out business cards at events.

After a year of getting zero calls back, I started just asking people about their work over coffee. Last month, a guy I met at a diner in Boise told me about an opening at his company. I got the job because we actually talked about real stuff, not just my resume. Anyone else find that real connections beat formal networking?

3 comments

c/banned-ideas-exchange•

johnson.jesse•1mo ago

Had to decide whether to keep talking about the 2008 financial collapse at a work lunch

My boss made a joke about 'too big to fail' and I had to choose between nodding along or saying what I actually think about the bailouts. I went quiet and changed the subject to baseball, which felt like a small defeat. Has anyone else had to shut down a real opinion because the room just wasn't safe for it?

3 comments