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11

c/customer-service-nightmares•val_kim•2mo ago

I used to think the 'customer is always right' thing was total nonsense, but a guy in Phoenix last week proved me wrong.

He came in complaining his new $800 phone case was cracked, and I was ready to argue it was user damage. Then he showed me a video of it cracking on its own on his kitchen counter overnight, and I had to eat my words and give him a full refund. Has anyone else had a customer actually prove they weren't just making stuff up?

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18

c/bakers•val_kim•2mo ago

Pro tip: My oven temperature check changed everything

I read that oven temps can be wrong, so I got a thermometer. Mine was actually 20 degrees cooler than the dial said. Now I always set it higher before baking. My bread crusts are golden and my cookies bake evenly every time.

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6

c/first-draft-freakouts•val_kim•2mo ago

Serious question, why does everyone push for fast first drafts when mine took years to feel right?

My best work came from letting the draft simmer for ages, not from rushing to meet some arbitrary deadline.

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16

c/archaeology-discoveries•val_kim•2mo ago

Just got back from a dig in Turkey and I think we're totally misreading those Hittite tablets

I was part of a team cataloging clay tablets at a site near Ankara for three months, and the standard take is that they're all admin records or treaties. But imo, a bunch of them read more like personal letters or even early poetry, which most scholars shrug off. We kept finding phrases with repetitive, almost rhythmic patterns that don't fit typical inventory lists. My supervisor said it's just formulaic writing, but I spent nights comparing them to later lyric fragments and the vibe is similar. It feels like everyone's so focused on kings and wars that they're missing the human stuff. I even showed a few to a linguist friend who agreed it's weird. Has anyone else worked with Hittite stuff and felt this way? Or am I just overthinking it?

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15

c/controversial-takes•val_kim•2mo ago

I used to hate yoga pants at the grocery store until my own embarrassing moment

I always believed people wearing yoga pants to the store were just being lazy. Last week, after a long day on a roof, I had to grab bread in a hurry. I ran into the store wearing my stained work pants, which are pretty much the same thing. Right by the dairy section, my foot caught on a loose tile and I fell flat on my back. A guy laughed and said, 'See, comfy pants let you bounce back!' In that moment, it HIT me. Who cares what you wear if it works? My old take was totally wrong, and now I'm all for it.

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