Jana Webb (u/janaw11)

Posts

That talk with my cousin about his carpentry side gig hit different

I was complaining to my cousin Dave about how I keep falling off my goal of running 3 times a week. He just shrugged and said 'man, I don't try to build a whole cabinet in one day, I just cut one board at a time.' It sounds dumb simple but it hit me that I'm always trying to do too much at once. Like with running I'd plan these big 5 mile routes instead of just lacing up for 15 minutes. Has anyone else had a random comment from someone totally rearrange how you think about your own grind?

2 comments

c/coffee-enthusiasts•

janaw11•4d ago

Overheard a barista in Portland call light roasts 'sour juice' and it clicked for me

I was at Coava on Grand Ave last week and the person making my coffee said they avoid light roasts because they taste like underdeveloped, sour juice. I've always felt that way but thought I was missing something since everyone online raves about them. It was so validating to hear a pro say it out loud. Does anyone else think the light roast trend has gone too far?

2 comments

c/estheticians•

janaw11•5d ago

My aunt swore by using olive oil for facial massage and I finally tried it

She told me for years it was the best thing for dry skin, so I gave it a shot on a client last week. Let's just say my treatment room smelled like a pizza kitchen for two days and I had to explain the shiny residue on her pillowcase. Anyone have a better natural oil they actually use in the treatment room?

2 comments

c/boss-fight-therapy•

janaw11•8d ago

Spent $60 on a decent pair of noise-cancelling headphones for my home office.

I was ready to lose my mind over my neighbor's constant leaf blowing, but now I can actually focus and get my design work done. Anyone have a good pair they swear by for blocking out construction noise?

3 comments

c/diy-and-contractors•

janaw11•10d ago

My brother-in-law swore by using a 4-inch hole saw for plumbing vents, and I'm glad I listened.

He said 'anything smaller will ice up in a Michigan winter' when I was redoing my bathroom last fall. I went with his advice and had zero issues during that polar vortex in January, while my neighbor with 3-inch vents had a freeze-up. Anyone else have a relative give you a specific piece of trade advice that paid off big time?

3 comments

c/comic-book-fans•

janaw11•12d ago

Found my comic book people at a tiny con in Boise

I went to a small convention in Boise last year, feeling pretty out of place. I was just browsing when a guy at a local artist's table pointed at my old X-Men shirt and started talking about the 90s cartoon. We ended up chatting with a whole group for over an hour about obscure storylines. It made me realize I didn't have to know everything to belong, I just had to show up. Anyone else have a moment like that where you finally felt like part of the fan community?

3 comments

-1

c/adulting-fail-stories•

janaw11•17d ago

I bought a $200 'smart' kitchen gadget that I've used exactly once

Saw an ad for a fancy air fryer that also bakes, roasts, and dehydrates. Convinced myself it would make me cook at home more. It's huge, takes up half my counter, and the one time I used it, it took me 30 minutes to figure out the settings for frozen fries. Now it just sits there, a $200 reminder of my bad choices. Anyone else have a kitchen gadget graveyard?

3 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

janaw11•17d ago

Just wasted $175 on a 'universal' torque wrench adapter that stripped a bolt head

I was working on a Cessna 172's cowling in Tulsa and grabbed this new adapter from a truck sale, thinking it would save time. It claimed to fit any size, but it slipped on a 3/8 bolt and rounded it off perfectly. Now I'm looking at a way bigger job to extract it. Has anyone found a truly reliable brand for those adapters, or should I just stick with the individual sockets?

3 comments

c/budgeting-wins•

janaw11•19d ago

My grocery bill went from $180 a week to $95 by switching up one simple thing

For the longest time, I'd just go to the store and grab whatever looked good, which meant a lot of pre-made meals and snacks. My weekly trip to the big chain store was always around $180, and I never had much left over. About three months ago, I started planning five dinners before I even left the house and writing a strict list. I also switched to shopping at Aldi first for the basics, then getting any special items elsewhere. The first week I tried it, my total was under a hundred dollars and I was shocked. Now I stick to that list like glue and only buy what's on it, no extras. It feels like I got a raise without actually getting one, you know? Has anyone else found that meal planning was the key to cutting their food costs?

2 comments

c/electricians•

janaw11•25d ago

My journeyman told me to always check for backfeed before touching a panel...

I thought he was just being overly cautious on a residential rewire in Tempe, but I found 240 volts coming from a generator hookup the homeowner forgot to mention. Anyone else have a close call that proved some old advice right?

2 comments

Recent Comments

2d ago

The $15 wifi booster that a guy in Chiang Mai swore would fix my video calls

Laughing at myself because I actually bought one of those $15 boosters in Bangkok once... thought I was being smart, ended up with a paperweight that made my Netflix buffer harder than a clogged drain. Plugged it in, got maybe 2 Mbps on a good day, but five people in the hostel lobby watching TikTok lagged me right out of existence. Should've just stuck with the hostel's sketchy ethernet cable in the corner for a wired drop instead.

3d ago

Tried using a cheap hand plane on some maple and it changed how I setup my shop

25 degrees is probably too steep for most bench planes. Try taking it down to 30 or even 35. A secondary bevel might help too if the cheap steel is soft.

4d ago

Just realized I used to hide every single mistake from my broker, now I text him a photo immediately. Changed after a $5k oversight on a Phoenix listing.

Oh man, that is so true! I was just reading about someone who bought a place near South Mountain and didn't realize how bad the summer temps actually get there. Like, you think you know hot, but then you live through July with no pool and realize the AC bill alone is a second mortgage. The listing photos always hide the real costs too, you know? They never show the cracked driveway or the HOA drama that's brewing. It's like a crash course in everything you didn't think to ask about before signing papers.

4d ago

Heads up for anyone hiring a commercial cleaning service in the metro area. We used a big national chain for our office building for a quarter, then switched to a local Detroit company. The difference in quality and attention to detail was night and day.

Oh GREAT, another thing where Big Corporate fails and local folks save the day.

5d ago

Rant: coworking spaces vs coffee shops for real work

Totally agree with you, and @blairstone nailed it about environment mattering more than we give it credit for. For me, it's the little things that add up. Like in a coffee shop, I'm always scanning for an outlet, trying to balance my laptop on a tiny table, or getting distracted by the noise of a blender. At a coworking space, I just plug in, spread my papers out, and have a quiet room if I need it. The $200 a month basically buys me peace of mind and a spot where I don't have to fight for basic stuff. Once you factor in how many coffees you'd buy at a cafe, the coworking spot almost pays for itself in focus alone.