We know that moment when suddenly the whole room becomes unsafe.
The temperature shifts, the energy falls--we know it's time to go. What's our escape plan? Will we be able to escape with our selves intact?
That moment of realizing we need to leave can be one of the most terrifying moments in real time.
u/YourFriendlySpy asked:
What is your "Yikes, im outta here" moment?
Here were some of those stories.
Trigger warning: abuse, violence.
No Job Is Worth It
GiphyThe moment my boss told me that family wasn't as important as my job.
What the heck? Unless you're developing a food that can cure to every possible disease, infection, and ailment, including hangovers and you can eat that once a day and be well fed all day, AND it causes world peace, and you will finish it in 5 minutes your boss can sod off.
I'm Out, PEACE
When I was a teenager there was an abandoned mental hospital at the edge of town that we'd go mess around in. It was a known party spot but people mostly only hung out on the roof because the inside of the building was always pitch black.
So one day, we outfit ourselves with flashlights and go exploring through the older parts of the building. We had done this before, but the place was huge and we hadn't seen all of it. The first red flag was a room filled entirely with children's bowling shoes. And then, in the shadows of the empty indoor swimming pool, someone had arranged garbage to look like a broken body. The final straw was finding a room with stained mattresses, a crack pipe, and graffiti covering the walls that said NO NO NO all over. It was like the beginning of a bad horror movie.
Needless to say, I haven't been back.
Egregious
GiphyIf a job interview has several people scheduled for the same time, and calls them all in at once.
Lol I had an interview with a Major League Baseball team that they referred to as a "group interview". We were the final 30 that got through the application process and it was an egregious process. Had to introduce ourselves in front of the applicants and front office staff. Then had a series of "tests" to essentially see who in the group was most qualified. I ended up getting offered one of the open positions, but turned it down because a better opportunity came up. Think I made the right decision lol
Never Trust A Shouting Match
Was at a college bar when I saw some people having a shouting argument. One of them stormed outside and said something along the lines of "Call up [name] and tell him to come here." The first thing I thought was that it sounded like he was gathering a crew to retaliate against the person he was arguing with. Told my friends we should go to another bar, and we did. About an hour later, there was a shootout in front of that bar. If I remember correctly, no one actually died. But it was scary!
Adios Muchachos
Not me but my father. He was delivering medical supplies to a hospital where there was an employee who was fired on the spot, turned into a yelling battle where the fired employee started getting violent but ended the yelling match with, "I'll be back in 5 minutes and you better be ready" my dad said he never dropped off supplies so fast.
An Unseen Escape
GiphyGirlfriend and I are wasted at a house party. We're sitting on the floor with our backs against the wall, next to the front door, just people watching. The door flies open and a stream of cold air and cops flows right by us. We just kind of oozed around the corner and out the door.
Out Of A Bad Situation
Friend in middle school was a foster kid. His foster parents were awful (big surprise). Raging alcoholics with foul tempers, and a closet full of loaded guns. Mom pulled a rifle out the closet during an argument. Buddy and I dipped. He went back later to try and get some clothes from his room, only to find the house on fire and surrounded by emergency vehicles. Mom had doused the couch in cooking oil and lit it, you know, to scare her husband. Like a normal person. He lived with me for a solid two years and now works at Intel, making more money in a month than I do in six.
More For My Time
I found out a person, who just started the job and didn't know anything, who I was teaching the job, was paid a lot more than I was. I found out when a competitor called me and offered a job and I talked later about it with her and said what the offer was and said that it was same pay as I was already getting, but she looked confused and said it was a lot less than her current pay. the job sucked in many ways, but that was the last straw. I accepted the offer from competitor and ended up with a lot better deal.
Not A Sub
GiphyI had one just this morning. I started working somewhere last November. In April, they had me split my hours between tasks I was hired for, and stuff outside the description. In June, they cut my hours in half. In July, I was away on my honeymoon when they emailed to say I was being laid off. I was supposed to be back at work on Monday, and they laid me off Friday evening.
So I got a new job, and today I went to return their key and collect my personals. The boss asked if I'd be available for substitute shifts in the future.
NO.
Don't Need That Scar
Pretty much our entire office went out to get drinks because it was our intern's last day. One of my coworkers is very attractive, and also has a boyfriend who was out with us. A casual night out with the office turned into everyone getting hammered. At one point, I go up to said coworker just to shoot the bull for a couple minutes because we are friends. With her boyfriend sitting RIGHT NEXT TO ME she starts grabbing my arms and attempting to hold my hand, holding direct eye contact with me. Her boyfriend had just gotten back from active duty in the Marines. I noped out of that so hard, because I like my face not being punched.
Diverted
I was at a friend's house and we were watching tv and her mom comes in the room and starts yelling at her. They go into a different room and yell at each other some more. And I hear her mom slap my friend, she starts crying while her mom is still yelling at her. I got really scared so I put on my shoes and I ran home. I called my parents and informed them what happened. The next day my friend calls me and told me her mom was arrested. Apparently my friends mom had been abusing her for years, and if I hadn't been there it would have gone on a lot longer.
Jerk Of A Horse
GiphyI used to horse ride (10 years of lessons), but since lessons are expensive and owning your own horse even moreso, I now do a trail ride around my birthday each year to celebrate. So I'm riding at a new stable, and my horse doesn't seem very responsive. Taking off every time we trot or canter, trying to race everyone, very slow to pull up. Keep in mind that this is really bad manners, but it's also really common for a trail ride horse. So we get to a part where we get to canter, and my instructor gets me to go first.
We have a fun little canter, but then the horse refuses to stop. At all. In fact, he goes faster and faster. The next couple of minutes were a blur of things that could have killed me, including the large rocks we dodged, the hill we charged down and the point where I lost my balance so badly that the only way I was able to stay on was through my grip on the horse's mane. Finally, the jerk decides he's had enough and stops on his own. I take a second to make sure that I'm still alive, and then I immediately dismount. When the instructor and the other rider find us, I make it perfectly clear that I'm happy to ride back, but not on this horse. The instructor swapped with me, and she decided to lead the horse back in case he got it into his head to take off on her as well.
Represent Yourself
When I was online dating I went out to meet someone at a bar. He texted me when he got there and told me what he was wearing and where he was sitting. So I went in, saw him from a distance, and realized that he was NOTHING like how he presented himself on his profile. Probably 50 lbs heavier and 5 inches shorter in real life. He hadn't seen me so I turned around and left.
I just couldn't do it. I had been on so many awful, disappointing dates at that point and I couldn't sit through another one. I still feel really bad about it.
-Gay Gasps-
I worked a job for 4 years, was there literally from the ground up. They hired others to help me, but they never did any work. I was always on-call, fixing mistakes and such, but never promoted.
Eventually it dawned on me that "I don't need the team, the team needs me". So I took a job offer to go to another company.
Surprised Pikachu faces all around. :)
A Sponge For Anxiety
GiphyNew grad interviews.
I was cool as a cucumber going into mine - but once I saw the anxiety of the other candidates - it leeched on to me.
One girl was sobbing, another was visibly shaking, and a third wouldn't shut up for a single second because she needed to talk her nerves away.
En Patrol
Ex-police and I swear our old station was haunted. I was working alone one night, about 11pm. In the downstairs office writing a report and drinking a cup of tea when I could hear doors slamming from upstairs. I went and checked the exterior doors, everything was locked tight. Then I heard footsteps so I went upstairs, nothing. Noone around. I noped right out and went out on patrol
