Parental Advice Is Always Welcome But Not Always Up To Date

(When I was younger, we lived next to a family that we became good friends with. Fast forward to my senior year of high school. I’m looking for a job. One of the boys, a few years older than me, has become the manager of a fast food restaurant and has offered me a job, provided I submit an application first for him to accept.)

Mom: “When are you going to see [Friend] about that job?”

Me: “I was going to fill out an application online later today.”

Mom: *laughing* “No, you… You have to go in and submit the application at the restaurant.”

Me: “Uh… No. They hire online. After I fill out the form, I’ll call [Friend] and let him know I submitted it.”

Mom: “I still think you should go to [Restaurant] and do it there.”

(And we do. Both my parents insist on driving me to the restaurant so I can be there in person. In the ten minutes it takes to get there, I fill out the application online. I walk in, and am immediately spotted by the friend in question.)

Friend: “Hey, man, I didn’t expect to see you here. We actually do all of our hiring online.”

Me: “Yeah, I know. My parents made me come in here; they’re in the car. Come explain this to them.”

(We walk out, and when my parents see us they both get a smug grin.)

Friend: “Uh, hey, [Stepdad]. Just so you know, we don’t take walk-in applicants. If [My Name] wants to be hired here, he needs to submit an online request.”

Stepdad: “You didn’t say anything about that. You said he had to fill out an application.”

Friend: “Yeah, an online application.”

Stepdad: *scoffs* “Sure, whatever, man.”

Friend: *to me* “I’ll process your application tonight. You start on [Date]; bring two forms of ID.”

(Yep, no one ever listens to me. This is not the first time I had this conversation with them, but it’ll hopefully be the last!)