Nate -- this guy sounds like a royal prick. I have known my share of them, too. Another angle: if you can, ignore the jackazz. Karma's a *****, and his number will be up before long. If you feel confident that you could defend yourself, then by all means, stand up for yourself and establish some respect, but there's also no shame in realizing that you can't win every battle. Unless you're Chuck Norris, there's always someone who can kick your a$$. If you do have a few of your friends beat him, be prepared to accept a beating from him and/or his friends when you're least expecting it. If you can handle that possibility, more power to you -- get physical. Personally, I'd worry too much about what he'd do to my car, house, etc... but I'm a worry wart. I might coax karma along a bit (go to his house at 3am and remove the valve cores from his tire stems when he has to work early the next day, for instance). In the meantime, suck it up at work and do your job well. If that place is worth two bits, someone will take note of your initiative and karma will treat you WELL!

Good luck!

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1992 300D 2.5T
1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold)
1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy"
1974 Triumph TR6
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's)