Tag Archive | Personal
It’s always wise to have a backup plan
During the summer before I started college, I worked as a laborer for a lawn-cutting service. There were five guys on the crew — including me — and my boss was a guy named Crew Leader Carl. He had hair down to his shoulders and always had a cigarette sticking out the side of his […]
A modern-day success story
It was after dinner on Wednesday evening. I was in the office working on my blog. My girlfriend, Ashley, was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher. (I wasn’t entirely sure how the household chores always seemed to land on her plate, but I wasn’t one to question the status quo.) As I typed, the phone […]
Fulfilling your life’s purpose may be hazardous to your health
It was a gorgeous Saturday morning. I was lying on the living-room couch in my underwear, watching TV and drinking a beer. My girlfriend, Ashley, walked into the room and stopped dead in her tracks. “Hey,” she said, motioning to me. “What’s this all about?” I let out a three-second belch. “What’s what all about?” […]
Learning invaluable lessons from an incompetent life coach
It was around seven on Tuesday evening. My girlfriend, Ashley, and I had already eaten dinner. Now we were both sitting on the living-room couch, watching a Love It or List It rerun on TV. I was reclined with my head tilted back, and as the show played out, I started to snooze. It had […]
The abject inhumanity of a house without pizza
It was a lazy Saturday afternoon. I was standing in the kitchen, rummaging through the pantry. My girlfriend, Ashley, walked into the room. “What are you doing?” “Looking for something to eat,” I said, my head buried in the pantry as I waded through cans and boxes. Ashley snickered. “With your butt sticking out like […]
The erosion of quality in today’s ‘hurry-up-and-half-ass-it’ economy
A few years ago, I took a temp job as an entertainment blogger for an online magazine. My boss’s name was Ron. He was short with a clenched jaw and shoulders so stiff that they came up to his ears. Ron would spend his day walking up and down the rows of desks, screaming horrific […]
Not every question needs to be asked
Years ago, before starting college, I worked as a laborer for a lawn-cutting service. We had five guys on the crew, including me, and my boss was named Crew Leader Carl. That wasn’t his legal name, in case you were wondering. That was just what we called him. (That would have been an uncanny coincidence […]
Falling asleep during the movie invalidates your perspective
It was Friday night. My girlfriend, Ashley, and I were lounging at home. “Is it my turn to pick out a movie tonight?” I asked. “I don’t know,” Ashley said. “Is it? I thought you picked out the movie last Friday?” “What movie did I pick out?” I asked. She shrugged. “I don’t know. I […]
Putting the pieces together
It was Saturday evening, around eight. I was at my friend Ashley’s apartment. We were kneeling over the living-room coffee table, putting together a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. We’d bought it about a week ago during a weekend shopping trip. Now, after working on it for a few hours every evening since, we were almost done. […]
Big-city sprawl is stealing small-town charm
I like living in a small town. There are so many quirks that you don’t get to enjoy anywhere else. Like the one time I went to a community theater to see a play. As everyone was settling into their seats, a man in a bathrobe walked in. I saw him and assumed he was […]
