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Recently, we were having a get-together with some family at our house. The adults were talking in the dining room while the kids played in one of the bedrooms. Then my son walks into the dining room, wearing one of my shirts, a pair of my shoes, and some sunglasses. Then he proceeded to make this weird voice pretending to be me.
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I still stand by this statement but it was put to the test.
Today is my seven-year anniversary working for Home Zone Furniture. While I have loved all the places my career has taken me (maybe a few short-lived exceptions), Home Zone is tops.
Over the pandemic, some people started doing things like making sourdough, Tik-Tok challenges or learning to tie-dye. Other than playing with squirrels and reading, I can’t say I have any hobbies. I have heard Europeans don’t ask what you do for work, instead they ask what you do as a hobby.
And apparently, they would consider me pretty dull since I don’t have a hobby I am passionate about (spreadsheets are my hobby but also my work).
On TV, in the movies, and in a few relationships I have seen, it seemed there was a love/hate (or tolerate/hate) relationship with the spouse and the in-laws. The mother-in-law would talk trash about the son-in-law or the daughter-in-law couldn’t stand the mother-in-law or whatever the combination.
Early in 2010, I was laid off from my job and began working at a call center. They were quickly promoting me to other departments and eyeing me for management after a month. I also had a side gig building a website for an Ad agency I used to work with (the previous job directed them to me).
As a child, my mom would always tell me not to care what other people think. If I was embarrassed out in public, she would say, “Don’t worry, you will never see these people again.”
Last December I mentioned the furry forest friends we met during the pandemic. Baby Squirrel and later Big Mama became hand-fed squirrels. I don’t think of them as pets but more like hairy long-term campers that scrounge for food around our neighborhood. But also happen to be cute so we don’t mind them.
I’m not a squirrelologist and do not have any degrees in squirrelchitecture but I have noticed a few things about our backyard buddies.
Fifteen years ago, the band Nickleback was the butt of many jokes. But I submit to you, that there was never a more ridiculous band that gained popularity, than Imagine Dragons. Every time I would hear them, I would involuntarily go off on a rant about how dumb their songs were or how absurd their band name was.
When I was a little kid, we would go visit my grandparents in Costa Rica every so often. My mom would always bring my Grandpa gifts of cashews, black licorice, and animal-printed underwear. It was my understanding that during that time, these items were hard to find there.