When I began dating back in the dark ages of the mid 1980’s, being “stood up” was such a rare occurrence that it was used as a plot twist on TV. In real life, it almost never happened to anyone I knew. Back then, a guy usually knew the girl he asked on a date…
Parsing Texts
On a podcast the other day, an author and psychology expert was promoting her book about “relationships in the digital age.” She had worked for one of the big tech companies as an in-house therapist (Facebook or Google, I can’t remember) for a decade before launching her own private practice. She spoke about texting. A…
For A Good Time
For the past four years since I started swimming laps I have been tracking my total workout time. I don’t pay any attention to how fast I swim each lap. I set my stopwatch at the beginning of my workout and then check the total time at the end. I swim the exact same number…
Luxury College
After my visit to Duke University yesterday, I had an epiphany – I should never have gone to college. My friend who gave me a guided tour was explaining how the university was an enclave for the wealthy. He, himself, was a scholarship student but most of his peers came from extremely wealthy families. They…
Mask-erading
Yesterday I visited Duke University with a friend to check out the Duke Gardens, the chapel, the campus and the buildings where he spent his college years. At the entrance to every building were signs saying “Masks are strongly encouraged“. Taped on the doors of the offices and classrooms were signs saying, “Social distancing is…
Nobody’s Looking
The best thing about opting out of dating is not going on dates. The second best thing is not caring what others think of me. I don’t wonder if my weird habits will be a turn off. I don’t worry that I’m not attractive. I don’t have to go places I don’t enjoy. I don’t…
Passing On AAA
I have been a AAA member since I first started driving 40 years ago. Back then, before cell phones & Uber, when I was lucky to earn $50/week from my part time minimum wage job, AAA was a life saver when the car wouldn’t start, the spare tire was missing or when the car died…
Is There Really A Housing Crisis?
There’s been a lot of hype over the past few years about houses becoming unaffordable for young, first time home buyers. Although it began before Covid, the pandemic, coupled with low interest rates and people staying at home much more, fueled a home buying frenzy that drove up prices. Now, several years later with interest…
Doomsayers
I am fairly certain that people have been predicting the end of the world for a long time. In my brief lifetime, doomsayers have predicted catastrophic end-of-civilization scenarios including: These are just the ones I could list of the top of my head. With a little googling, I’m sure I could add dozens more to…
Like An Old Married Couple
I caught up with a friend of mine who I hadn’t spoken with in a few months. He’d just returned from a weekend trip to DC with his girlfriend. When we spoke, I think he had me on speaker phone. Or else, he was relaying the conversation to her because she would jump into our…