There is a specific dynamic that emerges when you spend time at your parents' place as an adult. You start to notice all the crazy house rules, patterns, and habits that make absolutely zero sense. However, no matter how many times you try to explain a more efficient way of doing something, there is nothing you can do to change their minds. Living with my parents during that time back in 2020 resulted in a clash of personalities that thankfully did not lead to complete and total combustion. Sti…

It's time for a weekly venting session about everyone's favorite topic: their local homeowner's association. A friend of mine recently recounted a story to me about how the previous owner of her modest condominium had his air conditioner incorrectly installed in a way that violated HOA bylaws. The problem is that no one ever noticed the issue while he was living there. When my friend moved in, she was relieved that she didn't have to install her own AC for once. Well, she would end up wishing t…

Gym rats are a curious subset of humans. Sure, we are technically a part of the same species, but personally speaking, I could not feel more distant from someone who frequents the gym more than five times a week, and even that is excessive to me. One of the best aspects of the internet, and there are occasionally some good things about it, is that you can come to understand people who are different from you through articles, social media, and, of course, memes. These memes for gym rats taught m…

Planning a vacation? Don't make the same mistakes that these folks did. The fascinating thing about the beach is that it attracts the full spectrum of individuals: from the people who need a break to the people who need less of one, from the wise travelers to the foolish ones, and from the calm and collected types to the anxious souls who dream of rest and relaxation but cannot help themselves. Personally speaking, I fall into the lattermost category. I'm not the type of person who can easily r…

During our time on this earth it's pretty safe to say that, even through sheer force of chance alone, we've each witnessed some darn ridiculous things. In the same way that an infinite number of monkeys hitting keys at random could reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare, meeting an infinite number of individuals in your life means that you'll inevitably witness something incredibly stupid. While these individuals might not be breaking any records or winning any awards (save but one) for thei…

It's hard not to be affected by the many inconveniences life can throw in your general direction. It's not easy to go with the flow and to move on from something that totally thwarted your plans. Whether it's learning the subway has been delayed a fully 20 minutes or finding out that the gift you ordered for your Mom's birthday arrived with imperfections, these mildly infuriating moments can only be overcome with humor and commiseration. Otherwise, your head might explode from frustration alone…

Of course, we want our friends' weddings to be joyful and stress-free, but the reality of the matter is there's always something unexpected. Most of the time, it's minor and something everyone can laugh at in the moment or a few weeks down the road. However, every so often, some revelatory piece of information is uncovered that becomes a point of no return for the couple. Luckily, I have yet to witness this kind of madness occur at a friend's wedding. However, last year, I had the great fortune…

What was this school's administration thinking? Not only did they decide to suddenly and without warning increase the weekly rates for its boarding students, but when they finally informed the student population, they fully lied about how big the increase actually was. Clearly, these board members could not do math on their own or they wildly underestimated the strengths of their largely STEM-oriented students. These folks were quick to calculate that the weekly price increase was not 2% as the…

Who doesn't love a bold swing on the dating apps? It could be a home run or a big swing and a miss, but you can't help but appreciate the attempt at the very least. Dating apps have become so ubiquitous in our culture of “courtship” that we have made swiping left and right a passive part of our daily routines, like brushing our teeth or checking our emails. This portion of the dating process has lost most of its flair and excitement, so when you do receive a message that genuinely catches your…

You aren't going to agree with everything everyone says all the time, and not only is that a fact, but it's also okay. We don't need to have the same opinions, although my mother would disagree. Just yesterday I was at a friend's birthday party. Amidst the laughter and clinking glasses, I found myself inadvertently eavesdropping on conversation brewing in corners. People said all kinds of things that made me inwardly gag, and the more I listened, the more I disagreed. Some nodded in agreement w…

There's something to be learned here about not taking things at face value and using a little common sense to draw a more logical conclusion. Often in life, things are simplified for us in order to cater to the lowest common denominator and, in the process, obfuscate the actual point of the information that was supposed to be communicated in the first place. An extreme example of this is our entire understanding of chemistry; we're taught from our days in middle school chem class—clear through…

If you pay attention to your surroundings, you are likely to discover a series of design choices that make absolutely no sense. You know, the kind of aesthetic decisions that make you wonder who in their right mind signed off on this? You might stumble upon these design and structural flaws on the street, in a public restroom, or even in your friend's house. Sometimes, these flaws are too hard to ignore. I distinctly remember touring the so-called “perfect apartment” and informing my roommate t…

Things don't always turn out exactly as you'd hoped. Sometimes things are a little better than you thought it would be, and that's a lovely surprise. Other times, the circumstances are a bit worse than you anticipated, which is a bit of a letdown. There's nowhere that's more obvious than online shopping , where people are constantly finding the coolest clothing or toys of their dreams, only to have their hopes dashed when the item actually arrives. Ordering clothes on the internet consistently…

We all have those days when life seems to be playing a cruel joke on us. You know, the kind of day where everything that can go wrong does go wrong. We've all been there, from spilling coffee on your white shirt to getting splashed by a passing car on a rainy day. But what separates the truly unlucky from the rest of us is their ability to laugh it off. These folks know that when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. Or in their case, take a hilarious picture and share it with the world. An…

Sometimes, there is no point in pretending you know the answer on a test. Perhaps you didn't study or perhaps you're just drawing a blank. For whatever reason, you have absolutely no idea what to say and you can't even venture an educated guess. At this point, you know you're not getting any points on this question (and maybe even on the whole test). So, what does one do in this situation? Do you leave the question blank? Do you waste time trying to fabricate an educated guess despite the fact…

If recruiters and hiring managers expect everything a job candidate submits to be polished, should they not do the same? Let's break this down further. A job applicant is often expected to submit a resume and cover letter at the very least during the first round. Throughout the application process, depending on the position, there could be interviews, assessments, subsequent essays, etc. The expectation is for applicants to create something new and tailored to the specific position each time, w…