A few months ago I was getting ready for a trip by doing what I normally do: fill my e-reader full of new books. The trip included a very long journey on a train, so I wanted to make sure I had plenty to read (another reason why I prefer e-readers to physical books). I use Libby to borrow books, and my local library...

Everyone talks about how people are lonely because they're missing a "third place." I grew up in a town where the only "third place" was either church or the mall, but lately my town has been making more of an effort to get people to leave their homes. Close to my parents' house they built this little place that has...

My friend and I have a theory that when you rent an apartment, it starts going downhill after two years. Everything usually starts off well (the building is nice and clean, the amenities are good, the maintenance team is responsive, the apartment is in good condition, etc.), but for some reason, after renewing the...

If I didn't go to college and major in something "important" (whatever that means), I would be a train or subway conductor. I don't know why, but I always imagined it would be interesting. I'm sure it's just like any other job, but every time I see a train (particularly subway trains) and I briefly lock eyes with...

I've done more shopping within the past few weeks than I've done in the past few years. I'm not a huge shopper. I don't like looking through racks of clothes and then trying things on and then (the worst part) making decisions. I'm the type of person who usually waits until I absolutely need something, something...

Everyone in my life (including myself) has experienced one "big death" in their life, the kind that changes everything. Something I've noticed is that, whenever the dead person's name comes up, people start asking these hypothetical questions. "Do you think if ______ was still here that they would have liked that...

There's a telenovela I started watching called Las hijas de la señora García. My Spanish still isn't that great yet, so I mainly enjoy it because it's a show I can actually understand. The storylines are rather simplistic and over-the-top, so it's quite easy to follow. When I started it, I thought it was just going...

Being consistent and sticking with a routine is something I only seriously started doing like a year ago. For most of my life I would start things with insane enthusiasm, to the point that it would take up all my time and mental space. Then I would quickly burn out, grow bored, and then abandon whatever it was I was...

A few weeks ago I went up to see that MAGA friend.🙄 I had written about her in the past, but after an unrelated post brought in some unexpected traffic, I unpublished that post about her since it suddenly felt too personal. Long story short, I have complex feelings about this person that goes a bit deeper than...

If a stranger is annoying me, they'll probably never know it. I have tremendous patience and will put up with most things as long as I can maintain the peace, even if I'm seething inside. But there are other times when I reach a breaking point and I have no choice but to be a little petty. Recently, I was on a plane...

Couples who don't have children all do one thing together: play board games. I feel like that's all me and my husband and all our friends do when we're together. Someone cooks and makes drinks, while the men get way too into the game and the women step outside to smoke and talk. One time, my husband and I were...

It's funny reading posts from people talking about how old they are, how they're changing, how things aren't the same anymore, how they're worried about the future, how they miss their childhoods, how aging is scary, how they miss the wild abandon of their youth, et cetera, et cetera... As someone with aging...