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What it’s like to work as a housekeeper at a resort.
The start of summer has gotten me all nostalgic about the many summers that have come and gone in my life. The summer that I was fifteen I worked at the local resort as a housekeeper. I had worked at a local pizza place previously and not enjoyed the intense customer service experience (especially when…
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Kids & Activities
I did not realize I was writing a three-part series until I arrived here at part three and the question which troubles me every day. How busy should kids be? No, wait, that’s not quite right. How busy should I make my kids be? My kids are mostly uninterested in extracurricular activities. They are currently…
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Thoughts on Extracurriculars
My essay about piano lessons got me thinking about extracurricular activities. I do not like to be busy. I never have. When I was a kid my favorite thing to do after a full day of school was to go home. So when my mom would gently encourage me to try some new activity or–even…
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Piano Lessons, 1992-2002
Part of my purpose in writing this blog is to leave something of myself behind for my kids to read when I’m gone. As such, there are going to be posts where I just go off reminiscing of the olden days. Hold on to your butts. When I was in first or second grade my…
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Is it a healthy boredom, or is it social isolation and a harmful lack of parental interest?
It’s May and change is in the air. The children are extra squirrely. I’ve had “teacher gifts” on the bottom of my to do list for weeks now. The calendar is full of recitals and graduations. It’s almost the end of the school year, and as the unemployed parent I both eagerly anticipate and dread…
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The Unexpected Benefit of Cabin Ownership
We’ve been up at our cabin the last two weekends working to get ready for the summer. We planted a bunch of new trees this year. We got out the kayaks, launched the jet ski, mowed the lawn, and did some beaver-proofing on our favorite trees. I removed four wheelbarrow loads of muck and weeds…
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Have It Your Way
I was embarrassingly old when I found out that you could request alterations to your meal at any restaurant. Like… really embarrassingly old. I’m talking post-college. Yeah. But what am I supposed to think if Burger King is going to use the tag line “Have it your way!” in their advertising? If it’s special that…
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Documentary Reviews x2/ Score: A Film Music Documentary, and Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel
Score: A Film Music Documentary(currently available on Amazon) This is a fantastic documentary that gives us a peek behind the scenes at how film scores are created and recorded. I watched this several years ago but there are a few bits that have really stuck with me: Definitely worth a watch, even if you know…