I remember a time when I could just show up at a friend's house, knock on the door and be welcomed in. (Assuming they were home.) I didn't call first. I just showed up.
Now? Now it takes at least a half dozen text messages over three days to make an appointment to maybe get together in a month. Covid has made things worse but it was already bad before the plague.
Also, Sunday is our day to do a Zoom call with a couple friends. We've been doing this now since the plague started. We used to get together at a restaurant for breakfast every Sunday. Now we spend a couple hours chatting and having breakfast from our own homes. This is not the future I imagined.
I saw what you did there: Life cereal, Life game, then life. Rule of three and everything- bravo!
1. I’d say all of the above, but I don’t do social media.
2. As a kid I played that game recklessly. Fill that car up with kids and get to the poorhouse asap!
3. My secret is this: get old. Once you pass 65, all that stuff is academic.
4. Tapatio is great, as is Cholula. I do like Sriracha, but only the original brand, made in the San Gabriel Valley.
5. It’s Sunday morning, my friend, and we’ve all lost an hour of sleep. I will call Steve in Brooklyn tonight, but you’ll have to read my ‘stack if you want to know how it went.
Nothing beats a live phone call--except, of course, an actual discussion in person. I'm from the era when I would chat with a friend on the phone in the evening, keep talking till we both fell asleep with the phones in our hands, then woke up and kept talking (you could do that before cell phones because you didn't fry your brain when it was up against your head for 12 hours). And Life Cereal? The BEST!!
But the older, wiser me knows that you can’t really fix another person’s problem. All you can do is listen, and hear them, and crawl into whatever hole they’re in and just be there with them so they don’t have to go through one of life’s shit-storms alone.
Today my wife and I have a “shoot the shit” appointment with friends of ours, which I’m looking forward to. But I have trouble just reaching out to folks unannounced, even close friends. Maybe I’m worried I’m bothering them?
I like the not-too-spicy, very flavorful Pepper Plant sauces.
Wow, a quiz, and I'll do this for free, generous of me - it's not getting paid to fill in a marketting thing:
Do you call friends to shoot the shit, or are you one of those modern people who texts-to-call, or just texts, or posts their shit on social media? I am officially old, hate saying that, antedeluvian Boomer, hate texting . I will call my even older Aunt and somtimes my kids
Did you ever play the Life board game? It’s total bullshit, right? Life, game, feels like a million years ago
Does Present You feel bummed out when you think about the image Past You had of Future You, or do you, like Garth Algar, always live in the now? If so, what’s your secret? When someone tells me live in the now, the present, I know they are being superior and telling me to agree with them.
What’s your brand of hot sauce? I’m a fan of Tapatío, or Cholula, and I’ll do Tabasco in a pinch. But don’t come at me with that hipster Sriracha shit! That’s my hot (sauce) take. What’s yours? General purpose, Cholula (and it's at Cosco); sometimes Tabasco for its more vinegar taste
After you read this, are you going to call a friend just to shoot the shit? Please say yes, and then do it! After more coffee, ok
I sit dead center in the Gen-X cohort. I'm old enough to remember not having an answering machine. If you called someone and they weren't home, suck it. Try again some random time in the future and good luck. And if you were the one who wasn't home, it was like complete freedom. Somebody called? Who cares? I'm not home. Of course, I was a kid and not really concerned about missing an important business call from publishers clearing house or the State Department. But, whatever. Heaven compared to the leashes we have today.
1. I have a friend who always calls me in the middle of our text exchanges because he'd rather talk than text. I love it. Texting exhausts me, because I'm so snarky IRL I have to fill in every available space with emojis to convey my tone properly/poorly. I prefer to snark live. I'm sure you can commiserate. And I do miss the days of actually wanting to answer the phone, before robocallers took over, because you knew the only people who had your number were the people you gave it to. Or the really committed prankster who took time out of their day to look you up in the "phone book".
2. The game LIFE taught me there were only 4 careers worth having. And real life taught me I would never be qualified for any of them. Bullshit. Yes.
3. Past me had no confidence in future me. Therefore, present me is not surprised to be disappointing past me currently, and likely indefinitely. Cue Charlie Brown exit music.
4. We buy Red's because it's cheap AF. I do like sriracha. But no one would ever classify me as a hipster.
5. I have a few friends I've been meaning to connect with, but sadly, we're stuck in the text to call cycle. I could break that I suppose. But they might think I was dying or something, and I'd hate to disappoint them. HA!!! The only people I call outright are my husband, my parents, my siblings, and my various health care providers. I'd love to call you out of the blue someday. Are you in the phone book? I'm sure you're the only Michael Estrin in California. I'll start working on my prank script ASAP. Talk to you soon!
I have a friend that used to call every Friday afternoon after his lunch. I was in Texas and he was in Seattle. So I was always trying to get finished and he just wanted to kill off a few hours. I’ll have to figure out if he’s still around.
A GREAT story that pivots on capsaicin. (Q4) I love spicy in all its forms and confess to having tabasco, sriracha, Frank's, fresh horseradish & harissa in the kitchen at this CURRENT moment. Different uses for each. A great Bloody Mary mix needs tabasco, sriracha and horseradish. (Q5) Not quite sure how the transition occurred but I have come to do lots of video calls (mostly Google Meets with family, etc). It is ALWAYS awesome to see each other and never been easier. Made two phone calls and two video calls today. I love Sundays! I think it has worked wonders to keep some of us a little closer connected. Of course not everyone is comfortable...
I remember a time when I could just show up at a friend's house, knock on the door and be welcomed in. (Assuming they were home.) I didn't call first. I just showed up.
Now? Now it takes at least a half dozen text messages over three days to make an appointment to maybe get together in a month. Covid has made things worse but it was already bad before the plague.
Also, Sunday is our day to do a Zoom call with a couple friends. We've been doing this now since the plague started. We used to get together at a restaurant for breakfast every Sunday. Now we spend a couple hours chatting and having breakfast from our own homes. This is not the future I imagined.
I saw what you did there: Life cereal, Life game, then life. Rule of three and everything- bravo!
1. I’d say all of the above, but I don’t do social media.
2. As a kid I played that game recklessly. Fill that car up with kids and get to the poorhouse asap!
3. My secret is this: get old. Once you pass 65, all that stuff is academic.
4. Tapatio is great, as is Cholula. I do like Sriracha, but only the original brand, made in the San Gabriel Valley.
5. It’s Sunday morning, my friend, and we’ve all lost an hour of sleep. I will call Steve in Brooklyn tonight, but you’ll have to read my ‘stack if you want to know how it went.
Nothing beats a live phone call--except, of course, an actual discussion in person. I'm from the era when I would chat with a friend on the phone in the evening, keep talking till we both fell asleep with the phones in our hands, then woke up and kept talking (you could do that before cell phones because you didn't fry your brain when it was up against your head for 12 hours). And Life Cereal? The BEST!!
'i like this like a whole lot
But the older, wiser me knows that you can’t really fix another person’s problem. All you can do is listen, and hear them, and crawl into whatever hole they’re in and just be there with them so they don’t have to go through one of life’s shit-storms alone.
Today my wife and I have a “shoot the shit” appointment with friends of ours, which I’m looking forward to. But I have trouble just reaching out to folks unannounced, even close friends. Maybe I’m worried I’m bothering them?
I like the not-too-spicy, very flavorful Pepper Plant sauces.
I just discovered that my phone did speech to text while I drive, so, I may never speak to a living person ever again.
Wow, a quiz, and I'll do this for free, generous of me - it's not getting paid to fill in a marketting thing:
Do you call friends to shoot the shit, or are you one of those modern people who texts-to-call, or just texts, or posts their shit on social media? I am officially old, hate saying that, antedeluvian Boomer, hate texting . I will call my even older Aunt and somtimes my kids
Did you ever play the Life board game? It’s total bullshit, right? Life, game, feels like a million years ago
Does Present You feel bummed out when you think about the image Past You had of Future You, or do you, like Garth Algar, always live in the now? If so, what’s your secret? When someone tells me live in the now, the present, I know they are being superior and telling me to agree with them.
What’s your brand of hot sauce? I’m a fan of Tapatío, or Cholula, and I’ll do Tabasco in a pinch. But don’t come at me with that hipster Sriracha shit! That’s my hot (sauce) take. What’s yours? General purpose, Cholula (and it's at Cosco); sometimes Tabasco for its more vinegar taste
After you read this, are you going to call a friend just to shoot the shit? Please say yes, and then do it! After more coffee, ok
Crystal hot sauce spanks Tabasco’s vinegary butt. Try it and see for yourself.
I hate to say it but as a millennial: Phone calls scare me 😳😳
I sit dead center in the Gen-X cohort. I'm old enough to remember not having an answering machine. If you called someone and they weren't home, suck it. Try again some random time in the future and good luck. And if you were the one who wasn't home, it was like complete freedom. Somebody called? Who cares? I'm not home. Of course, I was a kid and not really concerned about missing an important business call from publishers clearing house or the State Department. But, whatever. Heaven compared to the leashes we have today.
1. I have a friend who always calls me in the middle of our text exchanges because he'd rather talk than text. I love it. Texting exhausts me, because I'm so snarky IRL I have to fill in every available space with emojis to convey my tone properly/poorly. I prefer to snark live. I'm sure you can commiserate. And I do miss the days of actually wanting to answer the phone, before robocallers took over, because you knew the only people who had your number were the people you gave it to. Or the really committed prankster who took time out of their day to look you up in the "phone book".
2. The game LIFE taught me there were only 4 careers worth having. And real life taught me I would never be qualified for any of them. Bullshit. Yes.
3. Past me had no confidence in future me. Therefore, present me is not surprised to be disappointing past me currently, and likely indefinitely. Cue Charlie Brown exit music.
4. We buy Red's because it's cheap AF. I do like sriracha. But no one would ever classify me as a hipster.
5. I have a few friends I've been meaning to connect with, but sadly, we're stuck in the text to call cycle. I could break that I suppose. But they might think I was dying or something, and I'd hate to disappoint them. HA!!! The only people I call outright are my husband, my parents, my siblings, and my various health care providers. I'd love to call you out of the blue someday. Are you in the phone book? I'm sure you're the only Michael Estrin in California. I'll start working on my prank script ASAP. Talk to you soon!
I have a friend that used to call every Friday afternoon after his lunch. I was in Texas and he was in Seattle. So I was always trying to get finished and he just wanted to kill off a few hours. I’ll have to figure out if he’s still around.
At 68, I’m like C.L., it is what it is.
My Mexican parents would probably disown me for this, but I’m a couple-of-drops-of Frank’s Red Hot gal.
I'm an old fart. i still call and do it without texting. Though, over time, I find that I do call less and email more.
And I will call someone today!
A GREAT story that pivots on capsaicin. (Q4) I love spicy in all its forms and confess to having tabasco, sriracha, Frank's, fresh horseradish & harissa in the kitchen at this CURRENT moment. Different uses for each. A great Bloody Mary mix needs tabasco, sriracha and horseradish. (Q5) Not quite sure how the transition occurred but I have come to do lots of video calls (mostly Google Meets with family, etc). It is ALWAYS awesome to see each other and never been easier. Made two phone calls and two video calls today. I love Sundays! I think it has worked wonders to keep some of us a little closer connected. Of course not everyone is comfortable...