I miss the snow days of my native Michigan. We have them in Texas, hell we hibernate when it goes below 30°. But that, and snow or ice (the real monster) seem to happen less and less often as decades pass. We all spent this 80° Christmas evening at my SIL home as we always do, but without a chill; fire roaring in the small fireplace, AC on, ceiling fans running and windows open. I guess if you’re gonna do that Christmas would be the best time.
Happy New Year Michael (silly as THAT wish seems right now)! Thanks for all your words this year, they so rocked…and I can’t wait for Feb (I have NEVER said that before!) cuz HIGNFY.
I miss the snowy Christmases. We don’t have that much in Western Europe anymore. In fact, I can’t remember the last time it snowed at Christmas, shame.
Great work, Michael. One of your best heartwarming pieces this year. Loved it!
Let me add the perspective of a retired pensioner. I am constantly reminding my husband (and myself) that the things we choose to do are for our pleasure. Doing laundry should be (and is) a pleasure. Likewise the dishes and the cooking. Clear8ng the snow, not so much, so we let someone else do that. And for anyone who can arrange their days likewise, I highly recommend it.
There are two types of people in this world. Those who love to gift wrap, and those who do not.
What was your favorite present? I got to hold a baby cousin who I hadn’t met before, and she was precious and she also loved the gift I got her.
Another joy was finding out my husband’s Aunt has a BOYFRIEND! Her ex husband was a real schmuckarooski so I am thrilled she is finding love in all the right places.
I also got candy I can eat (soy allergy) and the new Isabel Allende book which I didn’t even know about! I also got $100 cash which really is the best, no?
Merry Christmas and Festivus to all and a happy Kwanzaa too! ❄️☃️❄️
I desperately want us to disentangle the concepts of "convenience" and "good." They aren't mutually exclusive or anything; they just aren't synonymous, no matter how much Jeff Bezos wants me to believe they are.
That's exactly right. Convenience CAN be good. Like the Trader Joe's latkes my wife bought were not as good as homemade but, overall, a better use of our time than grating potatoes and splattering hot grease everywhere. Convenient and good, if not amazing.
This piece nails it. The proofreading line caught me because I do the samething with my own work, and honestly it's liberating to just hit publish and move on. But here's the thing: when I started pushing myself to really polish even one piece per month, it changed how I saw everything else I was producing. It's like oncce the bar goes up somewhere, mediocrity elsewhere starts feeling more obvious.
Being “stuck” at home not having to do anything is the definition of convenience. I long for the collective empathy that those Covid days imbued upon the masses. (Again, not that Covid ever went away…) I knew back then that it would fizzle out just as quickly as it had emerged, as humans seem to disdain a natural consideration for other people’s well-being. Why does it take a global pandemic to be kind when it comes to personal struggles? As someone who still struggles with long Covid, I receive no sympathy or kindness anymore because “Covid is over” and back to office mandates have become commonplace. It’s simply sickening, especially for those of us who are still sick. “Convenience” for us is a lifeline, and for others a mere bonus. Happy to hear someone else writing about the merits of the Covid perks, Michael. Love what you do and happy holidays!
A snow day combined with a holiday week is pure bliss! We've barely done anything for the last three days (my kids have both been sick and now I'm catching it), but it's been a nice excuse to not go anywhere, not do anything, and just be for once.
Well said. After spending five years working with climate and environmental nonprofits, it became clear to me that the real problem facing the planet is our addiction to convenience and a friction-free lifestyle. Those conveniences carry an insatiable appetite for fossil fuels. Even knowing this, unnecessary convenience remains the one addiction I still can’t seem to break.
As an aside: your first essay on stereo systems has me considering getting one of my own. I’m curious though, Is a turntable essential? Will streaming Spotify through hi-fi speaks be akin to pouring cheap gas into a Ferrari?
I mostly listen to streaming music on the stereo but I also just got a turntable. To me, the turntable actually doesn't sound as good as streaming, but we just got it so I haven't necessarily gotten it dialed in yet. Also, my ear isn't very good yet but there's some audio guys I watch on YouTube, some of whom dislike Spotify and some of whom love it. Personally, I wanted to switch to Tidal because of the lossless streaming but we're on a family account and everybody got mad at me when I tried to switch. So Spotify it is.
I have records I have lugged around for decades. I still have records I bought when they came out in the late 60’s and 70’s. Some sound ok, but most sound like merde.
I have even bought newly remastered LP’s, still not good. Weird. So strange the records you used to think sounded good, don’t??
But, I don’t use Spotify for many reasons, mostly because the artists don’t get paid! I listen to my community radio station that has been around since 1979. They play all kinds of great music. KRCL in S.L.C. Check it out! https://krcl.org.
As I said, I'm also a sucker for convenience. Nor do I think convenience = bad. Only that we tend to prioritize it over quality, which has deleterious consequences.
I can never get the ends of the package to match. I think it’s a miracle to wrap a package well. People pull up stools to laugh and point. Glad I’m in good company. Happy Snow Day! ☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️
I miss the snow days of my native Michigan. We have them in Texas, hell we hibernate when it goes below 30°. But that, and snow or ice (the real monster) seem to happen less and less often as decades pass. We all spent this 80° Christmas evening at my SIL home as we always do, but without a chill; fire roaring in the small fireplace, AC on, ceiling fans running and windows open. I guess if you’re gonna do that Christmas would be the best time.
Happy New Year Michael (silly as THAT wish seems right now)! Thanks for all your words this year, they so rocked…and I can’t wait for Feb (I have NEVER said that before!) cuz HIGNFY.
I miss the snowy Christmases. We don’t have that much in Western Europe anymore. In fact, I can’t remember the last time it snowed at Christmas, shame.
A good lunch, not at the fast food place, the pizza place, thd overpriced restaurant. The supermarket gas station has “wraps” from a local source. $5.
Great work, Michael. One of your best heartwarming pieces this year. Loved it!
Let me add the perspective of a retired pensioner. I am constantly reminding my husband (and myself) that the things we choose to do are for our pleasure. Doing laundry should be (and is) a pleasure. Likewise the dishes and the cooking. Clear8ng the snow, not so much, so we let someone else do that. And for anyone who can arrange their days likewise, I highly recommend it.
There are two types of people in this world. Those who love to gift wrap, and those who do not.
What was your favorite present? I got to hold a baby cousin who I hadn’t met before, and she was precious and she also loved the gift I got her.
Another joy was finding out my husband’s Aunt has a BOYFRIEND! Her ex husband was a real schmuckarooski so I am thrilled she is finding love in all the right places.
I also got candy I can eat (soy allergy) and the new Isabel Allende book which I didn’t even know about! I also got $100 cash which really is the best, no?
Merry Christmas and Festivus to all and a happy Kwanzaa too! ❄️☃️❄️
I desperately want us to disentangle the concepts of "convenience" and "good." They aren't mutually exclusive or anything; they just aren't synonymous, no matter how much Jeff Bezos wants me to believe they are.
That's exactly right. Convenience CAN be good. Like the Trader Joe's latkes my wife bought were not as good as homemade but, overall, a better use of our time than grating potatoes and splattering hot grease everywhere. Convenient and good, if not amazing.
This piece nails it. The proofreading line caught me because I do the samething with my own work, and honestly it's liberating to just hit publish and move on. But here's the thing: when I started pushing myself to really polish even one piece per month, it changed how I saw everything else I was producing. It's like oncce the bar goes up somewhere, mediocrity elsewhere starts feeling more obvious.
THERE ARE SEVERAL TYPOS IN THIS REPONSE!!! How dare you.
Being “stuck” at home not having to do anything is the definition of convenience. I long for the collective empathy that those Covid days imbued upon the masses. (Again, not that Covid ever went away…) I knew back then that it would fizzle out just as quickly as it had emerged, as humans seem to disdain a natural consideration for other people’s well-being. Why does it take a global pandemic to be kind when it comes to personal struggles? As someone who still struggles with long Covid, I receive no sympathy or kindness anymore because “Covid is over” and back to office mandates have become commonplace. It’s simply sickening, especially for those of us who are still sick. “Convenience” for us is a lifeline, and for others a mere bonus. Happy to hear someone else writing about the merits of the Covid perks, Michael. Love what you do and happy holidays!
Thank you. I needed that. It's always the little things.
Tonality is a word and a quality that I have come to appreciate more.
Th tonality of th guitar sounds of Duane Allman and Dickie Betts, for example, so clear, so true...
A snow day combined with a holiday week is pure bliss! We've barely done anything for the last three days (my kids have both been sick and now I'm catching it), but it's been a nice excuse to not go anywhere, not do anything, and just be for once.
I consider the time spent reading your posts, "Quality time."
Well said. After spending five years working with climate and environmental nonprofits, it became clear to me that the real problem facing the planet is our addiction to convenience and a friction-free lifestyle. Those conveniences carry an insatiable appetite for fossil fuels. Even knowing this, unnecessary convenience remains the one addiction I still can’t seem to break.
As an aside: your first essay on stereo systems has me considering getting one of my own. I’m curious though, Is a turntable essential? Will streaming Spotify through hi-fi speaks be akin to pouring cheap gas into a Ferrari?
I mostly listen to streaming music on the stereo but I also just got a turntable. To me, the turntable actually doesn't sound as good as streaming, but we just got it so I haven't necessarily gotten it dialed in yet. Also, my ear isn't very good yet but there's some audio guys I watch on YouTube, some of whom dislike Spotify and some of whom love it. Personally, I wanted to switch to Tidal because of the lossless streaming but we're on a family account and everybody got mad at me when I tried to switch. So Spotify it is.
I have records I have lugged around for decades. I still have records I bought when they came out in the late 60’s and 70’s. Some sound ok, but most sound like merde.
I have even bought newly remastered LP’s, still not good. Weird. So strange the records you used to think sounded good, don’t??
But, I don’t use Spotify for many reasons, mostly because the artists don’t get paid! I listen to my community radio station that has been around since 1979. They play all kinds of great music. KRCL in S.L.C. Check it out! https://krcl.org.
Solid assessment and advice. Thank you. I’ll stick to Spotify for now. Convenience strikes again!
The New Yorker just published a profile of Willie Nelson for you to enjoy on your snow day!
https://archive.ph/tLWSc
I agree but as an unemployed IT Analyst, making deliveries to not see a foreclosure sign in my front door, convenience is keeping me afloat.
As I said, I'm also a sucker for convenience. Nor do I think convenience = bad. Only that we tend to prioritize it over quality, which has deleterious consequences.
I agree. This society has zero patience to just stop and smell the flowers.
I can never get the ends of the package to match. I think it’s a miracle to wrap a package well. People pull up stools to laugh and point. Glad I’m in good company. Happy Snow Day! ☃️❄️☃️❄️☃️❄️