The new coronavirus has accomplished what many commute-crazed, meeting-ravaged office workers have been long awaiting: Their companies are finally encouraging them to work from home. While, for many of us, working from the comfort of our homes is preferable to working in a dreary office building in an even more dreary cubicle, it can also...
A clean, freshly made bed is a glorious sight. “Sleep in me,” it says. “Crawl into me, forget all your worries and sleep the sleep of a champion. Dream the pleasant dreams of the stress-free, and awake refreshed and invigorated for a day of splendidness.” It’s like Pennywise inviting...
Many of us have had our routines, in a matter of weeks, completely upended. Only a short while ago, we continued to commute to our workplaces. We still went to our gyms. We attended our weekly gatherings with friends and family. But now, almost everyone is being...
Because I’m not a parent, my general policy on parenting-related topics is that my opinion is worthless and that everything is probably a lot more challenging than it looks. I do have a seven-year-old niece who I wish was my child (if my sister is reading this: watch...
Despite people clamoring to buy the last 18-packs of double-ply toilet paper at the grocery store, the coronavirus really isn’t the butt apocalypse it might seem, since nothing gastrointestinal is among the primary symptoms. For some, the greater concern may be that quarantining prevents us from leaving the house much...
The first person I reached out to for this story was John Ratzenberger. Not because I thought he’d actually know the answer to my question, but because he’s played Toy Story’s Hamm for 25 years now, and I thought it’d be fun to talk to the guy. In my head, I...
Many of us assume that our showers are, well, always clean — they get sprayed down with a concoction of soap and water every day or so, after all. Sadly, though, our soapy runoff does virtually as little for the cleanliness of our showers as it does...
I’ve never been to a crime scene, but on the morning after I finally got over the flu that kept me in the fetal position for nearly four days, my apartment looked like the sort of environment that requires a hazmat suit. There were crinkled up napkins...
There are only four skywriters in the entire world, so if you want to send a message from heaven on Valentine’s Day, you’ll need to get on that soon. Maybe you’ve already determined that insanely expensive prix fixe menus, padded cards and a tennis bracelet won’t do...
Few things are more frustrating than looking forward to a warm, relaxing shower after a long day, and instead having to endure an oscillating stream of scalding and glacial water because something to do with the temperature is all messed up. But before you go tearing your...
Typically, when you’re in your twenties and even your early thirties, financial security often means putting one foot in front of the other money-wise, stringing enough cash together to occasionally go out for dinner, have a drink (or drinks) with friends or take a once-yearly vacation —...
A tiny, portable television was one of the most invaluable items in my home growing up. It was ancient and useless — at best, it might pick up portions of a mattress commercial once every few months. The rest of the time, the shoebox-sized device blared “snow,”...