Copa

So we are also planning to reduce our office space in 2024. Going from two floors to one. I’ll be losing my closed-door office, which I’m bummed about. And yes, I’m also kind of in that boat. I have good benefits, usually excellent work/life balance, a lot of PTO (omg the PTO here), flexibility, a boss I work well with. My job isn’t soul-crushing nor am I burned out from being overworked. I can afford my hobbies and travel (my truest love). I absolutely hate hustle culture and The Grind. We generally have very low turnover and I know exactly why. I’m open to something new, but any job search has been fairly passive, at least for now. Even the job I was a finalist for that I mentioned on here recently, I’m not sure what I’d have done if they’d offered it to me… there were definitely cons to consider.

@LisforLeslie I’d have killed for a mentor like you at any of my internships. My first internship in college was when I was 18-19 and I was a marketing intern… well, they were short-staffed in the customer service department so they had all of us interns answering the help line! I learned nothing about marketing that summer. That company went under in the recession a couple years later — they worked exclusively with the auto industry.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by Copa.

That’s exciting, @Anonymousse. Hope it works out!

What you wrote about wanting flexibility reminded me of a former teacher I follow on TikTok. She left the classroom in her early 30s to go work at her local Costco and has documented some of that transition on TikTok, down to the grief of walking away from her passion but wanting a certain lifestyle she couldn’t seem to achieve as a full-time educator in a red state.

I’m truly curious what work norms will look like down the road. Younger folks seem to be accepting burnout and soul-crushing jobs with zero flexibility less and less. I’ve seen online that more and more companies are trying to get workers to come back to the office full-time (this has not happened to me or even anyone I know IRL) and those same companies are also having a hard time filling open roles. Like, what did they expect?

I really enjoyed Barbie yesterday! I’d been avoiding anything that might lead to spoilers, but still wondered if it was the kind of movie that included every actually funny moment in the promos. Nope! Thoroughly entertained, laughed aloud often, and even cried a little. I am glad I got to see it with some girl friends, but might actually see it again with the bf an upcoming week. Next heatwave or downpour, ha.

It seems I missed the movie Past Lives in theaters near me. I’d have to go to the suburbs to see it at this point. Hopefully I can rent it on streaming soon instead!

We definitely had one Barbie who kinda went through it. At some point she lost her head.

An update nobody asked for on the one-size-fits-all underwear I purchased from Nordstrom: not for me! They fit but the rise is quite low for my preference. I’m on the small end of the size range they’re supposed to fit, so tbh I’m still unsure how they work for such a wide range of sizes.

Please report back on Barbie! I’m going to see it next weekend with some gal pals. I listen to the podcast The Daily most mornings while I walk the dog, and today’s episode was about the history and controversy of Barbie, Mattel’s attempts to give Barbie makeovers over the years, and how Greta Gerwig came to be the film’s director. One thing the podcast pointed out was that as problematic as Barbie can be, it was also the first doll to exist where girls could play roles that weren’t just as a mom to a baby doll — Barbie even made it to space before Neil Armstrong went to the moon. Anyway, I thought the episode was interesting and I’m looking forward to the movie. The bf offered to go with me, but I’m excited to go with friends. I’d also like to see Past Lives, so hopefully he and I can go to that one soon.

I LOVED The Great Believers. It, too, is set in Chicago and I liked all the local references. I’m usually more of a nonfiction fan, particularly memoirs, but The Great Believers had me in tears. If you liked that one, you’d probably also like The Heart’s Invisible Furies. Different, but similar flavor. Not as good, IMO, but still a worthwhile read.

I listened to Spare on audiobook out of curiosity recently. I’m not into the royals, so surely not the target audience, but it was available on Libby and I was curious enough. I thought it was so boring! When he finally touches on whether the monarchy should continue, he lands on “IDK.” Like, sir. Unraveling your likely-complex thoughts on the subject would’ve been more interesting than the two short chapters dedicated to your frostbitten royal “todger.”

OMG the yelling in the first season of The Bear. I fall asleep just about every time we try to watch a show together, and The Bear is no exception. The yelling kept disturbing my couch snoozes.