Category Archives: Friends & Family

Hi, Nana!

These days, every day is a day.

They’re all nothing more than clever marketing tools. (Although I do think there is value in loving siblings, drinking smoothies, and adopting black dogs.)

So why not one more?

On this day, August 17th, 2015, I hereby proclaim the 17th of August as National Call Your Grandma Day.

No cards. No flowers. No BS.

Just call Nana and have a chat.

  • It’s free.
  • It’s easy.
  • It might make her day, week, month, year (and you a better person).

National Nana Day.

Hi, Nana!

Voicemail

It’s up to you to decide if you want to check your voicemail.

If you don’t, you might save a few seconds of your life.

But if you do, within the pile of annoying reminders, wrong-numbers, and useless ramble-on messages you might find a loved one delivering something only they have in its most pure, uninterrupted, and deliberate form.

Their voice.

Don’t you want to hear it?

The Weird Test for Social Media Contacts

Purging social media “friends” is tough.

For Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, use The Weird Test to clean up your feed.

Ask yourself these questions about individual “friends.”

  • Would it be weird I saw him / her in-person and knew something about their life via social media?
  • Would you hesitate to say hi to him / her if you saw them in public situation where not saying hello would be realistic and acceptable (a restaurant or bar)?
  • Would he / she be indifferent upon finding out you unfriended / unfollowed them?

If you answered “yes” to ANY of these, go ahead and say goodbye.

Sure, you might miss seeing updates from the hottie you knew in high school.

But, c’mon. Go spend time with your real friends.

How to be Single on Valentine’s

Single on Valentine’s Day?

You have two paths from which to choose:

Path 1:

  • Go to the bar alone.
  • Go to the bar with friends.
  • Stay home and troll Facebook.

Path 2:

  • Hang with your mother.
  • Babysit a friend’s kid.
  • Babysit a friend’s dog.

Take love or give it.

Which path will you choose?

Own it or Quit

Do what you do.

But what if you feel the need to hide it from your immediate family?

Cigarette smoking, cheating, seatbelt not-wearing, etc.

Hey, if your family is okay with that stuff, go right ahead.

But, c’mon.

If they’re not, don’t hide it.

[HT to Sister Lan]

Value of Each Gift in a Set

One gift is nice.

Two gifts are nice, too.

But a set of two gifts aren’t worth twice as much as one.

As set of two gifts is equivalent to about 1.2 gifts.

That means each gift in a set of two is worth .6 gifts.

So if the formula for the value of each gift is is 1.2 ^ (n-1)) / n , then:

  • Each gift in a set of 1 = 1 gift (duh).
  • Each gift in a set of 2 = .6 gifts.
  • Each gift in a set of 3 = .48 gifts.
  • Each gift in a set of 10 = .52 gifts.
  • Each gift in a set of 17 = 1.09 gifts.

So basically, unless you’re giving a set of 17 gifts, you might be better off just giving one.

Here’s the chart if you’re into that. 🙂

Make the call

What’s the most important day of the year?

Your birthday.

It’s the annual audit of your people:

  • Who cares about me?
  • Whom do I care about?
  • Who am I?

If you want to be part of the answers to the aforementioned questions, it’s simple:

Make the call.

[Happy Birthday, Nana. Hope you got my voicemail yesterday!]

Because a good Stage 1 makes a better Stage 2 and 3

Events have three stages.

Stage 1: Anticipation and planning.

Stage 2: The event.

Stage 3: Reliving and debriefing.

Undoubtedly, life-cycle events are easy to experience all three parts. Weddings sit in Stage 1 for 6-12 months. 

Of course, weddings are a once-in-a-lifetime event (hopefully!). But who says you can’t have a Stage 1 for all your plans?

Movies, concerts, lunches, massages, walks, happy hours, etc. Will they reach their full potential?

Love your calendar. Relish in all your Stage 1’s.

P.S. Alana’s wedding was incredible. Still reliving and debriefing.