Competitive

Putting the pressure on when you’re on the verge of “owning the space” seems like a strange strategy. Yet lately I see ads for YouTube as if they needed to put in an extra fight.

Congress is likely pulling TikTok out of the market. That will leave YouTube to, as they say, be the platform for stories to be told. [They don’t actually say that. I paraphrased their ad.]

Why didn’t they post these ads before?

Slip ons

Hands-free shoes are a perennial favorite. I didn’t wait til my golden years to look to slip ons as a go-to. As a teen, I wore loafers. As a young woman, I slid into a low heeled shoe or took up with a two-tone high-end loafer.

Deck shoes, loungers, slingbacks in styles as varied as practical to dressy have always been around. Sneakers, though, they had to be tied.

Skechers changed that formula. Your new sneaker routine was to slide in. Several brands are taking that trend a little upscale. More support, firmer cushioning.

Kizik is my new kick.

They have laces, but you don’t use them. Just slip in. It’s a completely hands-free attire. (My Skechers have a loop for pulling the back in place. None here!)

Trying a pair was as easy as clicking on a link in one of my news feeds. Yes, they advertise aggressively but simply. You’ll love their efficient and laid-back customer service!

Here’s your link to Kizik. If you decide to try them, too, we can share a $20 off code, so let me know.

Eat this

You have an excuse but you do not have permission for not finishing your vegetables.

Some of the green savory things on your plate are technically fruits. It’s not just the tasty avocado either. The cucumber is a seeded edible plant and, therefore, botanically a fruit. I could go on.

Vegetables are not a botanical classification. They may be green or orange [no, the yellow squash has seeds], florets or leaves, or stems.

Enjoy them because they are delicious.  Enjoy them because they are ever so nutritious. Enjoy them because they beautify your meal.

Holiday greetings

Once upon a time, holidays were made from creation myths. They explained seasonal cycles and celebrated the good and the mysterious in the world.

We still have those and then all the phony commercial ones, like international pizza day.

Here’s a made-up “world day” I find useful and amusing: Back-up Day. Buy a device to store photos and data. Free up space. YAY.

Enjoy whatever you are celebrating. Today and everyday.

Nomads

There was a time in history when some of us were homebodies while others were wanderers.

Nomads moved around foraging and following game. Settlers farmed or fished (I guess) and built cities for trade and community.

Does such a division still exist between the migratory and the stay-in-place?

There are people who sit still in one place, and people who restlessly move about.

Is this ingrained and hereditary? Is it a choice or serendipity?

Of course, there are those who wander in search of fortune or improved circumstances. There are migrants forced to leave home because of political exigencies.

There are also those of us who seek our careers in one place. My story is one of mixed experiences; we once were migrants but I was young; now I choose to be a New Yorker.