Relationships, Jobs, & Parmesan Cheese

And so it begins…

I’m referring to both 2022 and Bloganuary. We’ll see what they bring.

Our rockin’ New Year’s Eve was exactly that. We have such an extensive record collection (760 currently), it’s very hard to choose an album to listen to when we sit down to play cards. So lately, we have Alexa do it. First, we’ll have her pick a random number between 1 and 14 (the number of bins we have in our shelves). Then, we’ll have her choose a number between 1 and 50 (the approximate number of records per bin).

Last night she randomly chose 8 followed by 36, so we started out the evening with this gem.

See, I never would have chosen Nazareth (best known for “Hair of the Dog”), but it was an excellent record. Alexa set the classic rock tone and we were able to build off that the rest of the evening. It’s the modern version of flipping a coin.

Our Chinese food arrived at exactly 8 p.m. This is why I like Great Wall: I ordered online a few minutes after noon and scheduled the delivery for eight hours later. They always, without fail, show up exactly when you ask them to. Down to the minute. And because I instructed them to leave the order on the front porch, I got a text when the food arrived. Convenient and delicious! We always tip generously.

Did I make it to midnight? Yes. If nodding off in the recliner between 10:30 and 11:30 counts. Hey, a few vodka sodas will do that to a fella. I was up for the ball drop, at least…and then went promptly to bed.

This morning we’re back in the basement enjoying another fire. I know a lot of the country isn’t experiencing winter-like weather, but we’re making up for that here on the high plains. It’s currently still below zero and has been for over 24 hours. That 1/2 cord of firewood has proven to be a good investment.

OK, so. The first Bloganuary prompt:

What advice would you give to your teenage self?

I know what I want to say but I’ll be nice. Let’s go with a politer version:

“Hey, teenage Mark. Life is short. Whatever you do, don’t settle.”

That applies to pretty much everything: Relationships. Jobs. Parmesan cheese. (Seriously…go with Parmigiano Reggiano. It’s worth the splurge.)

I have a lot of regrets, but ultimately, I wouldn’t change a thing about my life today. That’s because I stopped settling.

What advice would you give your teenage self?

30 thoughts on “Relationships, Jobs, & Parmesan Cheese”

  3. Advice to my teenage self: Don’t settle down too quickly. Get out of town and explore the world while young. Then come back to settle down.

    I try not to have any regrets, but I wish I had gotten out of my little town. But I am also 4 years from owning my house outright and my town was a great place to raise my child, I’m still close with all of my besties from childhood—so small town America isn’t so bad.

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    1. I feel similarly. Not that I’d gotten out of town—growing up in the Air Force, I had no hometown and we were always moving—but I do wish I’d explored a little more before settling down with my ex. I was basically married by the time I was 17, ha.

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  4. I LOVE the fact that you have a display bar (or whatever the hip people call it) to highlight the album cover of what you’re spinning! Also, thanks for mentioning Bloganuary on your blog. I decided to join the fun after reading about it from your earlier post. I do think they need a better name though…

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  5. I wish the husband would let me cover a man cave wall with my old album covers. Such wonderful graphics.
    As for advice, mine would be ‘go for it!’ I was always too reticent as a teenager, worried what others would think.

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