Just dropping in here to say thank you for this. I'm always so delighted when an essay of yours arrives in my in-box. Your work is consistently some of the wisest and most engaging that I see. Thank you. Always a real pleasure to read.
I recently wrote a vehemently horrific letter to my apartment management company, as I’d finally had enough of their egregious bullshit, used my Dr title (not a thing I generally do), pdf’d it, and cc’d my home-owners association. I care zero percent whether this outs me as a crazy middle-aged lady (it does) or whether this is the most boring problem I’ve heard of in years (it is; I still told _everyone_), as I can confirm that hitting send felt better than any drug I’ve ever tried. They have not replied 🙃
Hilarious! I just finished a huge, long and drawn out renovation of a house built in 1895. Everything you wrote resonated--especially the SHOWER CURTAIN ROD-- and the details you shared were so typical of the BORING problems we encountered. I could go on and on about the problems (and boring decisions we had to make) but it would be...too boring. Everything came crashing down, however, when in the midst of our complicated renovation my daughter was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive type of cancer. Suddenly all of those problems with the renovation--as awful as they were--seemed negligible and of no consequence compared to the REAL challenge we were facing. Your writing made me recollect the horror of the renovation and marvel at how we were actually able to get through it amidst our other challenge. Thanks for making me (and my husband) laugh.
As a counterpoint to your contention that addiction is boring, I'm reminded of something said by comedian Mark Maron (a recovering heroin addict): "People who have never been addicted to anything will never know what it’s like to want something really, REALLY badly, and then get it… over and over again." (I'm quoting from memory here, so it might not be totally accurate.)
I’m having work done in my home right now, so your latest salvo quite resonated. Home renovations are something we learn about through trial and error, not to mention by burning through the greenbacks. The biggest lesson I learned from redoing my kitchen a few years ago was to hire an actual design studio when it came time to do the master bath: you pay more but it’s their job to make sure you achieve a good result, and the day-to-day aggravations of deadlines, deliveries, damages, and work schedules are theirs, not yours, to bear. My new bathroom is comparable to the baths at Caracalla and like that ancient site, may outlast this mere mortal who picked the tile and wrote the checks.
You are the best and funniest writer I know. I read everything I see from you. Laughing out loud multiple times during this delightful, hilarious piece. THANK YOU, Tim Kreider!
Just dropping in here to say thank you for this. I'm always so delighted when an essay of yours arrives in my in-box. Your work is consistently some of the wisest and most engaging that I see. Thank you. Always a real pleasure to read.
I recently wrote a vehemently horrific letter to my apartment management company, as I’d finally had enough of their egregious bullshit, used my Dr title (not a thing I generally do), pdf’d it, and cc’d my home-owners association. I care zero percent whether this outs me as a crazy middle-aged lady (it does) or whether this is the most boring problem I’ve heard of in years (it is; I still told _everyone_), as I can confirm that hitting send felt better than any drug I’ve ever tried. They have not replied 🙃
An early nomination for all the inevitable “best pieces of 2024” end of year lists. Tremendous.
Hilarious! I just finished a huge, long and drawn out renovation of a house built in 1895. Everything you wrote resonated--especially the SHOWER CURTAIN ROD-- and the details you shared were so typical of the BORING problems we encountered. I could go on and on about the problems (and boring decisions we had to make) but it would be...too boring. Everything came crashing down, however, when in the midst of our complicated renovation my daughter was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive type of cancer. Suddenly all of those problems with the renovation--as awful as they were--seemed negligible and of no consequence compared to the REAL challenge we were facing. Your writing made me recollect the horror of the renovation and marvel at how we were actually able to get through it amidst our other challenge. Thanks for making me (and my husband) laugh.
As a counterpoint to your contention that addiction is boring, I'm reminded of something said by comedian Mark Maron (a recovering heroin addict): "People who have never been addicted to anything will never know what it’s like to want something really, REALLY badly, and then get it… over and over again." (I'm quoting from memory here, so it might not be totally accurate.)
I’m having work done in my home right now, so your latest salvo quite resonated. Home renovations are something we learn about through trial and error, not to mention by burning through the greenbacks. The biggest lesson I learned from redoing my kitchen a few years ago was to hire an actual design studio when it came time to do the master bath: you pay more but it’s their job to make sure you achieve a good result, and the day-to-day aggravations of deadlines, deliveries, damages, and work schedules are theirs, not yours, to bear. My new bathroom is comparable to the baths at Caracalla and like that ancient site, may outlast this mere mortal who picked the tile and wrote the checks.
You are the best and funniest writer I know. I read everything I see from you. Laughing out loud multiple times during this delightful, hilarious piece. THANK YOU, Tim Kreider!