FETTUGENIE!
Okay that joke was pretty cheesy, but not as cheesy as my favorite comfort food. Today is National Pasta Day, an excuse to indulge in everyone's* favorite carb.
Although pasta is closely associated with Italy, the first reports of people eating pasta goes all the way back to 5,000 B.C. in China.** Nowadays Italy consumes more pasta than any other country in the world.
*Please don't @ me if you prefer potatoes or bread or something other than pasta. You know what I meant!
**Marco Polo: first in swimming pool games, (presumably) first in bringing lo mein to Europe.
Today all carbs are fair game, Regina!
(gif via Mean Girls, obvi)
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Today is also National Boss's Day, a role I have reluctantly found myself in for the last several years. We're mostly depicted as cartoon villains in popular culture and social media comments, but in my experience as both an employee (the role I was in before I started Boredwalk) and a boss, bosses are about as villainous as people on the whole: some suck, some are perfectly nice people. I hope you have the latter type.
What I will say is the job is a lot harder than it looks, and if I could run Boredwalk without being one I gladly would. No slight against our team, it's just not something I really enjoy doing. I'm naturally kind of a solitary creature and people'ing is not my favorite activity.
Want a few famous October 17th birthdays and historical facts to jump start your pasta-eating fantasies? Here ya go!
• On this day in 2018 Canada legalized the use of recreational cannabis (here's hoping the US joins them at a federal level soon)
• Born on this day: rapper Eminem (1972), actress Rita Hayworth (1918), playwright Arthur Miller (1915), stuntman Evel Knievel (1938), astronaut Mae Jemison (1956), and animator/writer Mike Judge (1962)
• The first commercial wireless telegraph was sent across the Atlantic Ocean on this day in 1907
• On this day in 2018 Canada legalized the use of recreational cannabis (here's hoping the US joins them at a federal level soon)
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Alright! Scroll on down to learn a bit about fellow Boredwalk fans Nikki H. and her feline familiar Manny! If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming Monday email (and are a customer with some Boredwalk tees, tanks, hoodies, towels, bags, or books to show off), just reply to this and let us know, and we'll send you some fun questions to answer (along with our undying gratitude)!
We'll be back here in your inbox on Wednesday with some more random holidays to observe, historical tidbits to acknowledge, and fun links to entertaining content! Until next time...
Peace, love, and pasta,
Meredith
Nikki sporting her seasonally apropos Fine, Thanks tee!
Manny giving his pawprint of approval to Nikki's sartorial selection.
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
I currently work in healthcare marketing as my day job. My dream day job would be taking my side hustles — being Manny Halloween Cat's social media MEOWnager and running Cat Lady Academy, where I teach people how to create awesome cat social media accounts — full time!
2. What's a book you think the Boredwalk community should read?
If you're looking for a fun slasher-style read that's perfect for Halloween season, I highly recommend Clown in a Cornfield and its sequel, Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives. I read each of these in a night — I didn't want to put them down!
3. If you could have any super power what would it be and why?
Never needing to sleep, or only needing to sleep occasionally. I have nothing against sleep, but it takes up roughly a third of my day, and I'd rather spend that time reading, writing, and creating.
4. You can curse your nemesis with a minor annoyance for eternity; what do you choose?
Always having a couple pieces of cat litter stuck in between their toes or on the bottom of their feet.
5. What is something you wish you could go back in time and say to your younger self?
Embrace your weirdness. Once you learn how to be who you truly are, you'll find an incredible "family of choice" who loves you for exactly who you are.
6. Clear up a misconception (about your job, where you are from, some other topic you know a lot about).
This silly superstition that black cats are "unlucky." The truth is, adopting a black cat is good luck for you and for the cat!
Black cats are often the last to be adopted at shelters, but they're just as deserving of love as every other cat. If you're looking for a new kitty to add to your family, please don't overlook black cats.
Adopting Manny was the best decision I ever made. I've met my best friends through him, started my own business inspired by him, and get tons of love, headboops, and lap cuddles every day. If that's not good luck, then I don't know what is!
7. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
Hanging out on Manny's Instagram account, @mannyhalloweencat. We have so much fun there, especially during October — we celebrate Black Cat Awareness Month and Halloween all month long!
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