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Boredwalk Community: The Most Reliable Method of Birth Control
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
Until I got dragged under by disability, I was a Public School Teacher. (Imagine chest thrust out and chin raised in a noble stance!) As such, I was not allowed to ever wear jeans or a t-shirt. So now that I have no dress code to honor, I revel in acquiring as many sarcastic, punny, or just weird t-shirts as I can and wearing them constantly. (Friends in my tai chi class are always saying, "Wait, there's Amelia! What does her t-shirt say today?")
My dream job? Oh, if only there were some way I could be forced to read books I'm interested in for a living! I don't really want to become an editor because, except for the "editing" part of fixing grammatical, spelling, and word-usage mistakes, editors are forced to read a lot of things that have been submitted to a publisher that they may have no interest in whatsoever.
2. What's your biggest pet peeve?
That every editor at every publishing house, TV news station, and newspaper has apparently died. I LOVE to read, but grammar, spelling, and word-choice errors can really spoil it for me. Both of my parents were teachers and "Grammar Nazis." We made a game out of being the first to comment on an error in anything anybody said, particularly on TV. (The comedian Demetri Martin says that correcting someone else's grammar is THE most reliable method of birth control. Works every time!)
3. What's a book you think the Boredwalk community should read?
Well, my personal favorite is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard, but we all ought to read Six Degrees by Mark Lynas, about the effect six degrees of difference in temperature is going to have on the Earth, and our oceans, and all forms of life as we know it.
4. What's the most useful piece of advice you've ever received?
"Stop that!" As someone with severe ADD and poor perception of social cues, if people didn't occasionally break into my thoughts and make me aware that I'm doing something weird or unacceptable, I probably wouldn't have any friends.
5. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
Over there, in a box, occasionally with another introvert. Unless the metaphor has put on weight.
The Personal is Political
Here at Boredwalk we normally try to focus on content meant to entertain; something of a diversion from the ever-looming existential dread. Right now we can't do it. There's too much wrong, and it's overwhelming.
We don't have the right thing to say. We don't want to hear from strangers that we should "stay in our lane" and not talk about current events. We don't want to hear from apologists who have anything to say to defend the lawless actions of the criminals in uniform who have brutalized journalists, bystanders, and protesters.
These so-called LEOs have utterly failed their communities, their country, and their fellow citizens in such a catastrophic way. They must be held to account. And we don't want to hear about a few bad apples, either; this is a systemic problem that needs a serious, comprehensive solution. We are not safe as a society when we have armed sociopaths hiding behind badges. This isn't a new problem, either — it's always been a problem, it's always been outrageous, and it needs to stop.
We also don't want to hear about how "all lives matter." We don't want to hear about what snowflakes we are. If you post that bullshit below, your comment will be deleted and you'll be blocked. This isn't your platform; it's ours.
If you want to boycott us, good. If you have a problem with any of this, guess what? We don't want you involved with Boredwalk anyway. Our art was never meant for you or people that think like you to begin with. Our business will be just fine without you as a customer or follower; better, even.
This is actually a great opportunity for us to clarify for anyone who hasn't noticed that Boredwalk is owned by two progressive artists based in Los Angeles. We care about the world around us and we care about social justice. These things always have been and always will be an influencing factor in our creative output and brand ethos. We won't apologize for this, nor will we let fear of how publicly espousing our values might impact our business stop us from speaking truth to power.
And about that: if you have a problem with creative people expressing these types of values you're going to have a pretty dull existence. Creativity and progressive values are inexorably linked and always have been. I guess you could just watch Kirk Cameron movies and listen to Lee Greenwood albums if you only want to support conservative "artists", but you can't have Boredwalk. You can't have Taylor Swift. You can't have Sarah Silverman. You can't have Bruce Springsteen. You can't have Lizzo. You can't have our art, music, comedy, and entertainment and expect us to just shut up about our values. You can't have cool fashion, music, TV, movies, art, etc., and not support progressive artists. We have a near monopoly on the arts.
If you're feeling enraged and scared and powerless here's what you can do:
1. If you have the means, make a donation to one of the many organizations that are in a position to help. Some organizations to consider (we have already donated to the ones denoted with an asterisk):
@bailproject*
@blackvisionscollective
@naacp_ldf
cuapb.org
@aclu_nationwide*
@npap_nlg*
@blklivesmatter*
@colorofchange*
reclaimtheblock.org
minnesotafreedomfund.org
If I missed one it wasn't intentional; feel free to recommend more organizations in the comments below. I would also urge you to make campaign donations to people running for public office who care about making our country a more just society, especially BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) candidates.
2. Demand action from your state and local government. Criminal behavior of people entrusted with public safety cannot be tolerated. It was never okay, and it is still not okay. This is not the country we want to live in, where this bullshit is tolerated. It costs you nothing but a few minutes of time to call state and local elected officials and tell them this is unacceptable.
3. Vote! I know, November is far away, a lot can happen between now and then, but for now I need to hope we still have a chance at a somewhat peaceful transfer of power in January. This means you have to vote. If Joe Biden wasn't your first choice, welcome to the club. I am going to support him. I am going to vote for him. This administration has to go. It didn't invent racism or police violence because that stuff pre-dates the current administration, but they aren't helping. If you consider yourself a remotely reasonable and sane adult, you would have to agree that this administration has been a disaster and vote for the person most likely to get rid of it.
And it's not enough to just vote in November. You need to vote every chance you get. You need to care about who is running for school board and city council and all those minor off-cycle elections with bizarrely worded ballot measures. You need to care, pay attention, and vote. Take the time to google the people running for
roles like judge or county sheriff. If you have time to catch up on TV or internet memes, I promise you can spend an hour or two researching a ballot a couple times each year. I know it can seem boring and not important and futile — I know! But it isn't futile if every decent person does it. It matters. Do it, and get everyone you know to do it. Let people who have the gall to claim they are "apolitical" face social consequences from you for not participating in trying to make things better.
For what it's worth, even people I know in my professional circles who tend to be more politically conservative are desperate to see this administration gone. None of this sentiment should be radical or controversial. Participating in our democracy is patriotic, and it is the decent thing to do. Condemning racism and police violence should not be a "fringe" idea.
4. Stop letting the perfect be the enemy of incremental improvement. The only thing that drives me crazier than the Trump cultists are people who consider themselves progressives but won't vote or support imperfect left-leaning candidates running for office. I have had it with people who think they are radical but throw a tantrum when they don't get their candidate of choice and don't show up to vote. If you do this you're just as much of a problem as the people you claim to oppose. You're not helping, you're actively enabling the enemies of justice and progress and democratic ideals.
I will take Joe Biden over Donald Trump any day, and if you care about progressive values that should be your preference, too. They are NOT all the same. I don't agree with Joe Biden 100% of the time. I would like to see him be more progressive, but I will still vote for him. You should, too. You can still push for more progressive policy while helping to get rid of the most problematic people in government in the only way that is practical at the moment. We might never get all of what we'd like to see in our lifetime, but getting closer to it is better than getting further from it.
There are probably other things we can and should do. I don't have all the answers, but the above list is a start.
Before anyone spouts off about this being "trendy" outrage, I'm not newly concerned with any of this. I'm completely exhausted by all of it because I've been outraged by these things my whole life. I was the kid in middle school who went vegetarian for the animals and the environment (still vegan decades later). I was the kid who was writing letters for Amnesty International in high school. I was the teen volunteering with the environmental club to do beach clean up. I could rattle off the many ways I've made these values part of my every day life but I'm not saying this for cred or to score "wokeness" points; I'm saying it because I bristle at the notion that any of this sentiment doesn't come from a sincere place. This isn't about virtue signaling, it's about making it clear where Boredwalk stands on these things and encouraging the people we can influence to do what they can to help.
I'm sure I'm not everyone's idea of a perfect progressive, but you know what? Literally no one is. I care and I'm trying. My whole life I have always been deeply concerned with social justice and environmental justice. In fact, it's probably one of the things that makes me the cynical depression-prone adult that I am. I look at people who don't feel that way and wonder how they do it.
I don't know how other people don't care. But I do know that I care and I want to be around other people who care, too. I want to make art and content and humor for people who care. I'm old enough to know it's not all just going to go away with one protest or one election, but I know we can achieve something better than what we have now if enough people are pushing for it.
Boredwalk Community: Let's Not Even Talk About Balayage!
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
I'm a communications manager at a nonprofit that I love called Here for the Girls (we offer support to young women with breast cancer). We've shifted our in-person support to video meetings, which are working out surprisingly well, so there's one (small) coronavirus win! Also, I have been wearing sweatpants every day for a month — another win. My (other) dream day job is to be a novelist. A published novelist. A published novelist that makes some money. Yup, that about covers my dreams.
2. What's your biggest pet peeve?
Weirdly, my biggest pet peeve is all really trendy things. I feel a deep, primal need to totally not like what everyone else likes, even if I secretly want to try/watch/buy it. People love Game of Thrones? Never gonna watch it. All the ladies are wearing leggings everywhere like they're real pants? Not gonna do it. Let's not even talk about balayage.
3. If you could have any super power what would it be and why?
I don't know if I'm ready to take on that kind of responsibility. Um. I think I'd kinda love to be un-killable. I don't know if I mean, like, Deadpool or Morbius, or something else entirely… knowing my luck, I'd end up like Ashildr in Dr. Who, just a depressed jerk sitting around by myself at the end of the world. Okay, phew, these are hard questions.
4. You can curse your nemesis with a minor annoyance for eternity; what do you choose?
Ooh. A runny nose. Picture it: you're in an important meeting and a worm of snot is running out of one nostril. Do you try to wipe it surreptitiously on your sleeve? Let it go and hope no one notices? Make those REALLY ANNOYING sniffling noises nonstop? Try to keep your head back until people start wondering what's on the ceiling?? YOU CAN'T WIN. (As someone sitting here with a runny nose AND eyes thanks to spring allergies, this is an excellent answer.)
5. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?
This sounds crazy, but I don't have a bucket list. I'm afraid of lots of things, plus I'm an introvert, so I'll just sit here in my house (while having endless video teleconferences) and read a book. I mean, maybe learning to bake is on some list of things I'd like to conquer, but I don't enjoy it, so if we're talking about a list of things I suck at that I wish I could do, baking is definitely on it. Also, math.
6. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
As a wannabe novelist working hard on avoiding writing my novel, and also as a person who feels like she should be doing something worthwhile with all this (nonexistent) free time during the coronavirus lockdown, I recently started a blog. They are so un-trendy now, so that's why it's okay that I did it (see pet peeve answer above). Be forewarned, it's a limited run — I plan to stop when we magically get to go back to our regular lives again or when I run out of things to say. Join my 15 closest Facebook friends and read along!
Boredwalk Community: The Argentinian Tango & Milking Goats
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
I'm a writer of novels and other randomness, having been a journalist, then PR maven. Among my sidetracking and checkered past, I studied animal husbandry at university with hopes of running a horse stable. But it doesn't pay, and it costs a lot to properly maintain horses. Lose-lose.
2. What keeps you up at night?
The current lack of civility and humanity and my dog's snoring.
3. What's a book you think the Boredwalk community should read?
Since I'm a writer, I'm going with two. First, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. Like Tolstoy, but Korean. It's epic, emotional, and excellent (note proper use of the Oxford Comma). Second, Neelie's Truth by Betsy Fitzgerald (that's moi), in the style of Harper Lee, is a novel about loss, revenge, and the decisions that forever change our lives. Set in rural 1950s New England. (Available at Amazon and by request to your fave indie store). For an autographed copy, message me!
4. What's the most useful piece of advice you've ever received?
"If you're afraid, that's the reason to do it." Truly. We get nowhere by staying safe.
5. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?
Learning the Argentinian tango. (Ed. note: I fully realize I'm about to step in it, but I had no idea there were different versions of the tango depending on the country. See? I learn new stuff every day!)
6. Clear up a misconception (about your job, where you are from, some other topic you know a lot about).
Journalists and most of the news business is not fake. I worked early on for The New York Times and wish I had the guts to hold on, but having kids intervened. Journalists don't get rich; they work long hours, and most care deeply about what they do. If a reporter gets it wrong, they made a mistake. Career journalists deserve our gratitude. (Agreed!)
7. What's a surprising fact about you?
I know how to milk a goat (see dream job above).
8. Got an article from your social media feed this week that everyone should see?
I go backwards to manage today. In my blog, If Wishes Were.
9. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
On Twitter: @betsyfitzgerald
On Instagram: @b_writer
On Facebook: Betsy Fitzgerald Author
Boredwalk Community: Viva the PNW, baby!
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
My actual day job is a nursing student (one term left!) as well as a caregiver at an assisted living facility, which I've been doing for 7 years now. As for my dream job, does no job count? (Ed. note: it sure does, and that's my dream job, too!)
I would love to have the freedom and resources to travel the world and learn about/research whatever struck my fancy. If you're asking me to be halfway realistic , then I'd say nursing is a pretty good fit for me.
2. What's your biggest pet peeve?
I'm too picky to narrow this down to one. I'd say when people ask you a question and don't care to hear the answer. They either zone out or cut you off. Makes me yearn for blood... (They only want to hear you agree with what they just said. Jerks!)
3. What's a life pro tip the Boredwalk community needs to know?
Life pro tip - stop resisting. Resistance means there's an energy imbalance going on, you're either fighting something that should happen or you're fighting to create something that wasn't meant to be. Accept what is and listen to your soul. A close second: socially oblivious people, there's protocols you're supposed to follow, y'all. (This is the most poetic Borg assimilation sales pitch I've ever heard.)
4. If you could have any super power what would it be and why?
Easy: To forever remain fit and healthy, regardless of what I ate or drank or how infrequently I exercised. (Absolute perfection, that.) There's also a matching meme on my Pinterest board: women don't dream of finding the perfect guy, they dream of being able to eat whatever they want without getting fat. Soooooo true!
5. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?
I don't know if I have a particular experience. I just want to experience life to the fullest. Cliché, I know.
6. If you drink: what's your go-to drink? If you don't drink: what's your go-to dessert or snack??
Piña coladas are my jam! Daiquiris are also a classic standby.
7. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
I'm from the Portland metro area in Oregon. Viva the PNW, baby.
Boredwalk Community: Magic & Misophonia
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
Actual: Independent Audio Engineer. Dream: Talk Show Host (which I was for a dozen years on SiriusXM).
2. What keeps you up at night?
Now? Covid-19. B.C. (Before Coronavirus)? Whether or not I’d keep getting freelance work.
3. What's a book you think the Boredwalk community should read?
Happy: Why More Or Less Everything Is Absolutely Fine, by Derren Brown. He’s primarily an illusionist and magician but much more than that. He’s written an easy-to-absorb, engaging guide to stoicism, and every page has insights into making it through tough times like now.
4. You can curse your nemesis with a minor annoyance for eternity; what do you choose?
My nemesis already has misophonia, so I can’t top that. (Ed. note: how convenient!)
5. What's a life pro tip the Boredwalk community needs to know?
No one's thinking about you half as much as you think they’re thinking about you. Most people are too busy thinking about themselves.
6. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?
Owning a home in the Hollywood Hills...
7. What is a surprising fact about you?
I’ve met (and have autographs from) both Jeffrey Lebowskis: the actors David Huddleston (RIP) and Jeff Bridges. (How meta!)
8. Got an article from your social media feed this week that everyone should see?
An Opinion Piece from the New York Times: In Praise of Pessimism (Just read it, and I think a LOT of our subscribers will be able to identify with the writer's premise. I am *definitely* a Defensive Pessimist!)
9. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
On my website ChrisTsakis.com, which also links to my Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, SoundCloud, and YouTube. Follow on any and all!
Boredwalk Community: Cake Decorating & Teleporting
Welcome to our weekly Boredwalk Community series, where we ask Boredwalk fans fun questions! This week we're talking to Amy W., showing off a Caffiend shirt.
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
I'm a payroll accountant for feature films, but my dream job is cake decorating without having to deal with customers.
2. What's the most useful piece of advice you've ever received?
"All the could haves, should haves, and would haves in the world won't bring back a missed opportunity." But it's said like "couldas, shouldas, and wouldas." (Ed. note: Carpe that diem!)
3. What's a book you think the Boredwalk community should read?
Anything by Jasper Fforde or Jonathan Carroll.
4. If you could have any super power what would it be and why?
Teleportation so I could just be where I want to be without having to get there.
5. You can curse your nemesis with a minor annoyance for eternity; what do you choose?
Doors that don't shut unless you fiddle with them just right. (Diabolical!)
6. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?
Traveling to all 50 states. I'm missing Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and possibly Delaware.
7. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
On Instagram @AmyMadeCake
Boredwalk Community: The Jersey Shore Cast Isn't Even From Jersey
Welcome to our weekly Boredwalk Community series, where we ask Boredwalk fans fun questions! This week we're talking to Mikey B. of Rockaway NJ, showing off a Don't Grow Up It's a Trap shirt.
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
Currently "in between jobs" as they say, but I was a litigation support manager for a court reporting firm. I emailed transcripts to attorneys; not fun. Dream day job = music producer. (Ed. note: yeah, that sounds better.)
2. What's your biggest pet peeve?
The rapid loss of driving knowledge when it happens to rain during your commute. (The struggle is real...and annoying.)
3. What's the most useful piece of advice you've ever received?
Play chess, not checkers. (Dad, is that you?)
4. If you could have any super power what would it be and why?
The amount of times I’ve debated this question with friends always seems to create a different answer. To stray away from the usual, I’d love for my super power to be able to eradicate disease. (You'd never pay for drinks on this planet again!)
5. You can curse your nemesis with a minor annoyance for eternity; what do you choose?
The pain of stubbing your toe...doesn’t matter which toe.
6. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?
Travel to every continent.
7. Clear up a misconception (about your job, where you are from, some other topic you know a lot about).
I’m sure this gets hammered home enough, but being from New Jersey, NO we aren’t all like the Jersey Shore cast (they’re not even from Jersey), we don’t all have links to the mob, and we have THE best pizza. Don’t @ me.
8. What's a life pro tip the Boredwalk community needs to know?
Just breathe and get those creative juices flowing!
9. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
On Twitter @whereyabeen
If you’re of the musical variety please spin some of my tracks here: https://weusetolove.bandcamp.com/
Boredwalk Community: Distance Learning With a Side of Nachos
Welcome to our weekly Boredwalk Community series, where we ask Boredwalk fans fun questions! This week we're talking to Paige C. of Marianna FL, showing off a Shirley Temple shirt.
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
My Brand! New! Day! Job! (Thanks a lot, COVID-19) is distance learning with my incredible students. We are learning new things every day, to say the least. My dream day job? I'd like to be a professional sea glass gatherer or a mudlarker. (Ed. note: I definitely had to look up mudlarking just now because I am an uncultured troglodyte.)
2. What's your biggest pet peeve?
Super-relevant — and I think it's the teacher in me: folks not complying with social distancing and hygiene guidelines even when it's in the best interest for everyone involved. For example, wearing a mask when you are around others. My stepmom made me my excellent mask! I am in a rural community where there is still a very low number of COVID-19 cases. I want to help keep it that way. (The rest of us aspiring curve-flatteners salute you!)
3. What's a book that you think the Boredwalk community should read?
Well, I fall in love with books fairly regularly. I recently read Emily McGovern's Bloodlust and Bonnets and really enjoyed that. I'm a big fan of her webcomic "My Life as a Background Slytherin." She makes me snort-laugh. (I just checked out her comic, and it IS really good! Maybe I'll link to it in Wednesday's email...)
4. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?
Hiking out to The Old Man of Hoy, in Orkney. Did you know that is where they filmed part of the video "Here Comes the Rain Again" by The Eurythmics? True story: went to Orkney and did an archeology tour. On the first night there, we went around the table and introduced ourselves and gave a reason for why we were there. Answers ranged from being interested in Neolithic structures to studying the "in between" spaces of mystical places. My answer? "Well, when I was a teenager I really loved the landscape in this one particular music video..." The tour guide didn't miss a beat, and for the rest of the week she would point out places that didn't make sense to anyone else but me. "That's the window where Dave was videoing Annie," and "See that beach? The boat wreck used to be there." I didn't make it out to the Old Man of Hoy that time, but I REALLY hope to return! (This resonates with me! The only reason I'd ever really go to Manchester is to have my photo taken in front of the Salford Lads Club because of The Smiths, so I totally get this.)
5. If you drink, what's your go-to drink? If you don't drink, what's your go-to snack?
Please see my t-shirt. The more cherries, the better. I also love nachos. (Right?! A good bartender knows they will ALWAYS get a nicer tip if they don't skimp on the maraschinos.)
6. What's a surprising fact about you?
I got my first tattoo at age 50. Then I immediately got a second one. I can't wait to get my third one. I was all ready to go, but had to cancel once the Stay in Place order went out.
7. What's the most useful piece of advice you've ever received?
The 5 P's: Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance! And then this one: what you think of me is none of my business. That one is still a struggle for me sometimes.
8. What's a life pro tip the Boredwalk community needs to know?
Don't be afraid to reach out to people you find interesting.
9. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
Paige didn't answer this one, so I guess she doesn't want anyone to find her. Unfortunately for her, though, I am a master amateur sleuth and discovered she's talented photographer who's sold some of her work in the past on Etsy! You should go marvel at her sold works here.
Kick out the gloom, Kick out the blues
Based on feedback from our subscribers, we can confidently say we send out amusing emails. Other brands might just send you product photos and say "buy stuff" but here at Boredwalk amusing you is job #1.
Because everything is terrible everywhere right now, we recently added a new weekly email to our regular email content and it's entirely focused on trying to make you smile and it comes out every Wednesday. Below is a round up of what we shared this week. If you like this join our email list. You can find the email sign up at the bottom of this page on the right (scroll all the way down to the footer).
1. Comedian Neel Nanda's new half-hour set.
(Note: Neel is very funny, but he also has an affinity for the odd four-letter word. Headphones up if your pious granny is in the room...but also, chill out, granny.)
Neel has been a friend of ours since Meredith and I first arrived in Los Angeles. He is extremely funny and wholly dedicated to the craft of telling jokes. It's been a blast getting to see his material evolve over the last several years and watch him grow into a superb stage performer. Netflix, give this man an hour! In the meantime, you can get your LOLs free of charge on YouTube, just click the link above.
2. Cats & Dominoes.
If you haven't seen this since it was first posted to YouTube a couple weeks ago, the title pretty much says it all. Two cats, countless dominoes, three and a half minutes of feline befuddlement. You're welcome!
3. Dolly Parton has come to save us all (and read us a bedtime story).
Famed songwriter and general righter of wrongs Dolly Parton is here to help us all get to sleep. Starting April 2nd — hey, that's tomorrow! — at 7:00PM and continuing for the next ten weeks, Ms. Dolly will be reading bedtime stories to help kids feel a little safer during all this craziness.
4. More koalas than you can shake a eucalyptus stick at.
The folks at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary have blessed us all with an embarrassment of riches in the form of multiple livestreams from the koala habitat they maintain. Koalas, who are generally pretty sedentary creatures, don't tend to be very active. If you're in the mood for more movement, though, just keep scrolling to the dingo tracker feeds!
5. Goats have overrun this Welsh seaside town, and it's adorable.
Chances are that if you ventured outside over the last couple weeks you've noticed a change in nature. Bluer skies, cleaner air, and loads of wildlife emerging from hiding to assert its newfound dominance. We've noticed it here in SoCal with wild peacocks and coyotes flourishing in the streets, and our buddies in the UK are experiencing a similar re-wilding of their environment. A herd of 122 Kashmiri goats have descended on the small seaside town of Llandudno, Wales and are taking advantage of the empty town center streets for their daily cavortings. Good on them!
Boredwalk Community: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
Welcome to our weekly Boredwalk Community series, where we ask Boredwalk fans fun questions! This week we're talking to Matt B. of Chicago IL, showing off a whiskey shirt.
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
I'm an events planner for a medium-sized nonprofit organization in Chicago. I absolutely love it. My dream day job is to be an events planner for a Formula 1 team. Preferably McLaren or Haas.
2. What's your biggest pet peeve?
Injustice.
3. What's a book that you think the Boredwalk community should read?
Essentialism by Greg McKeown. About 15 months ago I made the conscious decision to truly improve my life. I went on new brain drugs, got a new job I'm passionate about in the industry I love, started seeing a therapist, and reading self-improvement (not self-help) books. Essentialism had the most impact on me. It's about the disciplined pursuit of less: stop taking millimeter steps in a million different directions and take meter-long steps in one or two things that have true meaning to you.
(Ed. note: this tracks well with my own experience as someone with ADD. Nibbling at tasks/projects on the margins is a good way to accomplish very little.)
4. What's a life pro tip that the Boredwalk community needs to know?
If you don't prioritize your life, someone else will.
5. You can curse your nemesis with a minor annoyance for eternity; what do you choose?
Any time they drink something, a few drops end up on their shirt.
6. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
@mberan42 on Twitter. No Facebook — I deleted that over a year ago as part of my decision to improve my life. It was just making me angry. I still have the Insta, though. Same handle — @mberan42
Boredwalk Community: Is "Jackwagon" a Technical Term?
Welcome to our weekly Boredwalk Community series, where we ask Boredwalk fans fun questions! This week we're talking to Tricia K. of Oglesby IL, showing off a Amateurs Wait for Inspiration shirt.
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
I give tours of the Hegeler Carus Mansion in La Salle, Illinois. It’s 144 years old and almost entirely original. Awesome place, though I wish it was haunted. My dream day job? Hmmm…that’s actually a tough one, because I’m one of those intolerable jerks that already loves their job. Although if someone paid me an obscene amount of money to read books and watch old cartoons all day….
Oh, and I’m also a professional storyteller. And I dog-sit. I get to do all the stuff I love. Pthththth! (Ed. note: The number of non-haunted mansions in this country is too damn high!)
2. What's your biggest pet peeve?
Going to the fridge for an ice cold soda and finding the last one’s been taken. That really gets on my nerves…especially since I live alone. (Your roommate sounds like a grade-A soda scoundrel!)
3. What's a book that you think the Boredwalk community should read?
Stephen King’s Skeleton Crew. It’s a book of short stories, so even the easily distracted can get hooked.
4. What's the most useful piece of advice you've received?
My father once told me, “What others think of you is none of your business.” It was great advice, and I listened. Granted, he also told me to leave his ‘damn power tools’ alone, and I did not listen…which explains the belt sander scar on my leg. (Ouch! Well, hopefully that incident built some character where your flesh used to be.)
5. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?
I would like to meet author Stephen King and not act like a total jackwagon in front of him. (Is "jackwagon" a technical term?)
6. Clear up a misconception (about your job, where you are from, some other topic you know a lot about).
Arsenic wasn’t only found in Victorian wallpapers; you could find it in your chocolate bar wrappers, your candles, hats, socks, children’s toys, hair ornaments, dresses, curtains…the possibilities for poisoning you/your family were endless back then! (They really knew how to party in the 19th century. Here's to living dangerously in uncomfortable clothes!)
7. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
I don’t do the Facebook/Twitter stuff, but I do have a website: BlarneyTales.com. You should also check out HegelerCarus.org. Killer cool old house, no joke! (Well, wait for the stay-at-home orders to be lifted. Bookmark it for your next trip to or through La Salle, IL!)