Yesterday, as I was driving my daughter to her first ice skating lesson, we somehow got onto the topic of Walmart. “You hate Walmart,” my daughter stated correctly from the back seat. “You can never find anything there.” This was also correct. The layout of Walmart confuses me, and there seem to be random bins […]
Category Archives: Money
When the Magic is Gone
Magic always comes with a price. This was never more evident to me than yesterday, as I took my children in search of some horrible thing that they had seen on television. If you do not own a television, then you are smart and do not know what I am talking about, but if you […]
The Going Rate For the Tooth Fairy
As you may recall from yesterday’spost, my daughter had her tooth pulled out by the dentist which left us with one very excited six-year-old, and two parents wondering for the first time just what was expected of the tooth fairy. When I was a kid the tooth fairy left me a quarter. Apparently my wife […]
Disney Infinity: 49% Marketing Ploy, 51% Fun
From the moment we saw the video online we have been saving our allowance in anticipation of the release of Disney Infinity. For anyone that has not been at my house for the past few weeks, and thus may not know what Disney Infinity is, I will explain it to you. Disney Infinity is a […]
The International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
When last we spoke, I told you of the woes I encountered on the way to an attempted family adventure. We got lost. We sat in traffic for hours. We had no money and none of our cards worked. The wind and rain were on the verge of cancelling the whole thing anyway. It was […]
The Worst Thing About Being a Parent
When you decide to become a parent (or have it sprung upon you), you know in advance that there are going to be ups and downs. Pluses and minuses, if you will. No, there can be no preparation for it, but at least you have some idea of what to expect, right? I imagine that […]
Why People Don’t Pay Artists
Have you ever, when confronted with leaking pipes or an explosively clogged toilet, called up one of your friends who is not a professional plumber, but loves plumbing so much that they spend their free time doing amateur plumbing projects? No? Hmmmm. Well then, what about rewiring your bathroom? Will you be calling your brother-in-law […]
Confessions of a Former Collector
There comes a point in every relationship when it just has to change. A tipping point. The point when things just absolutely cannot go on any longer in the same way that they had gone on before. You finally tell them that you are in love with them, because you just can’t hold it in […]
To the Graduating Class of 2011
To my fellow students, esteemed faculty, and treasured guests, welcome. You may be surprised to see me standing up here today, as I am not enrolled in your class and have never met any of you, but I read the speech that the guy who was supposed to be up here wrote, and believe me, […]
The Cost of Singing
In your regular life, you may know some musicians. You know, the ones who are always broke? Yes, them. The poor starving musician is so prevalent that it has become cliche. However, you may also have heard what musicians get paid. Sometimes it is a lot, and you think, “Why don’t these guys have any […]