Saturday’s Conversations

A Friend’s Wife

I shouldn’t have said a friend’s wife. I should have said a couple since I know both the husband and the wife. The wife got a job for a year in Chicago for obvious reasons–their marriage is in a bit of trouble. He didn’t mind too much but she wanted a change. So she fled to Chicago, but needless to say, she had never been living an independent life before and she didn’t really like it very much when she tried it. Now she comes back, a little dispirited of course. So now the husband becomes even more vocal about his conservative values and regards women as irrational beings in even louder voice–in his words, his wife is a proof of such irrationality. Thank goodness I didn’t have to listen to their conversation for long. I always imagine the two being nice, gentle, sweet people, but due to their unsuitable personalities and varied aspirations, their marriage is not working that well. They have no choice but to continue, but their relationship has slowly transformed them into bitter creatures. They are very gentle and passive on the surface, but what they say are bitter and thorny.

How to Battle the inflation?

My friend L just sent me a message that she has been exploring stock market and bond market in order to beat the inflation. She asked my opinion, but I really don’t understand the market at all. I’ve always regarded the stock market as a gambling place and I’ve never been good with gambling, judging from past records. Even though I’ve been to casinos numerous time, I’ve never won. I’ve always lost. It doesn’t matter which casino, Atlantic City, Foxwood, Mohigan Sun, or Pennsylvania’s Sand casino, which has a new owner and a new name now. I can never win anything.

I guess my only way to battle inflation is to cut cost. I can cut dry shampoo, snacks, amazon orders etc. I probably will cut my Audible membership this year. By the way, I haven’t done any shopping this weekend–the Asian stores here only have fresh stuff for the weekend, but not for weekdays. So weekend shopping is a must, but the recent price increase has completely destroyed my shopping enthusiasm.

I Hate Laundry

When I watched Marie Kondo’s Netflix show, I could see that many people are frustrated by the weekly laundry. Just like me. The sorting, washing, drying, folding, and putting everything away takes a big chunk of Saturday or Sunday away each week.

I can’t imagine what women did long ago before the pair of washing machine and dryer became a permanent feature. The weekly washing might very well take long hours. Only very few rich women could be exempt from such a labor.

My friend told me that laundry can be more pleasant if one doesn’t fold it right away. Just spread them on your bed and let them stay there. Whenever you have some time, go to fold for fifteen minutes. This way it doesn’t feel like a burden. I tried her suggestion today and it really worked.