I remember the Tuesday afternoon last winter when my three-year-old, Leo, had a meltdown on the Hammersmith & City Line because the train was delayed. We were trapped in a packed carriage, and all I had was a crinkly magazine that only made things worse. As a project manager working from our tiny two-bedroom flat … Read more
Last Tuesday, my phone died at 14th Street on the L train, and I had to memorize my stop by counting stations like a caveman because I couldn’t pull up Google Maps. As a father of two who works construction in Bushwick and commutes to a site in Midtown, a dead phone means a missed … Read more
Look, I’m 48, I work in advertising downtown, and my weekends are my only time to reclaim my backyard in Lincoln Park. After last February’s polar vortex, my hydrangeas were a mess of dead wood. I tried hacking at them with my dad’s old rusty bypass shears last year, and after ten cuts, my right … Read more
I’ve got a 90-pound Labrador who thinks he’s a lapdog, and let me tell you, walking him in our one-bedroom LA apartment near Koreatown was a nightmare. I tried three cheap leashes last year—one snapped at the clip during a morning walk, and another frayed after just two weeks of our dry heat. As a … Read more
Let’s be real: turning 48 has been a slap in the face for my skin. I’m a copywriter based in Auckland, spending my mornings battling the oily T-zone from the humidity off the Waitematā Harbour, then getting blasted by that harsh UV through the windscreen on the drive to Mt Eden. I tried a cheap … Read more
As a 48-year-old dad living in Forest Hills, Queens, my daily grind on the Long Island Rail Road was slowly killing my sanity. The screeching wheels, the loud phone talkers, and the constant subway rumble on the E train made me feel like I was aging 10 years every trip. I tried cheap foam earplugs, … Read more
As a 48-year-old accountant who spends two hours a day on the Central Line, I know the struggle of trying to write meeting notes while standing in a swaying carriage. I’ve lost count of how many expensive pens I’ve dropped between the seats, only to have them roll away forever. Last year, I finally swore … Read more
Let me paint you a picture: I’m a 48-year-old accountant, walking from my car park in the Viaduct to the office every morning, and by 9 AM the Auckland sun is already cooking my bald spot. I tried a cheap bucket hat from a local store last summer—it turned into a sweaty, floppy mess within … Read more
I remember wearing a cheap printed shirt to my kid’s school fair in Ponsonby. After one wash, the design cracked into a puzzle, and I spent the afternoon explaining why my “World’s Best Dad” looked like a ransom note. That’s the moment I swore off flimsy graphic tees. For a 48-year-old family man in Auckland, … Read more
Last July, I lost four prized neon tetras because my old heater couldn’t keep up with our damp Auckland winter mornings—when the house drops to 12°C before the heat pump kicks in. I’m a 48-year-old IT project manager with a 120-litre tank in our Mt Eden villa, and I was sick of waking up to … Read more