Are you getting everything you can out of this life?
An insightful, feel-good blog about work, life, and the elusive balance between the two, by career counselor, award-winning resume writer, and existential adventurer, Cliff Flamer
Years ago, I was in court testifying for a friend, and the defense attorney was doing his thing: trying like hell to discredit me. (Good luck with that, bruh.)
“So you’re saying you drank some beer and smoked a few bowls.”
He said this in a lazy faux-SoCal sort of… Read more...
What else can you call it?
Hazel’s been lucky enough to have after-school care by Temescal Lake, a modest lake with a beach and trees all around. Her child care program meets in a raised meadow that overlooks the lake.
It’s right next to a freeway, but you can’t s… Read more...
I tend to wake up with a song in my head. Usually a pop song. Not a slow one, a fast one usually. I bop my head to it while I go to the bathroom.
I wonder what it’d be like to sing it out loud. I’m thinking it would perfect, like filling a glass of fruit punch all the … Read more...
An ex-girlfriend once said to me that my voice makes her want to lie down.
(I guess that can be taken several ways.)
From what I can tell, she meant my voice relaxes her.
Total compliment.
But there are drawbacks to eliciting relaxation. I notice sometimes when I talk to people, they… Read more...
I’ve always struggled with telling my kids about Santa Claus. I have to look away when I answer their questions, and I try to layer in at least a shred of truth.
I don’t know how he does it. I guess it’s magic.
I’m not thrilled about this.
It’s the only… Read more...
My friend has this great story.
One day he woke up and decided he wanted to go to the beach. The only issue is he had no money and no car and he lived in Pasadena. That’s about 20 miles away.
But he was feeling stagnant so he packed up 6 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and… Read more...
I’m a pretty chill guy, but one place I always lose my shit — where I literally end up shouting at the top of my lungs at a decibel that makes my daughter cry — is when I’m on a call with a customer service agent.
It’s my Achilles heel.
Try as I might,… Read more...
The choices we make for our kids really show, and test, our values.
My teen is in a prestigious multi-year STEM internship. We literally danced when she got in.
But, she hasn’t been learning anything for a year. She’s bored and says everyone is bored. We checked it out … Read more...
Since roller coasters aren’t an option anymore due to my proclivity for dizziness (sob), I went to the water park with my daughter, instead.
We hit the Big Kahuna, The Typhoon Lagoon, and the wave pool.
But it was 70 degrees, not nearly warm enough for a water park. Even a la… Read more...
I agreed to play 30 consecutive games of Castle Mania with Hazel, or “The Troll Game” as we call it. (She had advocated for 50 games but I talked her down.)
Castle Mania is a simple but surprisingly suspenseful card game where you team up with each other to prevent a p… Read more...