Advice For Men Category

Knowing that I would be undergoing rotator cuff surgery was frightening enough, but having to worry about what to do during my time off was a stress I did not expect. I was a little nervous and apprehensive, thinking of friends and colleagues of mine who complained of post-surgical blues when they had to take their own medical leave. This is in part due to normalizing a life of going at 100 mph (including holding a full-time job, attending to a family, countless other activities and obligations), and then abruptly slowing downRead More

Those on the inside already know that this happened a couple of months ago, so it should give you some indication about how busy life can be balancing work and the duties of a first-time parent. In any case, I’m back, and I finally have time. As Brittany and I began to look ahead to the birth of our son, we worked towards preparing for the insane number of variables that go into the planning of delivery. How will you birth your child? Naturally? Will you use painkillers? Are youRead More

Today is my 26th birthday. Two years ago, on my 24th birthday, I wrote a list of the 24 lessons life had taught me in 24 years. So, on this, my 26th birthday, I would like to amend and add to that list. Some things change, some stay the same. Here’s what 26 years on this planet have taught me: 1. Don’t drink shitty beer. If it ain’t craft-brewed, it likely tastes like horse piss. 2. Not everyone finds offensive jokes funny. Some people find them offensive. These people suck, though.Read More

In the age of virtual reality, it’s never been easier to avoid actual reality. It’s acceptable now to send digital messages over speaking face-to-face, to surf your phone while out on a date, and to wear earphones in both ears while driving (this one bothers me the most for some reason). But there’s a centuries old practice which still remains the most effective way to produce and cultivate relationships. Going out for beers. It’s simple, yet often overlooked. Having beers is a social convention that dissolves all differences and bringsRead More

At the age of 25, I have decided that I have my life in order. I have finished postsecondary education. I have a teaching job that I love despite the low-ish pay, but that salary will only increase over time. I have health insurance, I have a roof over my head, and for the most part, I am debt-free. And I’m having a kid. Well, not me per se. My wife, Brittany, is the one actually having it, meaning, giving birth. We met each other over five years ago andRead More

When we were younger, we wanted to be older.  Now that we’re older, we want to be younger, or at least still in college because that was a collection of years that will not count when we reach the pearly whites.  But let’s face it, we have to adult, even when it feels like it just too much.  Here’s a little guide to help you through the hard parts or the times that you just can’t… Breathe Breathe in.  Breathe out.  Take in this moment for what it is andRead More

Valentine’s Day may be a day filled with romance, but that shouldn’t limit your choice of movie. If you’re gonna shell out for an extravagant dinner, why not go the extra mile to find a movie that you and your boo can call your own. Think Marshall and Lily from How I Met Your Mother. Their Valentine’s Day movie was Predator. Literally everyone and their mother will be watching Dirty Dancing or The Notebook. In case you aren’t seeing Deadpool this weekend, here are 14 guilty and not-so-guilty pleasures youRead More

College has forever been pushed as perhaps the greatest time in life, but does anyone ever mention the drawbacks? Well, besides the pretty much unimaginable cost, which is touted as one of the biggest drawbacks to anything ever, but doesn’t actually feel real to anyone. For example, I currently owe $8,032 to my university. Having never seen more than five hundred dollars at once, this number feels obnoxiously big and like it could be way, way, smaller. But wait, there’s more…   1. There’s walking. Like a lot. Can someone please explainRead More

A gig, a joint, a position, a role, a racket, a profession, a grind, they’re all still a job. Employment. If you’re a creative type, living in the rust belt, or were as foolish as our staff and majored in liberal arts, you’ve probably found yourself unemployed or scrambling from project to project in this post-career employment economy. At some point you’ll have to make ends meet and this will mean one thing: working for someone else. And if your only skills take place outside of cyberspace, or you speakRead More

1. Essays essentially write themselves. That night before the essay is due…It always seems to be a little darker outside.  A little more calm.  The feeling of not being prepared because you haven’t started that five-page paper that’s due tomorrow for your gen-ed class that doesn’t really matter that much so you let the assignment slip through the cracks.  We’ve all been there.  Being an English major makes that a lot easier. Sure, you’ll actually have to sit down, shut up, turn off Netflix and write more papers than theRead More

By the time you read this I’ll be 29, probably. One last year of my 20s. It’s settling on me like the realization that five compartments were flooding settled on Thomas Andrews, my 20s will be over. I will become 30… I wished that I had developed a better vision for what I wanted my life to be like when I was 30. If I had I probably wouldn’t be broke & living in my parents’ house in west Michigan. Maybe not majoring in Philosophy would’ve helped too. But thisRead More

My third grade self had planned on getting married when I was twenty and having children when I was twenty-two. (Even then I knew I would need at least a year of designated binge drinking before being responsible for another human). I was going to be a writer when I grew up and I was going to live by the beach. I loved the beach. It was inconceivable to me that there might be restrictions to the planning of these life events. It might be hard to find a husband.Read More

Week after week we seem to get lost in the shuffle. It’s normal and means you’re doing something right. If it was easy then it’d be boring. But stress mounts, so here are some ways to renew yourself on a daily basis. Because life is too short to spend day after day feeling drab. 1. Stretching This has helped me immensely. I started doing this to prepare myself for tennis and I now try to do it every morning in between gulps of coffee. Stretching your body stretches your mind…Read More

If you’ve got a peen, you’ve probably sent one. If you’re a human being, you’ve probably received one. From the data I gathered, most dick pics are unsolicited. I can only assume the outcome senders are hoping for, but I’ve got a gut feeling the desired effect does not often become reality.   What the sender expects: It has been made pretty clear that the hopes of  a dick pic sender are to turn on the recipient and hopefully receive a photo in exchange. Three out of ten people who shared their experiences haveRead More

As the economy teeters back from it’s near seven-year dance of riding on a single rail companies are once again starting to hire. And with so many eager participants to no longer be underemployed, HR departments are barely treading water above a deluge of applications. This perfect storm has given birth to the unhallowed beastie of employment-seeking, the kraken of job-getting: the group interview. In the wide and awkward world of acutely uncomfortable moments that is attaining employment, there is almost no greater circus of discomfort than the group interview. ARead More