You know what kids these days miss out on? Giant, physical toy stores. Fantastical, multi-level paradises filled with everything a kid can dream of. I’m old enough to remember the FAO Schwarz in downtown San Francisco. The jingle went: “Welcome to my world, welcome to my world, welcome to my world of toys.” What an experience just being inside that building; my parents certainly cannot afford to buy me anything housed within.
The likes of Amazon has killed that joyful, magical experience. The closest substitute these days is the puny toys section at your local Target. What a joke!
What I don’t miss these days is having a commute. It’s been a little over five years since I ceased driving to work. Not because a fortunate remote work opportunity has fallen upon me. But rather I moved so close to work that I can simply walk.
As is human nature, the more you’re used to a thing, you start to take it for granted. I try really hard to remind myself everyday what a privilege it is to not spend any hours a day on the road. That only 15 minutes after I get off work, I am already in my home clothing and chilling on the chaise. Meanwhile, my colleagues have barely just circled out of the parking lot.
There are tradeoffs, of course. San Francisco housing is notoriously not cheap, and that means my rental is tiny. It is not more living space I pine for, however. I want space to work on cars. The aim is to have a home with a suitably large garage. To afford that on my meager salary means buying/renting one really far away from work. Is having space to fiddle with cars worth the cumulative 10 hours per week lost to commuting? It currently is not.
It may be some day, but right now the answer is no. The lack of a commute still reigns supreme.
Double-decker.