Days of Yore: Chores

"In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and SNAP! The job's a game!" 

- Mary Poppins

Growing up, I had a list of chores that I had to check off every week. It was covered in clear plastic and I used a dry erase marker to check each one off as I did it. Once we had squared everything away, I could wipe it off and start a new week on the same sheet. How many chores I had done made a difference in how much allowance I got. Chores have never been my favorite thing, but they are a fact of life, and I have learned it's best at least to try to make them somewhat fun. How we do them has changed over the years, for some chores more than others.

Photo by Tomasz on Adobe Stock

Trash

Sorry for the trash talk. (couldn't resist) In the Philippines, I took the trash out to the back and burned it. It was interesting watching it burn, but I was not a fan of smelling like smoke when I was done. After we moved to another house, a garbage truck came around, so we didn't burn as much. We hadn't had that at previous houses. This garbage truck played the same tune loudly every time, so we knew it was coming and to bring the trash out. (I could still sing the tune for you, though I don't know what it's called.) Back in the US, we have taken the trash out and set it in front of the house for the garbage truck to pick up. Toward the end of his life, that was my dad's job. I wasn't a fan when I helped out, but I was surprised after losing him that I no longer mind it so much. Funny how losing someone you love and miss terribly changes your perspective on things. Prior to that, the only time I really enjoyed it was when I was in college and we took our trash out to the big dumpster that sat open. It was huge, and there was a platform with steps leading up to it. My roommate introduced me to cool garbage bags that had a plastic drawstring to close them. The drawstring was a new concept for me. Between the cool bags and just tossing the bag over the railing of the platform into the dumpster, suddenly it was fun! (What can I say? I'm easily entertained.)

Dusting

No, I don't mean a dusting of snow. We didn't get those in the Philippines. (We did occasionally get a dusting of puns, though.) We have used a variety of items to dust. Featherdusters, fancy dusters that they sold at the fair, rags, water, Lysol, Clorox wipes, and others. I have mixed feelings about dusting. Not always the most fun thing to do, but there's something satisfying about dust just wiping away and something shiny (to varying degrees of shiny) being revealed underneath. When I get into it, sometimes it's almost exciting.

Photo by Wayhome Studio on Adobe Stock

Sweeping

Some of the most amazing brooms I have encountered were in the Philippines. They have two main kinds. One kind looks more traditional, with a handle and soft bristles. They're softer than the bristles on the average American broom, but they often work better. The other kind is much more stiff. It's like a bunch of long and thin sticks bound together. They are also very useful, as they can get things that the softer broom can't. The stiffer ones are especially helpful on cement. Like dusting, it's satisfying to see things get swept away. Probably best not to make sweeping generalities, though.

Vacuuming

Vacuuming is similarly satisfying to sweeping skillfully and safely. The biggest difference being that it's a lot louder and it sucks! But in this case it's a good thing that it sucks! As my dad's ears got more sensitive as he got older, we had to do the vacuuming when he was out, although it helps that our current vacuum is quieter than previous ones. He wore earplugs when he did the vacuuming. Some things just can't be done in a vacuum. Some people have a Roomba that they don't even need to push.

Cleaning the Bathroom

[Note to self. Let's avoid the puns here. Some things just don't need that kind of potty humor - AHHH! I had one job!] Anyway, not a lot has changed as I recall in the area of cleaning the bathroom. I have used spray in cleaning the sink, counter and tub (often using rags or toilet paper), swept the floor, scrubbed the toilet with spray and toilet bowl cleaner and a special brush... I also once cleaned a colony of angry fire ants out of our showerhead just by turning it on. That was a painful experience. Cleaning the bathroom is not my favorite job, and I think I'll leave it at that. [Don't say it.] Sometimes I just get that [Steven, I'm warning you] sinking feeling talking about it. [sigh...]

Washing Dishes

I hope I didn't dish out too many details in that last section. We washed our dishes by hand in the Philippines. One thing I liked about returning to the US was that we could use a dishwasher, which saved a lot of time. Having grown up washing dishes by hand, my dad tried to conserve as many dishes as possible. He often commented that there was no sense dirtying another plate. When we had a dishwasher, we sometimes liked pointing out sarcastically that there was no space in the dishwasher for yet another plate! Of course, not all dishes can be washed in the dishwasher, so we still have to wash pots and pans and other things by hand. Also, some things can't wait until the dishwasher is filled up. So I guess it's a wash. On the rare occasion our dishwasher is out of order, we sometimes use paper plates that we can just throw away.

Photo by dglimages on Adobe Stock

Washing the Dog

This was my brother Tim's job in the Philippines. As we haven't had a dog since moving back to the US, I'm not sure if things have changed, but when we were in the Philippines, we had special dog shampoo that Tim used. After spreading it over the dog, we had to let it set and do its thing for 15 minutes. Sadly, our dog Butch was not known for his stellar obedience skills, but he was a big fan of digging holes in the dirt, which he wasn't allowed to do—but he didn't always see the point of letting that stop him. I do not envy Tim having to re-wash the dog after he (Butch, not Tim) decided to dig up dirt while covered in shampoo! I sincerely hope dog shampoo has made improvements since then so it is no longer necessary to let it set! Otherwise, that has got to take a lot of dogged determination! Thankfully, Butch's successor was a good deal more obedient, though he also had his interesting quirks.

Walking the Dog

Though I did not generally wash the dog, I did often walk him. It was an interesting challenge keeping Butch away from cats (he was a very gentle dog, except with cats...pity the poor kitty that got in his way!) and keeping his successor Killer away from other dogs (he came with the name, and it was too late to rename him when we got him...his name was perhaps the biggest misnomer I have ever encountered, as he was a very kind dog—though pro tip: If your dog's name is Killer, it's best not to yell  his name loud enough to wake the dead when he is snarling at a cute little dog that a neighbor is walking). At times the dog walked me. I loved our dogs, but they were interesting.

Feeding the Dog

In the Philippines, we generally fed our dogs rice, and sometimes we put other stuff in it to make it more interesting. When we had to give them medicine, we had to get creative in hiding it in their food, as they tended to eat around it. We sometimes ended up opening capsules and spreading the powder on bread. After Butch contracted heartworm, my dad ended up having to force him to take the pills because he refused otherwise. Butch wouldn't hurt a fly (though cats were another matter), but his reflexes didn't agree with my dad's hand, and let's just say my dad ended up having to get rabies shots just in case. Butch eventually had to be put to sleep...but that's another (heartbreaking) story. In feeding the dog, we would set the dish in front of him and tell him, "Wait....wait...wait...OK!" He had to sit nicely while we told him to wait, and as soon as we said OK, he could start eating, which he did with gusto.

Washing Clothes

In the Philippines, most of our houses had washing machines, but not all of them had dryers. We sometimes washed clothes by hand, but usually we were able to wash them in the machine. (Pro tips: wash light and dark colors separately, and remember to take pens out of your pockets before putting them in the wash!) We usually had to hang clothes out to dry, so we had a clothesline in the backyard. Now we usually dry things in the dryer, though I do still have a few things, such as socks and masks, that I hang to dry. Personally, I preferred hanging out with friends to hanging clothes out to dry. I have a dream that someday, we'll have a third machine where we can throw all our dried clothes in, and they will come out all folded and neatly stacked. (Come to think of it, we were promised in the '80s that we would all have robots to do that by now! I want my money back!) When the washing machine has been unavailable, we've occasionally used a laundromat, but that's very rare. (I also find that the Cleaners is a bad place to take someone on a date. Not that I've ever dated. Maybe that's why?)

Photo by Kyle Arcilla on Unsplash

Mowing the Lawn

Most of our houses in the Philippines didn't have a lawn, and if they did, it was pretty small. Cutting the grass wasn't my job in the Philippines, but the person who did it often used garden shears. In the US we have used a lawn mower. I'm not a huge fan of pushing a lawn mower around, but like with sweeping and dusting, it is satisfying to watch the tops of the grass disappear as rows of fresh-cut grass are revealed. The smell of grass was refreshing as a child. I have mixed feelings about it now. I could elaborate further, but perhaps it's best to cut this section short.

Cleaning My Room

When I was little, I had this lovely idea that it was impossible to have a messy room if you didn't have toys to mess it up, so you were always having to put them away. Sadly, I proved myself wrong as I grew older. I enjoyed toying with that notion while it lasted.

I have had other chores as well over the years, but those are the ones that come to mind. What are your favorite and least favorite chores? Do you like to try making them fun? 

Days of Yore: What the Cool Kids Wore

Pro tip: When moving from the Philippines to the US, don't do it for 8th grade. Having been away from American fashion (and never having been much for being stylish anyway), I was the height of uncool. One of my fellow middle schoolers thoughtfully (read: rudely) advised that I stop wearing my parents' clothes. I quickly found out that stripes were "out", as were most other things I wore...but for some reason everyone was jealous of my Adidas shoes. At least something about me was cool!

Image by ink drop on Adobe Stock

Let's rewind a bit. In the '70s when I was born, people wore bellbottoms—that is, pants that were wider at the bottom than the top, somewhat reminiscent of a bell on each leg. I don't believe those have been popular since the '70s, but they are interesting. A lot of people had long straight hair, and headbands were fairly common. Many also liked wearing beads and necklaces. Peace signs were common.

As the '80s went on, people went for loud colors. Not just pink, but HOT pink. Not just green, but BRIGHT green. The brighter and louder, the better. Many people had bangs over their foreheads, and women in particular (though some men as well) liked to curl their hair. Many men (and some women) had their hair in mullets, or as they say, "business in front, party in the back." They were cut short on the front and sides, but allowed to grow long in the back. In my opinion, it looked a bit odd, but hey, whatever floats their boat! Mohawks also happened - the sides shaved, and a strip of hair going from front to back in the middle. They often put stuff in them so that the mohawks stuck straight up and back, often spiked, and also sometimes dyed in multiple colors. I also thought these looked odd (and they were banned at my school in the Philippines), but again, whatever floats their boats! Hairspray, gel and mousse were fairly common to fashion the hair in the directions people wanted it to go. Personally, my biggest change in hairstyle was when I stopped combing my hair to the side and started combing it forward. Now I generally keep it short enough so I don't have to comb it. I go for low maintenance on that kind of stuff. As my dad was watching his hairline move farther and farther back, he got this bright idea to let a strip on the side grow long, and he combed that over the top. He kept the rest short. I think it was an effort to make it look like he had hair on top, but it didn't fool anyone. I think it also may have been to keep as much sun as possible off the top of his head in the tropical heat. It was a bit of a relief when he decided to cut it. :-)

The bright colors of the '80s also extended into photography. It was fairly common to have bright, multicolored, neon laser-looking lines going every which way in the background in portraits. They also had an interesting technique in which they combined two portraits into one, with the person looking forward, and then to the right or left, and usually higher, another picture of their profile.

Glasses also tended to be larger, on the whole, in the '80s. I wore aviator glasses from my first ones in 1984 to approximately when I started college. They were made of different materials. My first pair had metal frames, but as I was fairly active and it doesn't take much in the tropical heat to start sweating, they soon rusted. (I've never seen glasses rust since then, so I'm not sure if that was a fluke with that pair.) After that, I wore plastic frames that wouldn't rust. I also preferred the aviator style because with two bridges, if one bridge broke, they could still hold together with the other bridge. Like many active and bespectacled kids, I tended to go through glasses as a kid. After returning to the US in 1991, I went back to metal frames, but still aviator. Later in high school, I got half-rimmed aviators. I eventually transitioned to ones with one bridge as my tastes changed, though I've always preferred the rectangular shape over the round ones. At one point I had rimless glasses, and several pairs have been half-rim. Currently, they have thicker black rims. I am not sure my particular tastes were always indicative of the styles around me, but they were acceptable by society. I got teased as a kid for wearing them, which is normal, though that didn't make it OK. I didn't actually start enjoying them until I was maybe in my late teens. Now I'm proud to wear glasses, and I want to help remove the odd stigma many still have about them. I have a theory that if people think they don't look good in glasses, they just haven't found the right pair. They are very cool, and a great way of helping people see without having to put something in their eyes. That unfair stigma has also kept many from addressing issues with their vision.

Our family in the mid-'80s
(I forget the exact year)

I have always enjoyed wearing fun t-shirts with puns, jokes, or celebrating shows, movies and musicals that I like. When COVID hit, though I hate everything about the disease, as well as a lot of the controversy and recklessness it brought out in society, I did find a new exciting way of expressing myself: I got some fun masks! I had to do a bunch of research to figure out how to wear a mask without fogging my glasses, but I found some good options. The best is certain masks that are made to be worn with glasses. 

These days, colors are not generally as loud as in the '80s, but I feel whatever floats people's boat is generally fine. Of course, nobody needs my permission or approval. :-)

Since I know you're wondering, no, I do not get dressed using my cell phone. But I have ordered clothes and researched glasses (and ordered a few pair) on my phone. I still buy clothes at the store on occasion.