What is something you wish you could enjoy?

https://thecoffeemonsterzco.com/blogs/midnight-blogging/journaling-prompts

There are probably a lot of things I could say to answer this prompt, but I think the one that comes to mind first is rock climbing.

I’m just not fit enough for that, nor have I ever really been even when I was at my fittest.

What do you think about nepotism?

https://thecoffeemonsterzco.com/blogs/midnight-blogging/journaling-prompts

First, let me say that I feel conflicted talking about nepotism, and to really get to the heart of things from my perspective requires looking at the definition of the word.

According to Merriam-Webster, nepotism is defined as: favoritism (as in appointment to a job) based on kinship

Note that the definition makes zero mention of skill or qualifications. It’s all about the social or familial connection. This is why people often call foul on news of someone giving an important job to friends or family. They question whether or not that person was ACTUALLY qualified to take on that role.

In most cases I’m in agreement! Especially when the nepotism happens for very important positions that may involve political connections and manipulation.

Then there’s the cases where it’s a small family business that has been around for nearly 100 years, like a local grocery store or construction company. A parent raises and trains their child to succeed them. This form of nepotism isn’t usually an issue BECAUSE of the required experience and training being provided for the express purpose of taking the role being given. So, this situation? Not a problem. Technically. It’s still nepotism, but it’s kind of like the old world days of farmer’s and blacksmith’s training their children to take over for them.

But in the end, we don’t often care about this cases. We only care about the ones that have so much power and control over the rest of our lives. Those cases of nepotism are problematic, and I wish there was a better way to handle them because for all our crying foul, it seems like nothing ever comes of it and shit gets swept under the rug.

What is a struggle meal you actually like? (a struggle meal can be a cheap meal when finances are tight, or a low effort meal when you have no energy)

https://thecoffeemonsterzco.com/blogs/midnight-blogging/journaling-prompts

This is going to be a very quick and easy response tonight!

I like to keep a handful of packets of ramen in the cupboard for just these occasions. The only two flavors I regularly seek out? Pork and Soy (the blue packets previously known as Oriental, I believe) because I’ve never been fond of any of the others. Well, that, and I grew up with the standard chicken and beef ones, in both brick and cup form. I’ve tried some of the others and liked some of them well enough, but not to the degree that I could eat them several times a week if it really came down to it.

Also, in recent years, I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy real ramen from restaurants that specialize in it, and oftentimes the broth makes me think of much better versions of the cheap stuff from the grocery store.

I’ve also learned and been inspired to jazz up my ramen with eggs (fried and soft boiled) and other things, so that it’s got more than just noodles and salty broth.

Ramen definitely meets the criteria for me on this. And that reminds me, I need to add it to my grocery list.

What activity makes you lose track of time?

https://thecoffeemonsterzco.com/blogs/midnight-blogging/journaling-prompts

There are more than a handful of things I could do that make me lose track of time, but I’ll settle for talking about the top three.

I am not the fastest reader, and I have often found myself reading passages on a page because either my mind wandered or I wanted to make sure I read something correctly, but if I can get really engrossed in a book then time slips away.

“Just one more page.”

“I’ll finish this chapter and call it a night.”

Next thing I know I’ve just kept going and it’s 3am.

The same thing happens with video games. There are some games, like the one I’m playing right now (called My Time at Sandrock) where I can just sink hours upon hours into them because of simple tasks that I keep thinking “let me knock this out quick and call it there.”

The last thing I typically find time slipping away from me is when I’m listening to music and painting miniatures. I get so into the motions and trying to catch all the details I can while painting that I forget to check the clock despite subconsciously recognizing that the 5-hour playlist I was listening to finally started over.

Well, while those are the three big ones, really I can lose lots of time to just about anything if I get sucked in enough to forget to watch the clock.

What are some qualities you would tolerate in a friend, but not a partner?

https://thecoffeemonsterzco.com/blogs/midnight-blogging/journaling-prompts

This might seem like a bit of a cop out answer, but I don’t know!

I’ve been happily single for so long that I don’t really know what kinds of qualities I’d be looking for in a partner that would differ from just being friends.

Maybe I need to get back out and start meeting people again, but that requires putting on pants and going outside (where the temperature is currently hovering in the negatives.)

Do you respond to texts right away? What are some texting habits you have?

https://thecoffeemonsterzco.com/blogs/midnight-blogging/journaling-prompts

The simple answer for the first question is “yes”. I typically respond to text messages right away. Why? Because if I don’t I’ll probably forget to do it later unless I know that I need to wait for some reason.

As for habits, well, I’m one of those silly people who is painfully aware of the fact that I will frequently use “lol” to start and/or end a text message, and also use it like it’s a period between sentences. I am so painfully aware of this habit that I occasionally catch myself doing it repeatedly and end up rewriting the next few messages I send.

Another texting habit is inconsistently using capitalized letters or punctuation. Texting is, often, so informal that I don’t see the need to go that far if I can fire off a quick message that doesn’t need to be perfectly constructed.

On the subject of texting, I’ll end with this one little tidbit. I’m very much in the camp of “texting for everything” instead of making phone calls, but that’s a habitual choice. I’m perfectly comfortable taking and making phone calls all day if needed, where other people these days often refuse to do that for some reason or another. (My understanding is that it’s usually anxiety about talking on the phone.)

What is your favourite hour of the day?

https://thecoffeemonsterzco.com/blogs/midnight-blogging/journaling-prompts

I’m a simple guy. I like to eat, and I like to sleep. So, my ‘favourite’ hour of the day is either an hour for meal times (like lunch or dinner, I don’t often eat breakfast) or any hour of the day where I’m sleeping.

Simple!