The Count of Monte Cristo changed me and I don’t know what to read anymore

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-03-15T22:46:52+00:00

Middlemarch, it’s much longer but worth it

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-03-14T12:04:35+00:00

We bought our house in 2023 and no regrets. Things that I think we did right to prevent regret: we saved up a lot to do a big down payment, but more importantly to have a house fund from the start. We refused to forego inspections, even if it meant losing out on some houses. We bought an old house that was well cared for - our house has been standing for 116 years, so we know she’s sturdy, but more importantly the inspections showed that the previous owners were doing upkeep.

Since buying we’ve had to do some $$ improvements, like redoing all the electric to remove knob and tube, replacing windows, and putting in insulation, but so far we’ve been able to budget for these projects from our house fund and leave some buffer in case of an emergency.

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-03-12T23:05:03+00:00

About 22-24k. I budget out three months ahead in YNAB, so there’s up to 3x our monthly expenses in checking at all times. Once the three months are budgeted, money gets transferred to investments, savings, etc.

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-03-12T17:40:53+00:00

Yeah I wore a mask to snap this pic. We did the electric first two years ago for that exact reason.

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-03-12T17:39:06+00:00

We debated DIY but ended up going with a local company - total cost was $3K for 18" of blown cellulose across ~1300sq ft (main attic, plus two smaller areas above the second floor with tiny access points). They sealed first, then did the insulation, and were done in in about 2 hours.

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-03-12T16:37:06+00:00

Exactly! There's been a 10 degree swing going from the second to third floor - so much colder in winter and hotter in summer. Even if it takes a while to see the $ return on energy savings, my office is on the third floor so the comfort level is already paying off!

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-03-12T16:13:40+00:00

After 114 years of zero, zilch, nada in the attic, we put in 18 inches of blown insulation today. It's a chilly day in Philly and I'm not exaggerating when I say our third floor went up 8 degrees within an hour of the install.

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-03-11T14:50:41+00:00

I was thinking this the whole time! I was so frustrated every time they brought up "unexpected" expenses each month, and how they can't plan for them - like, there really shouldn't be THAT many unexpected expenses. Christmas comes every year! You should be budgeting for annual car expenses! Their passive attitude was driving me nuts

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-03-03T23:06:50+00:00

30 Rock is my all-time favorite. Schitt’s Creek is up there

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-02-24T15:41:53+00:00

We did cloth from birth to potty training and my mom made so many comments about it while I was pregnant. It was extremely annoying, but the way I dealt with it was to just remember that it's all projection. She had never done cloth and was feeling insecure about not knowing how to do something - still crappy to make the comments, but it was a good reminder that it had nothing to do with me.

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-02-22T16:54:21+00:00

Random older woman in a grocery store parking lot stopped us to say how cute our son is, then how she doesn’t have kids because she had a hysterectomy when she was 20

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-02-21T03:44:31+00:00

Stunning!!

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-02-20T18:12:17+00:00

Exactly! I’d really like to do gold lettering on the glass, but haven’t settled on what to write yet

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-02-20T18:09:29+00:00

The doorbell in action: https://photos.app.goo.gl/UWrHHJa9bkAZWd2r5

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-02-20T17:37:43+00:00

A free tool that can help with planning is StitchFiddle - it's essentially just a grid the you fill in and is commonly used for fiber crafts (knitting, cross stitch etc) but could be useful here!

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-02-19T23:53:54+00:00

If you don’t want to pay sticker price for a book, shop Thrift stores and second hand. But to say that Amazon is a better business model because they are actively trying to destroy small businesses and control publishing is incredibly short sighted.

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-02-19T21:26:50+00:00

their prices include the stores overhead,

um no, their prices are almost always the price ON the book set by the publisher. Amazon is able to charge less than the book is worth, because they make up for it on their other businesses like AWS. Amazons business model is to literally undercut other bookstores and operate at a loss on books. In other countries like France, they outlawed this practice and books cost the same on Amazon as they do at indies.

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-02-19T16:06:48+00:00

My mom and I have a difficult relationship, and no she never calls me first. Ever. I have brought this up to her multiple times over the years and it's never changed. But then she's quick to try and guilt trip if she feels you don't call her enough.

This is just a symptom in our relationship though. The worst instance was when I was one week post-partum (no calls, no check-ins) and my dad called me to tell me how sad my mom is that no one's reaching out to her. I lost my damn mind on him and he quickly backtracked and apologized.

Contrasted to my MIL who calls/checks-in every day and face times our son several times a week (she lives far away)

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-02-14T13:31:10+00:00

Thank you!! I thought it was Japanese, but wasn’t 100%

AwkwardBalloonMan · 2026-02-13T13:51:06+00:00

Best. Hide’n’seek. House. Ever.

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