Published 2026-05-08
tag(s): #random-thoughts
Last weekend the kiddo was in a concert at Montclair University. When leaving the venue, my wife pointed at this sculpture in the entrance hall and said "I want this for our living room"
I told her, "this sculpture represents parenting, that's Juan when we try to have
5 minutes to ourselves".
A couple days earlier she reminded of how, when he was about a year and a half, he would
not let us hold hands when walking. Or even when sitting for dinner, he would take my hand,
move it away, and grab hers.
Now he is much older, and it's not jealousy that gets in the way, but either
self-centeredness[1] or just plain obliviousness.
Maybe we are having a little moment (a hug, or a cute conversation), maybe we are discussing
something important, and he will barge in from the other room to bring up something he
remembered to share, or ask a question.
I assume this is normal (pre)teen stuff...?
We do not let him get away with it, for the record.
That same day, but afternoon, while Juan was getting dressed, I re-made the knot of his tie,
which was in bad shape.
I couldn't crack one of the moves, so I had to watch a tutorial on YouTube. But once I got
over that little stump, I could finish it from memory.
It's crazy that I remember how to do one. I wore a suit on my first proper
job[2] way back in...2001? Or so.
And then I did a year consulting for a big retail company in Argentina, in 2007. By that time,
having a dress code demanding suits was already a bit out of fashion, but that's what the
client asked for...So the two days a week visiting their office, I had to wear one.
Since then, I never had to wear a suit again. My formal dress code consists of a polo and
jeans, and most days I will just wear a tshirt and call it a day.
I have tried to dress better, but I am just too lazy. And I do try to buy
non-peter-pan-syndrome tshirts, the problem is when I go to the mall, I am drawn to the
cartoony stuff.
That afternoon, I was admiring how good the knot turned out, and then I noticed ridiculousness of my full outfit:
I was also reminiscing of when my dad taught me how to tie a tie. Good
memories. <3