Monkeys and mayhem

Same ape, different business.

[monkeystobusiness]

Controversial take: a lot of people who think they look good in brown clothing actually don’t.

[monkeystobusiness]

I’m on a call and one of the sales guys said “what do we love to sell” and the head of sales said “Things that don’t exist!” And then everyone laughed hysterically but like….why is that so true everywhere??

🙃🫠

[monkeystobusiness]

You know what? Wedding planning is supposed to be fun so I AM GOING TO HAVE FUN. Also I am going to lean into my work abilities as a product marketer to project manage big things, so we’re just treating this wedding like a launch!

Attitude change is partially from being tired of being stressed (cause like why am I letting myself be stressed) and partially from a TikTok I saw from a wedding planner who was like hey you’re not being difficult or a “bridezilla” just because you know what you want and you’re organized and you’re decisive. People who say that are the ones who are the problem, don’t keep trying to bend yourself in knots to please people and do what they want. Which I know friends and family have told me but it helps to hear from an outside source too in order to validate.

Let the spreadsheets begin!

[uncharismatic-fauna]

(via Wild Green Memes for Ecological Fiends)

[i-draws-dinosaurs]

[monkeystobusiness]

And the crab-eating macaque was named that because of one troop that was observed eating crabs! Most long-tailed macaques (their other common name) are just opportunistic generalists and smart assholes so kind of eat anything!

(Macaca fascicularis were my study species for most of my PhD program)

[monkeystobusiness]

I am so frustrated at work and it all boils down to: everyone wants to have a say and debate things endlessly, no one wants to actual just do the work and ship the things.

[monkeystobusiness]

I had a long thought about MAGA, trad wives, anti-college/anti-achooling/anti-science rhetoric and the type of people who latch onto these ideas honestly I think ultimately a lot of it all boils down to the fact there are a lot of people out there who think they should be successful just for checking a box and because they weren’t bestowed with riches upon doing so have turned around and blamed anything and everything else (while ignoring things like systemic racism, misogyny, privileges of generational wealth, etc…)

[monkeystobusiness]

This is one of those things that’s so incredibly silly, but also makes me so sure I’m marrying the right person.

About two weeks ago I was having a bad evening about wedding planning stuff and the things people have said to me re: being an older bride. While I was in tears I mentioned to Tyler that it’s so inconsequential and probably no one in my family even remembers, but that when I was younger a big deal was always made that someone in the family always gave the bride-to-be a Waterford ring holder as an engagement gift. And when we saw my family we got some very lovely, personal, and generous engagement gifts. But no one gave me the Waterford ring holder which made me feel really left out and sad because I didn’t get to be a part of the tradition (and I know the things and the gifts aren’t the point). And it feels so silly that it made me upset but it just is this feeling like I don’t get to do all the same things that made me sad.

Anyways, after I cried about it to Tyler turns out he went and ordered it, and it just arrived with a note about how we can start our own traditions as our own family. 💕

[monkeystobusiness]

There is someone I’m not wild about at work (a man of course) and everything makes sense now because I just discovered he went to Lake Forest College and I’m like, oh yeah that explains why you are the way you are.

(Northshore Chicago friends will understand. It’s a pretty good school, they are just that way.)

[monkeystobusiness]

Got my first “well technically it will be Advent…” comment from my oldest brother when I mentioned it will be fun that with my wedding date all the holiday decor, zoo lights, and stuff for Christmas will be going on in the city during my wedding in December 2027, which is perfect because I love Christmas decorations.

[monkeystobusiness]

I am without a doubt the handy one in our household. I think it is a combination of a bit of the “I wonder what happens if...” plus willingness to at least research things even if I’m not necessarily going to follow instructions exactly parts of my personality. I will at least try to fix something or get to the bottom of it myself, whereas Tyler definitely would rather just pay someone to deal with it.

It’s definitely one of the biggest clues that I am a combination of my parents - my mom is the step by step rule follower while my dad loves to ignore the instructions and just MacGuyver his way into something (to moderate success at times). I’m more of middle ground of those in that I’ll look at the instructions, get the general vibe, then go from there.

All this to say: I just randomly fixed our outdoor outlet and also the Traeger smoker after a mishap last weekend, which also has reaffirmed that I may at times need to supervise Tyler about some household things rather than trust him.

[monkeystobusiness]

In unrelated news: I need my friends and family with kids to be a bit more specific on dates when they would like us to visit. I keep getting “oh come visit this summer we would love to see you!” messages from people and then when I suggest dates, am told they won’t work for XYZ reason with the various children’s activities.

And I get it! Schedules with kids are crazy! And we like being a part of it actually so are happy to tag along for a swim meet or a soccer game. But we are also not going to just magically appear at your house/the lake/the shore/the beach unless you give us some dates to work with.

[monkeystobusiness]

And the chapel for our wedding is now officially confirmed! (Soft hold last week, deposit and official confirmation today).

[monkeystobusiness]

Thank you university antitrust lawsuit for the random $2000 in my Venmo this morning!

[monkeystobusiness]

Anyways being in your 40s and getting married just generally means everyone has a lot of feelings about what you should do and want for your wedding and that they have a right to dictate it to you and constantly mention how much even just attending a wedding is such a hassle and a pain.

It’s proving to be a very good test of my patience and ability to say “oh wow yeah we will definitely think about that” while not meaning it at all.

[monkeystobusiness]

I honestly don’t have a strong opinion on if kids should be at weddings - like if you want to have them, sure, if not, also fine. Very much it’s up to the bride and groom who they want there. I know for our wedding that we don’t have an option to even consider a child-free wedding with my 6 nieces and nephews there will be an expectation they are there (and I love them to be clear so of course I want them there).

But what I find very funny is that the friends and family I know that were vehement and very specific about no children at their own wedding, now because they have children are suddenly very vocal about how they would never go to a wedding their children aren’t invited to. Just gives me a chuckle.

[monkeystobusiness]

I think we are going to book our venue and church this week!

[monkeystobusiness]

You know what’s fun about planning a wedding (sarcasm)? All the randoms who pop up out of nowhere thinking they’ll get an invite.

Sorry, we have around 80 family members we need to invite and the max. capacity for any of the venues we are looking at is 200, so no you’re not getting an invite college friend who hasn’t spoken to me more than once a year for a decade or random former work colleague I’m still friendly with.