I remember being astonished by a law school roommate who had never had to manage for herself: she'd gone from a house with either full-time help to a college where she could pay to get her laundry done, and then to law school, where she lived in the undergrad dorms her first year. So when she moved in with us, she'd never really cooked for herself, or done her own laundry, or anything.

She nearly set fire to the kitchen by trying to cook a hotdog in the toaster oven, without a pan to catch the drippings.

Me, I learned basic cleaning as a kid (my most hated job was vacuuming the rug, which was three floors and included the stairs), and when Mom went back to work when I was 11, I took over all the laundry for the house. Since there were 5 kids and 2 adults, that was a lot of sorting & folding.

We set the table, cleared it and did the dishes every night. I learned all about cleaning, but my mom is an indifferent cook and I didn't pick up much. I remember being in a grocery store and staring at the produce section, completely puzzled about how to choose and prepare fresh vegetables.

My lawn person is a grumpy teenaged girl who was hired at a distance by our landlord, and she mows the front lawn every week and won't talk to us. I think she's being punished for something.

You guys remember the three day filing fiasco with our intern, right? But he was also, in fact, lazy.

My family still tells the story of the girl I knew in college who didn't know how to cook at all -- someone handed her a block cheese and a grater at a graduation party, and she tried to shove the cheese through the holes.

someone handed her a block cheese and a grater at a graduation party, and she tried to shove the cheese through the holes.

Heh! That's such a good image.

I was taught how to make some basic things in the kitchen fairly early, but I didn't really learn how to cook until I moved to San Francisco where my entire social circle was comprised of excellent cooks who threw dinner parties. So I'd show up early and get put on kitchen prep and drink wine and learn from some very talented chefs.

I'm normally pretty good about putting things away as I move around the apartment. If I'm heading to my room, I grab anything along the way that belongs in my room and vice versa. The last couple of weeks, since I haven't been walking around as much, the clutter is growing and driving me nuts. I've tried to teach the kids to do this, but no luck so far.

Jilli, For you. [link]

Simon Pegg was a goth! victory swoopy dance to "This Corrosion"

My mother wasn't remotely concerned with us learning to cook and is surprised that I enjoy it (my sister eats at home when she can, and since our helper adores her the mostest, she can any time she wants) from time to time. She employed us as grunt labour when she baked (that wasn't a helper job), and that's what I picked up from her.

As for cleaning and laundry, etc? Read the fucking labels and the machines. That's all I did, and have only ruined maybe 3 things in the wash since age 18. That should not be confusing.

Cleaning--I will never satisfy myself, and never satisfy my mother. Ergo cleaning lady.

I liked the snake video, due to the fact that I have absolutely no fear of giant snakes. My snake-fear point is between 1 foot (under which they are cute!) and 4 feet. That is the range of basically all poisonous snakes I will ever encounter, so that is my range of fear. My snake fear is entirely based on a desire to avoid getting bit by something that will poison me.

My spider fear is more visceral. Although I am not scared of them in theory, in practice they heeb my jeebs.