Who’s your emergency contact?

In the TV show, “Kim’s Convenience," the character Kimchee is hit by an Ultimate Frisbee disc and shows signs of a concussion. Since his mom lives in another city, he uses his best friend’s mother, Umma, as an emergency contact – which gets a bit awkward when Umma races toward the ambulance and sees Kimchee, and not her actual son.

When you’re single, it can be awkward finding an emergency contact if your family is out of town or you’ve moved to a new city. But it is essential, since an emergency contact is required in everything from medical forms to 5K races. Choose a friend, a trusted co-worker or a neighbor.

Finding an emergency contact is one of our items listed in our safety section of our New Life Starter Kit. Grab your copy and get info on finding a job, apartment and more.

(If you need a fun, easy binge, “Kim’s Convenience,” about a Korean-Canadian family running a convenience store in Toronto, is streaming on Netflix. The episode we’re referring to is “Army Spoon,” season 3, episode 5.)

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SOLOSTORIES: “THE PARIS NOVEL”

SoloStories is our feature in which we explore books, films and TV shows that show single women navigating their lives – but romance is not the main component.

"The Paris Novel" by Ruth Reichel is like a great meal – you savor every morsel, and you feel a little sad when you’ve taken the last bite.

Stella St. Vincent is given an inheritance by her deceased mother that she must use to travel to Paris. Reluctantly, she goes and does the touristy things, but she doesn’t appreciate the city.

Then a series of events transforms her. She wanders into a dress shop, where she finds a dress that’s seemingly made for her. She meets Jules, an art collector who takes her around Paris sites. When she visits the Jeu de Parme museum, she sees a Manet painting called "Olympia" and becomes intrigued by the subject, Victorine-Louise Meurent. She wants to know more about Meurent, a woman who may have been an artist in her own right. (Along the way, Stella also learns about Rose Valland, the art museum curator who preserved French Art that the Nazis wanted to destroy during World War II.)

While Stella is pursuing the mystery of Meurent, she becomes closer to solving a personal mystery – the identity of her father. She also makes friends at the Shakespeare and Company bookstore and indulges in numerous meals. Reichel’s writing is truly beautiful when it comes to describing the food. In one passage, she writes, “The flavors almost dizzied her, like a roller coaster rocketing her up and plunging her back down.” It’s almost like you’re eating the meal along with Stella.

There’s never a hint of romance in the novel, which would have been the main plotline in most other novels. Stella falls in love with the city, its art, its food, its people and herself. It makes a nice fictional companion to “I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself: One Woman’s Pursuit of Pleasure of Paris," the memoir by Glynnis MacNicol.

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It’s 100 days until Christmas

Fall is starting to make its presence known, but it’s 100 days away from Christmas and the holiday and New Year’s Eve will be here faster than you think. Here’s a few tips to plan your winter activities.

·      Make travel plans. Use our Travel Kit for your visit back home or fun getaway.

·      Save money. There’s so much to think about – presents, traveling, parties – plus all those sales will tempt you. And there are random expenses, such as Christmas cards, stamps, food and donations. If you save $25 a week every Monday by Dec. 2, you’ll have $300.

·      Write up your lists. If you love giving out presents, add your family and friends, but think about others, such as work colleagues and Secret Santa and white elephant giveaways.

·      Mark your calendar for parties and events. If you plan to throw a party, choose a date and tell friends. If you want to attend a holiday-themed concert or show, start buying tickets.

Whether you’re gathering with friends and family or having a quiet time alone, we hope you have a joyful time. We send good vibes to those who work in retail, health care and the hospitality industry during this season. For those who don’t celebrate, may you have peace in however you spend the day.

What’s a great way to save money while traveling?

We know the feeling. You’re planning a trip, imagining all the fun you’ll have … until you see the costs of hotels or Airbnbs. Suddenly, all your excitement has vanished. But we do have a tip that can help save money on lodging.

Hostelling International is a network of hostels with locations in major cities around the world. The costs are low because travelers often share rooms, although you can get private spaces. The hostels also boast dining facilities, laundry rooms and other amenities, as well as activities for visitors to get to know each other. Some hostels ask lodgers to do small chores, such as washing their dishes.

Many of the hostels are in fantastic locations in the middle of the city. One of the YHA hostels in Sydney, Australia is within walking distance of the Sydney Harbour, plus it boasts this cheeky sign.

Grab our Travel Kit for checklists and other resources to plan your trip.

A meal that you can put together while watching TV

Do you need a quick, easy meal that can also last for days? We love this recipe for freezer meal chicken meatballs from the Pinch of Yum website. In the time of about two to three songs, you can dump the ingredients into a bowl and roll the meat into balls onto a sheet pan. Then put it into the oven for the length of a half-hour TV episode, such as “Abbott Elementary.” When the show is finished, you can munch on the meatballs while watching the next episode and then you’ll have plenty left over to eat during the week.

Cooking can be challenging when you’re single. Besides Pinch of Yum, the Damn Delicious

website offers excellent recipes. And Cooking Solo: The Fun of Cooking for Yourself by Klancy E. Miller and Solo: The Joy Of Cooking For One by Signe Johansen are made for singletons.

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SoloStories: “Somebody Somewhere”

SoloStories is our feature in which we explore books, films and TV shows that show single women navigating their lives – but romance is not the main component.

In the HBO series “Somebody Somewhere,” Sam Miller (a brilliant Bridget Everett) returns to her native Kansas as she grieves the death of her sister. She befriends a high school classmate, Joel (Jeff Hiller), while dealing with her dysfunctional family. Sam is still figuring out what do with her life, and it’s OK. While the show doesn’t have complicated plotlines, it shows that a good life can be built doing simple things, such as going walking and getting ice cream with your pals. (The show – in episode two of season two – also features one of the best pooping scenes ever.) Eventually, Sam finds her voice as a singer and a human, and she realizes that friends can be stronger than family and platonic love is as valuable as romantic love.  

The third and final season begins Oct. 27, which gives you plenty of time to catch up with the first two seasons. It’s one of the easiest and more pleasant binge-watches you’ll see.

It’s September. Here’s what to think about this month and for fall.

It’s the start of a new month — and the topic of one of our favorite Earth, Wind & Fire songs. Here are a few dates to keep in mind:

• Monday, Sept. 2 - Labor Day – Most workers will enjoy the day off. If you’re not going anywhere, you can plan your next getaway with our Travel Kit.

• Monday, Sept. 16 – Quarterly taxes are due for those who are self-employed or have side hustles.

Start thinking about …

• The Jewish High Holy Days are Oct. 3-4 and Oct. 11-12.

• Halloween is Thursday, Oct. 31. Start brainstorming costume ideas and begin buying candy because why not?

• Diwali is Thursday, Oct. 31-Friday, Nov. 1. 

• Elections take place Tuesday, Nov. 5. If you’re not registered to vote, go to https://vote.gov/.

• Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov. 28. If you’re going away, use our Travel Kit.

What personal care items should you have in your office drawer?

You spend at least eight hours at your job. You got to make sure you have some personal items at your desk. Bring a plant, photos or other décor to add some personality to the banality of cubicles. And you got to keep some personal care items in your drawer for maintenance and emergencies. We like to pack

Welly First Aid Kit, Advil Pain Reliever/Fever Inducer, Cora Organic Tampons and Kleenex Ultra Soft Facial Tissues. Some other items to consider: Purell Hand Sanitizer, Aquaphor Lip Repair, Ricola Original Herb Cough Drops and Cora Organic Pad.

Our New Life Starter Kit gives you lists on how to search for a new job and navigate the first days, including a list of those items and more.

What personal care items do you keep at work? Let us know in the comments.

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SoloStories: “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”

We’re introducing a feature called SoloStories, in which we explore books, films and TV shows that show single women navigating their lives – but romance is not the main component.

In the 2022 movie “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” Ada Harris (played by a delightful Lesley Manville) is a widowed housekeeper who is enthralled when she sees a Dior dress in one of her client’s homes. She becomes determined to buy her own Dior dress. With hard work, she starts saving money, but she also finds that a little luck and her kindness helps her achieve her goal. The movie has a wonderful message: We are all worthy of having beautiful things – whether it’s a dress or friends – no matter our background or status in life. It’s one of those movies that you’ll want to watch when you’ve had a bad day and you need something that makes you feel good. The movie is based on the 1958 book, “Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris,” by Paul Gallico and an another movie was made in 1992 featuring Angela Lansbury.

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It’s Time to Think about Thanksgiving

We know it’s hot outside, but it’s time to think about … Thanksgiving. It’s one of those holidays, because it doesn’t have a set date, that can sneak up on you. The holiday takes place 100 days from now, Nov. 28.

We believe in planning ahead and there’s several things you can do now to make the holiday run smoothly.

·      Start making your travel plans. Use our Travel Kit to plan a fun trip or a visit back home.

·      Begin saving money. Even if you’re not traveling, there’s a lot going on this time -– including Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday – that could invade your checking account.

·      Think about items that you could buy on sale. If you’ve been itching to get an appliance, furniture and other object, make a list and see if they have a good deal during the sales period.

If you are planning to host a Friendsgiving, we hope you stuff yourself with food and fun. If you plan on spending the weekend alone, watching TV and reading and doing nothing, that sounds awesome. If you work in retail, health care or other industry in which you are busy during the holiday, we send you all the good vibes.

What are two items you must take with you for your overseas trip?

If you’re taking a trip abroad, you need two essential items – a passport and an international outlet. The passport is an obvious need, but the outlet is an item that you wouldn’t think about if you haven’t been overseas. Other countries don’t use the same type of outlet as we do in the U.S.

But that’s why we’re here. Our Travel Kit gives you all the steps you need to apply for a passport – as well as Global Entry. We also include a packing list with items such as the outlet. The kit also helps you plan our vacation with itineraries, planning worksheets and more. Planning a trip takes time and effort, but it’s all worth it when you find yourself in some incredible places.

book review: “i’m mostly here to enjoy myself”

“I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself: One Woman’s Pursuit of Pleasure of Paris” by Glynnis MacNicol is the type of book you’ll want to have a pen, highlighter or pad of sticky notes handy.

Single women will be annotating the memoir with the passages that make them nod in agreement and say, “Finally, someone who says what I’ve been feeling.”

MacNicol, a freelance writer who is based in New York City and grew up in Canada, writes about the summer she spent in Paris in 2021, just as the world is starting to come alive after the COVID-19 lockdown.  

And MacNicol feels alive in Paris, partaking in brunches with her group of single friends, bicycling around the city and indulging in sex with men.

She knows that being single means freedom. She is comfortable with her she is, but she also acknowledges the tricky moments. There are times when she worries about finances. She notices she can feel invisible, or she isn’t represented as characters in films, TV shows or books.

In one chapter, she goes dancing with a group of friends, but the night doesn’t match her vision.

“I’m not sure why, but I can’t see to fit it in anywhere. I’ve slid out of the rhythm of the night somehow. The night I’d been coveting all this time hasn’t arrived. I’m the wrong me, or this is the wrong place. … This feels awful. Like I’ve inadvertently plummeted through some wormhole and am once again the awkward girl at the high school dance.”

Who hasn’t felt like that?

But, as the title indicates, being single means joy. Being able to travel and navigate life all by yourself is an accomplishment.

“Not having to ask for anyone’s permission, leaving on a whim, walking on a high tightrope, is exhausting and scary, but once you’re hooked on having control over your life, it’s a hard drug to kick.”

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What Do You Have in Your Snack Drawer?

When you start a new job, there are important things to remember – update your social media posts so you can brag to your friends; enroll or roll over your 401K; and bring a healthy supply of snacks. Vending machines are expensive, and their selection is iffy. You never know when your tummy will demand to be fed and it might be when you’ve been hit with a deadline.

Get our New Life Starter Kit to help navigate your job search and first days on the job.

What are your favorite snacks at work? As you can see, we’re partial to Nature Valley Granola Bars Value Pack, KIND Nut Bars Favorites Variety Pack and Jif To Go Creamy Peanut Butter.

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The patron saint of single women

If there is one character in pop culture who was unapologetically single, it is Kinsey Milhone.

Kinsey is the protagonist of Sue Grafton’s alphabet series that Grafton began writing with “A is for Alibi” in the 1980s and continued through “Y is for Yesterday” in 2018. (Grafton died before she was able to complete the alphabet.)

A private detective in fictional Santa Teresa, California, Kinsey’s crime investigations are the focus of the books. But twice-divorced Kinsey’s narration, with her feisty attitude, is the main reason for reading.

Kinsey is a total introvert who loves nothing than spending the night at home, munching on peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. She occasionally has a fling with a local police officer, but she doesn’t spend her days thinking about her status. She is happy with who she is, and she doesn’t want to change.

As Kinsey says, “'I love being single. It's almost like being rich.”

Kinsey is the type of character that becomes your friend. When you’re going through a rough time, you can grab one of the books and get wrapped up in her life.

Do you have a favorite Kinsey Milhone book or quote? Let us know in the comments.

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