After leaving Facebook about a year ago I have found that I have a lot more free time for the important things in life such as laugh an scroll through memes instead of looking at my friends argue endlessly about politics completely beyond their control. https://timesinternational.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/9gag-logo-1024x430.png 9gag isn't without its trolls of course but since most of the people on there don't actually know one another in real life the comments section are normally considerably less toxic than FB. These days when I have dead time I will normally have a lie down and scroll the "funny" section and every now and then a meme engages me enough to save it and hopefully others can relate to these the way that I do.

![182135999_1095591934302456_1717279548658523990_n.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmVYKos6c7duH3xh5pwWPPRqjvX9DjFbekXUrnooWKBNHE/182135999_1095591934302456_1717279548658523990_n.jpg) I realize that this isn't technically a meme. It is a twitter or IG repost but since I have a strong affinity towards dogs it still made me laugh. I used to have a dog that would grab food that was no hers an one instance stands out in my mind that me and a friend had decided to make steaks for dinner and while we were out on my front porch having a smoke before dinner we saw through the window my dog and my roomate's dog jump up on the counter and steal our entire dinner. Then they went and hid like we weren't going to be able to find them or something. ![182636218_485980969497425_8951613803776977242_n.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdU12qNw98GoERLJbfHPoZjTnWxd5tNhNt86MZ79x5aeZ/182636218_485980969497425_8951613803776977242_n.jpg) There are many variations of this meme and most of them aren't terribly family friendly but this one is and it has the added benefit of being nerdy. **Age of Empires II** is one of the best games ever made by anyone and the remastered version is outstanding. Other than the Starcraft 2 trilogy I can't readily think of any RTS games that ever come close to AOE. ![183128467_373135144018222_8558679467969656656_n.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPDNQp54LJmUnsNqK833YTzeaS4NbfHT56Aeht5nJzxzZ/183128467_373135144018222_8558679467969656656_n.jpg) I sometimes go jogging and since I live in places that are absurdly hot, the sweat flows like waterfalls. When I return to my house and try to open my phone to turn off the distance timer you can go ahead and forget about it because the fingerprint scanner simply will not cooperate if there is even the slightest bit of moisture on the sensor. It's maddening and one day I nearly rage-threw my phone because of it. I am happy that cooler heads prevailed because I would have immediately regretted that decision. ![183448147_1179448385839558_7857849133748912043_n.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmSMR4A9n7VGWjMsgaP6RGTsCqHCCeoZ87B65QTt34xk2S/183448147_1179448385839558_7857849133748912043_n.jpg) There are also a ton of variations of these "customer service" memes out there and they are stupid but I enjoy that sort of humor. This one made me laugh probably a lot more than it should. ![185735609_370738254344389_7057221932011156355_n.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPPxy72X8ckMrvgkPrtRzd1vfC2MFpgtNS7rrVryw5Hm4/185735609_370738254344389_7057221932011156355_n.jpg) I'm a child of the 70's and 80's. Neither of my parents went to university yet as far back as I can remember they always owned the home that we lived in. Finance has changed a great deal since then and I think anyone that tries to pretend otherwise is kidding themselves. This exceptionally inflated property value in the USA is a big part of the reason why I chose not to live there post 2004. It's funny because it is true ![185631244_950952528781538_900899635631305495_n.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmQhHdAk8A6Ri4GS1RskjyYVE4rnCsJsv2jDmdTQK4zC9h/185631244_950952528781538_900899635631305495_n.jpg) I speak to my mother a lot but I almost never even have words with my father at all. When I do, it is always very short and it is quite obvious that the phone only gets handed to Dad because Mom insists on it. Our conversations are always very very short and I just imagine that he walks away from the conversation feeling as though he "did his part." Don't get the wrong idea though, I have a wonderful relationship with my father, he just isn't much of a talker. I get all of my extroverted traits from my Mom, that is for sure. ![177221862_1207639312988041_67151946184686096_n.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmSiJ6heiQGDMrvwRSxHfCqSjvZW3tfQqCaCeCHDnMjvDj/177221862_1207639312988041_67151946184686096_n.jpg) This last one isn't a meme at all but is rather a product that I found in a doggy shop that I HAD to purchase. For famous dogs you say? Further down on the packaging (which I failed to take a photo of) said that it is "British royal quality with 5 shocking effects!" I used it on my "famous" doggo and the effects were not so shocking. It did make her smell like flowers for a few days though - that's shocking enough for me. I leave you with a picture of my famous dog, chilling in her new favorite place despite the fact that she has 4 doggie beds in this apartment. ![190681098_173659874679520_5501881897882906377_n.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmRKaZSA1AzuP7rYT3wiqGygGgisDp3NJHy3roW6K9Gm3M/190681098_173659874679520_5501881897882906377_n.jpg) _{Brightening my day since 2014}