Jason had just graduated from Yale and gotten a job as an actuary in New York. This was a special trip, sponsored by the firm that hired him, to find an apartment, and he would be staying until Tuesday. My grandma offered a room for him to live in and she was stressing about whether or not he would live with her. The fact is he never even considered it.

The real choice was between living with my brother or with two friends of his and each option had its pros and cons. And Jason's indifference added to the mess. I wanted to alleviate any potential awkwardness as I often do when I don't intentionally create it. Maybe Jason wanted to live with my brother, maybe he did not care, or maybe he did not want to. Living with Jonathan would be economical but the place would not be as big. How much did he want to live with my brother?

I knew my brother thought it would be fun to live with Jason. But they both had girlfriends and his place had only one real bedroom.

Jason ended up finding a nice place with his friends, a three-bedroom in a neighborhood that none of us had ever lived in.

He had advice from his dad, who had lived in New York thirty years before. And Jason knows to follow his father's advice because of a great experience he had. David had recommended Jason work in a bank as a teller, and work his way up. Jason took the advice, as the good son should. Jason's favorite part of the job was counting the pennies in a back room, which had no windows. He did this at a third the speed of anyone else who worked there. That is how he spent his summer. But the lessons he learned from that experience, whatever they were, may end up being invaluable, for his career and personal life. So it may be too quick to draw conclusions on this experience of his.