Lara Souza

Skip water on those shoes and lift dried soda with a gentle dry brush and using a tiny dab of rubbing alcohol only if needed to avoid damage. Protect them with a light water repellent or skip rainy days, and fix step marks by brushing against the grain then smoothing back.

Yeah that tracks - The urgent-email line often invites a walk-along; a clear and friendly boundary works better so yeah... try a positive wrap, a time anchor, and a physical exit: “Good to see you - I've got to jump on a deadline, let’s catch up later,” then turn to your screen or walk the other way. The big pitfall is over-explaining, which invites negotiation - repeat the line once and disengage.

The honest answer is that subways are one of the few places where Bluetooth loses :) You can tweak codecs and placement and it will get better but there will always be stations that swamp it. My solution was to keep a tiny wired fallback in the bag a USB‑C dongle and slim cable for the platform and first minute of the ride then back to wireless. Also download your playlist so the app is not juggling network handoffs during the exact moment the radio link is fragile. Simple and reliable. 🔌🎧✅