Which is the best restaurant in your city? My wife always asks me where I want to eat on my birthday. She’s always shocked when I suggest some greasy spoon or hole in the wall joint. Why? She asks. I tell her because I’ve basically cut these out of my life as regular options to … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Tom’s Diner – Suzanne Vega
We were sad to hear the news that our friends split up. They were together for over 15 years and now are single in their mid fifties. It must be difficult separating from a long term relationship and jumping back into the singles pool. They never married, which may have been a good thing. Both … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Tainted Love – Soft Cell
We paid 50 bucks for a retirement class. I’m hoping this next phase in life is not too far off and wanted to hear from a professional rather than relying solely on my own self study these days. There’s a lot to know and consider. The enormity of it can be a little daunting. Somehow … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist – Mental Hopscotch – Missing Persons
An email went out to get a headcount for our annual camping trip. Unfortunately I’m going to miss this year because of another planned trip. One other friend will be out of town that weekend as well. The last of our group to RSVP is unable to go, but for a much better reason than … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: My Hero – Foo Fighters
My buddy and I drove to Vegas last month. It was a four and a half hour drive and we had a lot of time to catch up. His kids are college age and I asked him how they were managing through social media. He made an interesting comment. Since everybody has a camera at … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Dancing with Myself – Billy Idol
My clock is off. I’ve strung together a few long days and have been dragging a bit. It finally caught up to me. I fell asleep on the couch at 6:00 and woke up just after midnight. That’s already six hours of sleep. I’ve hit my nightly average and it’s another 6 til morning. I … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Behind the Wall of Sleep – The Smithereens
I was craving something sweet. I’ve been pretty diligent about not buying junk food recently. Still, I was regretting not dropping that package of Oreos into my basket the other day. I was too tired to jump in my car to get something to satisfy my craving. I searched the frig and freezer twice and … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: See You Again / Love Me Like You Do / Sugar – Mashup by Megan Davies
I threw my back out the other day. It’s the first time I’ve done this in decades. Back when I was in my twenties, I threw it out lifting a heavy object. My dad would always remind me, Use your legs, not your back. Fatherly advice you hear on a loop but rarely pay attention … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice
I took a blog break. I didn’t intend to at first, but I was tired. Not of blogging. Just plain tired. I thought a week off would be a nice respite to reduce the load a bit. What’s the harm in a week? But one week led to two, and two weeks soon became a … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: I Don’t Know Why I Love You – House of Love
Six months ago, my former health insurance called to let me know that they were reversing a health insurance claim. They initially paid it in full back in 2024 but found a way to determine they no longer were liable. It wasn’t a small sum. It was $8 grand. What in the actual fuck? I’ve … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Tears of a Clown – Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
This is a tough one. I’m not quite sure how to answer this one. I haven’t met any tourists who have royally screwed things up on their travels to America. For Americans who travel abroad, I always recommend eating the local foods. One of the fun parts of travel is tasting the culture. And even … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Tennessee Whiskey – Chris Stapleton
Easy. Three Little Birds by Bob Marley. This song always gives off good vibes. When I was in college, we once brewed our own beer. While making our home brew, we played Bob Marley’s Legend album on a loop the whole time. I remember being at the brewing supply store deciding how many bottles to … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Three Little Birds – Bob Marley
I think I was about 10 years old when my parents had the bright idea that I learn another language. Classes were on Saturday mornings, which conflicted with my prime time cartoon time. What the hell was I doing in a classroom this early on the weekend? At the end of the year, we had … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Yellow Ledbetter – Pearl Jam
When I was in my early thirties, I experienced a panic attack at work. I was working 80 hour weeks juggling multiple client projects. The stress level remained high. I remember closing my office door, breaking down, hiding from the world. I’d never experienced a panic attack before. It felt like the weight of the … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Demons – Imagine Dragons
It’s difficult to really comment on this one. I don’t have any expectation for reader loyalty. It’s only an anonymous blog. I do appreciate people who stop by, give a read or two and enjoy the music. I remember a colleague once told me that the secret to happiness is to have low expectations. At … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Vasoline – Stone Temple Pilots
What comes around goes around. I used to believe in karma. Until the current administration entered the scene, that is. That guy seems to be teflon and nothing seems to stick. He can do and say the absolute worst and get away with it Scot free. I want to believe what comes around goes around. … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Everybody Wants to Rule the World – Tears for Fears
I don’t know for sure if there is such a thing as a soulmate. It could be true. I can’t say for sure. What I do know for sure is that marriage takes time and effort. It’s a spectrum of emotions, from absolutely wonderful to incredibly difficult. I’m sure there are plenty of times when … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Don’t Give Up On Us – David Soul
When I was a kid, I always wanted one of those individual jet packs from The Jetsons. How cool would it be to fly around solo? I also wanted Scotty from Star Trek to beam me up. I always wondered if there was proper quality control and if they were ever missing a particle or … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Add It Up – Violent Femmes
I think minimalism is fine. People who believe in it, you do you. I’m never going to knock it. Personally, I’m not quite as extreme. I don’t need new stuff all the time, but I’m also not going to live in depravity. I’d like to have the option to buy something if I really wanted … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: New Orleans Instrumental No. 1 – REM
Even though I live near Hollywood, my life is nowhere close to being a blockbuster storyline. There have been a few times when there may have been the beginnings of a movie plot. Just the beginning, though, thank goodness. Here are a few story pitches from my life. Brain Surgery – Although everything turned out … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Spin the Bottle – The Juliana Hatfield Three
Steps. I need more of them. Sitting is the new smoking they say. The only difference is I love smoking, but don’t. Having a smoke is completely relaxing. Too bad I can’t light one up while taking a stroll. I worked with a friend that smoked a pack a day. I don’t blame her. She … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Walk This Way – Run DMC
The earliest book that I remember reading was Where the Wild Things Are. I remember the illustrations more than anything. What comes to mind is Max being crowned king and dancing with the wild things. It’s hard to believe the book is over 60 years old. I was curious about the themes of the book. … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Wild Thing – The Troggs
Sometimes you wonder what came first. The chicken or the egg. Which one preceded the other? I ask something like that about myself at times, too. I work in risk management. It’s my job to understand, prepare and advise on a spectrum of outcomes, from best to worst case scenarios. It’s the scenarios that lean … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Shake It Out – Florence and the Machine
Blackjack is all about feel. I like a table full of nice people. Chatty people are good, but also people who have the EQ to know when not to be. And nobody wants angry guy at the table. It’s even worse when he’s angry drunk guy. It’s just bad juju and even worse karma. When … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Heaven or Las Vegas – Cocteau Twins
One of the football coaches taught my high school social studies class. On Friday mornings, he would describe a funny scene from Cheers that aired the night before. He’d laugh his ass off after the punch line. I still remember his loud hearty laugh. Because of him, I started watching the show and was hooked. … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division
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