I recently was surprised by an article about people who struggle to tell time. With digital clocks and watches, the basic ability to read a clock is beginning to lose steam. I assumed it would be mostly Gen Z or millennials failing the test. It looks like all generations have a decent number that struggle … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Time of the Season – The Zombies
There is a moment that I like to remember. It’s one of my favorites. My sister went away for medical school and it had been awhile since we saw her. When she flew in to visit, I remember the smile on my father’s face when he saw her and he gave her the warmest hug. … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: My Father’s Daughter – Olivia Vedder
My siblings and I grew up with a bunch of families we met through playing sports. Our families became close. We vacationed together during the off season. Summers were spent hiking and fishing. We headed to the slopes to ski during the winter. We did this most years, but eventually when we went off to … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Better Place – Rachel Platten
When we visit my in-laws in Hawaii, I always enjoy the tropical fruit. They have a few star fruit trees in their backyard that yield hundreds during a good season. Their next door neighbor used to have a mango tree with branches that extended over the fence into their yard. No complaints here. Fresh mango … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: E O Mai – Keali’i Reichel
I played baseball until junior high school. I actually was a decent player, but I quit because I didn’t want to wear glasses and was having difficulty seeing the ball. When you play first base, the ball zings at you on a regular basis. It was getting a little dangerous. My parents were big Angels … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond
The key word in today’s prompt is luxury. It’s difficult for me to pick something that I may complain about if it’s gone missing when so many are without basic needs. It a reminder that I only have first world problems. I have a roof over my head, food on the table, clean drinking water, … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Kind and Generous – Natalie Merchant
I’m pretty resilient. I attribute this to having a good amount of grit. I wasn’t always this way. Grit grows over time. I remember in high school my mom once said to me, “Things come too easy for you. One day, things won’t go your way and you’ll have to work really hard earn it.” … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Can’t Stop the World – The Go Go’s
The other day I heard about a new craze that’s sweeping TikTok – Dr. Pepper with pickles. I’m not quite sure what to make of this. Adding pickles to the mix is a bit strange. You actually can order this at Sonic. Dr. Pepper dates further back than I would have imagined. I always thought … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Brass Monkey – Beastie Boys
There used to be a buffer between when I finished a long day from work and I walked through the front door. Nobody likes a commute in traffic, but at least I had forty five minutes to properly release the stress from the day. When I started working from home, I only had a one … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Midnight Train to Georgia – Indigo Girls
What? No. James was released in 1984 and is one of my favorite Bangles songs. However, if you listen to the lyrics, you’ll discover James is not that great of a guy. A YouTube comment summed it up nicely. James needs to get his shit together. –YouTube comment by mortimersnead5821 If you force me to … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: James – The Bangles
Because we don’t get trick or treaters in my neighborhood, I’ve had to consume Costco bags of Halloween candy by myself. After three consecutive years, I think I have enough information from these taste tests. Most people will tell you Snickers is their go to. When you think about it, it has the best of … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Ceremony – New Order
Sure, Dr. Seuss and the Cat in the Hat were cool. But there are two other childhood books I remember fondly. Where the Wild Things Are Go Dog Go I’m sure the stories were fine, but I probably liked them for the illustrations. Dancing monsters and dogs driving race cars. What’s not to like? George … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Atomic Dog – George Clinton
9 Steps to Financial Freedom by Suze Orman The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach I wish they would begin teaching personal finance in high school. I really needed to learn this life lesson earlier on. Reading these books helped me get out of credit card and student loan … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Celebrity Skin – Hole
My doctor wanted me to start tracking my blood pressure every day. He asked me to run it in the morning and again at night. I started keeping a daily log. One evening, something felt off. It had been a stressful few months. I shook it off. Stress was a normal part of my life. … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Unwell – Matchbox Twenty
Waking up before dawn and enjoying coffee in the quiet stillness of the early morning. I’ve had 55 years of constant motion. Some good, some bad. Some fast, others slow. It’s nice to put everything on pause and awake to a peaceful morning. In my adult life, there have been spans where these were few … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Peaceful Easy Feeling – The Eagles
I have a hard time unplugging. It’s the workaholic in me. But I’ve been learning to, gradually, sometimes not by choice. After my brain surgery, I still planned on checking emails during recovery. I didn’t want to get too far behind on projects and I wanted to stay in the loop. When I went on … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Take On Me – A-Ha
One of our first hikes was Half Dome in Yosemite. It’s about a 17 mile round trip hike. The climb to the top of the dome brings the most amazing views. It’s breathtaking. This was one of our rookie hikes. It was longer than we anticipated and we were not well prepared. We ran out … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: My Best Friend’s Girl – The Cars
I worked a bunch of different jobs during college. During my college years, I worked full time during my summers to save up a little bank roll for the school year. I also had a part time job on campus working 10 to 20 hours per week in between classes. It wasn’t too bad. The … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: American Music – Violent Femmes
Our family church was Presbyterian. Although it was a church my great grandparents and grandparents attended, we didn’t go every weekend. My parents were busy shuttling four kids to and from sporting events. When I was neck deep in career, I sometimes felt a void and would randomly attend a service. Usually it was a … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Blasphemous Rumors – Depeche Mode
I listened to a lot of music in high school and college. This was before the internet, so the only way to consume music was through the radio or buying CDs or albums. I used to love obscure cover versions. I would search for compilation discs or rare bootlegs. Both were not easy to find. … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Emmylou – First Aid Kit
I’m good at being the voice of reason. Typically I can cut through the crazy and chart a reasonable path. I’ve learned sometimes it’s difficult to see the forest between the trees, especially when you are knee deep. I’m not immune to crazy. When standing in the middle of insanity, I try not to get … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Good – Better Than Ezra
I used to drive a 10 year old Honda in college. I remember seeing other kids driving around in their brand new convertible BMWs and I thought, Man, one day… that’s when I’ve made it. Weird fact. In college, I wanted to buy cheese, but it just seemed too expensive for my college budget. Sure, … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: The Beatles and the Stones – House of Love
Odd. Not just the strange phrasing of the question, but also the idea it’s asking. I don’t know how to answer this one. Usually at the very least, I can dance around the topic and write something remotely close to the prompt. This one? It’s just too weird, I’m out. Maybe if I close my … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: We Close Our Eyes – Oingo Boingo
I don’t know why I held on to my CDs. I don’t even have a CD player anymore to listen to them. I boxed them up and had them in storage over fifteen years ago and only picked them up recently because of this blog. The other day I was going through my CDs and … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Like a Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan
I was having difficulty with this prompt until I remembered a line from Musings From a Tangled Mind. Why is it that my brain can remember every embarrassing thing I’ve ever done… This was a fragment of a longer statement, but it made me stop to say, Yeah, that’s me, too. I’ve got a complete … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Shine – Collective Soul
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