The past few months I’ve been spending time at the swimming pool relaxing. The pool is virtually empty during the week now that school has started again and I’m eking out the remaining days of summer sun. Typically, I bring a book, enjoy some music and let the warm rays join me at their leisure. … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Nightswimming – REM
There was a phrase I used to say under my breath when I couldn’t stop thinking about a moment I wished I said or did something differently. It would replay over and over in my head and take hold of my brain. Please forgive my French. Fuck, I want to die. Nobody ever heard it. … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Whisper to a Scream – Icicle Works
In the summer of 1983, I applied for a part time job at Wendy’s. I thought it would be nice to have a little cash in my pocket and a little bit of hard work never hurt anyone. I was on time for the interview, was neat in appearance and respectful answering questions. I made … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want – The Smiths
The Czech Republic is the furthest place I’ve traveled to. Back in 1991, it was still referred to as Czechoslovakia, had recently become democratic and open to foreign travelers. While backpacking through Europe, we jumped on a train heading east to Prague on a whim. We knew nothing about the country and were greeted with … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Roam – The B-52’s
I was recently reading Homemaking in the Dunes’ blog about her vegetable garden and small orchard. She spent the day canning four pounds of apricots, ten pounds of peaches and three pounds of tomatoes. They looked fresh and delicious and I was thinking how fortunate her family was being able to self-sustain themselves in part … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Our House – Madness
I can’t recall a moment having tears of joy. Sure, I’ve been happy before, at times very happy, but not to the point of tears of joy. I do remember a moment I was so happy I teared up, but it was somewhat of a different situation. We had been offshore in a small boat … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Joy to the World – Three Dog Night
Since this prompt is so similar to a recent one, I’m going to take the free pass today. There hasn’t been any earth shattering shifts in the past few weeks, so I’ll spare you the copy and past for today’s prompt. That just leaves me with the fun part – choosing a song. . . … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Summertime – The Sundays
It’s morning and I only have an hour or two to write this post, so there isn’t time to call and wake someone up for an interview. I think we can switch things up a bit instead and make this work. Interviewing. I’ve done my share of interviewing candidates for work and also have been … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Rich Girl – Hall and Oates
I’ve been feeling pretty relaxed lately. To be honest, it’s an unusual feeling to string a number of restful weeks together. I’m certainly not complaining, by any means. It’s just so. . . different. The goal of my sabbatical has always been to reduce stress and lower my blood pressure. Check and check – so … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Fields of Gold – Sting
Each September, my friends and I leave the city and go camping to hike and fish in the mountains. As I was thinking and preparing for the trip, I googled a few survival searches. One thing I was curious about was how long a person could survive without water. The general consensus is that people … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Water is Wide – Indigo Girls, Jewel and Sarah McLachlan (Lilith Fair)
My mom called the other day and asked if I wanted the old encyclopedia set. She couldn’t bring herself to throw it away because it still was in good condition. My thoughts drifted to Thomas Guide maps, foot thick phone books and Sunday newspapers. Searching for information used to be so different back in the … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Pop Musik – M (Robin Scott)
Gen X grew up during a technological explosion. We became a unique hybrid, comfortable using technology but also remembering when life was more primitive. When I was a kid, we didn’t have CDs or Spotify playlists. Our cars didn’t even have cassette decks in the early days. Like all Gen Xers, we had to make … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Route 66 – Depeche Mode
Throughout my adult life, I’ve struggled with bouts of insomnia. Fortunately, these aren’t every night occurrences, but at times can stretch out a few nights in a row. There are two types that I encounter. The first is waking up at 3 am and unable to fall back asleep. This usually is driven by stress … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: I Can See Clearly Now – Jimmy Cliff
I’m not great in the kitchen. I can fix something for dinner, but probably not something that I would serve dinner guests. If I have a recipe, I prefer it to be simple and not include too many obscure spices and herbs. Something easy I can make is salmon in the air fryer. A little … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Three Strange Days – School of Fish
The first musical I saw was Les Miserables. I was in college and we were able to buy discounted student tickets. I had no idea what to expect, but I was open to the experience. I knew nothing of the story, only that Victor Hugo’s book was way too long to be of interest. At … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: One Day More – Les Miserables
After college, I spent a year in Japan teaching English. It was an East meets West experience for me. While on that side of the world, friends and I spent a week in Thailand on our time off. We veered from the touristy hot spots of Bangkok and Phuket. Instead, we landed on Koh Samui, … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Island in the Sun – Weezer
A friend in college once randomly said to us, “From here on out, please call me Douglas.” We all looked at one another in confusion. Huh? It’s one thing if his name was Doug or he went by Dougie and wanted a more mature sounding name. That made sense. It’s easy to make the crosswalk … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Iris – Goo Goo Dolls
Having already leapt over the 50 year yard marker, I’m beginning to see there is beauty in simplicity. I decided the other day that I need to slow things down, avoid over complication and choose what to take seriously and what to fall by the wayside. I realize these are conscious decisions and life is … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: A Beautiful Day – U2
OK, I think we can compromise. Ten seems a bit much, but I can give you five movies I really enjoy. In no particular order, here you go: The Way, Moneyball, Shawshank Redemption, Saving Private Ryan and Swingers. These are all pretty different – a pilgrimage, baseball, prison, war and an LA story – but … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Redemption Song – Bob Marley
I’m still pretty new to writing. I started this blog about a month and a half ago as a way to explore my creative side while on sabbatical. I remember staring at a blank page not knowing what to write. I never knew that a silent blinking prompt could become so deafening. Discovering the daily … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Unwritten – Natasha Bedingfield
When I was a kid, I loved Southern California weather. I remember a few lucky springtimes skiing the local mountains on a Saturday and then going to the beach on Sunday. It was easy to take this for granted because it was all I’d ever known. I didn’t realize how fortunate I was until I … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: California Dreaming – The Mamas and the Papas
When I scheduled the surgery six months out, I wasn’t feeling the weight of the procedure. After all, the neurologist said the timing was flexible and to work around my schedule. Fortunately, the tumor was benign and delaying it to the end of the year didn’t pose a threat to my health. Six months was … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Thank U – Alanis Morissette
I don’t have the secret to success, but can provide thoughts on what I’ve learned through trial and error. Planning is an important step and provides a framework towards achieving goals; however, there are other areas just as important to improve chances of success. Focus is key. It is important to keep a multi-directional focus … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Sixty-Eight Guns – The Alarm
One of my biggest conerns when hiking or backpacking is what to do if we ran into a hungry bear. According to the National Park Services: If the bear is stationary, move away slowly and sideways; this allows you to keep an eye on the bear and avoid tripping. Moving sideways is also non-threatening to … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: I Ran – A Flock of Seagulls
Words don’t bother me for the most part. If I had to choose a current overused word that I don’t care for, I might choose “gaslighting”. There is no specific reason. Maybe it’s the negative connotation. Then again, I only see or hear it when I’m reading or watching the news and it doesn’t invade … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Hunger Strike – Temple of the Dog
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