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
I’ve been pretty consistent about getting my annual physical. My health has been generally OK, but at my last physical, a few symptoms emerged and my doctor recommended I see a cardiologist. Uh oh. My cardiologist ordered a number of tests and asked me to track my blood pressure daily – twice in the morning … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Breathe (2 AM) – Anna Nalick
There are so many professions that I admire – doctors, lawyers, teachers and first responders, to name a few. I’m also in awe of creative types. I’ve spent most of my life in an analytical career and have always admired those who use their creative energies everyday. Above all, though, the question for me is … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Manic Monday – The Bangles
I’ve always wanted to roast coffee and own a coffee house. I’ve spent a lot of time in coffee houses and like the idea of owning a place where the community could congregate and find a little respite from their busy lives. That’s the reason I frequented coffee houses and they provided me just what … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Closer to Fine – The Indigo Girls
I was listening to a podcast not too long ago and they were discussing RBF. I had no idea what that was, so I googled it. The first thing I found was “rat bite fever”. Uh, no. This couldn’t possibly be it. Needless to say, there is treatment for this if you ever get it. … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Tears of a Clown – The English Beat
Numbers. Everyday numbers. I’ve spent over 25 years knee deep in them. Cost analysis, financial projections, charts and graphs. Funny, because my favorite subject in high school was never math, my interest tended to gravitate towards english and writing. In college, I studied business, it seemed to stick and the rest is history. But I’ve … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Changes – David Bowie
In an alternate universe, I’d like to have a few “super powers” that I definitely lack today. Let’s see. I’d love to be able to sing karaoke in front of a room full of strangers. I wouldn’t have two left feet and would be able to cut a rug with the best of them. My … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Whip It – Devo
I was fortunate to attend business school at a private university. I grew up middle class and had to take out student loans, apply for scholarships/grants and work part-time while going to school. I drove a ten year old Honda, but it got me from point A to point B and I was happy. This … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Ain’t This the Life – Oingo Boingo
Finding an uninteresting news story isn’t as easy as it sounds. How do you even start the search? I thought about googling “uninteresting stories”, but decided to scratch that idea. Instead, I started looking in small town newspapers. There had to be something inconsequential in Small Town USA. I found a story about a buggy … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Ordinary World – Duran Duran
Here is my list, in no particular order: There are a lot of happy songs that come to mind. However, it’s one thing to be a song about happiness, it’s another to feel “the happy” from the get go and continue to rise from there. The vibe from Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping definitely gives them the nod. … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Tubthumping – Chumbawamba
I used to work 50 to 70 hours per week and it was not unusual for me to put in time on the weekends. That pace was a grind, but I was young and had the energy and stamina to put in the hours and still recover on a day’s rest. As I got older, … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Time – Hootie & the Blowfish
I love YouTube. There is so much great content out there. I’ve relied on it to help fix my washer dryer, figure out how to use electronics and seal the grout in my shower. It’s been a life saver. I’ve re-watched favorite sporting moments, got up to date world news and researched easy recipes for … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: The Ghost in You – The Psychedelic Furs
I got a job working in downtown Los Angeles early in my career. I eventually tired of the hour commute and decided to move to downtown to get a few hours of my life back. My move was right on the cusp before downtown was gentrifying and was still a mix of a lot of … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Even Flow – Pearl Jam
So, I had to do a double take. Didn’t we just describe ourselves the other day? OK, it’s a slight variation, but the feelings are the same. You see, I don’t really enjoy talking about myself or seek the spotlight – I’m happy to avoid both if I can. That is not to say that … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Jukebox Hero – Foreigner
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