When I was in high school, I found a box of old books in the garage. There was a yellow paged, worn paperback that caught my eye. It was John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley, In Search of America. Travels with Charley: In Search of America is a novelistic travelogue written by American writer John Steinbeck, … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Hey Jack Kerouac – 10,000 Maniacs
Long ago I had a roommate that read Tom Clancy novels. I tried reading The Hunt for Red October, but lazy me opted for the movie. Sean Connery, why not? When I heard Jim from The Office was going to star in the Jack Ryan series, my initial reaction was Whaaaat? I was used to … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Nobody Does It Better – Carly Simon
One day, I discovered I had a new pet. It wasn’t something I looked for. It just snuck up on me and made itself comfortable. Initially, it hid in plain sight. But after awhile, I couldn’t help but notice. I had a pet bot on my blog. Strange. One day I recorded an extra 100 … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Rock This Town – Stray Cats
I’ve been involved in various volunteer activities over the years. Habitat for Humanity, assisting at local food banks, engaging in language exchanges to assist others learning English, helping others with interview skills when applying for jobs. While sporadic, I did enjoy them all. But the question posed is about a job that I’d do for … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: The Freshmen – The Verve Pipe
I’ve always enjoyed watching track and field. With the exception of the relay races, this is essentially an individual sport. Sure they add up team points at the end, but when you are competing out there, it’s just you. And when I mention an individual sport, I don’t mean it’s you against the other participants. … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: I Alone – Live
A big part of the fabric of the community are the mom and pop stores in the neighborhood. When I lived downtown, I patronized the local businesses as much as possible. I loved living in a walking neighborhood, with storefronts just outside my front door. The more I got to know them, the more neighborly … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: This Town – The Go Go’s
This silly question assumes we were given a choice. I don’t think there was a conscious decision to adapt. It’s just something that happens when in survival mode. I remember the days of stocking up on groceries and then wiping everything down when we got home. In the early days, we stayed indoors for days, … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: I Melt With You – Modern English
Since signing up for WordPress, my morning routine includes writing this blog. Being on a sabbatical, I’ve had the time and energy to make this a daily routine. My ultimate goal is to reach 365 consecutive days which has been challenging. Some days the words don’t flow or I struggle finding a corresponding song. Sometimes … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Morning Has Broken – Cat Stevens
I like unique people. I find unique people interesting. If quirky, even better. I’m so straight laced and vanilla, I appreciate people who are opposite of me. In fact, I’m kind of envious in a way. Unique people have their own personal style. It’s very cool. I’m not saying I don’t like who I am. … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Come As You Are – Nirvana
I had no idea what to do with this prompt today. I sat for awhile and finally put something down. It was about people being named after sandwiches. Meh. Under the circumstances, good enough. I typically read others bloggers posts before I hit the publish button. Thank goodness I did this morning. 50 Happens post … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: With a Little Help From My Friends – Joe Cocker
We met friends for dinner the other night. Invariably at some point in the evening, the conversation shifts to aches and pains. It seems we all have our stories. Whenever this happens, I think “Damn, we must be getting old” and I laugh inside. I laugh because I honestly don’t feel old. Here are a … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down – Elvis Costello & the Attractions
I couldn’t remember what grade in school I was at five years old. A quick google search tells me kindergarten. To be honest, all I remember from my kindergarten days is being able to take a nap during the day. We stored a blanket in a cubby hole and pulled them out for a daily … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight – REM
I remember once being upset with a colleague early in my career. We were working on a major project with a new client and all of a sudden she was MIA for days. I was concerned and called to see if she was alright. She said she wasn’t sick, but she just couldn’t get out … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Closing Time – Semisonic
One of the byproducts of Covid was the increase in zoom meetings. Prior to the pandemic, there was an abundance of conference calls and face to face meetings. Zoom meetings became a hybrid of the two. They are conference calls with a face or virtual face to face without the warmth. I guess nothing is … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Oblivious – Aztec Camera
I once headed out to Las Vegas for the weekend. Unfortunately I had to work a full day and got a late start. After filling my tank, I was off. Now, Vegas is about 275 miles from Los Angeles. I can easily make it on a tank of gas. The odd thing was, I kept … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Take It Easy – The Eagles
The other day we were chatting about movies and I found myself trying to remember an actor’s name. This wasn’t some B-lister, mind you. It was a full blown A-list actor and I was drawing a blank. And it wasn’t as if I couldn’t see his face. That was clear as a whistle. I just … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: I Don’t Mind If You Forget Me – Morrissey
When I was a kid, I loved springtime. Not because it was the start of baseball season, the blooming flowers or the end of winter. I loved it because it was a great time to be a kid in Southern California. I remember driving to the local mountains for spring skiing on a Saturday. The … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Like the Weather – 10,000 Maniacs
My parents. I look at my siblings and myself and I see my parents’ fingerprints all over us. Growing up, there was an emphasis on family, work ethic, independence and kindness. There really wasn’t ever a direct conversation about these things. It was an unspoken understanding. My parents weren’t perfect, but they did the best … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Teach Your Children – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
That’s an easy one. I wish I could eat anything I wanted like I used to when I was younger. Burgers and fries? Coming right up. Pizza for dinner? A cold leftover slice is perfect for breakfast the next morning. Mexican food at 2 am after the bars closed? Extra hot sauce, please. Back then, … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses
It’s Saturday night. We are at a local bar drinking. A friend drunkenly suggests that we all get tattoos the next day. We all lift our glasses and cheers yes! The next morning, we plan our trip to the tattoo parlor. One of my roommates looks up and says, “Oh, you were serious?” Four of … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Jane Says – Jane’s Addiction
Resilient I’m sometimes a hard nut to crack. I can buckle down and mix it with the best of them. Pressure, long hours, stress. I can absorb it all for long unsustainable amounts of time. I put my head down and march forward. Until I can’t. Twice in my life I’ve had to push the … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Dammit – Blink 182
I’m uncomfortable receiving compliments. I don’t know why. My initial response is to deflect. I’ve been better these days. I politely say thank you but still gradually move to change the topic. Best compliment? Once a friend told me that she thought I always looked to do the right thing. While I try, I’m not … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: The Voice – The Moody Blues
There is something called through hiking, which is hiking a long distance trail end to end. My bucket list includes the Camino de Santiago, which I’ve mentioned here. This is a 500 mile pilgrimage across Spain. I’ve heard it’s a life changing spiritual experience. There is another, much longer adventure that I’ve always found amazing: … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Walk On – U2
I once worked with a guy who I thought had an abundance of confidence. He projected it in his speech, his presence, his appearance. The only thing I couldn’t figure out was why he treated people so poorly and constantly put others down. It later dawned on me that he wasn’t confident at all. He … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Brass in Pocket – The Pretenders
I recently wrote about Hal Eldor’s five minute rule here. I’ve been trying to use this rule, but I still go longer than five minutes. That’s OK, though. I’m seeing improvement. The thought that there is a cut off time limit seems to help. That’s better than letting things drag on. Time to move on. … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Mad World – Tears for Fears
MyGenXerLife 