The first major hiking trip I went on was a four day trek on the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. I remember stopping and taking a number of pictures along the way. One of the members of our group was a seasoned adventurer and gave me some advice. “Pictures are for friends and family back … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Pictures of You – The Cure
This is an interesting prompt because of a recent blog I read. 50 Happens’ wrote about how music plays a big part of her Christmas season. After reading her blog, I thought how difficult it is to imagine the holidays without Christmas music. I love the feeling of goodwill that it brings. Christmas just isn’t … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Annie’s Song – John Denver
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. My family gets together to catch up and enjoy a big turkey feast. I also get to see how my nieces and nephews have grown. A number of them are beginning college and it’s wonderful to see how they are becoming young adults. I love the feeling of … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Crowded Table – The Highwomen
In college, I lived in kind of a co-op. It was a large eight bedroom old Victorian house a few blocks from campus and housed 12 students. Part of the agreement living there was to keep the house clean through weekly chores and also cook dinner for the house every two weeks. The rent was … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Sweet Jane – Cowboy Junkies
About five years ago, someone told me about a study that found 85% of what we worry about never comes true. Quick math, that means only 15% is really worth worrying about. It may even be less than that. …it turns out that 85 percent of what subjects worried about never happened, and with the … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Basket Case – Green Day
Eating the local food is always a fun part of traveling. You get to experience the culture through your tastebuds. I’m always game to try something new and I would never say no if served something unusual. Once while I was traveling, we went to a local tapas restaurant with for authentic food. Because of … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Bring on the Dancing Horses – Echo and the Bunnymen
I’m not a runner. Sure, when I was younger, I played a lot of basketball, but that is up and down the court and there is plenty of time to catch your breath. So when friends from work wanted to sign up for a half marathon, I thought no way. I was about 25 pounds … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Running to Stand Still – U2
I developed my leadership style from leaders that I’ve worked with in the past. I’ve worked for both the good and the bad and there are lessons to be learned from each. I’ve gleaned a lot from uplifting and inspirational leaders, but have also been thrown under the bus by others and learned some tough … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: A Little Respect – Erasure
I took a few Japanese language classes in college, but they all started before 10 am and I had difficulty being totally awake come class time. I passed the classes and picked up a few words and phrases along the way, but not near enough to understand or converse. So, when I left to live … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Words – Missing Persons
I used to always order straight off the menu. I was fine however it was prepared and rarely had any special requests. I’m not a picky eater and never liked troubling the server. In an attempt to be healthy, that has gone out the window. Tonight we are meeting friends at BJ’s for their Wednesday … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon – Urge Overkill
I think I have a pretty good sense of people. My radar might be a little rusty since COVID and years from working at home, but I think I can sort the good people from the bad with a high level of accuracy. Then again, if you’re jerk, it’s probably painfully obvious so maybe this … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: If You Leave – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD)
Because summer is ending, my ideal week is being outside and enjoying the sun. When I was working long hours, there were years that I missed out on summers. I’d be in the office before 7 am and sometimes work late into the night for days on end. I knew the sun rose, I just … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Blister in the Sun – Violent Femmes
Having played sports growing up, there is a long list of athletes that I enjoyed watching and admire. There are so many to choose to write about, there is so much talent in each sport. One athlete that came to mind is not widely known, but I remember being in awe of his ability to … Continue reading My Gen X Playlist: Fly Away – Lenny Kravitz
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
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