11 THINGS I MISS ABOUT YESTERYEAR

My milieu the past few days has been one of reverie. Im sentimental and nostalgic by nature, and just the slightest stimulus is necessary to send me wandering down memory lane... getting stuck in the brambles and underbrush of now vs then.

Through the force, things you will see, other places, the future, the past, old friends long gone... - Yoda*

Pretty much.

Ok so maybe i don't have the force (YET. im working on it) but i do have a memory that works on occasion, and here are 10 things that i miss from back in the good old days. This is not an exhaustive list - i doubt i could ever exhaust this topic - meaning i'll probably revisit it in the future. Until then, read on and feel free to share some of your own! Sidenote: its sad that i even have a good old days. Gosh!


I miss:


1. Mixtapes
Remember them? Not the "mixtapes" that are out now, where the word mixtape serves as more of an idea than a reality. Im talking actual factual cassette tapes. Remember making them? The painful process of adding up the times of each song you were dubbing so that you didn't go over the space of your tape? Remember taping things off the radio? Remember hating when the DJ would talk over or cut off the end of the song? I used to always neglect label the tapes and put the song listing on the little card that went inside the tape case. Id have to listen to the tape to find out what was on it. lol. OR what about if someone taped over your tape??? UGH.

Or how about this: remember having a mixtape MADE for you? Like if a guy liked you he'd make you a tape? lol. As a person who has ALWAYS loved music i loved this kind of thing. Funk that other stuff. Put me on to some music though ?? *swoon* The first time i heard Keith Washington's kissing you was on a mixtape. I had never kissed this guy but i guess he was giving me hints? Another one of my puppy love suitors made me one - a maxell 90 min tape - with all sorts cool jams. AND the kicker? At the end of the tape, he put "please don't go girl" by New Kids on the Block. This guy HATED new kids, thought they were new edition rip offs but he knew i loved that song (and still do) so he put it on there for me. Well that was better than a 4 carat cushion cut. I was ready to marry him right there. (Un)fortunately i was 15, so... that never came to pass. But yeah, i miss mixtapes. "We" need to do that again. I'd settle for a mix CD... Shoot. A mix playlist even...

2. Big Wheels

The in between stage from tricycles to bikes. So much FUN.

3. School Shopping
I was in target earlier this evening and the back to school section was in full effect. Is it me or do they put the stuff out earlier and earlier each year? Pens, pencils, black and white composition books... you name it. I saw a few parents browsing the sales and i recalled the excitement i used to feel around this time of year. While i was sad that summer vacation was coming to an end, i was anticipating the new school year. New clothes, new shoes, new trapper keeper(while they were in style) new friggin outlook -"THIS year im going to really apply myself, be the straight A student i know i can be." - this attitude, of course, fell by the wayside two weeks in to the new year. But it was fun while it lasted. Now as september approaches, there is nothing to get excited about. All it means is fall and winter... and well im not even going to go there right now. lol

4. Saturday Morning Cartoons
In my pajamas. Eating cereal. Apple Jacks. Lucky Charms. The good cartoons too! Hannah Barbera: Scooby Doo. Jonny Quest. Josie and the muthalovin pussycats! And of course, Bugs bunny (yes i know this is Warner)

5.Family Vacations
My family used to ALWAYS vacation together, at least once a year. Mom and Dad picked the spot, and we went. But that was when we were kids. Now that we're all grown and living our oh-so-fancy adult lives, its incredibly rare for all of our schedules to mesh so that we can all vacay together. Errybody got to check their "schedule". Um excuse me but when did yall get so important?? Im the oldest and and i aint doing isht! lol. But yeah, i'd give anything for us to all go on another road trip together, dad's oldies blasting, my brothers and i playing punchbuggy when we spotted volkswagon beetles on the road, my sister whining about someone sitting too close to her, my dad getting mad at requests for unscheduled bathroom stops, mom being the long suffering mediator she always is. The kids in unison begging to stop at mcdonalds, my parents ignoring our pleas only to stop at some corny unheard of spot in some overgrown corner of I-95. Yeah, i miss that.

6. Buying CDs
Ok maybe not buying (who likes spending money?) But moreso owning. My music collection is bigger and better and broader and deffer than it ever has been, but one thing about it bothers me. The majority of it is virtual. And though i love the immediacy of buying something on Itunes... or "acquiring" it by other means there is something to be said about having a hard copy. Its hard to explain, but there is a realness about a CD (or record) that just doesnt exist in the digital world. Not to mention, when i bought my cd i'd read ALL the liner notes, the thank yous... everything. I'd study the pictures, check for the photographer (if there was one) all that kind of stuff. You cant do that when you download. So, while the end result is the same - you get your music - the essence and experience has changed.

7. Late Night Phone Convos
Um... when did i get old? When did yall get old?? Why is everybody turning in at 9:30 PM?? Who are you people??? Ok im exaggerating for effect, but the truth is that things shole have changed from the days when i could stay up talking on the phone til two and 3 in the morning , go to school and NOT miss a beat. Hanging up quickly if my dad picked up. Calling up folks on three way... lol. *sigh* I dont even know what we would be talkin about. Half the time we'd be silent, watching tv LOL. But those days are long gone. People dont even talk on the phone anymore(i know im guilty as a rampant texter) and late at night?? Pshaw. Kids arent on the phone... theyre on facebook! I saw my little 14 year old cousin posting updates at 1 am. Girl you better go to bed! Where yo' momma at? Statuses like: "OMG i ♥ ♥ justin beiber s0 much!!!!! Its just too much for me. lol. But i digress. I miss the the silly, innocent (yeah right) fun of those phone convos.

8. The Pace
Everything moves so fast now. Remember when news was news? Remember when we had fun just to have fun and not to put it on facebook so we can show how much fun we are having? Remember when things weren't a click away and you had to wait? Remember anticipating? Now that everything is a real time endless stream of data... nothing really stands out. Just blips on collective consciousness. Its like we know everything at once,... while still managing to know nothing at all. Weird right? Dont get me wrong, i appreciate everything modern life has to offer, but sometimes... i just want to take a second to breathe...

9. Not being so technology reliant
What is the last phone number you memorized? Im so friggin tired of being tethered to machines! LOL. But its my fault. I could make my brain work, but i have chosen the easy path. I have about 10 numbers in my head that i know by heart. The rest are in my phone, on various contact lists. If i ever lost my phone... or if my pc crashed... or if the giant computer that runs the world went offline, i'd be sunk. No bueno.

10. Being naive
I didnt know people did this or that. Or that that can happen with this. Or that would have an effect on this. Or that that... and that. and that. and THAT.. and OMG make it stop! Please!

11. Believing that one day it would all make sense.
Nope. Not yet anyway.


*********************



Today's music choice - Remind me by Patrice Rushen. Classic. LOVE this sound. You might recognize it as the song sample for the junior mafia classic - Need you tonight. Sing it girl...

Dang... i think i miss 1995 too...



Patrice Rushen - Remind Me




* i couldnt resist. had to find a way to insert star wars in there. lol

RANDOM QUESTIONS

And my answers to them. :-)

So, this grouping of questions was sitting in my formspring, (which i have been leaving woefully neglected) apparently sent to me by one of my readers. I know, i was amazed anybody still read this thing too! The reader didn't leave a name, so no shout out. But i will say thank you for making me feel loved. lol :-)

Anyway, on a nice steamy friday morning that has left me less motivated to work than usual... what better time to answer the questions? Sorry reader, whoever you are for having to wait a few months for the answers. That's if you're still there.

Anyone? Beuller? lol.


Without further Ado:


1.What is your name?
Alexis

2. Do you have a nickname?
Um people call me lex, lexy/lexi solar plex (my mom's sobriquet) - my grandad calls me alex.


3. How old are you?
Do you know binary? im 100000 :-)


4. What is your hometown?
The intersection of I-95 and the schuylkill.

5. What is your favorite food?
Gee... do i have to name one? That's like unpossible. I suppose if i had to eat one kind of food for the rest of my life, it'd be sushi. OR macaroni and cheese. Ok wait... steak.

6.Do you believe in Ghosts?
Ghosts? Hm.. i wouldn't say ghosts per se. At least not in the typical hollywood depiction. But spirits, yeah.

7.Who is your favorite music artist?
Do i have to pick? Can i get a top five or something?? lol. Man...(or woman) I have no idea. So many genres, so many amazing artists... but if i MUST choose, Michael Jackson. No... Stevie Wonder. No... EWF No... Miles Davis. NO... stravinsky. Dang it. Im pleading the fifth on this one. Oooh Beethovens fifth...

8. Do you drink/smoke?
Drink yeah, Smoke no.

9. Are you pierced? How many?
Yep. Two in each each ear, and two in... other places. lol

10. Any tattoos?
Ink free, but im currently rocking some ill henna. lol. I definitely do plan to get a permanent tat but i really need to get one that is meaningful and not some cliche (rose, name, rainbow, MOTHER lol) one. Im looking at an adinkra or astronomy related. My friend is an artist, im hoping a design can be conceptualized for me.

10. What would you say is your best qualities?
LOL more than one? I hate these kinds of questions. I always feel like a douchebag answering them, like im bragging on myself. lol. Anyway, i dunno. Off the top, I'd say my loyalty. I will fight for my friends and family. Those i love i forever have their back. Like state farm, i'll be there. Or like a bad penny. *shrug* lol.

Um... what else? I love to learn. Im always willing to try and do new things and i love absorbing and basking in knowledge of other people. Three, im a good cook. I burn in the kitchen. (in the good way.) Fourth: I heard im kinda sweet too. lol.
but you don't have to take my word for it... :)

Ok i just went on about how i dont like those kinds of questions and then gave a long drawn out answer. but if you're a reader of this blog you know i admit to being full of isht.

Anyway.

Thanks for the cool questions! Anybody have any others? Send em to my formspring as i plan on checking regularly now. It gives me something to blog about. :)

And as its Friday we need some cool down music... I've been chilling out to Erykah's Gone Baby Don't Be Long. Perfect cruise tune. Im gonna ride out into the sunset with this one. Yeah baby...

SPELUNK THROUGH YOUR MIND

And go see Inception.

I usually shy away from making movie suggestions - i get so crushed when i like something, but other folks are like "HATED IT" - but i enjoyed this film so much, that im going to go out on a limb, put my reputation on the line, and recommend that you ALL visit your local cinema and see this exciting, thought provoking, and action packed sci-fi adventure drama. Its a triptych of awesomeness, a trait something sorely lacking in most blockbusters, most of which substitute loud noises, car explosions, and gratuitous sex scenes for actual storyline.

Id suggest you go see it with me, on your dime of course. :-) (JOKES! ...unless you gonna do it. lol.) Unfortunately, im only one woman (and not enough to divide the pie ©) so your next best pick is someone who appreciates sci-fi, mental puzzles, and genuine FUN. Choose wisely because youre going to want to discuss the movie afterward and if you see it with someone without much imagination, or someone averse to nerdy and dorky conversations about things that have no bearing on real life, youre going to be left unfulfilled. lol.

I wont dare give the premise of the film except to say it explores dreams, their nature, and that feeling we have all experienced from time to time - "is this real?"

...Or something i utter in moments of exasperation: "this CAN'T be life." lol

Think of the hypnagogics of Magritte, the logarithms and tessellations of M.C. Escher, and throw in the staples of your favorite action movie and you have Inception. A summer blockbuster i put my stamp of approval on. I didn't even hate Ellen Page. (the knowitall from juno. lol)

But i don't want to big it up too much(like i didn't already), so i'll stop here. But go see it, and then come back to this entry and lets talk about it :-)




P.S. A "real" entry (ok, list) coming up next.

HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY TO ME!

Three years.

I'm short on words tonight(the heat has melted my brain), but who needs words when there is food? So please, take a cupcake. :-)

And while enjoying the sweet treat, move your feet to this gem i danced my tush off to over the weekend: Cal Tjader's Shoshana. Why salsa and latin jazz rock.

Cal Tjader - Shoshana