lørdag, februar 04, 2006

Reclaiming my lost youth

When I was a teenager, many years ago...how many? I can still remember telling a class of students my age for some reason, and having one of them, who was 16 or so, say 'oh, so you're twice as old as I am!' It was even worse when I did the math and realized that he was right. And that was a few years ago.

But to return to my original thought...when I was a teenager, far too many years ago, I used to periodically make cassette tapes for people. Sometimes friends, sometimes acquaintances. I didn't have much in the way of sound equipment, just a record player and a cassette recorder. I'd play the songs I wanted to record from the records they were on, with the sound turned all the way up, and tape them. Open air. In retrospect, I can't even imagine how bad the sound quality must have been. At the time, I didn't think about it. The recipients were always quite gracious and thankful, and probably never played the end product, or at least not more than once.

It didn't matter. I'd spend hours making the playlist, timing them so that I could get the maximum amount in the tape length I had to work with, and of course doing the actual taping. I'd make very detailed liner notes. They were precious, one-of-a-kind items.

Since then, I've moved on to a world with cd's, cd burners, and iTunes. And I've just spent the afternoon blending my new technology and old interest together, and making a cd. I had forgotten just how much fun it could be to share something in this way, in this case with a small group of friends, family and blogpals. It's the perfect blend of copying (I didn't perform the music myself, after all) and creative thought...will there be a theme, is it aesthetically balanced, does it express who I am, or how I see myself, is it all stuff that the recipients will have heard before, or can I surprise them just a little bit? And I still spend lots of time ensuring that the liner notes are just so.

So, now, I am wondering. What other childhood or adolescent pleasures have I forgotten, which deserve to be remembered? I know the things which have carried over from then...non-stop reading, though I rarely have the time these days to read a book or two a day as I often would do then; bicycling, which I did in my childhood and have rediscovered here in bike-friendly Denmark, travelling whenever possible. But there must be many things that have been lost, too.

So, perhaps you can all inspire me. What childhood joys have you kept, or perhaps rediscovered? Or which ones have you not kept for whatever reason, but miss?

19 kommentarer:

Dok Holocaust sagde ...

the wholesale slaughter of other races trying to take over this planet you humans call Earth. Once, it belonged to Chibithulhu. then the Elder Things came with their shoggoths, and the shoggoths begat humans, and the humans with their mostly-unused brains were ripe for meddling by the Yithians who brought them science and religion and uncorrelated knowledge enough to keep me at bay. But this, too, shall pass...

Dok Holocaust sagde ...

Tabletop roleplaying games. Spending hours on end in-character doing the craziest things, roleplaying the weirdest scenarios, while eating junk food and playing video games and whatnot. D&D, Vampire, Mage, Changeling... I'd love to play again, but i haven't the time or the geographically-close friends to get a game going.

kimananda sagde ...

Hello to you both...very interesting things to miss. I must say that the wholesale slaughter of other races sounds more interesting to me than tabletop roleplaying games...but only because I would imagine less skill would be needed for slaughtering than for gaming.

x sagde ...

compilation tapes in the form of cds is one adolescent pleasure i have rediscovered. The other one is correspondence, exchanging cards and letters and fun stuff with friends (cds too). It gives me immense joy. Whenever i go out shopping i am on the lookout for little things i can send to friends. Also, making cards, although they are a bit more sophisticated now.

kimananda sagde ...

Hi Chloe, yes, correspondance, in real (non-virtual) terms. I used to spend forever on cards...however, I also seem to recall that I normally never then got around to sending them off. Maybe I should try again and send them this time!

Mr. Toerson...I have the urge to call you Mr. Tørson, as that's how Danish has messed with my orthography, I must say that making bad decisions spontaneously is a trait that I have managed to carry on from my childhood. In recent years, I've started to develop the accompanying talent of making bad decisions with forethought. That takes real skill, and I'm not as good at it yet as I'd like to be.

Dok Holocaust sagde ...

I remember writing a lot of letters in high school, because I'd finish my work quickly and needed something to do with my time. And in my first two years of college when I had less homework and my scholarship covered more of my schoolstuff and I didn't need a job. now i just send my friends emails, but I spice them up with things i create like art and stories i'm working on. Of course, I never get reponses or similar mails from my friends, so I assume they are going unread.

Daphnewood sagde ...

yes I was one of those penpal geeks too. I would send tapes to them of me talking. How interesting, huh?

Last year I got on this photostory kick. It was fun but I realized, no one wants to see endless pictures of my family set to my kind of music. I still make them and put them all on a DVD for our viewing pleasure. Do you know what I am talking about? I feel really incoherent tonight.

Vanessa sagde ...

I made mixed tapes during junior high & high school - I would also always keep a blank tape in my stereo and record my favorite songs as they came on the radio.
I no longer do that now, but I do make playlists in my iTunes, with various themes
"Commute" - upbeat music that puts me in a good mood to listen to on my 45+ minute drive in to work each morning.
"Sappy Crap" - filled with sappy love songs for when I'm feeling sorry for myself
"Mellow Out" - for my drive home in the evenings
"Showtunes" - some of my favorite broadway hits,
and so on...
I used to talk on the phone for HOURS when I was a teenager. I couldnt even begin to tell you what I spent all of that time talking about, but I would spend so much time on the phone that by the time I was a freshman in high school my parents had a second phone line installed in my bedroom. I can't really say that I miss that.

theblackscorpio sagde ...

"Baby got back" by Sir Mixalot to wake me up xDDD It is not from my youth, but it reminds me of those breakdancers on the streets, on which I stared as if they have dropped down from Mars and had some sort of convulsions. I was genuinely afraid of these, undtil I learned, it was a *dancing* style xD

kimananda sagde ...

Hello, Morose, I wouldn't assume that your friends don't read your missives, they might just be like me and really, really bad at keeping up with correspondance (this blog thing seems to be the exception that proves the rule, somehow).

Daphnewood, tapes of you talking sounds cool...why wouldn't your friends want to hear what you had to say even when you weren't there to tell them directly?

Vanessa, I too used to talk so much on the phone that my Mom got me my own phone line! Now, as so many of my friends are far, far away (or maybe it's just that I'm far, far away from so many of my friends), I'm trying to get back into the habit through Skype...only I can never be bothered to log in. And I know what you mean about iTunes. I never make lists actually, but just having it all on an iPod in my pocket, is pretty cool.

Ms. Black Scorpio, I'm so glad you're back! Please feel better soon so you can come back to class. I miss you! :-)

theblackscorpio sagde ...

Aaw, Kim, you're sweet :D
No worries, I am in the last stages of fighting off the bodysnatchers, and I will be there tomorrow ;D

Chipper sagde ...

Making cards for people's birthdays and homemade gifts for holidays. I still make the homemade gifts(food, soap, candles and that assorted junk) but I don't make the cards and stationary anymore. As I write this I think I may make one this weekend as I am now feeling a bit nostalgic b/c of your post.

kimananda sagde ...

Ms. Black Scorpio, great news!

Mr. American, that's a good one. I hardly ever go outside these days, unless I'm dragged kicking and screaming, keyboard still clutched in hand.

Etchen, I'm glad I've inspired you to make some cards. I used to make stationary, too, which could be very nice to get back to.

Likalicious, nice to see you again! And, yes, you are the last person I'd think of. Now I know why you commented on my Portuguese having gotten better...I stayed in Lisbon for several (5?) years after we lost touch, and I was very fluent by the end.

Dok Holocaust sagde ...

Listening to hard rock played too loud. As a teenage boy, this was an almost mandatory activity that indulged in happily. I liked it loud an obnoxious with the prerequisite fake-satanic overtones. I got so nostalgic for the racuous music of my youth that i even went out and bought a couple of marilyn manson cds, years aftetr having disposed of all my old ones for cash to buy gaming supplies with after my music tastes shifted.

So far from the 1990s, and the music is still fun.

kimananda sagde ...

Morose, yes, music is always good to remember from all stages of life. I used to listen to music constantly, but nowadays I have less time for it, as I'm one of those sad people who needs relative silence to read or study.

Likalicious, nope, I don't hate you or anything. Feel free to comment here and/or drop me an e-mail. No problem. English, Portuguese, or Portuglish more than welcome. ;-)

Sangroncito, I love getting mail, so it's a bit odd that I don't send more of it, actually. And I have visited Caipirissima (love that name!), but not in a while. I'll have to go back and see what she's up to.

HanktheDog sagde ...

Ping Pong!

Dok Holocaust sagde ...

What is this "outside' of which the humans speak?

David Edward sagde ...

hi
good to read you again,
I was distracted by a female of the species for a while, nothing temporary, mind you, very terminal. Bt I am coming up for air.

kimananda sagde ...

Hank, good one...but...I didn't know that dogs could play ping-pong.... ;-)

Chibithulhu, I'm not sure actually. I think it's the hell you must go to when the internet connection is down.

David, nice to see you as well, and pleased to hear about your terminal distraction. Feel free to visit anytime.