Who Do I Think I Am??

This one's about the old Earth.

THE PROMPT: "You remember the old days of the web? How the sites looked like with only html coding and/or old levels of flash? When blogs were limited? Aside the web there were cassette tapes, floppy discs, VCDs and LDs and we used to make mixes on the tapes to listen in our car as the CD players were unavailable or expensive. And of course the CRT monitors which were really small compared to the monitors we have today.

Write about this past in many paragraphs if need be. Write about vinyl records, the walkmans that were the predecessors to the iPOD, the first mobile phones, etcetera. Write your memories about them and how much they mean to you. Even if you were born in the late 90's or so I bet technology still has progressed and you might have seen your parents' old things.

So, write on the nascent years of the tech generation ^_^"

This makes me feel old in so many ways...I remember a complete internet-free experience. Families did this thing where they had dinner together and actually spoke to one another, using voices. What a concept!

I didn't get my first cd player until I turned 19 I think, which was still pretty early in the '90's. I was excited to finally join one of those "record clubs"...you remember those! Buy 12 cd's for a penny!

Ironically, you can't even find the 'cents' symbol on a standard QWERTY keyboard anymore.

It was a great way to start a cd collection, until you realized you had to actually buy more cd's, at damn near double what your local record store was charging.

And speaking of which, the "local" record stores were the places to go...they always had the newest stuff, the best posters, and the sweetest dudes and chicks behind the counter. And these shops were in every neighborhood. Now, it's Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart or some other big-box scumbag retailer, and that's it. Sad.

My first introduction to computers? Fourth grade...in 1984 . Everyone knows about Apple...the iPod, iPad, Mac, etc...but who remembers the Apple IIe?? Peep this stellar device here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_IIe This machine had the capability to let you type in upper- and lower-case letters! The monitor could display 16 colors! It was badass for its time! And you knew which kids had money, cuz they actually had one in their home! Who needed internet? You could make banners and flyers with Print Shop or play Oregon Trail and Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? Fun for hours!

Because sometimes they'd take hours to load or print.

Having used the Apple IIe all throughout high school and graduation, three things amaze me: 1) When did technology start to move so fast? I don't log in to Facebook one day and all of the sudden my Blackberry is outdated ; 2) How did I learn anything back in the day, having to use that monstrosity?; and 3) In a backpack crammed with actual books that we studied from, how did I never once manage to wreck the item of storage, the soft floppy disk...I mean that thing was 5.5"x5.5" (approx.) and 1/4" thick, and actually floppy.

There's my little technological rant...I could go on for hours about when I worked for the local consumer electronics retailer in the late '90's and early 2000's...my first digital camera was the second-to-top-of-the-line Sony 2.1 megapixel that cost me over $400 after buying all the accessories. Isn't that insane how far we've come?

MUSICAL BREAK:

Now that I'm feeling really old, I need something to lighten myself up back to normal... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZioV5d3osg&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=... Yup. Naked dudes. In my blog. It's been that kind of day.

VITAL STATS:

Holy long day at work...two people call in on the night shift, so I volunteer to leave early and come back. "No, no, no, it's ok." Ok my ass...then don't pull an Office Space on me, call me into the office at 4pm when my shift is over, and ask me if I'll come back and close from like, 7:30-10:30, because it's me or the store manager who has to come back. It's great that I've been assured by the district manager that overtime pay is acceptable in this circumstance (the company is very stingy when it comes to OT pay), but don't pull the same bullshit you've pulled on me in the past where I've helped out for extra hours and then later on in the week you tell me to leave early. Nope. I've sacrificed my time to help, and you're gonna pay me appropriately.

Oh, and you're gonna ask me to come back to work when I've been offended by an a-hole customer? Who's confused still after three months out of being renovated and moving aisles to other sections of the store? "Geez you've moved everything! Everything's changed! You even changed your hair!" Lady, I get it...I've listened to you for an hour now as I've been your own personal shopping assistant, but your whining is offensive. Not only was Jess the CWC on the remodelling team, but the week they did our store, I worked on the remodelling team as well. So I have a vested interest, and while we moved your precious toilet paper and toothpaste over an aisle or two, there's no need to carry on as if I personally just repossessed your house. We worked really hard to make your shopping experience easier. Pissing and moaning, and then having the balls to tell me you knew I'd be happier if I didn't take my promotion, will not make your shopping experience any more enjoyable when I find the products you're too lazy to find on your own and shove them someplace I'd rather not mention in a very public forum. Oh, and yeah, thanks boss, I'll take three more hours of this!

All complaining aside, at least that three hours was pretty much event-free.

So yeah, I'm beat. Gonna kick back and relax for a little bit, and do pretty much the same thing all over again tomorrow. Peace, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf4veA65G-k&feature=related