Lovefool by the Cardigans

It was Spring Break, 1997.  We were cruising down I-5 in Melinda M's car.  It was no Spring Break Girls Gone Wild in Florida or Mexico, but never fear, I would have plenty of opportunities to live that out in Spain the following year.  4 of us, Jenn K, Kristin W, Melinda, and I decided we absolutely must embark on a Spring Break adventure and we decided on a road trip to San Diego.  We made a couple stops along the way, first at Melinda's sister's house, then in Santa Barbara to visit a friend of mine from high school, LA, and finally San Diego.  It was a bit cooler than we had hoped so there wasn't a lot of tanning, oceanside, but we did visit the beach in Santa Barbara.  We followed in the footsteps of Pretty Woman as we walked down Rodeo Drive and certainly did not try to shop anywhere, even though we weren't wearing thigh high boots! 

The Reg Bev Wil

We met up with Jenn's roommate Amy who was at Camp Pelandale (I think) doing something for ROTC.  Amy crashed with us in our hotel one night and we giggled the night away, happy to share 3 to 1 bed and 2 to the other.  There was the obligatory dinner in Old Town San Diego with some yummy Mexican food and good conversation and lots of laughter.  And of course, no road trip would be complete without a mix tape.  This one started out with Lovefool and also included Don't Mess Around with Jim and Mana Mana by the Muppets.  Quite the mix!  We listened to it several times, but Lovefool has had a place on my road trip mixes almost every time since as it reminds me of such a fun time. 

Story of My Life by Social Distortion

In the days before kids, spouses, and families getting bigger and more complicated, we had a pre-Christmas celebration with the M family.  It was always a lot of fun and included dinner, a gift exchange, and photos taken while wearing goofy hats like elf ears, Christmas lights, and reindeer antlers.  One year Steven G. brought his Wii and I was initially a little annoyed because I figured we could entertain ourselves just fine without it.  I kind of have this thing against parties and activities that revolve around the television.  Super Bowl, I am talking to you!  But then Steven pulled out the accessories for the game Rock Band and I completely changed my opinion.  Why had I never played this before?  Why wasn't I being invited to Rock Band parties?  Why didn't I buy it for myself?  (I don't know.  I don't know.  This was another example of me being too cheap to buy something for myself, even though I would have enjoyed it immensely).

Rock Band challenges you to "play" instruments such as the drums or guitar or sing along to the music.  It is full of great songs, everything from Aerosmith to Green Day to Garbage.  The game gives you the notes and it is up to you to not only get the right notes, but play them at the right time.  It is super fun, the crowd sings along with you, and you can totally play into it and pretend you are a rock star as you play your guitar as awesomely as possible.  I loved it!  Frank R. took a turn on guitar and selected a song I had never heard before.  He played it nearly perfectly, with all the confidence of a rock star.  I was so impressed with both his Rock Band skills and his knowledge of songs.  I was still getting to know Frank and did not yet realize what a wide reaching, interesting range of music he liked. Some of the songs I knew, but a lot of them I did not, giving me all kinds of new stuff to download, enjoy, and add to the Story (and Soundtrack) of My Life. 

1985 by Bowling for Soup

In August 2009, I started working at OpsTechnology in San Francisco and it was, to date, the best job I have ever had.  I loved everything about it, from the location (Union Square), to the environment (start-up, no cubicles, and amazingly, absolutely no pressure to work late), to my co-workers.  What really made the job so great though was my boss Melissa K.  In fact, what put me over the top during the interview process was when she told me she enjoyed coming to work so much that she practically skipped to work.  I later found out she didn't mean this in the slightest, but it meant a lot to me.  I did honestly come to work smiling every day, as I walked past Macy's, stopped by the flower vendor each Monday to purchase a bouquet for myself, and settled in for a week of interesting, challenging work.

One day, Melissa told us that her friend Steve M from Chicago had sent her another mystery mix CD.  Steve would put together mixes, but he wouldn't label them or tell her the track or artist names.  It was up to her to figure out (or not).  Apparently it was something fun she offered to her employees to do.  As you can imagine, this was totally up my alley and I jumped at the chance to play Name that Tune!  It was easy enough to do while working because I would just put my headphones on and listen to the CD.  If I knew the song, it was easy enough to write it down and continue working.  If I didn't, I had to take a second to figure it out.  I couldn't use Shazam because, well, I had a Blackberry at the time and also because I couldn't go interrupting other people's work.  I had to google lyrics and I was really good at it.  It was also fun because I was introduced to some new songs, such as 1985.  It always reminds me of working at Ops, in that office on Geary St, and how contented I was that year.  2009, that is. 

I Believe in Santa Claus by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

It was shortly before Christmas in, I want to say the late 90's, and we were visiting the M Family in Lafayette.  We decided it would be fun to head into San Francisco for the day for some window shopping and probably a Ghirardelli sundae, although I can't remember the specifics of what we did that day.  What I do remember is we decided to all pile into Aunty P's 1992 (right?) Honda Civic.  Imagine, 2 people in front and 4 grown people (3 girls + Matt) in the backseat.  In a Civic.  We were going through the Caldecott Tunnel laughing hysterically because the tunnel has this rhythm or something to it and it seems like you go over bumps at a regular pace.  Every time we would hit a bump, we thought for sure we would bottom out.  Not super hilarious in reality, but the situation certainly warranted laughter.

We were also listening to the Kenny and Dolly Christmas Album.  I don't know anyone else who listens to this during the holidays, but it is a tradition in our 2 families.  I am sure one of the moms introduced it to the other one.  Kenny and Dolly were both popular in the 80's, but this album is the cheesiest thing imaginable.  It is mostly Dolly's fault, but it is so gosh dang cheerful and jolly, you just can't stand it!  The best line is when she sings:  "I believe in miracles!  I believe in magic, too!"  Her voice breaks on "magic" and it is hysterical.  Julene sang along with her that day in the car and got the giggly "magic" just right.  I have the album mixed into my Christmas playlist and look forward to hearing it every year.