Good Thing by Fine Young Cannibals

We're heading back to Silver Lake, a summer in, let's assume 1989.  Aside from the Saturday Night Live spoofs, our performances also included lip syncing and both scripted and impromptu skits.  For example, Catherine and I did a "Mary the Midget" skit a couple years running.  For those of you unfamiliar with this, a picture should help  There is one person under the blanket who is Mary's arms and another in front as the head and feet.

Hilarity ensues because the person standing behind the curtain can't see what their hands are doing when they attempt to curl Mary's hair (no idea who brought hair curlers on a camping trip!!!) or put on lipstick or brush her teeth or otherwise.  Another skit I remember vividly was performed in the early 80's by the cool, older kids (Julene, Matt, my Aunt Annie, and some friends).  It was really basic, but I remember laughing so much and being so impressed by them.  They lined up in a row and each one said:  If they weren't my friends, I'd be a .... (surfer, indian, farmer, pirate, director).  Matt stole the show whenever he would "milk" Betsy the cow.  I am not doing it justice, but it was hysterically funny.

In the late 80's, I was very envious of the girls at my school who were in Jazz Dance classes.  Deborah Morgan was THE studio, but I did not take dance classes.  They performed once at a school talent show and I was beyond impressed.  Cool song, cool moves, cool all around.  I decided to choreograph my own little number for Saturday Night Live to my current favorite song Good Thing, and recruited Lauren Y and my sister Catherine to perform with me.  We practiced all week to my "choreography" and the result was..... less than stellar.  First of all, the song went on way too long.  I incorporated what was basically the Hand Jive into it, not sure why I thought that would be such a hit, which we performed during the chorus, every time.  I was way more into this whole thing than Catherine or Lauren and none of the three of us were great dancers to begin with (no offense girls!).  Luckily the only people in the audience were parents and the M kids, not the entire school.  I learned then and there that choreography was not for me.

MMM Bop by Hanson

There was no shortage of things to do in Barcelona.  It had everything - the beach, countless museums, coffee shops, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, street fairs, festivals, you name it.  There were options galore, yet for some reason, when Anhchi L, Christy R, and I found out that Hanson of MMM Bop fame was slated to perform at some indoor concert at the old Olympic Village.  We weren't Hanson fans and honestly, who could like that ridiculous song?  We thought it would be funny to say that we saw Hanson perform in concert.  So we traipsed all the way out there to see these blond teenagers sing their ridiculous song.  First mistake.

Second mistake - I already mentioned that the Olympic Village is quite the journey from our dorm.  It is on the edge of town and once you get to your bus or metro stop, it's a long walk through the Olympic Village to the performance hall.  There is nothing else around it and it wasn't a really cool venue with anything to see or do.  We basically stood around and tried to get into some of the other bands that were playing.  We started asking people when Hanson would be performing and no one knew what or who we were talking about and couldn't answer us.  We waited and waited, but Hanson never appeared and we never got anyone to confirm they were actually coming.  We ended up leaving before the concert ended, very disappointed.  We never did figure out what happened or where the breakdown in communication or loss in translation occurred.  By the time we got back to the metro, I think we were probably so disappointed and tired that we ended up going back to our dorm.  Needless to say, the song never improved with age or listening! 

See You Again by Miley Cyrus

It turns out there is still one Miley Cyrus song that doesn't make my stomach turn when I hear it.  I first became aware of her when I saw her perform on an awards show and I though I wasn't overly impressed, I was intrigued and the song was different than I expected.  It didn't make me a Miley fan, but I soon met someone who was.  A couple months later, when the neighbors showed up for trick or treating, I had to ask who the girls were as I was far from up to date on the latest Disney princesses and teen pop sensations.  To my surprise, they said they were Hannah Montana (Miley's alter ego) and I was just tickled to see how Hannah Montana literally crossed the race barrier.  It was awesome and they looked great. 

I promptly downloaded the Miley Cyrus song because I wanted to be able to relate to (and impress) these kids.  Yes, I fully admit wanting to impress a bunch of preteens with my music selection.  Nick and I were invited to Gianna's birthday party in the park that spring and we felt honored to be included.  We were basically the only non-family members and it was a great party!  Tons of food (everything you would expect at a BBQ), a big cake, balloons.  We socialized with everyone and I later played some of my music for the kids and as expected, Miley Cyrus was a big hit, along with Pocketful of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield and Fallin' by Alicia Keys.  We returned the favor by inviting them over for a BBQ at our house for Jambalaya and what turned into a rousing game of dress-up.  To our great delight, they brought homemade collard greens, complete with a large hamhock.  It was delicious!  We enjoyed getting to know the neighbors, teaching them that not all dogs are mean (before they met us, we overheard them call Jack "the GD dog from Full House!"), repairing or replacing basketballs as needed.  They loaned us tools and warned us when the street cleaners were coming and we had forgotten to move our car.  It really made the experience of living in West Oakland a little better and certainly memorable.  I wonder what they are up to now?

We Used to Be Friends by the Dandy Warhols

It was Valentine's Weekend, 2009.  The snow was silently falling, the fire was blazing in the warm and cozy Tahoe cabin, stocked full of treats to eat and drink, and I was binge watching Veronica Mars.  I couldn't remember feeling more content!  I rarely get to be somewhere with snow while it is actually snowing and it was so lovely.  We had taken a 3 day weekend, at least, possibly 4 days, to enjoy ourselves.  It was Jack's first trip to the snow and watching him enjoy himself puts a smile on your face that lasts for weeks.  We were waiting for our friends the H's to arrive later in the weekend when we would make the traditional Valentine's Day Mac N Cheese along with Karen's famous cream wafer cookies, in a heart shape with pink frosting, of course. 

There is only so much time you can spend outside playing in the snow if you are not skiing or 7 years old without getting cold and wet so we did spend a lot of time inside.  There were books, magazines, puzzles, the original Nintendo, comfy chairs for napping.  There was also a TV and DVD player and, did I mention, Season 1 and 2 of Veronica Mars.  My sister had gotten me hooked on it.  She had tried to get me hooked on a bunch of different series, but this is the only one that stuck.  It is awesome!!  Everything about it, from the premise to the brilliant writing and acting, I couldn't get enough of it.  When I got to Tahoe, I was right at the turning point of the season long arc and it was so addicting.  Even Nick got into it and we watched all the way to the end and found out who the murderer was.  We Used to Be Friends is the theme song that plays during the opening credits which I never fast forwarded because I like the song.  I am currently re-binge-watching the show because the MOVIE is coming out soon.  I just wish I were in Tahoe watching it again, where I could also be watching the falling snow and feeling completely content and peaceful. 

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.