So this is it, tomorrow I turn the big 3-0, a milestone in my life. Earlier this week my mom gave me one of the best presents (besides tickets to see Tosh.0 live…thanks Abby) that I never could expect. A 10 DVD set of all Becker home movies made between 1978 and 2002. Over the last couple days I have poured over these videos remembering friends and family and the adventures we have had.
Looking through the graininess of the film that only a shoulder mounted camcorder can produce, I made several stark realizations that something profound may be happening here…I am not only turning 30…I may be turning OLD! Ugh.
So in proper top 5 format, here are a few of my observations brought me to this pivotal point.
5. Technology: This is a given. Technology has absolutely changed the way that we interact with each other, how we learn, how we work and play. When I wanted to talk with a friend back in 1990, I would literally run to their house and talk to them (benefits of living in a small town: Upland, IN 46989). I learned to type on an ancient device called a TYPEWRITER in high school. I also consider myself extremely lucky to have been in the key demographic for the rise in video games.
One particularly fond memory is going to the only MAC that I was aware of in town, popping in the 5 1/4” Apple II floppy disk containing arguably the best video game of all time: Oregon Trail. (side note: the capacity of a 5 ¼” was 1MB. I recently purchased a 1TB drive for my home PC…which could contain the same amount of data as 1,048,567 floppys). To beat the game of Oregon Trail I recall there are only a couple simple rules you need to follow.
- Be the Banker.
- Shoot everything that moves, completely ignoring the fact that you can only carry back 100lbs of food.
- Don’t get dysentery.
Looking through the graininess of the film that only a shoulder mounted camcorder can produce, I made several stark realizations that something profound may be happening here…I am not only turning 30…I may be turning OLD! Ugh.
So in proper top 5 format, here are a few of my observations brought me to this pivotal point.
5. Technology: This is a given. Technology has absolutely changed the way that we interact with each other, how we learn, how we work and play. When I wanted to talk with a friend back in 1990, I would literally run to their house and talk to them (benefits of living in a small town: Upland, IN 46989). I learned to type on an ancient device called a TYPEWRITER in high school. I also consider myself extremely lucky to have been in the key demographic for the rise in video games.
One particularly fond memory is going to the only MAC that I was aware of in town, popping in the 5 1/4” Apple II floppy disk containing arguably the best video game of all time: Oregon Trail. (side note: the capacity of a 5 ¼” was 1MB. I recently purchased a 1TB drive for my home PC…which could contain the same amount of data as 1,048,567 floppys). To beat the game of Oregon Trail I recall there are only a couple simple rules you need to follow.
- Be the Banker.
- Shoot everything that moves, completely ignoring the fact that you can only carry back 100lbs of food.
- Don’t get dysentery.
To that end I believe the downfall of my professional athletic career came when I received the original NES in 1987, subsequently followed by nearly every gaming system that Nintendo has offered since. Lastly, the simple fact that I know the code for 20 lives in Contra by heart: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Select, Start…signifies that I am old. I can’t image what my children’s experience will be when they turn 16 and are allowed to use electronic devices.
4. Car Safety: Reviewing one video where my family and I were loading up to go on an hour long drive to Indianapolis in our ’85 Ford Escort wagon. I noticed something very interesting that I hadn’t thought about. There were 3 kids ranging from 5 – 9yrs old in the back, where the seat faced BACKWARD not wearing seatbelts. Try doing that today, you get ugly stairs from mothers and will likely get cited for some form of child neglect. How I made it to be 30 years old with the lack of safety devices we have today…I will never know.
4. Car Safety: Reviewing one video where my family and I were loading up to go on an hour long drive to Indianapolis in our ’85 Ford Escort wagon. I noticed something very interesting that I hadn’t thought about. There were 3 kids ranging from 5 – 9yrs old in the back, where the seat faced BACKWARD not wearing seatbelts. Try doing that today, you get ugly stairs from mothers and will likely get cited for some form of child neglect. How I made it to be 30 years old with the lack of safety devices we have today…I will never know.
3. Money: I swear I didn’t always used to be cheap. As a kid, I would splurge my allowance money on candy. In high school I would find small jobs so I could generate just enough capital so that I could spend it on things like new roller blades, a paintball gun or fireworks. In college it was computers, TV’s and car parts. For my birthday this year, I did receive a nice card with several crisp clean bills included. When talking with a friend of what I was going to do with that money, I half jokingly said “I will probably end up spending it on gas and groceries.” And for the past several birthdays has been true. So maybe for my 30th year I will go out and get something frivolous like I used to…Only I am struggling to think of anything, help me out.
2. Style: This is just a fact. If you ever wore skin tight bathing suits or sported a rat tail as a kid…you are now officially old.
1. Body: This is the one where I am supposed to say that my body aches when I do anything. That I need to realize that I need to be more careful about the activities I choose to participate in. But surprisingly enough, I find myself in better shape for my 30th birthday than I was when I was 20, due to my recent running activities (previous post). And for that, I am encouraged and inspired to venture into my 4th decade with confidence that in 10 years maybe I can be in better shape than I am now…writing about how archaic the iPad once was.
Just wait, you're going to get all the Corll DVDs someday too. Talk about 'old'!
ReplyDeletePretty sure it was for 30 lives, not 20. And you weren't a man until you could beat it without the code.
ReplyDelete