Life Lessons

Here's another gem of a draft from December 2015

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*No matter how hungry you may be, never order more than one menu item from Filiberto's
*If it's a holiday, holiday eve, or holiday weekend, give yourself twice as long to travel across town.
*Yes, there can be too much blue cheese in a cobb salad.

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I obviously had the idea to add onto this list whenever I learn a valuable life lesson. It's too bad I stopped at just three SUPER important thoughts ;)

What to pack when you travel:

I found this Draft from November 2015

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Sunglasses (if you wear regular prescription glasses, look into getting transition lenses, this will leave that much more space in your pack)
Hair ties
Headband (pulls back greasy hair, great in hot weather, great for washing the face) Think about cutting the sleeve of an old t-shirt. A headband like this takes up almost no room at all.
Camera (+batteries)
Underwear for women: Target sells a great line of super lightweight thongs and panties. These can be easily washed in a sink and dried (if not overnight) in the side pocket of a backpack.

For colder climates:
Ultralight down jacket
Wool socks

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I am definitely laughing out loud right now. Who do I think I am? A travel blogger? Nope. I didn't get very far down the list, but should I have discarded this draft? No, so here it goes on my blog which will somewhat embarrass me.

RESIST MEDIOCRITY

I found this short tid bit that I started writing sometime back in May... I don't remember doing this but it's been sitting in my draft folder (along with other gems) so I should probably just put it out there for the world.

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I can't believe it's been over a YEAR since I last posted. I guess I got all tore up about the presidential elections and lost any ambitions of doing anything meaningful since everything seems hopeless. Every day I am more and more appalled and less and less stunned by the bafoonity of Donald John Trump. End of rant.

I woke up today from some crazy and beautiful dreams. My dreams are always incredibly vivid, very unreal, and so exciting. I feel emotions to the tenth power. It's exhilarating. I hope to document a couple of them, but not on the blog. Sometimes they get inappropriate for younger audiences (not by choice, mind you). I blame it on my "unconscious" rather than my "subconscious."

Then I woke up with this song in my head from 1989. Soul II Soul "Back to Life (Back to Reality)." As well as having regularly occurring dreams, I consistently wake up with songs in my head that I haven't heard for years. I'll usually go to the computer in the morning and look up the corresponding music video. Since it's always a song that I haven't heard for a long time, the video is always weird and entertaining.

Another Tid Bit

This was a great article and I especially liked how plainly she wrote this paragraph. I want to remember this election, so I'm documenting things that I think should be remembered.

‘Hurricane Bernie’ hits New York

02/03/16 06:38 PM

By Emma Margolin

[Several speakers attacked Clinton for not being sufficiently progressive over the years and seeming to shift her positions based on political expediency. Mary Fitzgerald, a pediatric nurse and member of the New York State Nurses Association, called Clinton a “Johnny-come-lately” on health care for all. Former state Sen. Tom Duane, who was the only openly gay member of the New York Senate, appeared to take a veiled swipe at Clinton’s relatively late support for marriage equality, saying “Some candidates, they have to evolve… But you know who was already there? Bernie Sanders.” Allen Roskoff, president of the Jim Owles Democratic Club, was more explicit: “She is the last prominent Democrat to support marriage equality. We have to remember who our friends are.”]

Iowa Caucus Day!

I have never been so excited to hear about what is going on in Iowa today. This is the first presidential election where I am actually FOR a candidate, not just choosing the lesser evil. Bernie Sanders was never given the media coverage he deserved in the beginning. Can you believe that even without paying for the front page of Google and Yahoo news that he is still gaining on Hillary? I love it! What do I like most about the guy? He's HONEST.... such a turn around from most politicians. In his 74 years of life, they can't scrape up anything bad on the guy, because simply put, he's just a good guy! 

"Sanders is as real as it gets. Clinton is as fake and phony and corrupt as can be. Sanders is the last surviving antithesis of the dominant US politics. Clinton is the embodiment of its deepest layers of corporate corruption." --Hamid Dabashi, Professor at Columbia University NY  

The life he and his wife have led up to this point is one of compassion and giving. As a little boy, Sanders wanted to grow up to be a social worker. How incredible is that?! And his wife Jane has an impressive background: a Ph.D., community organizer, college president, started a teen center, a day care, after school programs, and also helped Bernie draft over 50 pieces of legislation. The first week Bernie was in the Senate, he called in everybody that dealt with childcare and early education. Jane was right there by his side because that was her background. A recent article I read described how the two met and I loved it so much I want to share it.

They both landed in Burlington, Vt., he in the mid-1960s; she in 1975, where they met during his first campaign for mayor. In an interview with Vermont Business Magazine, Jane recalled: "I went with the Neighborhood Organization folks to a meeting with the then Mayor and they asked questions. I didn't feel we were getting direct answers, so I started asking questions. They said, 'You sound like Bernie Sanders now!' I sat down and said, 'Who's Bernie Sanders?' They said, 'He's running for mayor.' I said, 'Let's organize a debate.' So we did. ... [W]hen I heard him speak, well, that was it. ... We met at the victory party, and that was the beginning of forever." (Sanders went on to win that election by 10 votes.) --Carol Felsenthal, TheHill.com


Anyway, I love Bernie and Jane Sanders. I hope young people understand the importance of going out to caucus tonight. I have definitely learned the importance of voting in the Primary elections, along with the General elections.

Steven Avery & Brendan Dassey

Dear World,

A ten episode documentary that was filmed over ten years is available to watch on Netflix. Making A Murderer got my head absolutely crazy. In my opinion, and I think hundreds of thousands of other people's opinions, both Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey are innocent.

Steven Avery is a simple man and his nephew Brendan is obviously mentally challenged. I don't even know where to begin... There is just way too much evidence that proves Avery's innocence. And there happens to be quite a bit of evidence pointing to a corrupt police system in Manitowac County, Wisconsin. I hope the truth comes out and that those bastards serve their time.

Steven Avery already served 18 years for a crime he didn't commit. Now he's in for life for another crime he didn't commit. Holy Moly. That means the killer(s) are still out there. And they're most likely wearing badges. I am infuriated by this case and can't seem to stop thinking about it. Everything that has happened to this innocent man shows American citizens that nobody (whether innocent or guilty) is safe in our judicial system.

Sincerely,

Pissed Off

...more Bernie.

I feel like all I ever talk about anymore is Bernie Sanders. I'm so hopeful for his candidacy, and yet I lose hope every day. I like that old guy so much.... I just want him to win! So far I have put in 3 hours of phone banking and 3 hours of canvassing. I have made my political views pretty public through social media this year and I have not heard a peep out of my parents-- one of whom reads this blog from time to time. Look, nobody should have to choose whether they are democrat or republican. However, the way our government is set up makes us vote either one way or another.

Why I love Bernie so much? I have voted Republican 4 elections in a row because I thought the lead candidates were alright. This time I'm incredibly passionate about a candidate and they happen to be running under the Democratic umbrella. Not all democrats are the same-- that is why we have multiple candidates. And not all Republicans are the same-- that is why we have a million of them running this year. Everyone has different views on different subjects.

So please, don't label me. I'm voting in favor of someone's policies and character. I'm not voting in favor of a "club" or a "party." I've never met a person who agrees 100% with all Republican or all Democratic viewpoints. It's not a thing, so don't make it a thing. Just do your homework and vote for the policies that you agree with. That is it.

#FeelTheBern

Dear friends, I have voted in every presidential election since I was 18 years old. Four elections total. This year will be number 5. I have never felt like my vote makes a difference, and I absolutely hate that our options get cut down to two choices. Every election I have voted for the candidate whom seems to be "the lesser of two evils." However, this year I am hopeful. There are currently 15 candidates running for President, one of whom I feel is running for We The People.

I don't identify with being a Democrat, a Republican, or a Liberal. I identify with candidates and their viewpoints. I will not tell you how to cast your vote. But friends, DON'T GIVE AWAY YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE! I am one small voice, but together we can be heard. It’s time for a revolution. A political revolution. An economic revolution. A fair fight. We can really make a difference this year, in this election. Let's change history and ensure ourselves and future generations a better life! America can and will be great again.

Arizonans-- we are a closed primary state. This means that you must be registered to vote by February 22nd if you want to vote in the Primaries on March 22nd. The Primary Election is actually more important than the General Election. Each political party is allowed only one candidate in the presidential election. Therefore, the primary election is the means to determine the party's one official presidential candidate. So when you register to vote in Arizona, don't be cool and register as an "Independent" because you won't be allowed to vote for anybody. Independents are still unable to vote in the Arizona Primaries, besides, there are no candidates running under the Independent umbrella this year. For example: If you want to vote for Bernie Sanders, you must be registered as a Democrat. If you are supporting one of the Republicans, then register as such.

So if you need to register to vote or update your party affiliation, go to servicearizona.com. Choose Voter Registration. Then choose Begin Voter Registration. 

If you're wondering who I'm voting for, it should be obvious by now. So far I have watched every Republican debate and every Democratic debate. I have read through all of the top candidates websites and I understand their standpoints on different issues. I feel more passionate about this election than any other because now is the time that our country needs the strongest leader. And that is why I am voting for Bernie Sanders.

BERNIE SANDERS IS ALL ABOUT:
Campaign funding with no personal agenda attached.
--Without promising favors to billionaire corporations
--Returning to a democracy where votes count
Green Energy.
--Make solar power more accessible
--Acknowledge climate change
--Move away from the dependency of fossil fuels
Fighting for Equal Rights since the 60’s.
--For Men & Women
--For all races and ethnicities
--For gay and lesbians
--Was even arrested once for participating at a Civil Rights demonstration
Universal Healthcare for all.
--As a human right
--Targeting Pharmaceutical Companies to lower the price of prescription drugs
--Legalizing medical marijuana
Raising minimum wage to $15/hour.
Free Education for all.
--Making public colleges tuition free.
--Increasing employment opportunities for youth
Keeping taxes under control for the bottom 99%.
--Make sure large corporations pay their fair share by ending offshore tax havens
--End subsidies to big business, support entrepreneurship and small business
--Bernie will most likely get no voter support from a corrupt Wall Street
Major reforms to our broken criminal justice system.
--End the practice of prisons being run by private corporations
--Rehabilitation for detention centers
Ensure our border remains secure and protects local communities.
--Dismantle inhumane deportation
--Ensure the return of unjustly deported immigrants and unify broken families
--Visa reform that rejects the exploitation of underpaid, undocumented workers
--Provide a path to citizenship for qualified individuals
Modern Gun Control.
--Uphold the 2nd amendment of our right to bare arms
--Extensive background checks
--Ban semiautomatic guns and gun show loopholes
--Demilitarize police departments, moving toward community policing, away from oppressive force
Seeking diplomatic solutions before resorting to declaring war.
--The U.S. should be part of an international coalition
--We should not be policeman of the world
Never running a smear campaign against any opponent, in a lifetime of politics.

No other presidential candidate comes close to being this awesome.
BERNIE SANDERS 2016!

For real?

The latest BS conversation I heard while working at Whole Foods: "I'm not going to get a tattoo unless it's vegan ink. They use crushed insect shells to make the color red."

Oh. My. Gosh. I have to give service with a smile to the worst population on the planet.

Out of love with Whole Foods Market.

Remember how just 6 little weeks ago I was obsessed with Whole Foods Market? Well guess what, I have totally fallen out of love with them. I'm not even sure where to start.

You may have read this article:

"Employees Are Bitter" as Whole Foods Chops Jobs and Wages

—By Tom Philpott

Sat Oct. 3, 2015 6:00 AM EDT

Ya, Whole Foods has really soured that kool-aid they are always shoving down our throats. 1500 team members lost their jobs. 1500 PEOPLE, not 1500 employee ID numbers that clock in and clock out every day, but 1500 actual people. I, fortunately, was not directly affected by this. However, some very critical positions were "eliminated" and we lost some great, hardworking, Whole Foods advocates. About one week after all of these jobs were eliminated, they went on to eliminate our Human Resources department. Ya, now disgruntled team members don't even have a healthy outlet anymore. If you need your hours adjusted, there is no one to do the paperwork anymore. If you have a question about your insurance, there's no one to ask. If a manager is sexually harassing you, good luck finding the phone number to someone that can handle the situation properly.

Ug, I'm disgusted. I thought Whole Foods and I were going to have a long, healthy, firmly rooted relationship, but now I just want out. I have put in my three years which I feel should count for something, but I now know that it doesn't. We had people who spent years (15+ years) working their way up the ladder, following the Whole Foods "Grow with Us" program, people who had been loyal and worked retail every holiday since they can remember. These people had a retirement plan that was promised over and over again. And what did they get? SCREWED. There is no other way to say it because it really is an ugly, dirty, underhanded scheme they pulled out of left field. Shame on them.

I could lose my job for uttering these words (these truthful words) online. Do I care??? About as much as Whole Foods cares about me.

Santa Fe & Taos

After we visited with the family for the 4th of July, Jake and I headed to Santa Fe to see my good friend, Harmony. She hooked us up with a great dinner at The Compound where she bar tends. We had plans to hit up the SF Farmers Market the next morning but unfortunately, I had picked up some crazy 24-hour bug and was feeling absolutely terrible. As always, Jake was the perfect hubby and let me sleep in as late as I needed to in the big fluffy, comfy hotel bed. He visited the lobby and brought me my continental breakfast in bed. Once I started to feel better, we did what I always like to do when I visit somewhere new: check out the local Whole Foods. Yes, we visited both the old and the new location. I understand that Whole Foods is ridiculous half of the time. In case you missed the viral picture, I'll share it with you now.

 

Yes, this picture is for real. One of the higher-ups implemented a bottled water program and at my store we make "berry infused" water. Sometimes apple. Sometimes grape. We pretty much add a couple of pieces of produce to some water and idiots buy it for a lot of money. But asparagus? I don't know what this particular Whole Foods store was thinking. I agree with all of the mockery that accompanied this photo. ANYWAY, I'm still obsessed with Whole Foods and I love working there. Like any job it can become monotonous and test your patience, but I just want to be there. It's filled with healthy people who do interesting things. I like being surrounded by energy-rich deliciousness and an eclectic crowd.

From Santa Fe we headed up to Taos to visit the earthship community. Anybody who knows me, knows that building one of these is my dream. Jake and I have been planning on it since before we even knew we were planning on it. I feel like it's part of my calling in life to build one of these and teach as many people as possible about the capabilities we have to live more sustainably. We only have one Mother Earth and every day I think about the disasters we're creating that future generations may not be able to reconcile.

 

The community has close to 100 houses and, little did we know, it backs up to the Rio Grand Gorge. We saw a road sign that said something like Summit Mesa Lookout, so we traveled a mile or two farther down the road from the "museum." The road wasn't exactly paved and it started winding downwards into a canyon. I quickly became uncomfortable, imagining our car breaking down in the middle of nowhere on a road that nobody drives. On one of the switchbacks I looked down the edge of the cliff and caught a glimpse of something incredible. The Gorge was absolutely beautiful. An oasis in the high desert of New Mexico. And yes, my shirt says Trucks, Cowboys, Country Music. It's funny.

We also interrupted some mountain goats crossing the road and jumping up and down the steep cliffs like it was a game. These animals look so much bigger in person than they ever do on television. When we got to the bottom of the Gorge there was a father and son, both in a pair of waders, fishing in the middle of the river. They had a spectacular 360-degree view. Actually, they had a spectacular 360-degree SQUARED view. Any direction they looked, front/back/left/right/up/down, the scenery was amazing. The sound of the water bubbling by. The breeze feeling the perfect amount of crisp on my face. The smell of sagebrush and evergreens. In that moment I was so jealous of what looked like these peoples' every day life. I could just imagine living in the basin of the Rio Grand, fishing for dinner and watching the wildlife. Jake and I took our shoes off and sat on some rocks by the river, letting our feet dangle and freeze in the water. Even on a hot day in July, that water is still as cold as the Rocky Mountains at 10,000 feet.

 On our way home we took the road less traveled, back down past Santa Fe but then headed west on Highway 60. You know what you find between Magdalena and Omega? Well, let me make this easier to grasp- you know what you find somewhere between Albuquerque and Phoenix?... A place called Pie Town. It felt more like Ghost Town. We were driving through on a Tuesday at about 6:30 in the evening and there was no one to be seen. We passed a cabin that looked like the village gas station. And food mart. And law office. The only building in town with a 15 foot mural painted on it's side that read EAT PIE HERE, but there was no one in sight. I had been seeing PIE signs for at least fifty miles before reaching this place, my mouth salivating more with each passing minute, and then when we get there, nothing! What a strange and disturbing disappointment. I just looked up the elevation and it's right around 8,000 in altitude. It's a certain breed of human who enjoys living in a place that borders so closely to the treeline.

We continued on this road where we didn't pass another car for maybe an hour. There just isn't much out there. Somewhere along the way we started noticing satellite dishes out in the distance. Lots of them. Like, maybe 100 dishes spread out over 5 miles. Supposedly, there is a radio observatory that gives tours called The Very Large Array.... but there are a lot more satellite dishes out there than they claim to have on their website. Plus, the fence along the road has signs posted everywhere that says Government Property No Trespassing. It was strange, to say the least. And I'd like to keep believing in conspiracy theories and military coverups and extraterrestrial visitations and time travel experiments and fountains of eternal youth and so on and so forth. It was a good trip.

July Fun.

I finally took some time off from work and had a fantastic vacation. I was able to see all the people I love at the Shumway Compound. I'm pretty sure my parents keep adding onto their house to accommodate more granbabies. We were 14 adults and 11.5 kids including: a great aunt, second cousin, our unofficially adopted brother Mark, and a baby on the way. All of my nieces and nephews melt my heart. Jake and I were spoiled enough to get one on one time with my older sister and her family for a night before heading up the mountain. Since it was about a million degrees outside, we capitalized on all of the best indoor activities. We visited the Phoenix Art Museum and enjoyed a smorgasbord of fancy imported cheeses. Trying new and exotic cheeses is the part of my job that I love best. I'm glad somebody else in the family has classy taste buds.

I'm pretty sure Grandmother was in heaven, snuggled between and reading to a bunch of grandkids. And the grandkids looked like they were having some fun too. These kids are fearless! Put a 3-year old Shumway behind the wheel of a go-cart and they will stretch their legs as far as they can stretch until their foot hits the gas pedal! Jake always talks me into a 4-wheeler adventure and it's always fun.

We also celebrated one of the nephews birthday. He was lucky enough to be born on July 4th, but that also means that he usually gets stuck with the whole crazy Shumway gang that day. I'm glad he puts up with us because it's always fun to have everyone together. We played a game of capture the flag and I'm not gonna lie... I was sore the next day from running around for about twenty minutes. Haha! We also had a night of dancing and word games and lots and lots of food. It was a good time.

Holy HOT.

This is my fourth summer in Phoenix...................
And it feels like the hottest! OH MY GOODNESS PEOPLE! I can't handle it. I am currently sitting in the library because my house is too hot-- even with the air conditioning on. Jake and I were both sprawled out on separate couches with ice packs on our heads. We decided to come read books (or blog) at the library where it is always nice and cold. The library even has shades up on their 40 foot windows today. It is seriously hot people. I just looked up the 16 hottest cities in the world and guess where Phoenix lies?

Fifth hottest city IN THE WORLD! We beat out Death Valley and Las Vegas.
4th place: Illizi, Algeria
3rd place: Mecca, Saudi Arabia
2nd place: Ahvaz, Iran
1st place: Kuwait City, Kuwait

What are we doing here? These aren't life sustaining temperatures. Jake and I have been trying to buy a house here in Phoenix for a long while now, but why? What is wrong with us?! Everyone keeps saying, "only two more weeks and then the monsoons will be here." HELLO, these are NOT monsoons. People out here just don't know what a rain storm looks like. And the monsoons don't necessarily cool things down. We might go from 115 degrees to 100 degrees but then we're talking about sticky humidity. Every day this week and last week all had high temperatures over 110. It is seriously getting to me. My head always feels like it wants to implode. We tried to get out of the heat yesterday so we drove up to Payson to go camping. It was about ten degrees cooler which made a big difference but I still think this place is insane.

Do I still want to live here? Yes, but I am not going to say that I don't mind the heat. It is absolutely terrible. There should be a rule that for every parking lot that gets built there needs to be a tree every ten feet. There should also be a rule that the golf courses can't water their grass June through August. And the state should invoke "summer hours" so that every place of business can flip flop their hours of operation. 7pm-7am sounds great to me. I could sleep during the hottest part of the day and then have energy at night after the sun has gone down and the temperature drops to 89 degrees. Yes, this sounds like a perfect idea. How come no one else has ever made this happen?

Finally! I found MY GENERATION and life makes a lot more sense.

I read some statistics the other day that compared Generation X to Millenials and the different lifestyles they lead. I was born in 1982, and Jake in 1981. The birth years were not posted under either generation so I was trying to place myself according to the data. I couldn't figure out which generation we were because I found myself disagreeing with all of the statements about how people from these generations work, play, shop, travel, eat, socialize, make plans, etc. I brought this question to Jake: So what generation are we? We talked about it for a while without conclusion, and then went to the internet for a third opinion. According to the research and opinion of Anna Garvey, we are a pretty special group of individuals-- almost like a mini generation-- that are misunderstood by those just a few years older and a few years younger than us. I lived my first two years of college without a cell phone (like everyone else around me) and it was a blast. I spent my third and fourth year of college with a cell phone (along with everybody else) and that was a blast too. I'm really glad to have been born when I was. And I'm really glad to have found this article. It's nice to know that there is a large sum of people out there who understand me a lot better than I thought anyone did-- especially when I find myself disagreeing with so much that goes on in the world.

THE OREGON TRAIL GENERATION: LIFE BEFORE AND AFTER MAINSTREAM TECH
by Anna Garvey

We’re an enigma, those of us born at the tail end of the 70s and the start of the 80s. Some of the “generational” experts lazily glob us on to Generation X, and others just shove us over to the Millennials they love to hate – no one really gets us or knows where we belong.

We’ve been called Generation Catalano, Xennials, and The Lucky Ones, but no name has really stuck for this strange micro-generation that has both a healthy portion of Gen X grunge cynicism, and a dash of the unbridled optimism of Millennials.

A big part of what makes us the square peg in the round hole of named generations is our strange relationship with technology and the internet.  We came of age just as the very essence of communication was experiencing a seismic shift, and it’s given us a unique perspective that’s half analog old school and half digital new school.

YOU HAVE DIED OF DYSENTERY

If you can distinctly recall the excitement of walking into your weekly computer lab session and seeing a room full of Apple 2Es displaying the start screen of Oregon Trail, you’re a member of this nameless generation, my friend.

We were the first group of kids who grew up with household computers, but still novel enough to elicit confusion and wonder.  Gen X individuals were already fully-formed teens or young adults when computers became mainstream, and Millennials can’t even remember a time before computers.

But, when we first placed our sticky little fingers on a primitive Mac, we were elementary school kids whose brains were curious sponges.  We learned how to use these impressive machines at a time when average middle class families were just starting to be able to afford to buy their own massive desktops.

This made us the first children to grow up figuring it out, as opposed to having an innate understanding of new technology the way Millennials did, or feeling slightly alienated from it the way Gen X did.

AN AOL ADOLESCENCE

Did you come home from middle school and head straight to AOL, praying all the time that you’d hear those magic words, “You’ve Got Mail” after waiting for the painfully slow dial-up internet to connect?  If so, then yes, you are a member of the Oregon Trail Generation.  And you are definitelypart of this generation if you hopped in and out of sketchy chat rooms asking others their A/S/L (age/sex/location for the uninitiated).

Precisely at the time that you were becoming obsessed with celebrities, music and the opposite sex, you magically had access to “the internet,” a thing that few normal people even partially grasped the power of at the time.

We were the first group of high school kids to do research for papers both online and in an old-fashioned card catalogue, which many millennials have never even heard of by the way (I know because I asked my 21-year-old intern and he started stuttering about library cards).

Because we had one foot in the traditional ways of yore and one foot in the digital information age, we appreciate both in a way that other generations don’t.  We can quickly turn curmudgeonly in the face of teens who’ve never written a letter, but we’re glued to our smartphones just like they are.

Those born in the late 70s and early 80s were the last group to have a childhood devoid of all the technology that makes childhood and adolescence today pretty much the worst thing imaginable.  We were the last gasp of a time before sexting, Facebook shaming, and constant communication.

We used pay-phones; we showed up at each other’s houses without warning; we often spoke to our friends’ parents before we got to speak to them; and we had to wait at least an hour to see any photos we’d taken.  But for the group of kids just a little younger than us, the whole world changed, and that’s not an exaggeration.  In fact, it’s possible that you had a completely different childhood experience than a sibling just 5 years your junior, which is pretty mind-blowing.

NAPSTER U

Thanks to the evil genius of Sean Parker, most of us were in college in the heyday of Napster and spent many a night using the university’s communal Ethernet to pillage our friends’ music libraries at breakneck speeds.  With mouths agape at having downloaded the entire OAR album in under five seconds, we built our music libraries faster than any other dorm-dwelling generation in history.

We were the first to experience the beauty of sharing and downloading mass amounts of music faster than you can say, “Third Eye Blind,” which made the adoption of MP3 players and music streaming apps perfectly natural.  Yet, we still distinctly remember buying cassette singles, joining those scam-tastic CD clubs and recording songs onto tapes from the radio.  The very nature of buying and listening to music changed completely within the first 20 years of our lives.

A YOUTH UNTOUCHED BY SOCIAL MEDIA

The importance of going through some of life’s toughest years without the toxic intrusion of social media really can’t be overstated.  Myspace was born in 2003 and Facebook became available to all college students in 2004.  So if you were born in 1981-1982, for example, you were literally the last graduating class to finish college without social media being part of the experience.

When we get together with our fellow Oregon Trail Generation friends, we frequently discuss how insanely glad we are that we escaped the middle school, high school and college years before social media took over and made an already challenging life stage exponentially more hellish.

We all talked crazy amounts of shit about each other, took pictures of ourselves and our friends doing shockingly inappropriate things and spread rumors like it was our jobs, but we just never had to worry about any of it ending up in a place where everyone and their moms (literally) could see it a hot second after it happened.

But unlike our older Gen X siblings, we were still young and dumb enough to get really into MySpace and Facebook in its first few years, so we understand what it feels like to overshare on social media and stalk a new crush’s page.

Time after time, we late 70s and early 80s babies were on the cusp of changes that essentially transformed modern life and, for better or worse, it’s shaped who we are and how we relate to the world.

Anna Garvey is the Director of Content and Social Media for WebRev Marketing & Design, a boutique firm in Chicago. In past lives, she’s also been an ex-pat in Italy and a 6th grade teacher on the Southside of Chicago. When she’s not scouring the internet for social media and blog fodder, she enjoys Netflix binges, soulful music and New Orleans culture.

Mazel Tov

A few weeks ago Jake and I were invited to our first traditional Jewish wedding. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful ceremony. I learned a lot just from reading the program. I shared it below, excluding names to allow privacy, so I hope you'll enjoy it!