Electric Youth

Ahhhhh.......youth.

What a wonderful thing.

I grew up mostly in the 90's. I was 13 when 1990 rolled around and I graduated from high school in 1995.

I was soooooo boy crazy. And, once upon a time, they were crazy for me, too.

I dated....a lot. I mean, crazy a lot. I never kept a boy around for more than 2 weeks.

I loved growing up in the 90's. I lived in Orlando at that time. Actually, outside of Orlando, but close enough.

I lived in the suburbs.

You know, every third house had the same floor plan. Oh, sure, on the outside it was pale blue or pale peach or pale green, but the inside....the same.

Despite the cookie cutter aspect of the neighborhood, I loved it.

I was able to walk to school. Both middle school and high school.

I had friends.

I loved the trends of the 90's.

I loved the sights of the 90's.

I loved the music of the 90's.

I was a 90's girl all the way.

I can remember loving Debbie Gibson. Remember her?

She had some good hits, y'all.

She also put out a perfume.

I LOVED that perfume.

I only ever had one bottle of it.

But I used it all up.

You know how sometimes, a scent can take you back...way back?

Even though Electric Youth is no longer manufactured (I think...God, I hope), there are some perfumes or lotions out there that resemble it enough that if it's wafting through the air at some mall or a fair or at a concert, it takes me back to middle school.

The tears, the heartbreak, the laughter, the sleepovers, the secrets, the passing notes in the hallway.

It takes me back to a gentler time. Of course, it's only gentler cause I'm looking BACK on it. I'm sure if you asked me back then if life was rough, I would have responded with a "Heck yeah!"

There are some days I miss those easier times.

I'll leave you with a very badly taken photo. It's actually a photo of a photo.

See the "lovely" trends of the 90's?

Guess which one's me.



Later,

Olfactory Overload

When I was walking in a stairwell/hallway here at work, the hall smelled like orange Kool-Aid. Remember that stuff? Can we say sugar high? Anyway, it reminded me of the daycare I went to as a kid.

Coming back from said hallway, I almost bumped into a lady that smelled like Disney World. It was her perfume, I'm sure, but as soon as I smelled it, I immediately thought of Disney World.

On the way from the vets office to work, I stopped by a Subway to get a sandwich for lunch. I got a meatball sandwich and decided to eat it in the car instead of at work. As soon as I unwrapped it, the smell, wafting through my car, brought me back to my late teens early 20's living in Florida. I used to get meatball subs all the time from Subway and almost always ate them in my car on the way to school or work.

Funny how the nose retains these memories, isn't it?

Later,

Mama Dawg

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

I just want to claw my ever-lovin' eyes out.

On my way to work I, completely out of the blue, had a horrible, horrible, horrible repressed memory spring up on me.

I'm not going to go into the details, but suffice to say it has something to do with a guy I used to date. Blech.........I want to Eternal Sunshine that memory away. (kudos to those of you that got that reference).

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Get it out, get it out.

Find my happy place, find my happy place, find my happy place.

Gotta go look at some Disney websites, that'll erase it.

Oh, speaking of Disney.....R, it's official, I hate you!!!! I can not believe that right now, you're in some Disney park instead of work. Next time, just pack me away in your suitcase. I promise I won't eat much and I'll stay very, very, very quiet.

Later,

Mama Dawg

P.S., the new picture that's up.....these cars are all over my grandmother's land. Does this make us white trash or just really cool people? I can't tell.

Twinkies with Paw-Paw

My grandmother has been taking care of people pretty much all her life. First it was her kids and after they moved out, she then had to take care of her parents. She has a sister, but the sister didn’t live close enough to offer enough support. After they passed, my grandmother then had to take care of my aunt who had breast cancer. That same aunt now lives with my grandmother and take care of her.

While my great-grand-parents were still living I did get a chance to spend time with them. However, it was short lived since my great grandfather died when I was 5 and then my great grandmother died when I was 8 or 10. I can’t remember for certain.

Anyway, one of my fondest memories is of my great grandfather. I called him Paw-Paw with a stick because he walked with a cane.

I was about 3 going on 4 for this particular memory. It occurred over time and became like a tradition when I would come up to visit.

My Paw-Paw loved Twinkies. He would have a Twinkie every afternoon along with a cup of coffee.

He would quietly come over and whisper for me to follow him into the kitchen. Since I adored him, I did whatever he asked.

We would go and sit side by side and have a snack of Twinkies and coffee (milk for me). We even have a picture of this “tradition”.

He used to also come up and stand next to me real quiet and stealth like. When my head was turned, he would gently lay the rubber tip of his cane on my toes (always when I was wearing shoes) and pretend that he caught me. He would cackle like only a great-grandfather can. I used to get hysterical at this and looked forward to him doing it every time we visited. I would even go and stand next to him and turn my head on purpose just so he would do it.

He was such a kind and good man. Mom says he was incredibly smart and really, really, really good with his hands. People from all over the county would come to him to have them fix things professionals couldn't even fix.

I wish I would have had more time with him.

On a side note, when did they stop putting Ding-Dongs in foil?

I was reading about this on another site and didn’t know that they had stopped doing this. Pisses me off.

Later,

Mama Dawg

Skating

Remember roller-skating? For those of you that grew up in the 80’s, that is. Forget that rollerblading crap. I’m talking old school, dirt brown skates with orange wheels and ratty laces that you had to rent at the skating rink (unless you were lucky, as I was when I got older, enough to have your own pair of black speed skates with white racing stripes and red wheels…man, I was so hot back then!).

I’m at work listening to a c.d. called 80’s Club and “Fresh” by Kool & the Gang came on. It brought me back to my own skating years.

I lived in Jackson, MS at the time. I started going to the skating rink when I was about 8 and I ended up moving out of state when I was 11 but for those 3 years, I lived at the skating rink. Once I turned 10, mom would take me and Jennifer Anderson and anyone else in our “group” to Fun Time Skate. She would drop us off (around 6:30 or so) and we would act all “cool” waiting in line to pay to enter the hallowed skating ground (otherwise known at Fun Time). Man, the fashions alone are enough to make you scream. Off the shoulder torn sweatshirts (a la Flashdance) and mini skirts (yes, even while skating) and Thriller t-shirts and parachute pants (I was the proud owner of a red pair and even wore a bandana tied above the knee just like Mike….Michael Jackson that is). Fluorescent socks, high top Converse, ribbed tank tops, big belts, and bigger hair.

I can remember listening to songs like “We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off” by Jermaine Stewart, “Let the Music Play” by Shannon, “Sign Your Name” and “Wishing Well” by Terence Tent D’Arby, “Looking For a New Love” by Jodi Watley, “Oh, Sheila” by Ready for the World, “Every Little Step” by Bobby Brown, “Rhythm of the Night” by DeBarge, anything by Michael Jackson or Madonna.

We would get all excited when “Thriller” was played because the D.J. would turn off all the lights except for the disco ball in the center. We (the girls) would all get “scared” and would gravitate towards wherever the boys were in hopes that they would “protect” us but in reality would be the ones scaring the hell out of us in the dark.

They would have races for the speed skaters and we would do the “Hokey Pokey” and at the end of the song, an employee (usually some pimply faced sullen teenager) would throw out a bunch of pennies on the skating floor (can we spell L-A-W-S-U-I-T?!?!?!?) and we would all scramble grab as many pennies as possible. They had a vending machine that would give out sour balls for a penny.

I can remember being fascinated with ball bearings and wanting to follow the wall around the skating floor looking for ball bearings and any money that would fall out of skaters pockets.

We would get a slice of really crappy pizza and some blue colored ice cream and a soda. I can remember always being fascinated with the older girls that were always hanging out in the bathroom and sneaking cigarettes and putting on make up.

I had a boyfriend one time that went skating with me. His name was David Barlow and he had the biggest brown eyes on the face of the earth. He was beautiful. He looked so cute one night at the skating rink with his sweatband holding back his feathered hair and his torn yellow sweatshirt and torn tight jeans. Really, can we bring those fashions back? Like right now?

I always thought I was so cool because I could skate backwards and do that thing where you crouched down to skate and when you went around the curves, you would slide your right foot all the way out (potentially tripping someone behind you) to coast the curves. I can remember trying to jump up or down off the carpeted floor on to the skating floor.

Man, that was good times.

Later,

Mama Dawg

Disney World!!!!

I love Disney World. Ask anybody that knows me and they’ll tell you I’m a freak for all things Disney. It’s not so much the characters and the movies as it is the Company itself.

I used to live in Florida from when I was a pre-teen til I was an adult. I LOVED living in Florida. I loved everything about living in Florida. The weather, the beaches, Disney World, the weather, the beaches, Disney World, the weather, the beaches, Disney World…you get my drift.

Anyway, my mom and dad were separated at that time. The divorce wasn’t final. We were living in another state and mom got notification that she was getting a promotion and a transfer. A transfer to FLORIDA!!!!!! I was 11 at the time. Since mom was going through a divorce, she thought it over and decided to take the promotion and transfer. She thought it would be a fresh start to a new life for the two of us. It was a hard move for me (despite Disney World being in our backyard) because I was leaving the only place I ever knew and I had some problems (mostly being made fun of for my accent and loneliness and alienation) but after a couple of years, it was fine and I really got into living there.

When we first moved there, we bought the FL residence passes. At that time, it was a pass that allowed you to go only certain months of the year. Like January through March, July through September, etc….Those weren’t the months, but you get the picture. We went nearly every weekend we could for the first year or two but then the desire died down. We were down to going just when guests stayed with us (the only reason they came to see us was because of Disney World…..I’m teasing, but I wouldn’t blame them one bit).

When I was a senior in high school, I decided on a whim to go lookin’ for a job. Not any job would do, though. I wanted to work at Disney. Several people in my high school worked there and they paid well (better than minimum wage). I hadn’t been in a while but I knew I didn’t want to do anything related to the characters. I just went on a total lark. Seriously, I work up one morning and while I was getting ready for school, decided to go to Disney that afternoon after school got out. It was about a 25-minute drive. I found the casting building and walked in. I had no references and had dressed nice but not too business like. Being in high school, I didn’t have any professional clothes anyway. I asked for an application and they gave it to me. I filled it out. I didn’t have my SSN card or anything like that with me (didn’t know I would need it as I had never gone on a job interview before). I sat down and filled it out. My references were people I had baby-sat for and neighbors. Absolutely no job experience other than baby-sitting. However, I had been baby-sitting this one family for about 4-5 years and made it a point to list that. I turned my application in and they said that they actually had an interview spot open that day and asked if I could wait for about 25 minutes. I said sure and sat down. In the waiting area, they played Disney movies on a TV in the corner. I sat and watched a Disney cartoon for the duration. About 30 minutes later, an interviewer came out and got me. We went into the little office and I was interviewed for about 15 minutes. They asked me questions like, “What park would you like to work in?” and “What job would you absolutely not like to do?”. I answered as honestly as I could but really didn’t care what I did or where I worked. I didn’t know if at that point I would accept any job they offered. She said that they had an opening at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom for a seating hostess. She asked if that was something I’d like to do and I said, “Sure”. Next thing I know, I’m given a date and time to come back to casting with paperwork and then given a date and time for training. It was so easy!!!! I got hired just like that. I found out later on that it’s usually not that easy but that it was their downtime and pretty much anybody that walked in the door would get hired. Doesn’t do much for my ego, but that the hell. I was just hired by Disney World!

I went through a two-day training period. Because so many high school students get hired, they have training on Saturday and Sunday. Both were all day sessions. I had to get trained on how to count money back (not as easy as it sounds) and we actually had to go to SMILE class. Yes, you read that right. SMILE class. They wanted to teach you the Disney way to do things. You must always have a pleasant look on your face (to make you seem approachable) and you must never point at anything with just one finger or even point in a stationary position. You must use your first two fingers (pointer and middle) and gently sweep your fingers from side to side in the direction you need to point. This was because in several countries, it’s offensive to point with a single finger. Since Disney gets so many foreign visitors, it was their way of being politically correct. I found it funny at first, but after working their and having to do it literally like 20 times a day, it became second nature and for years after I quit working there, I still did it!

After that, I started work. I worked nearly every weekend. Once I graduated from school, I worked at least 50 hours a week. The pay was good and the job was fun. We had management turnover like crazy but that was all good. I got to mostly work the early morning shift at the cap cart outside (the cappuccino cart). That meant I got to work at 6 am and got off at 1:30. I then had the rest of the day to play in the park! My friend Mimi and I used to try to get the same shift so we could play in the park after work. We would go to the arcade at the exit of Space Mountain and play air hockey and Ms. Pacman. We would walk up the exit of Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain and flirt with the boys working there so they would let us ride without having to wait in line (I know, I know, we were soooo bad). One time, my friend Harley and I were off work at the same time. He only had a couple of hours to play so we went to stand in line at Splash Mountain. The line was so long that we decided to leave in the middle. As we were exiting, a CM (cast member) came up and asked us why we were leaving. We explained that we just got off work at Tony’s and that Harley had to leave now and we couldn’t wait any longer. He gave us a plastic card and told us to go up the exit ramp and when we got to the top, just hand the CM that was manning the ride the plastic card. When we got to the top, we did just that. The CM looked at us and said, “Your picture came out bad, huh?” and (not knowing what he was talking about) agreed. We got on the ride next and had an awesome time. We found out later on that if you take a bad picture, they let you ride again (with the understanding that you will most likely buy the re-take). We had so many ways to have fun in the park.

I loved working there. If I could make a living working there today, believe me, I would. Unfortunately, the only way I could work there and be able to support myself and light of my life, is if they offered pay me $50k and to move me. Otherwise, I can’t afford to live in Florida (at least at this time). Since you can’t make 50K off of just above minimum wage, it ain’t gonna happen any time soon.

However, once light of my life graduates high school and goes away to college (or even stays here for college but doesn’t live with me), I’m making plans to move back to Florida for a while and will hopefully work at the Kingdom once again.

I have lots more to talk about when it comes to Disney but I’ll let y’all off the hook for now.

The picture above and to the right is of light of my life at MGM Studios (now known as Hollywood Studios) this past May. She had just gotten her face painted (she paid for it herself) and was admiring the way it looked. 20 minutes later, it was all off as she splashed and played at the Honey I Shrunk the Audience playground! $12 down the drain!!! Oh, well, it was her money. LOL!!!!

Later,

Mama Dawg

Music and Stuff

I’m not a big music person. Wait, let me rephrase that. I’m not a big music aficionado. I can’t tell you the history of each and every album that every artist has ever done. I can’t remember half the time who the artist is when I hear it on the radio. I can’t tell the difference between several country artists and several hip-hop artists and several rock artists. They all sound the same to me. However, I know when I like a song. I don’t like songs based on the “message” the artist is trying to get me to understand. I really don’t care (usually) about the meaning of songs. I just know if I like the beat and the music. Lyrics don’t mean much to me.

I have such eclectic taste in music (how’s that for sounding pretentious?!?!?). That reminds me of something. I was over at B’s house last night to pick up some clothes and I was sitting down talking to them about various things and I threw out the word theology. B’s husband, L, looked at me funny and said “What does that mean?”. He was being silly because he knew what it meant. C, their daughter, told him I’m always using big words and L said that every time I leave, he has to go look up things in the dictionary just to know what I was talking about. I thought that was funny. Sometimes I have no clue that I’m using what I call “big words”. Instead of using the word “theology” to explain to C about the study of religion, I could have just used the word “religion”. I have no clue why I talk like that. But it was funny.

Anyway, back to music. My friend, V, made me several c.d.’s last year of various artists. I had started getting into to some more popular music (I’m so hopelessly behind when it comes to new artist and songs) but didn’t want to get separate c.d.’s for each artist. She made me 3 awesome c.d.’s with artist such as Rihanna, Gwen Stefani, Sean Kingston, Nickelback, Christiana Aguilera and several others. I fell in LOVE with Sean Kingston and Nickelback. I’ve since ended up buying several of those “Now That’s What I Call Music” c.d.’s (yes, I still buy c.d.’s, I’m not rich enough to afford an IPOD or even a computer) and love all the various songs.

I like songs that I can dance to. I used to love to go to nightclubs to dance. Of course, this was back when I was 18, 19, etc….I used to love to dance. I still do, but I look like an idiot doing it now!!! LOL!!!!

I have the “Now That’s What I Call Music 26” and I’m so in to it right now. In fact, I’m sitting here at work listening to it right now.

You should see my c.d. collection. I have everything from Garth Brooks to Don McLean (American Pie, anyone?!?!?!?) to Gwen Stefani to soundtracks to holiday to Billy Joel to compilation c.d.’s, etc….Oh crap, I need to skip the song I’m listening to right now. Hold on a sec…..it was that damn Fergie song again. Now I’m on to Pink. I love her, too.

Light of my life has strange taste in music as well. She was not really in to those little kids c.d.s that have songs like “Old MacDonald” and “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” on it. She was and still is, into the Kids Bop c.d.’s. She got the Grease and Grease 2 soundtracks from Santa this Christmas so that’s what’s been blaring in the house lately. I know every word to “Let’s Bowl” and “Reproduction” and “Greased Lightning” and her favorite (and mine, too) “Cool Rider”. I so wanted to be Michelle Pfeifer with that black silky jacket and skintight black pants and black sweater with high heel black boots with flowing blond hair and silver hoop earrings when she was singing that song. She was the epitome of cool to me. Still is, come to think of it. I know, I’m a geek.

She also knows the words to “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)” by Offspring and knows the dance and some of the words to “Crank That” by Soulja Boy. Strange, I know, but it’s funny.

I know I was all over the place with that post, so I’ll stop for now.

Later,
Mama Dawg

Lonely, I'm So Lonely......

I was sitting at work yesterday listening to music while I worked. I just sat there and jammed to my compilation c.d. that has pop songs from the 90's on it. It took me waaaaaaayyyyyy back to when I was a teenager in the sunny state. Like most teenagers, I hated life and high school, blah, blah, blah.....looking back, it wasn't so bad. Not great, but not as bad as it seemed at the time. Anyway, I guess that's when music really came in to my life. As a small child, you don't think much about music and it's not a HUGE part of your life like it seems to be as a teenager. Man, just the mere mention of some songs brings up memories and feelings like they just happened yesterday. The feelings aren't as fierce as they were when they first occurred but I still get the same feelings all the same.

I don't know if anyone remembers the song "Set the Night to Music" but it was such a poignant song for me my freshman year. I was head over heels in like with this guy, Nathan. Note I didn't say love. I still to this day don't believe I've ever been in love. Even when I was married. Anyway, he ended up breaking my heart (like only a good looking guy can do when he decides he likes your best friend more). This was a song we danced to at homecoming. Right before we broke up.

There's a song by Janet Jackson called "Again". I had INTENSE feelings for this guy named Mike. He was a senior and I was a freshman. He was such a player and I knew it. Didn't matter. I fell hard. I had never crushed as hard as I did for him. I finally landed him (in a purely physical sense only, not emotionally) and we were making out hard and heavy at my house. We were thisclose to closing the deal but cooler head prevailed (mine, not his.....LOL!). Anyway, during the most intense portion of our make out session, this song came on and I actually started crying. If that song had gone on for just a few more minutes, he probably would have been my first. To this day, if this song comes on the radio, it brings up the feelings of that day.

The first guy I actually had a "relationship" with was Jon and it was my junior year. I ran track and so did he. He was also an incredible soccer player but it was during track season that we met for the first time. I'd seen him around school, but I felt he was so far out of my league. I guess he liked something in me because we started dating. We dated for about a month or 6 weeks. For those of you who don't know me, I was a 2 weeker. I only dated guys for an average of 2 weeks before I broke up with them. Looking back, it was rare that I was the one who was dumped. I usually did the dumping. Hmmm.......I may have to look into that. Probably some crap about not wanting to get hurt, blah, blah, blah.....That's for another post. Anyway, I digress. There was a song by Radiohead "Creep". I remember hearing that for the first time in Jon's Bronco that had the "They Might Be Giants" bumper sticker on it. If I hear that song today, it takes me back to the time I spent with him.

The point of walking down memory lane with you guys is to point out the fact that for the first time in a while, I felt lonely yesterday. I know it has to do with listening to the c.d. and bringing back all those memories. I guess I was more nostalgic than lonely.

I get this way from time to time but it usually hits me in September or whenever it first gets chilly. I guess this is because that’s when school starts and football games start back up.

I don’t know. All I know is I was a little blue yesterday. But, as usual, I snapped out of it. I went home and was greeted (enthusiastically) by a 7 year old who went back to school yesterday. After she went to bed, I sat out on my front porch with my book, a cup of tea and a molasses cookie and read for a while. I then crawled in bed and (shamelessly) watched Beverly Hills 90210 season three. Yes, you read right, I actually plunked down my hard earned money for this campy, trashy TV show. So sue me. I love it!!!!

Later,
Mama Dawg