Things just aren't the same...
Aug. 15th, 2010 10:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apple_pathwaysOn my old journal, I would post a lot more content in the form of essays or musings on various topics; I'm trying to get back into that. So, I have composed a List of Things I Remember Fondly From Childhood That Just Aren't the Same As an Adult. Feel free to add your own!
1. Amusement Park Rides:
There is nothing more exciting and joyous for a child than filling up on sugar and spinning around for a while. As a child, I could not get enough of the Tilt-a-Whirl, the Merry-Go-Round, and those swings that rise up and down in the air and make you feel like you’re flying.
Now, I get nauseous on a regular old analog-style swing. What happened?
2. Marshmallows:
For a kid, marshmallows are the epic perfection of sugar treatments, and s’mores are the crème brûlée of childhood. It still seems like a great idea to me: roasting marshmallows look fantastic, and they smell even better! And I still enjoy the art of slow-toasting my mallow to perfection on a stick over a fire. But the moment I take a bite, I taste disappointment; that, and diabetes.
3. Cartoons:
When I was 3 years old (1985), She-Ra was my hero. One Halloween I dressed up as her. The costume only came with a mask, a sword, and some wrist cuffs, so my mom had to improvise the rest of my costume.
She put me in a pink tutu I’d inherited from a cousin that was a couple sizes too big. And since it’s Michigan, I had to wear a coat, as well.
I don’t care; I still looked rad. (My little brother was He-Man!)
I was disappointed to discover that the cartoon does not live up to my memories of it. Nor do most of the cartoons I watched as a kid. I remember them being exciting and cool; I watch them now and realize they’re boring and violent. (Hard to pull both of those off at the same time, but yeah.) Even the Smurfs are really lame on re-viewing.
4. Snow:
Ok, I still love snow…until Christmas is over. Then snow can just F off, as far as I’m concerned!
As a child? Powdered magic. As an adult? Driving nightmare and cute boots-ruining inconvenience.
5. Birthdays:
There’s something pathetic about people who make a big deal about their birthday after a certain age. I know people who throw a fit if they have to work on their birthday. For me, the more I hype the day, the more disappointed I eventually become; if I have low expectations, then every greeting and card is just a bonus.
I think 21 is officially the last fun birthday. (I did have a really fun 22nd, but never mind…) A couple years ago I stopped rounding up. My birthday is January 23rd; if you ask me on January 22nd how old I am, I am going to say “I’m 28.” Not, “I’m going to be 29 tomorrow.”
The kids I tutor tell me, “I’m 6 and a half” three weeks after their sixth birthday.
For a hilarious rant that pretty much sums up my attitude to birthdays, check out this clip of Patton Oswalt. (WARNING: CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE!)
1. Amusement Park Rides:
There is nothing more exciting and joyous for a child than filling up on sugar and spinning around for a while. As a child, I could not get enough of the Tilt-a-Whirl, the Merry-Go-Round, and those swings that rise up and down in the air and make you feel like you’re flying.
Now, I get nauseous on a regular old analog-style swing. What happened?
2. Marshmallows:
For a kid, marshmallows are the epic perfection of sugar treatments, and s’mores are the crème brûlée of childhood. It still seems like a great idea to me: roasting marshmallows look fantastic, and they smell even better! And I still enjoy the art of slow-toasting my mallow to perfection on a stick over a fire. But the moment I take a bite, I taste disappointment; that, and diabetes.
3. Cartoons:
When I was 3 years old (1985), She-Ra was my hero. One Halloween I dressed up as her. The costume only came with a mask, a sword, and some wrist cuffs, so my mom had to improvise the rest of my costume.
She put me in a pink tutu I’d inherited from a cousin that was a couple sizes too big. And since it’s Michigan, I had to wear a coat, as well.
I don’t care; I still looked rad. (My little brother was He-Man!)
I was disappointed to discover that the cartoon does not live up to my memories of it. Nor do most of the cartoons I watched as a kid. I remember them being exciting and cool; I watch them now and realize they’re boring and violent. (Hard to pull both of those off at the same time, but yeah.) Even the Smurfs are really lame on re-viewing.
4. Snow:
Ok, I still love snow…until Christmas is over. Then snow can just F off, as far as I’m concerned!
As a child? Powdered magic. As an adult? Driving nightmare and cute boots-ruining inconvenience.
5. Birthdays:
There’s something pathetic about people who make a big deal about their birthday after a certain age. I know people who throw a fit if they have to work on their birthday. For me, the more I hype the day, the more disappointed I eventually become; if I have low expectations, then every greeting and card is just a bonus.
I think 21 is officially the last fun birthday. (I did have a really fun 22nd, but never mind…) A couple years ago I stopped rounding up. My birthday is January 23rd; if you ask me on January 22nd how old I am, I am going to say “I’m 28.” Not, “I’m going to be 29 tomorrow.”
The kids I tutor tell me, “I’m 6 and a half” three weeks after their sixth birthday.
For a hilarious rant that pretty much sums up my attitude to birthdays, check out this clip of Patton Oswalt. (WARNING: CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE!)
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-16 08:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-16 01:34 pm (UTC)There seems to be a ton of awesome cartoons made both before and after I was a kid. I love Rocky and Bullwinkle, for instance, and the golden age of Nick Toons in the 90s stand up well to the test of time. It was just something about the 80s!
no subject
Date: 2010-08-16 02:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-16 02:25 pm (UTC)Anyway, I think I had it confused with Mighty Mouse. Forgive an ignorant American?
no subject
Date: 2010-08-17 07:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-18 04:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-18 04:24 am (UTC)I'll report back once I've watched an ep or two. ;)
no subject
Date: 2010-08-16 01:00 pm (UTC)Congratulations for winning the second
no subject
Date: 2010-08-16 01:41 pm (UTC)If I have friends who like birthdays, I always do my best to make it special for them; I think my disappointment stems from the fact that my birthday is in the middle of January and always heralded by a massive blizzard. So I'm used to people canceling because the roads are bad, and not feeling up to much of anything because the weather is frigid.
So, yeah--I'm realizing I'm just a Birthday Grump and probably need to just get the hell over it!