No more posts here :(

But have no fear! Nostalgiacity will continue on Tumblr just click here. I just needed to move with the times and upgrade to a better site. I'll miss Blogger but this is just better. Also, check out any one of my other 3 blogs also on Tumblr... Stoked about all these changes! New posts soon!

What If...?
Project Full Sail
Words of Life

An Acceleration Down Memory Lane (Phases Part 1)

There is a degree of fondness that comes with looking back on the things of the past; it transcends enjoyment of just about anything else. I love revisiting all the things I used to love and either wondering how in the world I ever liked them to begin with or reveling in the great memories they create. I've had the opportunity to do this lately. I found the old Power Rangers episodes on Netflix. Despite how stupid the TV show really is, I smiled at the memories of sneaking over to one of the neighborhood kids' house to watch it or finally convincing my mother to let me see the movie when it came out. I remember my eyes widening in awe when one of the kids brought his Power Ranger gloves to school and was showing them off to all of us.

I had so many things that I grew in and out of as I grew up and there is a richness inside these memories that isn't characteristic of so many of the other childhood memories I've had. Back then, you almost loved these things as much as the people in your life. These days you can love your job, your car, your alone time, etc... As a kid you love your toys (For a lot of guys, that hasn't changed. The new toys are just much more expensive than the G.I. Joe you wanted so bad as a kid.). There is something so simplistic about the things we wanted back then that makes you long for those times. These days, if you want something, you have to work hard to get it. Back then, our parents just gave it to us (Although, sometimes we had to work to convince them to get it.).

When I was very little, I loved G.I. Joes when I was at my house but when I was at Chloe's I always played with Barbies. As I grew up a little more I would play Nintendo with my dad. Those are some of my best childhood memories. We would play what we called "Pows" with my dad on Nintendo (Strategically named after the big block labeled "Pow" in the middle of the screen.). When my brother got older he joined in on it too. My dad was always Luigi and I was always Mario. We weren't allowed to say words like "died" and "killed" so instead we used a word that only my dad could have crafted, "zoomie-zamied" when we lost. As game systems progressed, my dad grew less and less fond of them as the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo came out. He played them with us occasionally  but he didn't like Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario Bros. near as much as good ol' Pows.

During this same period we were also watching a ton of Disney cartoons. Movies like The Lion King and Aladdin were regular hits for Seth and I. My dad's favorite was The Jungle Book. If you asked him today, that's probably still his favorite movie ever. My dad worked a lot back in these days so time spent with him was coveted among all else back then. I really hate that growing up means, by definition, growing more independent and apart from your parents. As I grew out of these phases I picked things that had less and less to do with my mom and dad. I wish I didn't go through the phase where it was considered uncool to play Pows with your dad. Looking back, I wish I would've played Pows and watched The Jungle Book a lot more. I wish I could take 9-year-old brats and shake them and tell them how much they'll miss things like not playing catch with their dads more often. I suppose an important part of growing up is not being held too close to your parents and making your own friends...

I love you so much dad!

Memory Lane is the major street in Nostalgiacity. The street is lined with many emotional roller coasters but if you can find yourself enjoying them more than hating them then you're in a good position!

This has been another trip to Nostalgiacity...


:::::Soundtrack for this post is the Prospekts March EP by Coldplay:::::

I Remember (Friends Part 1)

Sometimes I look back on my childhood and remember certain things only now I have the ability to understand what it meant. See, when you're young you kind of just go with the flow. You know what you want and you do what you can to get it without really looking for any depth with in it. Hindsight is always 20/20 and insight is invaluable.

I remember all of my close friends since I was around four. I remember my first close friend was Chloe Burns. She lived across the street and when she was at my house we played with G.I. Joe action figures and when I was at hers we played with Barbies. Back then we didn't understand why we weren't allowed to spend the night at each others house. Looking back on it now, I suspect our parents didn't quite know what to do about our closeness. We were inseparable and we rarely ever played with other kids. The few times we did we were always with the group together. That may have also been an inspiring factor in to why my parents took me out of public school. 

I was in third grade but I still remember my mother sitting me down and asking me if I wanted to stay in school or do school at home. Back then, taking school at home was the most amazing choice I'd ever heard so, of course, I jumped on it. I wonder if I really had a choice. Now, I would never make that choice again because it made my life so hard as I got older. I'm happy that I ended up back in public school with enough time to find myself. I'm also happy my brother made it in to public school before he really started growing up. He has a head start on me in that aspect.

I remember my second close friend was Chris (I can't, for the life of me remember his last name). We called his mom Miss Lisa and she always brought the best snacks when we went out to do things. Our mothers bought him and me season passes to Wet n' Wild every year for at least three years. I loved our trips to the water park. Chris's house was the house that I snuck over to to watch the things I wasn't allowed to watch at home like Power Rangers and Goosebumps. Eventually, my parents yielded and allowed me to watch one TV show a week and I had to choose which one was the most important. I chose Power Rangers. I suspect Miss Lisa probably had a conversation with my mother about it and she gave in.

My brother, in those days, was too young to hang out with friends on his own so I don't have a lot of memories with him in these early stages. In fact, he and I only shared friends for maybe three or four years. He and I have pretty much always had our own groups of friends. When I got a little older and after Chris moved away, however, all of the kids on our block and on the one behind us would get together and do things. That group houses some of my fondest memories in my childhood. The group consisted of my brother, Kevin Wait, Tyler Wunderlich, Chase Cauley, and Travis Bural. We played street hockey, legos, Total Annihilation, Croquet, and whatever else we could dream up. We built forts every summer and it was always torn down by the older kids before we really had a chance to do anything with them. Looking back, I wonder where our parents were during these periods of time. Despite of how sheltered I've always felt I was, I feel like I always had free reign over our town back then. We pretty much did whatever we wanted back then. I wonder if I'll be able to give my kids freedom like that. I hope so.

I really did have a happy childhood filled with great parents and great friends. My creativity had no limits and I created so many amazing things back then. However, things were not always so amazing. There were fights, anger, and some of the most excruciating heartbreak in store for me. But for then, I was credulous and happy....


...It's interesting to visit Nostalgiacity...

Welcome to Nostalgiacity

My childhood:

Pogs
Power Rangers
Football cards
Street hockey
Legos
Total Annihilation
Giga Pets
Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards
Hero Clix
Tech Decks
Forts
Rubber band wars
The Sachse Trails
The Field
Super Mario Brothers
Goldeneye
"The man with the moron gun"
Bikes
Chasing Buddy around the town
Croquet championships
"Zoomie-zammied"
The Round Speedy Tour
The Mic and Spence Agenda
Goosebumps
Batman: The Animated Series
Diagnosis Murder
Touched By An Angel
7th Heaven
DC Talk
Michael Wade



It's interesting to visit Nostalgiacity...