My dad is a computer nerd (I inherited it) and we, for the most part, had DSL at home. I knew most people didnt however and was pretty used to that handshake...you know that funny sound your modem made right after your computer dialed out. For those of you that dont know, it went a lot like this
beep...beep...beedeedee burrrrrr badangbadang shhhhhhhhhhhhhh
And many other forms of that. My grandmother had AOL for a while which made a sort of creepy alien sound and went on with more shhhhhh-ing. Depending on how fast your ISP responded, it would continue or youd connect. When I was little, I thought dial up (which was just called internet back then) would always dominate the market and only people with nerdy parents or that were extremely rich could get DSL (which was also called internet. Dial up was considered regular.) Now Im older and dont have screaming modems, I found out they have a mute button.
When I was really little, I thought nothing would ever replace VHS. I would always watch my favorite parts over and over again till my tapes would come apart. Not once did I ever stop to think that these would be replaced by DVDs or that we would be able to stream them online (after all...dial up is slow.) When DVDs DID get big, I thought this was some pretty sexy technology. Then came high definition DVDs. Next thing you know, blu ray is out.
I knew my computer games were on CD (CD...not DVD like they are now) but figured most important things were kept on floppy disks only. I was so excited one day when my dad bought colorful floppies. I didnt have much use for them but hey they were cool. I eventually found out about flash drives. Of course, those were only for the rich and/or important people! A little while after, I accepted them and figured that this was it. Now computer games are on DVD and Im sure they will eventually be on blu ray.
Remember Sony Walkman cassette player? I never had one but my sister did. I was so jealous of her cool name brand Walkman! Of course I was born in 1990, CD players were starting to hit big. By the time my parents let me have something portable, CD players were battery operated. My parents/grandparents still called them walkmen but hey I was cooler. I had a CD player! Then, mp3 players came out. I held onto my CD players all the way up till college when my last one finally died. I had an mp3 player somewhere in high school but it was nowhere near as durable. I got an iPod, which also died shortly after. It wasnt my fault...I got a bad batch of nanos that were known for not working.
I found my Razor scooter when I moved out of my moms house...wheels worn down and all. I also found roller blades that were still in OK condition.
When my cousin got the chicken pox, the entire neighborhood had a sleep over at his house at one time or another. We all got sick but were back to school in no time. Then they came out with a shot for it. It is often seen as "child abuse" to send your kids to a pox party.
I thought Saturday morning cartoons were an American tradition. You can still find them on some stations but it only lasts about 2 ish hours. I remember ABCs motto..."five hours of summer once a week. Five hours of summeeerrrrr One Saturday Morning!" This is pretty much what got me out of bed in the morning. After those were done, it was outside all...friggin...day. By the way, I couldnt wait to be in 7th grade so bad so I could be like Pepper Ann and hang out like on The Weekenders. At the same time I wish my school was like Third Street School and we had cool recess.
When I was really tiny, I truly thought that we would have flying cars by the year 2000.
But then again, I thought that world peace was coming in the near distant future as well.
Oh children. Were so cute!