i was reading drew magary's funbag column on deadspin today and i found the first question totally captivating. a reader named kyle asked, "What five things take the biggest dive from awesome in your teens/early 20s to terrible in your late 20s/30s?" i mean... isn't that a FASCINATING question?!?!?! i read kyle's list of 5, then stopped reading for a few minutes to think about my list of 5 things that were cool when i was younger and now it sux. so here it goes.
1. snow. don't get me wrong, seeing snow falling is nice and all, but everything else that comes with it is awful. driving in it (and possibly getting into an accident), cleaning it up, watching it turn that disgusting gray, etc. and do you know what the upside to snow is when you're in your early 30s? nothing. unless there's a blizzard, you still have to go into work (unless you're a teacher). i bet people who have kids that stay home b/c of snow hates snow even more.
2. going to the mall. when i was in middle and high school, going to the mall was the cool thing to do. my friends and i had no money, but we'd go and spend HOURS there, looking at shoes, checking out record stores, etc. from my neighborhood to the nearest mall (i'll call it wheaton plaza until i die) was a good 90 minute walk, which my friends and i made on a regular basis (especially during the summer), b/c not every one of us had bikes and loyalty was one of the most important virtues back in those days. these days, when i realize i have to go to the mall for anything other than to watch a movie, it makes me move like 10 times slower as i get ready and fills me with such a sense of dread.
3. fast food. in high school, eating fast food was a luxury. not b/c of the cost, but b/c of the opportunity. i didn't have a job, i didn't have a car, so i took advantage of every opportunity to eat fast food, which wasn't often. now... i still eat fast food, but it's usually more out of necessity than anything else.
4. driving. in the interest of full disclosure, i must admit i have road rage. but in my defense, you'll never see me lose my cool in any other situation, so... let's move on. i hate driving. it used to be fun, but now i don't like doing it. i hate the traffic in this area, i hate the other drivers, i hate that i HAVE to drive... there are a lot of things not to like about driving. i wonder why i didn't see this when i was younger? perhaps this isn't fair, b/c it's not that i don't like the act of driving, i hate everything that goes with it. well... life isn't fair.
5. attending games. the first game i ever paid to attend was the korea vs. ghana soccer match when the olympics were held in atlanta back in 1996. btw, korea won 1-0, on a penalty kick. going to an actual game was cool when i was younger. but now when i think about going, i'd much rather not go. tickets are too expensive, my seats probably won't be very good and more often than not, the game will suck. if i'm ever given the option of attending a game live or watching the red zone channel, i'll pick the red zone channel every day of the week and twice on sunday.
what is your list?
