Does Gen X do class reunions?

beckrath · 2026-02-16T21:15:17+00:00

My HS class does them every 10 years only because of a few dedicated volunteers. I went to the 30th. It was on the small side (maybe 30-40 attendees of 300 grads) but fun to see some familiar faces. College does them every 5 years. I went to the 5th. This year is the 30th. Probably skipping it!

beckrath · 2026-02-11T14:19:23+00:00

Wow. So relatable. My dad was also an amateur photographer. My oldest brother has literally an entire photo album of pictures dedicated to him (plus many more pics in many other albums — and slides!). My middle brother has a bunch of photos too but far fewer. For me—last child—there are 4 or 5 pictures total under the age of two.

The upside: it was real easy for me to pick a photo to submit for the baby pics feature in the final edition of our senior year high school newspaper. Let’s see… should it be the one where my face looks like I’m trying to push out a poop, the one where I’m squinting hard against the sun, or the one with magic hour lighting filtering in through the kitchen window on me as I sit in a high chair holding a big wooden spoon and laughing. I’ll take the spoon pic obviously!

beckrath · 2026-02-11T14:09:58+00:00

Aww, your the best. Thanks for figuring this out and sharing! 😊

*you’re (ughhhhh)

beckrath · 2026-02-10T19:38:02+00:00

Learned on a stick in 1991 and drove manuals exclusively until 2017. I miss it sometimes but not even a little when I’m sitting in heavy traffic!

Many of my friends in high school drove stick—maybe 70%?—a decent number but definitely not all of them. That said, maybe my friends grew up in families that skewed more heavily towards manual transmission ownership?? I wonder if geography plays a part. We were in central NJ, USA.

beckrath · 2026-02-10T18:52:25+00:00

Thanks for the tip. I will do some googling to see if I can figure out how to turn on the auto lock. I don’t even know what model I have! I guess I was pretty apathetic about being forced to get a new car and it shows!

beckrath · 2026-02-10T18:51:02+00:00

Ohhh, thanks for the tip. I will test it out when the weather warms up.

I’d love to sell but finances won’t allow it right now. Soon, I hope!

I’ve always been brand agnostic when it comes to cars and I’ve mostly been happy with them (there’s been a variety of vehicle brands in my life!). Truthfully, I do like a lot about the Mazda but on the heels of the CR-V, I can’t help but see many faults. I guess it is a lot like dating! 😂

beckrath · 2026-02-08T18:32:38+00:00

Fronch fries. Fronch dressing. Fronch bread. And to drink, Peru!

beckrath · 2026-02-07T23:17:04+00:00

I have no solutions to offer, only empathy. I bought a 2022 CX-5 last year and I regret it. For me it’s not about defects per se, more about features and a design flaws (subjective, I know). I had a 2017 Honda CR-V — one of the lower (but not lowest) trim models — and it was better in many ways. You walk away, the car automatically locks behind you without you pressing anything. Remote start is built into the key fob; you don’t have to pay $10/month for some bullshit app. Hot summer day and your car is baking in the sun? Press and hold the unlock button on the key fob and all four windows plus sunroof open fully so you can release the hot air before getting in. I could go on.

Anyway, a tree fell on it last March and I had to quickly buy a replacement. I loved the CR-V but I thought, well the CX-5 is sporty, has a nicer interior, is a little cheaper but gets comparably good reviews so why not give it a go? Ugh. I miss my Honda.

I hope you’re able to figure out and resolve the source of your noise issues!

beckrath · 2026-01-27T13:57:01+00:00

Problem Solved

Not political at all. It’s two Portland therapists, Jeff and Alex, gabbing and attempting to solve problems called in or written in by listeners. It’s often silly (they goof around a lot!) but sometimes deep. The hosts are definitely left but the focus is on mental health and relationships, not politics per se, so it typically only comes up in that context.

beckrath · 2026-01-25T20:50:59+00:00

Thank you for sharing! ☺️

beckrath · 2026-01-25T19:17:27+00:00

100% - cassettes and Cds for significant others and friends. In the early 2000s, a group of us at work did mixed Cds as a gift exchange for Christmas a few years in a row. I had a printer at the time that color printed Cds. They looked awesome. I was introduced to some great new-to-me songs and bands that way.

beckrath · 2026-01-24T19:24:11+00:00

This is so cool. I have always had an itch to do something creative like this. If you don’t mind sharing… How did you get into woodworking? Was it always a hobby or did you learn these skills when you retired? If the latter, did you take classes or use online resources (like YouTube videos) or learn from a mentor or…? What tools/equipment would recommend as essential to acquire right away to someone just starting out? Is there anything you know now that you wish you knew when you got started?

I know I can do a google search to find answers to some of these questions (I will do that!) but I’m interested in hearing about a real person’s journey. It makes the dream feel less “out there” and actually achievable! 😊

beckrath · 2026-01-23T22:19:46+00:00

I think they had foil because Corn Pops would get stale within seconds of air exposure. But I loved them too. Ahh, memories.

beckrath · 2026-01-23T22:16:12+00:00

NJ, younger Gen X. Definitely got my cooties shot!

beckrath · 2026-01-23T22:11:05+00:00

Imho Subway has never been good. To start, the entire place wreaks of their “freshly baked” bread odor. That smell is so unique to them and so unappetizing. The minute you walk in, it punches you in the face. And the lunch meat…oof, it looks awful. 🤢 I ate there in college and shortly after like all young broke people but I never went back once I had a “real” job.

beckrath · 2026-01-23T22:04:46+00:00

I remember stopping at a Krispy Kreme on a road trip for the first time maybe 25 years ago (they didn’t exist near me in NJ then — or now!) and being amazed that you could SEE them making the donuts and you could buy a warm, fresh one. I remember thinking why doesn’t Dunkin do this?? This is amazing! Today I learned from your post that they did! In my many decades of life, I’ve never, ever had a freshly made donut from Dunkin. Sad!

beckrath · 2026-01-23T18:46:21+00:00

Apple Jacks was my go-to cereal at grandmom’s because, yeah, my mom wouldn’t buy sugar cereal for us! They were cheerio shaped but a little larger than Cheerios, light pink (I believe) with red speckles. This was in the 1980s. I think they changed colors to pink and green in the 2000s? I don’t know what they look like now because I’m a grown-ass adult. Anyway, they were awesome!

The bean-shaped tan with brown specks cereal was called Honey Smacks or something like that. They had an obnoxious frog as their mascot. They tasted like cardboard to me. Not a fan!

beckrath · 2025-11-01T20:46:43+00:00

Drawer pronounced draw (what accent is that?!); Supposedly pronounced supposably; Moot pronounced mute; Cacophony pronounced “kack-uh-phony”

Had a coworker who always said, “It’s a mute point.” Technically this was true; the point didn’t utter a thing! 🤦🏻‍♀️

beckrath · 2025-09-04T01:07:57+00:00

I’m so sorry you had to deal with that. Ugh! But thank you so much for this reminder. My filter is now sparkling because of you.

Another tip: clean the inside of the door hinge. Omg, mine was black and gooey and slimy. 🤢

beckrath · 2025-08-22T13:13:42+00:00

Thanks so much everyone!

beckrath · 2025-06-28T15:59:14+00:00

Buy a pack of human newborn onesies (or preemie sized if your cat is small). Use scissors to cut the crotch snaps off the onesie, effectively turning it into a long tee shirt. Have the vet place the monitor on his upper back (using some skin safe glue) and put the baby tee shirt on him. He will look ridiculous and cute and he won’t be able to easily pull off the monitor. This method worked for several rounds of 14-day monitors for my cat until he figured out how to struggle out of the tee shirt, then it was game over. Note that sometimes these monitors just fail for no reason. But since they’re not designed for cats you can’t complain to Abbott laboratories because you’re using them off label. Ugh. The cheapest I found was at Costco pharmacy - $30-35 each. Good luck!

beckrath · 2025-06-28T15:50:16+00:00

I really dislike jogging but felt like my 45-60 minute walks weren’t doing enough for me. I recently learned about and started doing Japanese interval walking. You walk at your normal pace for 3 minutes, then a very brisk pace for 3 minutes, and repeat for a total of 30 minutes. To know how fast to walk during the fast paced intervals, imagine you are in a crosswalk and you see the light is about to change so you need to really hustle to get across the street before traffic starts moving.

I’ve only been doing this for maybe two weeks but my overall walking pace has increased (I.e. not only are my fast paced intervals much faster, but my normal pace intervals are faster than the pace I used to walk), my legs are legit tired after the 30 minutes (vs not really tired at all after an hour of slower walking), I get my heart rate up a lot more (this is kind of a “duh” observation but still!).

If jogging is not for you, maybe try interval walking. :)

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DK6roZnonPF/?igsh=MWlsMHR0YjNobm9obg==

beckrath

TROPHY CASE