Missing earlier years

Soldato
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I don't have any electronics other than a kindle in my bedroom, and my spare room is also pretty much tech free outside of my stereo. My spare room functions as a bit of a library/place to keep things I like to collect as well as the obvious listening room.

Honestly it's nice being away from glowing screens and beeping devices at times, with the exception of the Kindle anyway. I enjoy sitting and reading and/or listening to music without any distractions around, I find that if I'm in the living room even with the TV/PC etc turned off I'm still tempted to go and faff about over things that could honestly wait.
 
Soldato
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On the Amiga500
I often find I begrudge mobile phones. I enjoyed the days of no phones, no social media and everyone sat talking to one another's faces around a table rather than everyone looking down at their screens instead - this happens all the time, even when groups of friends agree to go to the pub together and "socialise". I liked that I wasn't always contactable. Now I think I can't do without my phone, why not though? Maybe one day :) it wouldn't matter though, the rest of the world are hypnotised by their pocket TV. Now this does make me sound old, but I think it's just true that it has become a sad state of affairs when you sometimes struggle to get someone's attention because they're so wired in.
 
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Caporegime
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Life is what you make it
A steaming bowl of *****, for the most part :p

I know exactly what you mean.

I dont think it's just screens, I think our society (in the UK anyway) has peaked already.

I'm trying to think of when, to me anyway I reckoned we peaked late 90's/early 2000's.

Definitely since the financial crash of 2008, but I think a bit before this, before the twin towers were hit in New York. Definitely London Bombings.

Before this house prices soared swimming pools stayed open because they weren't yet deemed dangerous (too many expensive to heat) gladiators was on TV (contender ready) and the latest movies at the cinemas were not remakes of 30 year old movies.
Everything down here speaks to me of decay. A lot of houses look like they're ready to give up the ghost. A lot of people don't own their home and couldn't give a crap about its condition (or flat out don't have the money anyhow).

Stuff gets older and degrades every single year, and unless there's money to be made nobody wants to repair anything or keep the place looking nice.

So yeah, everywhere I look I just see decay.

Perhaps that's a human problem. We keep trying to achieve permanence in a world where the natural order is life, decay, death, renewal. But the stuff we make doesn't age well, and it looks awful after a few years. Crumbling, cracking, dirty, flaky, rusting, rotten. That's what I see all around me.
 
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OP
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Speaking as somebody who collects books, that statement is absolute rubbish.

For me it's pdf as I used to travel a lot and got rid of most of my books ages ago in favour of something you could have on a pen drive (so did not mean everybody has it this way).

I also collected books and they replaced one of my bedrooms, so wall to wall books, literally.
 
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OP
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JUST LOL IF YOU SPEND MORE TIME COMPLAINING ABOUT ALL THE SUPPOSED INJUSTICES AND ISSUES WE AS ADULTS FACE INTO EVERY SINGLE DAY RATHER THAN WELCOMING CHANGE INTO YOUR LIFE TO IMPROVE IT IN MEASURABLE WAYS. TAKE SOME OWENRSHIP OF YOUR OWN GOD DAMN SHIP AND BE A CAPTAIN NOT A PASSENGER.

NOOBS.

I'm not complaining about, but just thinking about how things were years ago. Nothing major
 
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I often find I begrudge mobile phones. I enjoyed the days of no phones, no social media and everyone sat talking to one another's faces around a table rather than everyone looking down at their screens instead - this happens all the time, even when groups of friends agree to go to the pub together and "socialise". I liked that I wasn't always contactable. Now I think I can't do without my phone, why not though? Maybe one day :) it wouldn't matter though, the rest of the world are hypnotised by their pocket TV. Now this does make me sound old, but I think it's just true that it has become a sad state of affairs when you sometimes struggle to get someone's attention because they're so wired in.

Indeed.

I think most people would have to been growing up during that time in order to fully understand what it was like (not all of course); so much rushing around and for me, never any time off until I retired (well semi).
 
Soldato
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Hampshire
You can literally do this right now. Nothing's changed, you just have more choice. We live a very modest lifestyle and don't need to work all hours.

Sometimes I like to kick back and listen to an album start to finish on a decent set of fans, eyes closed. Lovely.

Nothing's stopping you.
 
Associate
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Ah Yeah.The good old days...

Close your eyes and go back in time...
Before the Internet...
Before Computers, SEGA or Super Nintendo...
Way back........
I'm talking about Hide and Seek in the park.
The corner shop.
Hopscotch.
Butterscotch.
Skipping.
Handstands.
Football with an old can. Jumpers for goalposts.

Reading comics every week. The Beano, Dandy, Buster, Victor, Bunty (cutting out the clothes before your sister)

Jam roll poly and rhubarb and custard.
Jumping the ditch, building dams and dens.
The smell of the sun and fresh cut grass.
An ice cream cone on a warm summer night from the van that plays the tune from Monty Python.
Saturday morning Telly.. Batman, The Monkees, The Adams Family or the Munsters, The Double Deckers or Banana Splits.

When around the corner seemed far away and going into town seemed like going somewhere.

Earwigs, wasps, stinging nettles and bee stings.
White dog ****. That crumbled rather than got stuck on your shoe.
Playing Marbles. Ball bearings. Big 'uns and Little 'uns.
Gat air pistols, Balsa wood gliders, Airfix soldiers in a box and aeroplanes in a plastic bag.

Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians.

Climbing trees.

Walking miles to school, no matter what the weather.
Running till you were out of breath, laughing so hard that your stomach hurt.
Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights.
Being tired from playing.


The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon.
Football cards wedged in the spokes transformed any pushbike into a motorcycle.
Fast cars made from a thick plank of wood and a set of old pram wheels and a bit of old rope for steering.

Eating raw jelly. Orange squash ice pops. Calypso.
Remember when...
There were two types of trainers and the only time you wore them at school was for P.E.
You knew everyone in your street - and so did your parents.
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
You didn't sleep a wink on Christmas eve.
When nobody owned a pure-bred dog.
When 25p was decent pocket money.
When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
When decisions were made by going " Ip Dip Dog **** “ and “Eeny Meeny Miny Mo”
"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly".
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was germs.
And the worst thing in your day was having to sit next to one.
Having a weapon in school, meant being caught with a catapult.
Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable aspirin or a bag of fake chewing tobacco.


The Good Old days.
 
Soldato
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wiltshire
Rose tinted glasses mostly. Nothing stopping you doing what you used to (unless you have physical restrictions). Its entirely natural to look back to the past and yearn for the times gone thinking they are better than they potentially were.
 
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OP
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I'm 62 and I made sure many years ago that my working day would be 9 to 5 with no overtime so that when I got home at around 5:30 the whole evening would be for me and family.

Smart.

I did something else and spent time working from home (freelance on pc) and had my time with the family early on and started working a lot once my son was older.

I was working too many hours each week and trying to set things up for my retirement, but my health gave way and (and as somebody pointed out earlier, I am now thinking back to what was when I still had my health).

Sometimes the choices we make don't end up as we would have liked.

Though as I always say these days, "it could be worse" .
 
Soldato
Joined
5 Nov 2010
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Hertfordshire
I'm 62 and I made sure many years ago that my working day would be 9 to 5 with no overtime so that when I got home at around 5:30 the whole evening would be for me and family.

I decided that also, I’m only in my mid-30’s and been at the same company for almost 15 years, higher ups get arsey with me not working outside my hours.
Apparently I’m not a “team player” because I don’t do overtime or put in an extra hour after work with little notice.
 
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