Tag: Gen X

Am I contagious?

I’m at a loss today.

Posted on by Karac Avalron

You know sometimes I run out of things to post. I know bloggers are supposed to NEVER have this problem right? LOL. Believe it or not I write all my posts sometimes the same day, I rarely if ever have posts completed way in advance and ready to go. That’s just how I blog, I see things that interest me and I write about them. The last few weeks I have been very busy at work, along with the normal February crush (3 birthdays including my own + valentine’s day) so I have had a lot to do.

What does that mean for today? It means I don’t have much that’s substantive, lol. Although below are 3 random facts about the 1980’s, the greatest decade of all time, lol.

  • July 29th 1981 – Over 1 Billion people all over the world tuned into the marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. It was broadcast on all the major TV channels, and yes I watched it!
  • In 1984 A loaf of bread was ($.93,) a pound of bacon was ($1.55,) and a dozen eggs was ($.58) you could feed your family breakfast for $4.06. Less than most coffees at Starbucks in 2021
  • In 1988 the world population surpassed 5 billion and many at the time suggested we were at our environmental limits in context of human impact. In 2021 we are now near or over 7 billion.

That’s all I got today, lol. Thanks so much for coming by and supporting my blog I really appreciate it.

Atari 2600

One of the tools I use to deal with Anxiety: Gaming

Posted on by Karac Avalron

Yes I am a gamer. As a proud card carrying member of Generation X I can tell you that in 1982 I got an Atari 2600. I actually got a “sears” version, back then Atari sold directly to Sears (who was still a major, if not the biggest retailer in the country in the 80’s) my FAVORITE uncle got it for me, LOL. I’ve been hooked ever since. Back then you had to hook it up to the TV, graphics were horrible by today’s standard but god was it fun.

I’ve gone through many iterations of games and generations of gaming consoles in the last 38 years. I’ve been gaming probably longer than many of you have been alive LOL. I’ve recently started playing some of my older games again. This my hobby of course, I work full time, I have a family I have a normal life. Hobbies allow you to disengage from reality, more over it allows you to escape from things you don’t necessarily enjoy doing.

As an example do you hate your job? Are you having a stressful situation with your family? Hobbies are a refuge, and allow you something you enjoy that’s exclusive to you. Sure you can share your hobby with other people but having something that is YOURS is very important for your mental health. It’s almost like a safe space, it’s a place you go that you exist as you like. At least that’s how it is in video games, and I truly appreciate that aspect of it.

Hobbit Hole
So does this mean I can be a Hobbit?

Your hobby can be anything, cars, golf, pets, writing, and video games. In the end though it’s a great way to have something that is just for you, that you can be selfish about and not share if you don’t want to. It’s indulgent and people in your life may find it threatening to their relationship with you that you have something personal that doesn’t include them. It’s important to make time for everyone in your life and to make sure they don’t feel ignored.

However it’s just as important to make sure that you make time for your hobbies. This will make you a better overall person and far more relaxed and happy. Remember to not over indulge and to be clear with the people in your life what your hobby is and what you are doing. As an example, I game wed evenings 8-10 and Friday night 9PM – to whenever I go to bed. My wife and kids know I do this, and it doesn’t create an issue for us. I game with my son from time to time actually, LOL.

The point is, find something you like for you. Be selfish, but don’t let it consume you.

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Surviving 2020 & covid

Anxiety Sucks Vol XIV. – How you are not supposed to feel on your Birthday

Posted on by Karac Avalron

Yes I recently had a birthday, a big one 50. So for all my Gen X friends out there welcome to the silver years I guess, LOL. The event in of itself was good, my immediate family and in laws kept it low key which is what I wanted. Still that day I began to feel very anxious. The number doesn’t really throw me, 50 is a number. Some days I feel it, some days I feel older honestly. The worst part for me was I didn’t hear from anyone from my side of the family.

Upon reflection that was the source of my anxiety, I was anticipating a call or something which normally evolves into some rehash of a past event that I have no desire revisiting. We all realize that 1995 is was 25 years ago? MOVE ON. But I digress…

I won’t illuminate everything about my family, let’s just say that my childhood was less than stellar. It was a melding of so many factors that its hard to pin point one singular event or individual that contributed to the negative impact it had on me and many others. My siblings move out when each one turned 18 to escape, I was the youngest I was 8 years behind my sister so when I was 10, I was essentially alone in this abyss.

I survived, I got over it but there were a lot of things that happened along the way as I became an adult that made things, at various points go extremely sour. Silence, physical altercations, cops. Ya you name it we had it. I look back now and I realize that most of this was from an event that happened before I was born. I have a half-sister, who was given up by my mother at the behest of my father. Now this sounds complicated and it is, but the short story is she got pregnant right before they got married.

The family story is booze was involved, a mistake was made etc. Now what that did was, it created a foundation of mistrust and resent that over decades manifested itself in to all sorts of bullshit. My siblings and I were participants and outlets for this constant struggle between my parents. Honestly my brother got it the worst, the 70’s were not good for him I was too little to know what was going on.

Oh, right so my 50th birthday… What does all this have to do with it? I didn’t receive a card, a call, not even a text from anyone on my side of my family. I didn’t expect much, but a call would have been nice. I would have liked to hear from them, but it wasn’t to be. I was upset about it but got through the event. Now that I am a few days removed I can reflect back on it and it makes me a little sad.

Please folks, if you have issues with your family don’t let it fester. Before you know it, you’ll be 50 and your time is getting shorter and shorter. You can’t make up for lost time, be the bigger person and reach out. I wish I had, and I didn’t and that makes me a blatant hypocrite for giving this advice I realize that. It just sucks, and the longer it goes on the harder it is to fix.