Monday, September 01, 2008

observations from Camden

Doesn’t it kind of destroy the “limo vibe” when it says “1-800-2RENT-ME” on the side of it? I guess I’ve always thought that a limo was supposed to give the impression that you were either so filthy rich, or so unbelievably popular, that you either owned your own limo or were provided one by the people you’ve graced with your presence. When I see one with “RENT ME” on the side of it, the only thing I can ever think is; “You spent $500 to rent a limo for the night? That’s a HUGE waste of money!” And also, in case you’re actually considering a limo rental in the near future, when you hang out the window, everybody knows you’re looking to be “seen in a limo”. ??? Am I the only one who thinks limos have become tacky? Were they always tacky and I just didn’t know it? It seems to me that limos are for prom kids and even then, they’re tacky.

Having just gone back and read over that paragraph, I can see that I’m really just coming off as somebody who’s bitter that he’s not getting to ride in the limo. Sigh. It isn’t true.

Yesterday I attended a fantasy football draft in Camden. In case you’re not familiar, Camden is where the punks hang out……and also where Amy Whinehouse lives. To live or hang out in Camden, you must have at least two of the following: face and/or neck tattoos, coloured hair, a non-traditional hair cut, at least one leather article of clothing, multiple piercings (earlobes don’t count), boots, florescent accessories, and/or several visible scars.

So as I’m walking through Camden yesterday in my number twenty-six, Rod Woodson, Steelers Jersey, I’m feeling like I have a sign on my chest, back, and forehead, that reads “please kick my *&%”. In my normal job setting, I have to admit that I usually feel like the coolest person in the room. By far. I’m just being honest. And it’s been that way for quite a few years. But there are days when that suddenly and dramatically changes in an instant. I get on the train, feeling good, headphones firmly planted in my ears and pounding out a great soundtrack, and then come up out of another tube station and feel like I just put on twenty-years, forty-pounds, and any article of clothing from my father’s closet. It isn’t a good feeling. I keep telling myself that it has nothing to do with getting older; that I wasn’t cool in high school either. Still, one has to wonder; when is it officially safe to call it a mid-life crises? I’ll never be able to afford a Vet, so this may be as good as it gets. Anyway, I should really wrap up this post. I think the peroxide has probably set by now.

Comments on "observations from Camden"

 

Blogger Unknown said ... (10:02 PM) : 

PPffffffff, this post made me smile. Limos are, for the record, insanely tacky, as are the emo-goth-crack-smoking camdenites. They try too hard to look like that. Nobody wakes up with a behive or a neck tattoo.

And for the record, as long as Natalie, Laura and I worked on the West Greet Road, you were never the coolest person there.

Let me know how that peroxide works out for you...

 

Blogger John Ager said ... (1:16 PM) : 

Thanks for another interesting and thought provoking post. John.

 

Blogger Tarisa said ... (7:21 PM) : 

I apparently rode in a limo to the prom and I don't remember it at all. Mom mentioned it in a conversation we were having a few months back and I thought she'd lost her mind. So, as you see, riding in a limo is really not all that.

 

Blogger Sean said ... (9:43 PM) : 

I just rode in my first limo at a friends wedding. . . which by the way I was the only white dude there. It was a serious super stretch hummer. Huge speakers and woofer, listening to some sweet hip hop. As cool as that was. . . I found myself instantly wishing that I was getting to where I was going faster. While the inside held the ten folks comfortably to be able to chat, I would much rather be driving.

 

Blogger Cari said ... (8:15 AM) : 

Vette. VETTE. Not Vet. All the cool points just flew out the window. ALL. OF. THEM.

 

Blogger Trent said ... (11:42 AM) : 

Hey, get a motorcycle. I did.

 

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