Alternative Ulcer

I am getting old. As I sit here typing this with my stiff little fingers, I realize that I am becoming one of those guys. Fat, bald and clinging to a youth long since passed. I have toned down my fashion sensabilities to be more age appropriate, but the -to coin a phrase- vangaurdlust is still there. I purchased a pair of Skullcandy brand Skullcrusher headphones. Sure the reasoning was I have always wanted a pair of higher-end portable headphones, but the skate/punk/techno marketing image is what sucked me in. (The ones I have a silver and look more like the second pair.)

The sound quality isn't as good as I expected. The subwoofer leaves high range sounding tinny. But I can reach a happy balance by adjusting the volume and EQ on my Walkman and the "vibration" level on the bass-boost unit. In short better for listening to the Postal Service than Dean Martin.

Yes, I still have a Walkman. It plays MP3 CD's, which are like permanant play lists. And I don't have top rip my extensive CD collection and have it suffer blips and burps when the compression goes wrong. Moreover, I don't have to cave and buy an iPod and follow the rest of you lemmings off the cliff.

But 15 year-old me would still hold 33 year-old me in contempt. I acquired a taste for jazz at a young age so that when this day came I could age gracefully. But now I do not want to go gentle into that good night. And it isn't just that I refuse to let go of my fleeting hipness, it is that I have a huge void to fill in my lifestyle. I do not want to become an Alternadad. I am just not that kind of guy. But I need a transitional step before I end up marrying my potential Soccer Mom. It actually makes me sick thinking about it. Deconstructing part of who I am. Who am I supposed to be now?

Maybe the new tagline for the site should be "a support network for the aging hipster."