Growing up, my parents owned the car radio. To be fair, they let us choose our favorite station quite a bit but they had first dibs. The go-to FM stations of my mom and dad are eternally cemented in my brain. They were Classic Rock 98.9 and Oldies 101.1.

The former station’s format was primarily guitar-based music from the 1970s. The latter station featured popular tracks from the 1960s. I liked some of the songs but for the most part they didn’t resonate with me. They sounded boring, out of touch, and cheesy. Most of all, they sounded old.

My parents used to listen to Oldies….but I think I listen to Oldies now.

At least that was my opinion from the ages of 8-14. I think as I got a little older I started to appreciate music from different eras a little bit more. But from my pre-teen to early-teen years, I didn’t want anything to do with that “ancient” music. Why did my parents want to listen to old songs? Why didn’t they want to embrace the latest and greatest Top 40 music?

It is so funny how once you become an adult you start to change your tune (no pun intended). I now listen to the modern day equivalent of the classic rock and oldies stations my parents listened to in the late 1990s.

A couple years ago, I wrote about a handful of my favorite SiriusXM Radio stations. Well, over the past many months, I have found myself listening to a few others that are on the more “retro” side. They include…

‘90s on 9 – Some of the first ever sounds that I consciously remember my young ears listening to as they were released as brand new tracks.

POP2K – Although I label the 2000s, especially the earlier part of the decade, as a less-than-stellar era of Top 40 music, I find myself going back to this station more for the memories the songs inspire as opposed to their actual quality.

PopRocks – The spot-on equivalent to when my dad listened to 1970s hits on Classic Rock 98.9 when I was young. This station is ripe with rock and punk hits from the 1990s and 2000s and is an oasis of Weezer, Goo Goo Dolls, The Killers, etc.

Y2Kountry – My guilty pleasure! Whereas I found a lot of the 2000s Top 40 music to be a little irritating, I like a lot of the country hits from 2005-2010, even if the quality probably matches that of its mainstream counterpart.

Although Sloan isn’t quite at the age where she can offer a musical critique of my “oldies” stations I am sure it will be coming in just a few short years. Will these stations sound as outdated to her as my parents’ stations? Although I can’t answer that question with 100% certainty at this time, there is something I can say with the utmost confidence: I am getting old. Don’t Blink.

It has been a running theme in Don’t Blink for about eight years now. Every now and then, usually on a Thursday Rundown, I will report on gas prices. Such is the life when you are a nerd. Let’s take a look at some examples.

First off, if it seems too good to be true it probably is. When I saw all the zeros at this AmeriMart last May, I knew there was most likely a technical difficulty.

I figured the store probably wouldn’t offer me this rate.

At the time I took the photo of the AmeriMart sign, gas was hovering around $3 per gallon. But exactly two years prior in May of 2019, I was filling up at this Circle K for $2.39 while watching the little TV explain that back in the Middle Ages popsicles were seen as status symbols because only nobility had access to the 1500s equivalent of a freezer.

I took this photo while pumping gas in May 2019.

Throw it back to June 29, 2017, and I was pumping gas for just $1.85 per gallon at the gas station right next to Coastal Carolina University. Not a bad price for the week before the Fourth of July.

The gas was $1.85 per gallon in Myrtle Beach today.

Several months before that BP visit, I was smiling from ear-to-ear because despite the major pipeline leak that plagued Alabama in September 2016, Myrtle Beach was pretty much unscathed as I topped my car off at $1.79 per gallon.

I am not smiling at the pump in this manner today.

Think prices couldn’t get much lower than that? Think again. The year of 2016 obviously made a New Year’s resolution to keep gas at super low prices because in January of that year I was filling up for $1.56 per gallon.

Take me back to 2016.

Although gas prices were 33 cents more in September 2015, I surely wasn’t complaining about paying only $1.89 per gallon.

It is harder than it looks to take a photo of gas prices when you are driving. I snapped this in 2015.

Fast forward 6.5 years later and this was the gas price at the Mobil station right next to our house….

I pulled into the parking lot this morning to take a photo of the gas prices at the station right next to our house in Spokane Valley.

Wow. Call me spoiled, but I became accustomed to sub $3 per gallon gas prices over the years. However, things change and we have been dealing with $3.69 per gallon gas over the past several months. It was annoying but I wasn’t complaining (at least not publicly 😉).

Now I am complaining (but not blaming). Gas prices are at historical highs and I understand current events play a role in that. Trust me, I get it. But I think something can be done to relieve the madness at the pumps. Do I know what that is? No. Do I think a solution exists beyond telling everyone to buy electric cars? I think so.

I am grateful that I am not behind the wheel a lot in this current climate. I make the commute to Pullman once a week but other than that I am not logging serious miles on a daily basis. For those who are, I hope relief at the pump comes soon. Don’t Blink.

I read a piece yesterday that was interesting to me. It said that the toughest part of a comic writer’s job is not doing the actual illustrations and layout but rather just coming up with different ideas and jokes on a daily basis. The column characterized it as “plain labor-intensive.” The piece also chronicled a similar issue with stand-up comedians. For many people who induce laughs for a living, the difficult part isn’t rehearsing or developing a stage presence; rather, it is coming up with fresh material. The comedian referenced in the column says he spends almost every waking hour on the lookout for inspiration to create new jokes.

I can relate. At least to a degree. I have authored a blog for almost 11 years and written nearly 2,150 posts. For the most part, each of those posts was based on an idea. Although I like to think that my bandwidth for brainstorming creative ideas is limitless, I sometimes find myself in a rut figuring out what to write about, especially since I have already written about so much in the past.

Let’s face it, coming up with ideas can be hard.

You see, I usually don’t have an issue pounding out a blog post—just as long as I have an idea. Although some of my posts take a lot of concentration to draft, the toughest part for me as a blogger isn’t the actual writing but rather the identification of the idea. I can empathize with comic writers and comedians.

But because of my day job, I think I do have a leg up when it comes to overcoming blogger brain drain. As a marketer and social media strategist, a big part of my success centers on content generation. It is imperative that I have a bank full of ideas, pitches, and angles ready to offer and deploy so that our platforms are fresh and our audiences engaged. The constant replenishment of this content war chest is a mind power exercise that can be applied not just to my professional career but my personal blogging aspirations as well.

Thankfully, new blogging content doesn’t solely depend on a finite reservoir of past experiences and ideas stored in my noggin. Life happens 24/7. Much of what I write about centers on current events, trends, and personal episodes. In short, what I write about next week will likely be influenced by what happens this week.

Even with timely writing, however, you must frame it in a way that is interesting and engaging. That takes idea development and brain power too.

For those of us who are content creators—comedians, bloggers, vloggers, designers, etc.—we aren’t worried about our talent shining through. For the most part, we are confident in our ability to tell jokes, write, make video, design graphics, or whatever. The tough part is the most fundamental aspect of it all—the idea. It is easier said than done. Don’t Blink.

Yesterday I wrote about the optimism I have for March after a rather shaky start to 2022. One reason for my positive mindset is the opportunity that presents itself right out of the block.

Lent begins tomorrow. I think this holy season will offer all of us the chance to really reclaim 2022 and trend in the right direction. After a couple months that illustrated how life is short and that evil truly exists in this world, I don’t think there is a better time to embrace prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

When Ash Wednesday rolls around tomorrow, let us not forget that Pope Francis has called us to hold Ukraine in our hearts. Our Holy Father has requested that we use our Ash Wednesday fasting and prayer to lift up a country that is currently in a world of peril.

Pope Francis has asked us to devote Ash Wednesday to praying and fasting for Ukraine.

Following the events in eastern Europe can be very jarring. We watch actual fighting on TV. We follow military analysis threads on Twitter. We listen as Putin threatens the world with nuclear warfare. It is all very scary and very real. But can you imagine what it is like for the Ukrainian people? Lent has arrived at an opportune time for us to suffer in solidarity with Ukraine. Of course we can’t come close to experiencing the desert they are forced to march through but we can do small self-sacrificing acts to remember our Ukrainian brothers and sisters on a daily basis.

As we draw closer to Jesus over the next 40 days, let’s make it a point to answer Pope Francis’ call. Let’s pray for Ukraine. Don’t Blink.

Past Lenten Blog Posts
The Lenten Road
The Journey of Lent
The Real Purpose of Lent