Your younger, more retarded self
 

So, it happens. We get older, we grow, and things that seemed like a good idea at the time decay into a mass of "What the fuck was I thinking?"

When I was in HS, I went through a phase that involved assorted pieces of leather clothing, some other "loud" things, and a pair of vinyl pants. That last one was sort of the end of that era--I wore them right after I bought them in August, which is the wrong time to wear vinyl pants, and never wore them again, for there is no right time. I bring this phase up because it's by far the funniest, at least given who I am now. I sometimes think of ways I could still make use of the stuff, including:

1) Flagging down cars and asking for directions for the nearest production of Rent.
2) Starting/joining a band as a nouveau Jim Morrison and come onstage totally wasted, yelling obscenities and pretentious poetry.
3) Throwing everything together in the most ridiculous fashion possible and cosplay as a Noruma-inspired character.

Actually, the vinyl pants have come in handy--they offered traction on the makeshift staircase I made when my cat could no longer jump on my bed.

One of my friends in middle school was intensely infatuated with Bryan White for a while. (If you're too young to know the name, he was a country-pop singer whose popularity was partly responsible for the genre's deeply shameful pretty boy teeny-bopper phase in the 1990s.) I'm sure she's disavowed that time in her life--I'm aware she started following anime and j-pop for a while with equal ridiculousness--but because that's when I knew her, she's forever the Bryan White obsesso to me.

What are some of the things you used to do or like that you've now outgrown?

I hereby decree that no one is allowed to reminisce about their wasted youth until the age of 30.

Good day NPF.

I'm 26, dude.

How many people in NPF are in their 30s? Anyway, I don't care, if it was 10 or more years, I think I'm allowed.

I used to argue vigorously about the Monty Hall problem, convincing many poor souls that you really had a 1/2 chance of winning when switching, until I actually tried it myself.

Ah, how young and stupid I was. . .I think it was 2008. :)

heh, I'm not actually allowed to make public decrees here by the way, you're just making me feel old.

Wait, teenagers were wearing vinyl pants when I was a kid? Man I'd think I'd remember something that ridiculous. All I remember about late 90s fashion was everything being really baggy.

Well, I was. Baggy pants were still in for a while, but we did have Hot Topic then.

EDIT: Speaking of mall-related foibles, this is strikingly close to something else I did, except I didn't set them on fire, I just never wore them out again.

I haven't changed much since I was about 13 or so. I'm still the same cynical, sarcastic bastard I ever was, which is actually kinda depressing.

I doubt it'll be different by the time I get to 30.