Appetite for Destruction

Of course it would be a Saturday night.

Alone. In an introspective mood. In a bookstore.

I come across an issue of Rolling Stone that shouts that Guns N Roses' first effort came out 20 years ago.

Schisse.

I knew my high school reunion was at 20 years this year, but that's fine. I'm in a reasonably good place and never lie about my age: every year that goes by means that junior high is just one more year further back in the rearview mirror.

But the aging of music stings. Depending on your age, for you maybe it was a Beatles record. Or the Eagles. Or maybe it will be Nirvana (though I hope Pearl Jam instead). Or Alanis Morrisette. It doesn't really matter. We often freak out at the age of our context rather than us. Anyone who has a younger sibling that hits 30 knows this.

For me, it was Guns. A massively influential record at the last vestigial stage of adolescence, and being highly influenced by such things. I wanted to be some of these rockstars, and only one other as much as Axl Rose. To this day I could write a 5 page character sketch of him from interviews that I've read. Fascinating, tragic character actually.

Ah well.... I guess it is time for the dreaded retrospective. Forgive me (I hate long introspective blog posts). The good, the bad, and the ugly...

If you told me at 17 that I would be/have/etc.......

Neutral:

• Not married, no kids. Not really surprising
• Undergraduate degree in Comp Sci. Fine
  

Bad:

• I would see my family once a year, and have lil' cousins who don't know me.
• I still can't play most of the guitar tunes I wanted to learn. I peaked at 24.
• I have lost serious touch with the Canadian culture. I don't know the music, the jokes, or one of the official languages (though it is dormant).
  

Good:

• I'm alive (don't laugh)
• Triathlete? Are you kidding me!?!
• I play piano with better muscianship than guitar. (WTH?)
• I live in the United States. (whoa Nelly?)
• Master's from the University of Waterloo. (American readers: um, this is kind of a deal) Full scholarships for both schools with no student loans.
  
• Two great guy-in-laws are in the family: Bruce and Dave.
  
• Babies! Lots of babies with families and friends. I get to visit, coo, and then leave.
  

ps. Check out Rolling Stone for a brief summary of the album. Factoid: it was one of the last ones to be produced for vinyl with "5 studio engineers furiously pushing levers and spinning knobs". It's great stuff: raw, brilliant, and on my top 3 rock CDs of all time, easy.