I have something to reveal. Something no one who immerses himself in pop culture should admit and that is that I am always at the end of every trend. It’s true. If you see me embracing a trend, it is over. I am the harbinger of the end of fads. I resist and resist and embrace it just near the end. I’m like the human equivalent of Oprah because once she’s covered a trend, girl, you know it’s way past it's expiration date.
I held on to my VCR years after everyone had converted their entire libraries to dvd and I was just starting to buy cds when iTunes made physical product unnecessary. Both true. I also just caught the tail end of “Battlestar Galactica” after my friends had raved about it for years.
But it’s also fashion. What was the last year I wore my ‘daisy duke’ cut off jean shorts? Oh, I think 1996 or 1997. Yikes. How late in the game did I wear my cut off flannel shirt? I think 1999. How long ago did I stop wearing my chain wallet? I’m embarrassed to say that it was discontinued from my wardrobe only last summer. Had I held on for a few more months, I would have been fashion forward for the first time in my life.
I do have to admit that I beat the curve on the iPod Shuffle by a narrow margin, a couple months, but that was only because my friend Alan urged me to put away the ‘disc-man’ and join the 21st century. And my boyfriend and I did talk with each other over Skype a year and a half ago for three months while he was away in Europe way way before it was made popular recently on the aforementioned Oprah. And I do have to admit that Alan pointed me to Twitter last year although I’m not sure I really understood how effective it is in finding lots of information fast until recently.
And now I’ve been laid off from my day job. This is good news for the public. Because months after everyone else has been laid off of their job, this summer I will join the ranks of the unemployed. No, really, there’s a silver lining here. If I’m usually at the end of trends, then perhaps this is just another example of arriving to the party at 12:15 on New Year’s Eve. God, for once being out of step would work for me rather than against me. Or it would at least work in your favor.
Now, you’ll have to excuse me as I have to make a call on my land line to order rabbit ears for my television. I hear they’re all the rage.
