Cleanup, Memory Lane Aisle 5!
This afternoon I was sifting through my desk drawers trying to find a small item I haven't used in at least 15 years, maybe closer to 20. Wait, there's stuff that's been in your desk for over 15 years? you might ask. How old's this desk?
I bought the desk in 1993. I got it at university surplus store, along with a simple but very sturdy chair I still have. I've kept it for 27.5 years (and counting) because a) it's so functional and b) it's so sturdy. In the sea of furniture this desk is a goddamn battleship.
My search so far has been in vain but I figured once I'd basically emptied 3 of the drawers I might as well salvage some value from the exercise by sorting the contents before I put them back. Sorting, including throwing out old stuff I no longer need. Understand, as I've had this desk since 1993, there are things at least that old which haven't moved more than a few inches in a long time. Here are three old things I found that amused me about the differences between now & then.
How We Used to Check Our Messages
Let's start with one from 1990.
I found this sticky-note pad in one of the drawers, nestled in with a stack of plain, square shaped sticky notepads. Yes, this is really how we used to record & check phone messages back then! I remember using this with roommates our first year of university.
Balancing my Checkbook
Now we'll turn the knob on the time machine ahead a few years. Here's my account register from a checking account I opened in 1993.
I still track my checking account with a paper register (I guess I'm old fashioned that way) so the form of this old find is still 100% familiar. The surprise was that I still had it in my desk drawer. I've got a separate place where I keep old financial records such as this. And the figures in there are a blast from the past. Paychecks of $390? Rent was $250 a month? Ah, memory lane!
Before We Kept Contacts in our Phones...
Here's an item I recall getting as a gift in the early 1990s. It's an address book. It's like the address book app on a smartphone, but it's paper!
I didn't really start using this until about 1996, when I moved across the country and began traveling. The compact paper format was better than keeping addresses on a PC because I could pack it in my suitcase and use it to address postcards during my trips! Of course, by 1996 there were already handheld electronic address books and PDAs (personal digital assistants) but they were expensive and fussy. Old-fashioned paper FTW!
I continued using this as my primary address book for several more years. When I bought my first cell phone in 1999 or 2000 (I forget which) I started using that for phone numbers, of course, but addresses were hard to enter (9-key alpha!) and storage was limited. I didn't go fully digital with my address book until 2008 when I bought an iPhone. That was the first hand-held device with address book functionality materially better than paper.
Your Turn
How about you? What do you have lurking in a desk drawer or cabinet that could send you on a small trip down memory lane?
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/15201.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]
I bought the desk in 1993. I got it at university surplus store, along with a simple but very sturdy chair I still have. I've kept it for 27.5 years (and counting) because a) it's so functional and b) it's so sturdy. In the sea of furniture this desk is a goddamn battleship.
My search so far has been in vain but I figured once I'd basically emptied 3 of the drawers I might as well salvage some value from the exercise by sorting the contents before I put them back. Sorting, including throwing out old stuff I no longer need. Understand, as I've had this desk since 1993, there are things at least that old which haven't moved more than a few inches in a long time. Here are three old things I found that amused me about the differences between now & then.
How We Used to Check Our Messages
Let's start with one from 1990.
I found this sticky-note pad in one of the drawers, nestled in with a stack of plain, square shaped sticky notepads. Yes, this is really how we used to record & check phone messages back then! I remember using this with roommates our first year of university.
Balancing my Checkbook
Now we'll turn the knob on the time machine ahead a few years. Here's my account register from a checking account I opened in 1993.
I still track my checking account with a paper register (I guess I'm old fashioned that way) so the form of this old find is still 100% familiar. The surprise was that I still had it in my desk drawer. I've got a separate place where I keep old financial records such as this. And the figures in there are a blast from the past. Paychecks of $390? Rent was $250 a month? Ah, memory lane!
Before We Kept Contacts in our Phones...
Here's an item I recall getting as a gift in the early 1990s. It's an address book. It's like the address book app on a smartphone, but it's paper!
I didn't really start using this until about 1996, when I moved across the country and began traveling. The compact paper format was better than keeping addresses on a PC because I could pack it in my suitcase and use it to address postcards during my trips! Of course, by 1996 there were already handheld electronic address books and PDAs (personal digital assistants) but they were expensive and fussy. Old-fashioned paper FTW!
I continued using this as my primary address book for several more years. When I bought my first cell phone in 1999 or 2000 (I forget which) I started using that for phone numbers, of course, but addresses were hard to enter (9-key alpha!) and storage was limited. I didn't go fully digital with my address book until 2008 when I bought an iPhone. That was the first hand-held device with address book functionality materially better than paper.
Your Turn
How about you? What do you have lurking in a desk drawer or cabinet that could send you on a small trip down memory lane?
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/15201.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]