#diskmane

[vampfand]

i just love my discman

[cyberneurotism]

Sony Diskman D-150 (1988)

[foxqueen-katarian]

Sometimes while writing a sentence I will forget what I just wrote, like a particularly stupid AIchatbot. I need you to know that that's a feature not a bug, and has been happening since forever. It's very embarrassing to reread something after you've posted it and the first and last halves of a sentence are literally the same thought only just barely reworded.

[tee-fuckin-hee]

goodmorning! well, i guess its moreso afternoon, cuz its 12:01 when i started writing this. whatever. unimportant. im listening to danger days rn on my stereo thingy. im still virtual, but my school is hopefully going on a feild trip this weekend to a local farm. ill get to see some friends so thats nice! im pretty bored, its lunchtime rn so no classes. ive been in a really good mood since thursday. even though me and my brother got into a tiff last night, im still pretty happy, cuz we went to the grocery store so i got some sweets to cheer me up. lol. im excited for a couple of reasons but one is that we might be back in person next week and if we are, i can get my tech teacher to 3D print a new volume knob for my stereo thingy. it didn't have one when i bought it but thats ok, because it was 4$ and works perfectly. it was from a small thrift store. they also had a cassette recorder but it was badly damaged so i didn't get it but i really want one. i already burn my own cd's so it'd be pretty cool if i could also record tapes. idk i just wish i was born in the 70's, so i could've grown up in the 80's/90's. its just such a cool era with such cool tech. like those fuckin bubble/clear walkmans. they are fucking AWESOME. i wish they were still produced. i also want wired headphones so that i can listen on my walkman and portable disk player. i used to have an actual diskman but it broke. i was really upset. but its fine cus i have a fancy new one.

damn. i wrote way more than i was expecting to. its chill. nobody sees this anyways. its just my little diary. maybe i should tell my friends about it. then we could interact here too. idk. would that be weird? sometimes i feel like i force my friendship on people. whatever, i don't want to ruin my good mood thinking about that. anyways, igtg. my science teacher is calling.

peace out, popsicles, see ya later!

[disruptxrr]

my phone doesn’t have internet connection once i leave my house so it’s basically a very expensive brick. i still go out with it in case i someone calls but mostly i just put it in my pocket and put on my wired earphones and call my phone my ‘diskman’ or whatever the fuck

[pocketcrimes]

I saw somebody showing their Diskman following their reading of Love, Death and Rollerskates by @spadillelicious, and I just needed to show you.... My Sport walkman with Megabass, that was also doing radio! Featuring random cassette and one of my fav band, Garbage! And I lost the headphones along the way it seems...

(Y'all should read that fic also, its fucking amazing)

[zvmz]

A few Cerise Hood HCs <3

okay so obviously- shes tall. like 5'11

ramona is 6 foot, tho. she constantly brags about being taller

once every few months, her whole family rents an air bnb in the middle of nowhere. they all go meet there and spend a few days together where no one can see. they do a full week twice a year

cerise is very ticklish, and her mom is a tickler

nobody in school knows shes ticklish because her friends are very respectful of her personal space, since cerise is uncomfortable with physical contact, and everyone else is too scared to touch her, much less tickle her

MUSCLES!!!! LOTS OF THEM!!!!!!!

she has a very unhealthy obsession with hot chips

and she will put an absolutely insane amount of hot sauce on her food. she used to use only a normal amount of hot sauce on her food, but has been slowly increasing the amount just to mess with raven, who has zero spice tolerance

always asks raven if she wants a taki when she buys a bag. again, just to mess with her

loves film bro movies. yk like christopher nolan, quentin tarentino, martin scorsese type stuff

is starting to get genuinely concerned as to why cedar hasnt picked up on her being half-wolf. i mean they LIVE TOGETHER

the truth is every time cerise slips up and does something um wolf-like, cedars like hmm interesting i guess thats just a human thing i didnt know about and forgets about it

sparrow considered cerise his cool cousin. cerise considers him her annoying cousin

used to sneak liquor with sparrow at family reunions (hood side only obviously)

does finger guns way too much

she has on multiple occasions used her cloak to pretend shes batman while singing "something in the way" in a raspy voice

knows so much gossip bc shes so quiet and in the shadows that people forget shes there and talk right in front of her

has a habit of biting her nails

went through a fnaf phase when she was 10-11

has had the same pair of ratty, falling apart converse for years now and refuses to buy new ones

running with carmine through the forest is like therapy to her. any time shes stressed she'll go for a run to take her mind off things

sometimes she'll decide to take a quick nap with carmine, but she has a habit of just falling asleep for hours in the forest

sometimes she would accidentally sleep out way past curfew and have to sneak in to her dorm

cedar taught her how to paint (i think theres actually a frame in the series showing cerise painting a wolf)

cerise doesnt paint often, but occasionally when cedar is painting, she'll come sit next to her and do her own thing

cerises dad loves rock music. he was definitely a "what band is this?" dad. music is one of the things they bond over the most

he gave her a diskman for her last birthday and has bought her a cd every time they've visited each other since then

she talks and moves around alot in her sleep

its scared the crap out of cedar on several occasions

will bite you if you steal her food

has bit ramona for stealing her food

has been bit by ramona for stealing her food

is always uncomfortable around the rich royals, but has always felt somewhat at ease around ashlynn for some reason, she has no idea why

cupid knows cerises secret, of course she knows how to spot a werewolf

she has very fast reflexes

when the students had their year book pictures taken, the photographer refused to take cerises picture unless she took her hood off. cerise argued with him for a while before she finally just walked out

she tried explaining the situation to headmaster grimm but he just told her that if she wants to be in the yearbook, she has to follow the photographers rules

the truth is grimm was getting suspicious about the hood and wanted to see what was up. he paid the photographer to try to get her to take the hood off

anyways now hes even more suspicious

eventually, once a good amount of students join the rebellion, cerise reveals her secret

once she finally looses the hood, she decides to get a haircut. she gets a wolf cut, of course

a few months after her secret is revealed, its as if her personality did a complete 180. she becomes much more confident. louder. happier.

[xxmurd0ckm1gra1n3xx]

you know, when so much for stardust was released, i just sorta went w it, honestly i was still vibing w cork tree

but this xmas i got the cd, stuck it in my diskman, and holy fuck its good. like really good. holy, even. god damn i hope FOB do another album like that.

[justforbooks]

Θυμηθείτε κάτι από την εφηβεία σας που αν το πείτε σε σημερινό έφηβο, μάλλον δε θα έχει ιδέα για τι πράγμα μιλάτε.

-TDK εξηντάρα, ενενηντάρα.

-Ουουου ένα σωρό… Decadence, Μετροπόλ (σουβλάκια), SOS, Quinta, ποδοσφαιράκια, Paesano!

-Λουκέτο τηλεφώνου

-Atari…

-Ο δρόμος μπροστά στην Ακρόπολη με αυτοκίνητα και στις 2 κατευθύνσεις

-Γιάννης Πετρίδης στο ράδιο 4-5.

-Λεύκωμα

-Με ένα πεντοχίλιαρο πήγαινα σινεμά, για καφέ, στα Goody’s και μου έμενε και χαρτζηλίκι!

-Το παιχνίδι τάκα τάκα…

-Όταν τους λέω για βίντεο και βιντεοταινίες με κοιτάνε με απορία.

-Σταθερό τηλέφωνο με λουκετάκι στο μηδέν για να μην παίρνουν υπεραστικά!

-Έτρεχα απ’το σχολείο γρήγορα σπίτι γιατί περίμενα τηλεφώνημα από το τότε μεγαλύτερο αγόρι μου.

-Αν η σχέση σου δε σου είχε γράψει κασέτα με μπαλάντες, δε σε ήθελε αρκετά.

-Είχα κασέτα πάντα έτοιμη για εγγραφή όταν άκουγα ράδιο.

-LimeWire . . . ’nuff said!

-ΥΕΝΕΔ

-Gauloises άφιλτρα

-Ακούγαμε μουσική με MP3 και βλέπαμε Πάττυ 🤣

-Μπούμπλε Μπούμπλε

-Βινύλιο

-Ποιος σκότωσε τον ΤΖΕΙ-ΑΡ ;

-Lancôme juice tube lip gloss σε όλες τις αποχρώσεις 😪

-Η αμερικάνικη βάση με τον ραδιοφωνικό σταθμό και τα αμερικάνικα μπαράκια στην γλυφάδα

-Εσείς να βγείτε από τη γραμμή. Κάλεσα πρώτος και δεν έχω άλλο τάλιρο.

-Πάρε το μηδέν δεν σε ακούω καλά !

-Τσιγκολελέτα… Τσίγκος: υποδιαίρεση εθνικού νομίσματος από φτηνό κράμα, λελέτα: βρεφική αλλοίωση της λέξης βιολέτα… Ψευδολέξη , που συμπληρώνει ιαμβικά και καταληκτικά το παιδικό τραγούδι παιχνιδιού “ένα φράγκο η βιολέτα” … Παιδικό περισσότερο ή πρωτο-εφηβικό, αλλά ποιο απο τα νέα παιδιά γνωρίζει τι είναι ή πώς παίζεται ;

-Μολύβι και κασέτα.

-Τα περιοδικά Μανίνα, Σούπερ Κατερίνα, Αγόρι, Μπλεκ, Τιραμόλα, Σεραφίνο

-Walkman, Viewmaster, Μουσικόραμα

-Κούλα μ’ ακούς; Πολύ κωλόπαιδο ο Κυριάκος !

-Αναπάντητη κλήση

-Ατρόμητοι στην ΕΡΤ1, λευκώματα με αυτοκολλητάκια, υπέρυθρες στα κινητά

-Pen pal

-Club Αυτοκίνηση στο Μαρούσι

-Maria Magdalena, SANDRA και Fresh , COOL AND THE GANG

-Χαμογελαστοί ντεντέκτιβς, η Βιονική Γυναίκα, Αστυνομικίνα, ο Άγιος, Χαβάη 5-0, Miami Vice, The Dukes, MacGyver, Το αστυνικό τημήμα της Hill Street, Benny Hill Show, Fame, Ιππότης της Ασφάλτου, Δυναστεία, Ντάλλας, Ατίθασα Νιάτα και βέβαια οι Άγγελοι του Τσάρλι!

-Το περιοδικό Metalhammer

-"Μια Φορά και Ένα Καιρό Ήταν ο Άνθρωπος", αγαπημένη σειρά κινουμένων σχεδίων εκπαιδευτικού χαρακτήρα

-Εκπαιδευτική τηλεόραση

-Ο παραμυθάς (Νίκος Πιλάβιος) ήταν η πιο δημοφιλής παιδική εκπομπή της τηλεόρασης από το 1978 έως το 1983. Ήρωάς της ήταν ένας παππούς ο οποίος ήξερε να λέει όμορφες ιστορίες που δεν ήταν άλλες από τις περιπέτειες τις οποίες ζούσε ο ίδιος, κάθε φορά που φορούσε ένα μαγικό γιλέκο.

-Duran Duran

-Μακριά γαιδούρα

-Floppy disc

-Chernobyl 1986

-Τα ισότοπα του Ιωδίου και του Καισίου μαζί με τις μονάδες μέτρησης της ραδιενέργειας

-Diskman

-Teletubbies

-New kids on the Block

-MSN πριν το Facebook!

-Αυτοσχέδια φυσοκάλαμα από κομμάτια πλαστικού σωλήνα που σουφρώναμε στα γύρω γιαπιά. Στην ιδανική περίπτωση, άγουρες ελιές εν είδει πυρομαχικών.

-Ότι το κινητό δεν είχε ίντερνετ. Αν έπεφτε απο το μπαλκόνι δεν υπήρχε πρόβλημα, συναρμολογούσες τα κομμάτια και όλα καλά! Επίσης το φορτίζαμε μια φορά την εβδομάδα και αν.

-Τις σχολικές ποδιές για τα κορίτσια και τα Γυμνάσια-Λύκεια που χωρίζονταν σε Αρένων και Θηλέων.

-Σχολείο μία εβδομάδα πρωί μία εβδομάδα απόγευμα

-Πολυτονικό σύστημα

-Καράφλιασα, Μας κούφανες, Φρικάρω

-Smells like teen spirit

-Βλέπαμε Κάντυ Κάντυ και Τόλμη και Γοητεία τα καλά τα επεισόδια με την Καρολάιν και το Ριτζ

-Μπανάκι Μανάκι

-Δεν υπήρχαν κινητά. Δεν υπήρχε ίντερνετ. Και ένιωσα πραγματικό ενθουσιασμό όταν μου έφεραν την πρώτη εγκυκλοπαίδεια. Έπρεπε να βρεις την πληροφορία διαβάζοντας.

-Ράδιο – πειρατές

-Στο χωράφι με το κάρο . . .

_Παιχνίδια στο δρόμο, στις αλάνες, στις πλατείες, βόλτες με τα ποδήλατα, μπάλα, κρυφτό, κυνηγητό . . .

-Μπόζο γαριδάκια 🤡

-Τα Hambo

-Ότι έπαιρνα να ζητήσω ραντεβού από μία κοπέλα στο σταθερό και το σήκωνε ο πατέρας της.

-Κέρμα σε τηλέφωνο στο περίπτερο

-Τα πολύωρα party στη Βαρυμπόμπη και στο Αλεποχώρι.

-Σταθερό τηλέφωνο με δίσκο (ενώ βέβαια υπήρχαν τηλέφωνα με κουμπιά). Υπάρχουν βίντεο στο YouTube με παιδιά που αδυνατούν να καταλάβουν πως λειτουργούσε η συσκευή !

-Video Club παντού σε κάθε γειτονιά

-Τα πρώτα Internet café

-Πρόγραμμα σχολείου. Δευτέρα, Τρίτη Τετάρτη πρωί, Πέμπτη Παρασκευή απόγευμα και το ανάποδο, Δευτέρα, Τρίτη Τετάρτη απόγευμα, Πέμπτη Παρασκευή πρωί !

-Velosolex

-Αθήνα χωρίς μετρό.

-Ραδιοκασετόφωνο (και κασέτες, φυσικά)

-Jeronimo Groovy (τα βράδια που έπαιρναν τηλέφωνο)

-Citroën DS (βάτραχος)

-Subbuteo

-Pac-Man

-Venue! Τίποτα άλλο..

-Τηλεφωνικός θάλαμος του ΟΤΕ με πόρτα ακορντεόν…

-C 50 Honda

-Η κόρη μου ξεφυλλίζοντας οικογενειακά άλμπουμ: Παλιά γιατί εκτυπώνατε όλες τις φωτογραφίες?

-“Κόλλησε η βελόνα”. Έκφραση την οποία χρησιμοποιώ κατά κόρον μέχρι που με ρώτησε η 11χρονη κόρη μου τι εννοώ μ’αυτό

-Δισκάδικα στην πλατεία Κάνιγγος

-"Ο κήπος με τα αγάλματα" είναι το πρώτο παιδικό σίριαλ παραγωγής ΕΡΤ. Από τα δημοφιλέστερα παιδικά προγράμματα της δεκαετίας του '80.

-Αφιερώσεις στο ραδιόφωνο

-Κασέτες, δισκέτες, tamagochi, koosh balls (ή κουσμανία), αυτοί οι αρωματικοί δίσκοι-μπρελόκ από το body shop, αλάνα, φιδάκι στο κινητό, αναπάντητες κλήσεις, πρόσοψη κινητού, ύπνο απ’τις 9 . . .

-Έξι ημέρες σχολείο ( να σχολάς στο εξάωρο Σάββατο στις 19.00 και Δευτέρα να είσαι πρωί ) μέχρι το 1980. Ποδιά και κορδέλα για τα κορίτσια.

-Σταθερό τηλέφωνο εξαψήφιο.

-”Πειρατικά” αυτοκίνητα , αντί για ταξί.

-Χωματόδρομοι στη Νέα Σμύρνη, Νέο Κόσμο, Άγιο Δημήτριο (Μπραχάμι), μέχρι το 1990.

-Μπόλεκ και Λόλεκ!

-Το κλειδί σε πολλά σπίτια ήταν κάτω από το πατάκι. Για τους ιδιαίτερα προσεκτικούς κάτω από τη γλάστρα.

-Ταρατατά

-Ασπρόμαυρη τηλεόραση

-“Ο τσομπανάκος”, στο κλείσιμο του προγράμματος της ΕΡΑ, και κατόπιν, ο Εθνικός Ύμνος

-Τρόικα, Number One, Chicago, Rocket, Marengata, Τρινιτά, Τρελή Πατούσα, πάντοτε φλοκάκια αντί για ρέστα.

-Έχουμε άλλες ασφάλειες 16άρες/25άρες;

-Κουνούπι (το καλαμάκι με τον έλικα)

-Ροζ Πάνθηρας, Επιθεωρητής ΣαΪνης, Ποπάϊ, Γούντι ο Τρυποκάρυδος, Σπορτ Μπίλι, Μάγια η Μέλισσα, Χάϊντι

-Αυτός Αυτή και τα Μυστήρια (Moonlighting), 1985-'89

-The Muppet Show

-The Love Boat, Kojak (Telly Savalas), Hawaii 5-0, Combat, Alf, CHiPs

-Χυμός Ροδάκινου που μοιραζόταν δωρεάν στους μαθητές του Δημοτικού

-Τα περιοδικά Ράδιο-Τηλεόραση, Τρίποντο, 4Τροχοί, Πτήση, Pixel, Ποπ&Ροκ, Ταχυδρόμος, Ένα, Πάνθεον, Φαντάζιο, Επίκαιρα

-Πολυκατάστημα Μινιόν και Κατράντζος Σπορ

-Σοκολατάκα Τζοκόντα

-Ακάκιε τα μακαρόνια να είναι ΜΙΣΚΟ

-Φουντούνια, Πιτσίνια, Δρακουλίνια, Πακοτίνια, Γαριδάκια, Φοφίκο, Tsakiris Chips, Pizza Mexicana, Extra Τυρογαριδάκια, Τι και Τι

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[joomju]

i'm so tired i'm like, drunk with it? you know when you haven't touched a drop but you feel alllll the things because you need to sleep

i'm so happy

i got a new-to-me thing, but it's old, it's an ipod. I had a shuffle back in the day, could never afford the fancypants ones. I still haven't bought one of the fancypants ones, but i got a nano. It's lovely. The music is lovely. I can finally listen to my favourite music and fall asleep to it again, as I haven't done since I lost my diskman in the move.

(Maybe I should buy a used diskman off ebay...)

anyway there's an entire modding community around the ipod classic and i will 100% be doing that for christmas for myself and my brother. You can add SSDs! New batteries! New screens and cases so you aren't using and old dinged up one! These things that used to sell for $300 in 2001 (the internet tells me this is over $500 in today dollars) and I can buy one and mod it and the whole thing will be under $200. I'm so stoked.

oh and my new-to-me ipod nano plays doom. DOOOOOOOOM

and the 2084 has no ads

very happy

[nelyafinwe]

my own mom just called me old after i shared some memories of going on a school road trip on 2002 or 2003 with some of her CDs and my lovely sony diskman, and she, relentless bully (affectionate) that she is, just replied 'a sony diskman huh, you're old'

i just had to (affectionately) remind her that two or three of the cds i took on that trip were hers and they were from the 80s, aka, way before i was born

and also that she taught me how to rewind a vhs tape and how to fix a cassette that unraveled with a bic pen. yknow, like an old person (affectionate) does.

she (affectionately) shut up

[sldlovescartoons]

As beautiful as the Simon/Betty moment in Jerry with their song is, that discman/cd Walkman fucking haunts me. Simon is a 20th century man. Most (some exceptions) of the pre-war tech is 70’s/80’s/90’s. Being very generous, the war happened in the first few years of the 2000’s (just few enough that conceiving Simon as a 21st century man is sort of pointless). A Walkman like Betty has wouldn’t exist until somewhere between 2001-2003. And this scene is presumably years before the war since Simon and Betty like… were together awhile. They went on expeditions. Wrote at least one book. Were engaged. Things that presumably happened over years.

For why. I don’t need all sorts of details of the war, but, pick a cut off decade. Be aware of the timeline. Is drawing a Cassette Walkman or more esoteric diskman so hard??? I feel like I’m being punished for paying attention 😭

[ilredeiladri]

SE Staffel 1 Rewatch (Folgen 1-4)

Nostalgie kickt hart 🥲

Finde die Dynamik mit den Internats-"Schnöseln" und den Dorfkids ziemlich cool. Was ähnliches haben sie ja damals nochmal versucht, als sie Einstein und das Sportinternat zusammengelegt haben, da ist es meiner Meinung nach aber nicht so gut gelungen und inzwischen ist es sowieso hinfällig. (Ich dachte bei Nesrin zuerst, dass es wieder eine Externe geben würde, die dann zwischen Einstein und ihrem "alten" Leben hin- und hergerissen ist, aber sie wurde ja einfach an der Schule angenommen und fertig. Vertane Chance imo.) Auch die ganze Dorfgemeinschaft, mit den Eltern, der Eisdiele und Herrn Werner, dem Dorfschwurbler - find das richtig gut, um mehr Optionen für verschiedene Interaktionen zu schaffen. Da braucht es dann auch keine an den Haaren herbeigezogen Schatzsuche, wenn man Stories außerhalb des Internats erzählen will 🙃

Ich mag das Lehrerkollegium! Frau Gallwitz, Guppy, Herr Wolfert, das sind einfach super Charaktere. Und Herr Pasulke ist eh der beste ❤️

Btw mir ist die Namensähnlichkeit von Wolf und Wölfchen früher nie aufgefallen, aber jetzt ist mein Headcanon, dass Wolfs Mutter eine Affäre mit Dr Wolfert hatte und den Sohn dann nach ihm benannt hat 🤓

Die Musik ist wild! "Stand by me" absolut angemessen dramatischer Background wenn Olivers Vater ihm die Vorzüge von Schloss Einstein erzählt 😂

Ehrlich gesagt mag ich auch die alten Unterrichtsmethoden und die alte Technik. Herr Wolfert, der vor dem Unterricht ein Tafelbild vorbereitet, die Diskmans und analogen Wecker und das Festnetztelefon, auf das die Eltern anrufen? Feels like childhood 🥰

Das Dreier-Zimmer von Nadine, Iris und Katharina ist so schön. Durch die zwei Ebenen wirkt der Raum irgendwie total gut. Schade, dass es das nicht mehr gibt, finde die Aufnahmen dort sehr besonders.

Ich fand Alexandra früher voll langweilig, aber jetzt ist sie vielleicht meine Lieblingsfigur. Oder Vera, die ich irgendwie weird fand. Oder Tine, die ich einfach größtenteils ignoriert hab (sie ist so underrated). Nur Katharina mag ich nach wie vor nicht. Und Iris find ich super anstrengend (obwohl sie mir in dem Alter wahrscheinlich am ähnlichsten ist. Ich muss allen so hart auf die Nerven gegangen sein XD). Hab grade festgestellt, dass ich nur zu den Mädels erwähnenswerte Meinungen hab. Die Jungs sind halt da. und prügeln sich. Und reden nicht über ihre Gefühle. Toll^^ (manches ist da halt doch soooo viel besser geworden über die letzten Jahr(zehnt)e 🥲)

Keiner fährt da mit Helm Fahrrad! Die könnten Noah echt gut gebrauchen, um da mal drauf hinzuweisen 😅

[oldsoulgunsnrosesgirl]

CDs and cassettes should never go out of style what happens when the WiFi goes out and I can’t get onto Spotify or Apple Music

Exactly I Have A Diskman I Use Everyday And Listen To My Guns N Roses CDs And I’m Gonna Get A Walkman To The Only Time I Listen To Music Off My Phone Is When I’m Out Of Batteries Lol 😂

[lumikore]

I desperately need an mp3 player because I hateee paying for premium on music apps but when I get ads while listening to music I have a visceral reaction like I get super frightened then I don't even feel like listening to music anymore like I will still skip the ad and listen to more music but it's fucking jarring after an ad I'm not enjoying the music anymore just listening. So yeah I need an mp3 player I have a Klim diskman but I've literally never used it because all my CDs are inherited from my mum and it's all stuff I don't listen to and CDs are sooo expensive plus I can never find CDs of the songs I want to listen to like why is an IFA Wartburg CD so rare and why is a Rammstein CD $80 should be illegal. Anyway so I need an mp3 player one that can have playlists and that I can connect to my laptop and move stuff around and then I can have all my music that's not available on Spotify as well as everything in the same place so if anyone knows of a good mp3 player that has playlists and shuffle and stuff like that and is under $50 reply to my post thank you

[lunapwrites]

It's summer.

You're standing in your parents kitchen, wearing your little brother's shorts and hoping no one says anything about it. (They don't even notice.) It's hot as hell, stuffy; windows open, since you've got the sort of parents that have air conditioning but don't like to use it. There's a little breeze that flutters the weird lacy half-curtains, wind chime ringing, but it dies halfway across the countertop. So there you are, bare feet and sticky linoleum floors. Everything's fucking Pepto Bismol pink.

Mom's fussing at the stove, smacking pots and pans and cussing under her breath (and over it too) and you can see the hair sticking to the back of her neck too. Stubborn. She smacks the pot down, grabs her purse, rifles around in it. Calls your name. Turns around to shove five dollar bills into your hand, run down to the store and grab a gallon of milk. You're, what, fourteen? Fifteen? So no car yet, but you've got a bike you like to ride down the hill at the end of the road - no hands, no pedaling. Just cool, easy breeze.

It's a shame the store's a mile in the other direction, on an incline.

Still, you could go for a ride. Beats sweating your ass off here.

You grab your backpack and your Diskman, headphones hooked round your ears, and set off at a good clip while still in sight of the house. (Slower once you get past the fuck off huge rhododendrons lining the drive. You're in no rush.) It's still hot, but you can lift your elbows a bit now, get a breeze flowing. Glide along the pavement a bit - you're not at the uphill bit yet. It's bright out, clouds making a valiant attempt but the sun's not fucking having it, not today. The sky's a faded sort of blue. Jeans that went through the wash half a dozen times too many, knees all worn out. There's honeysuckle thick on the air, twisting up and into the pines. Little white blooms dotted all along the deepest green. If you were walking, you'd grab one to chew on, sweet like red clover.

There's a low hum of life around you, loud enough to hear over the music blasting in your ears. A rattle and seethe of insects and frogs and birds, chirping and chattering in the woods as you ride by. They don't bother you. (The ticks won't either if you keep off the grass.) The only cars around are the ones parked in driveways, half-hidden by trees and bushes and custom mailboxes. Some of em have little signs with last names you don't recognize but your parents probably do. They know everyone.

You weave around the middle of the road, lazy like, one hand dropped to your side. It's quiet. Speed limit's 45, and no one's around to hit it. Certainly not you. There's horse shit on the side of the road, somewhat fresh, and a long-dead deer, less fresh - nothing but a few bones and a pile of fur melted into the dirt like mold. You wonder if that's where your dog got the ribcage from. He'd brought it home slung over his back like Santa Claus with a bag of toys, ho ho... ohhhh. Little shit was so proud of himself.

(You also wonder when your parents will put up a fence, but you know the answer to that already.)

After a while, you see the store up ahead, stuck in the middle of a criss-cross of intersections no one ever uses. There's a patch of dirt across one street that everyone calls a parking lot (it isn't.) The shop's the same color as your house, same pale yellow siding, but taller. The gas pumps are all gone now, though you don't know why - something about insurance, you can't remember. You were too young then and can't be bothered now. You swing your leg over the side of the bike and dismount while it's still moving - a little trick that always makes you feel fancy. Less so the kickstand that doesn't work. You lay your bike next to the rusty ice box, pause your music, and walk in.

The bells hung on top the door jingle as you walk in, metal-frame door slamming back into place as if to scold you for letting all the cold air out. You probably had.

The place is real dingy on the inside, like some relic of the fifties gone to shit. It's cramped, hardly bigger than your kitchen with shelves so low you can see over them, condensation dripping from every glass door. Dark wood panel walls and yellowy tile floors that were probably white once upon a time - the counters are clean, at least. The AC's on, but you wouldn't know it. There's one of those metal fans with the little ribbons on it perched behind the deli counter, and the owner's sat in front of it melting like a snow cone in his little folding chair. He's watching the world's smallest television from across the room. Local news or something. Looks sweatier than you feel. He grunts hello though, so you know he's not dead yet. That's good; he makes some damn good sandwiches, even if you always pick off everything but the meat and cheese (especially the tomatoes.) Not today's mission, but maybe next time.

You could walk that floor blind, making a bee-line to the fridge - ignoring the siren call of the Good Humor ice cream chest - and popping open the door. You wrap your hand around the cold, wet handle of a gallon of 2%. The sharp plastic seam bites into your knuckles like it always does, and you wince but carry on. You eye the Snapple case; pink lemonade sounds real good. You grab one of those too, and a Twix bar; call it a finder's fee. You take em to the counter, set em down and the owner heaves himself up and over to you. Rings you up on a register older than God while you debate on whether or not to add a pack of Bubble Tape (you decide against it this time.) He drops everything but the milk in a little plastic bag for you. No receipt; you both know you're not bringing anything back. The milk you stuff into your backpack and swing it up onto your shoulders, straps chafing hard against the bare skin there. For the first time, you regret the tank top.

Say hi to your dad for me. Sure thing.

The bells jingle again as you step back out into the sun.

Golden hour's almost over now, sun at your back, kissing the tree tops. You've got the plastic bag wrapped over the left handlebar, and the Snapple bottle keeps clinking against the head tube - glass on metal - so you hook your thumb around it to keep it steady while you're racing back home. The way back is faster, slightly downhill. A good thing, since the bag you're carrying is a little colder, a little wetter than you'd anticipated - you hope to every God you can name that you didn't pop the cap when it smacked against the small of your back. Fingers crossed.

The scenery's the same: still green, still blue. Only now a little darker, a little cooler, a little more crowded as a Ford whips past you going too fast in the other direction. Diesel. You know he's got until the store to slow his ass down to 25 unless he wants every cop in town - all two of them - on his tail. They're hungry out this way. Bored. You all are.

Takes two songs until your front tire hits the dirt of your driveway, crunch of pebbles and dust as you drive straight up to the garage, dismounting just like you did at the shop. Haul your spoils back into the house - still stuffy and eye-searingly pink. Screen door slams behind you. The backpack slips off your right shoulder, swinging onto your left hip as you open it, extracting the prize. One gallon of milk, delivered straight into the fridge, lid intact. Your mother doesn't ask for change; she knows better.

Dinner'll be ready in a bit.

Your shoulders are burning. You head back to your room and swap your CD from your Diskman to your stereo, and lie down on the worn, scratchy carpet. You can hear your brothers fighting in the basement, your mom ripping the door open to shriek full names down the stairs. She mixes them up; it ruins the effect.

You take a long sip of your Snapple - a little sour, a little cloyingly sweet. A little warmer now than you'd like.

It's too fucking hot for this shit.