The Day of My Life in Lawrence

 

The Day Of My Life In Lawrence

Two decades ago, my family and I moved down to Lawrence Kansas to make new friends, see new faces, meet some new people here, and try out the hands in VideoToaster at Avalon Video with Kurt Henning and Elizabeth Tally. During the 90s, I listened to plenty of music with I was a little child and went to Cordley Elementary School. That’s when I got to meet Lois Orth-Lopes. One time, I had the chance to go to KU with my dad and I got to swim in the fountain at Chi Omega. It was one of KU’s many traditions back in the day. When I grew up here in Lawrence, I had a great life here. My family and I lived here. At first, we lived at 826 Missouri St. In case you know, that was the ‘Flintstone’ house. And it was fun. I played outside in the front yard, played in the backyard of the house, watched Disneyland Fun on the VCR, watched public television, Sesame Street, read some Dr. Seuss books, read Little Critter books, and chilled in my bedroom listening to Greg and Steve, Joanie Bartels, The Commitments, Mozart, and a mix of vintage artists and bands. One time, my family and I watched a TV show on PBS called ‘Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?’ and the theme song from Rockapella was catchy. I also enjoyed watching ‘Bill Nye The Science Guy’ on TV too. Science was incredible to watch. During that era, my family and I got together and went to the Riverfront Plaza mall and went shopping together. I got to browse around for some toys, music, others. I just wish that I would see the mall come back again so that I would share the good times I had with my family there. Then we moved to another location. 1627 Learnard St. This was where I got to meet Katie Altenbern, Emily and Anna Thurmaire. Then, I got together at Cordley for the next school year and got to meet Stephanie Harsin, Sebastian Alfie, Jennifer Unruh, Rachel Unruh, Lisa Gillian, Jocelyn Kitchen, and many others. They were really nice to me and I learned so much things with them. We got to go on many school trips, messed around at the computer lab and played Thinkin’ Things on the computer, got creative with HyperStudio, learned some music at music class, did some school plays, learned about Bolivia and Peru on my school project, play board games with Heidi Cokley, made music with Sebastian, etc.  Okay like one time, I got to do a play with my school called Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the gym, and I gotta tell you that it was magical. I even got to hear the Super Mario theme song though. Also in my school, I got to learn about Japan. I watched a video about it and got the inside scoop and all the info about it. I also learned about another country around the world that’s down under. Australia! I watched the video about it too. My favorite parts of all the video series about these countries is the scenery, the music, and maps. They were fantastic. Cordley was the best school I went to. I even got to play outside during recess. Speaking of play, I had fun in P.E. We got to play indoor sports, did the obstacle courses, and did free period. I even got to listen to Jock Jams during play. My gym coach also played some music from the 80s, some hip hop, house music, and so much more. It’s a great way to stay active and fit. Now outside the playground, we got together for outdoor fun day activities. There were fun and games, and popsicles, water balloon tosses, and I even enjoyed ice cream sandwiches in the field. I also got the chance to enjoy the school carnival during Spring seasons. That fortune teller was wonderful to watch. And one time, I even got to see someone in the playground outside wearing a Caribbean outfit that looks just like Carmen Miranda. She was amazing in that costume. I almost forgot that I learned to do some art in art class and played around With Kai’s Power Goo on the computer. After I graduated, I went to Central Jr. High where it’s close to the Americana Music Academy. I had a lot of fun here. I learned about banking, science, English, history, lifted weights, read books, did choir, played band class, and I even learned about film and radio plays, plus we did homemade commercials of consumer products including Coca-Cola. I even met new paras including Ms. Martin, Mrs. Davidson, Mrs. Cox, and Mr. Savage. They helped me with my problems, and we got together for fun activities. It was fun. The one thing that drove me crazy is the time I had too much homework to do. It was such a pain, but I finally got over it. I even saw the artwork on the lockers. There were Picasso, Van Gogh, the Rodriguez blue dog, and one from Roy Lichtenstein. It was really amazing to see in school that time. In the family house at Learnard St., my family got to listen to Leo Kottke, George Winston, Vince Guaraldi, Tom Waits, Enya, and other artists like them. Back in the day, my mom got to download music from a file-sharing site, and I even got the time to come up with my own variety of mixes. I came up with my own WOW 2002 custom mix on a blank CD. We made plenty of custom mixes the whole family can enjoy. I used to download music from KaZaa, but suddenly I don’t think it exists anymore. That’s what I got iTunes. Also at the Learnard house, I even watched some cartoons, listened to some smooth jazz on the radio while sleeping, and watched some webtoons from back in the day. We had so much fun together at the family house in Learnard until we moved to a house on the farm close to Tonganoxie in 2004. The farm was fun to play around, set up fireworks, get together with friends and family, and have parties together. I even got to enjoy DirecTV channel and digital entertainment, except when picture gets pixelated when it started to rain. That was the time I started at Free State High School. I got to meet my teacher Mr. Andrew. That was also the time I got to edit videos and make movies at Broadcast Arts. I also got to play around with the green screen for some special effects. I also got to meet Ben Mugridge, Mrs. Norris, Mrs. Baska, Brandon Johnson, and all the others. We even got to mess around, surf the web, play around, and learn a lot of new things too. I also worked at the laundromat at the school with Mrs. Moore. I got to fold towels and wash gym clothes while listening to Lazer 105.9. I also got the chance to work at Lazer 105.9 where I did some filing and sorting. Now during that time in summer hours, my dad and I got together and participated at the Lawrence Wakarusa Festival. We got together and played around, and I even get to see The Flaming Lips in concert. That was a blast! My family and I also got to move to a house that’s close to my school that I go to. Then after I graduated from Free State, I went to C-Tran for two school years. One at 337 S California St., and one that was moved at Holcom Park Recreation Center where I got to meet Eric Fitzmorris, Cody Calp, Jenny Rovel Jones and Mistie, and my friend Speed Mack. I learned how to save money, start a budget, went out to eat, and hung out together at the building. Plus, I got to work at the J.R. building at KU. After I graduated from C-Tran, I lived on my own all the time and got myself a house at Pineridge Place. I even enjoyed the Mondrian setting in my bedroom. I really enjoyed living in Lawrence for two decades, and sometime in the future I might get the chance to move back here. That way I can enjoy visiting the places I love in downtown Lawrence, get another job there, and get together with my friends from back home.

This first blog story goes out to all of my friends from back home. Here’s to you.

Coming up later, I will talk about some fresh new ideas on mural pieces, downtown jobs, where to find a place to live somewhere [condos or apartments], and maybe some Lawrence events in the future.