A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

This week’s theme is TIME, and this week I had a birthday. A big one.
Forty is a milestone that seems weird. That big number isn’t mine. It can’t be. I don’t feel forty.
Among the presents was a CD, Judas Priest’s Defenders of the Faith. I looked at the back, squeeing, eager to hear Freewheel Burning and my favorite, Love Bites. Then I saw it. The year the record was released. 1984.
In my mind it was suddenly ‘86 again. My hair was a big frizzy perm and I was just a rock-n-roll nerd wearing spandex while I jammed on my guitar in my bedroom…sometimes to this music.
The memory was fond. The realization that it was twenty-four years ago was not.
It seems like yesterday, but where has all that TIME gone? It’s leaked into photographs, crawled into scrapbooks, and burrowed into memories.
*sigh*
So, go back in TIME with me, Linda--your Hump-Day Word-Whore, and reminisce on this:
You know you’re stuck between Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers when:

You remember when Jordache jeans were cool.

In your fifth grade class picture you were wearing an Izod shirt with the collar up.

You know by heart the words to any Weird Al Yankovic song.

The Brady Bunch movie brought back cool memories.

You ever rang someone's doorbell and said "Landshark!"

Three words: Atari, IntelliVision and Coleco, sound familiar.

You remember Friday Night Videos before the days of MTV.

While in high school, you and your friends discussed elaborate plans to get together again at the end of the century and play Prince's "1999" until you passed out partying.

You remember when music that was labeled alternative, really was.

You took family trips BEFORE the invention of the minivan.

You rode in the back of the station wagon and you faced the cars behind you.

You've ever conversationally used the phrase, "Jane, you ignorant slut!".

You watched HR Puffenstuf as a child, but now that you're older, you really understand that it would have been much better had you known about drugs at the time.

Schoolhouse Rock played a HUGE part in how you actually learned the English language.

You're starting to view getting carded to buy alcohol as a GOOD thing.

You ever dressed to emulate a person you saw in either a Duran Duran, Madonna or Cyndi Lauper video.

The first time you ever kissed someone at a dance came during "Crazy for You," by Madonna.

You remember with pain the sad day when the Green Machine hit the streets and made your old Big Wheel quite obsolete.

The phrase "Where's the beef," still doubles you over with laughter.

You honestly remember when film critics raved that no movie could ever possibly get better special effects than those in the movie TRON.

This timeline appropriately describes actual events in your life: Star Wars opens, you are still in single digit ages, and you think the creatures are WAY cool. Empire Strikes Back opens, you are now in early double digit ages, and you are convinced that the special effects are much better, the characters are cool, and you want one of every collectible out there. Return of the Jedi hits the theaters, you are now a teenager and you cannot get your eyes off Princess Leia's breasts or Han Solo's butt.

You've ever shopped at a Banana Republic or Benetton, but not in the last five years, okay.

You're doing absolutely nothing pertaining to your major.

You ever wanted to be gagged with a spoon.

U2 is too popular and mainstream for you now.

You ever used the phrase "Kiss mah grits!" in conversation.

You remember trying to guess the episode of the Brady Bunch from the first scene.

You spent endless nights dreaming about being the Bionic Woman or Wonder Woman or the Six Million Dollar Man.

You had ringside seats for Luke and Laura's wedding on General Hospital.

You remember, "Hey, let's be careful out there."

You're parents wanted you to attend medical school, but you decided it was pointless since Quincy got all the babes anyway.

You know who shot JR.

This rings a bell: "...and my name is Charlie. They work for me."

You were unsure if Diet Coke would ever catch on after all.

You wanted to be a "man" like Lloyd Dobler

You know all the words to the double album set of Grease.

You ever had a Dorothy Hammill haircut.

You sat with your friends on a Friday night and dialed 867-5309 and asked for Jenny.

All skate, change directions, means something to you.

You owned a pair of Rainbow suspenders just like Mork used to wear.

You bought a pair of Vanns and wanted to order a pizza in history class so you could be just like Jeff Spicoli inFast Times at Ridgemont High.

You owned a preppy handbook.

You can clap along to "Mickey" with the best of them.

You know who we mean when we mention The cop, the sailor, the biker, the cowboy, the Indian, and the construction worker.

"No, my brother, you have to go buy your own" means something to you

You remember when leg warmers were the thing to wear.

Some of your favorite commercials involved Count Chocula, Frankenberry, and Boo-Berry.

You tried dancing like the gopher on Caddyshack.

"Come On Eileen" will always have a place in your heart.

You remember cigarette commercials on TV.

You can relate to most outfits worn on American Bandstand reruns.

You can name at least 6 Superfriends.

You always wondered why the professor could make a damn car with bamboo, but he could never build a boat toget them off the island.

You know by heart the theme songs to "Happy Days", "Laverne and Shirley", and "Three's Company".

You get fond memories watching "Muppet Show" reruns.

You remember Michael Jackson as a black man who wore parachute pants.

One word - breakdancing.

You remember running around outside, pointing up in the sky, yelling "Da plane, da plane!!".

You could never believe the things you saw on "That's Incredible".

You know at least 10 Helen Keller jokes.

You were too young to go see the Blue Lagoon so you just had to settle for second hand reports.

You remember when there was only PG and R none of this PG-13 crap.

You learned to swim about the same time Jaws came out and still carry the emotional scars to this day.

You remember when your cable TV box had a sliding selector switch.

You actually believed everything Leonard Nimoy told you on "In Search Of...".

Your jaw would ache by the time you finished those brick sized packages of Bazooka gum.

You had a crush on Bo, Luke, or Daisy Duke.

VCRs cost $2,000.

There was nothing strange about Bert and Ernie living together.

Rotary dial telephones.

You actually believed that Mikey, famed for his Life cereal commercials, died after eating a packet of pop rocks and drinking a Coke.

The theme song to Greatest American Hero still comes back to you on occasion.

You know where the words "Bueller? Bueller?" came from. *source: http://www.gettingolderstinks.com/artman/publish/article_38.shtml