nostalgia

A strong sense of nostalgia is gradually taking over me. This feeling probably derives from sometime in 1996-1997 period. Believe it or not, I am actually pulling out all these obsolete N64 cartridges out of my closet and chucking them in the machine...I've collected 45 stars today in Super Mario 64. It was a great time then... I was about to become 10 when I got my N64.

What sort of stuff were going on a decade ago? 1996 was the year of the centennial Olympics in Atlanta and I remember watching the Olympic torch passing by Route 10 with all the Coca-Cola trucks following the runner, selling bottles of coke to everyone. Pokemon was a social phenomenon in Japan 10 years ago while Tamagochis were selling like crazy in the States.

I was a 4th grader then and it was one of my most memorable years in elementary school with a great class and a great teacher. I still remember those days in her class. Meanwhile, I had a transfer to a new Japanese weekend, having difficulty adjusting to its new environment. Eventually, us 5 became best friends, but it was pretty tough in the beginning, being the only newcomer.

Musically, Los Del Rio's Macarena was a huge hit and everyone was doing the Macarena dance at whatever parties you went to. On TV, Dawson's Creek was really popular with it's song, "I Don't Want To Wait" starring Paula Cole. This period overlaps with the time I began cherishing American culture over its Japanese counterpart. In the box office, Titanic was the greatest hit of the year, or better said, of the decade. It received 11 Oscars and I remember watching it thrice in the theaters since my mom adored it so much...the social reaction toward that film sort of resembles the "Hanryu boom" that swept across this country a while ago.

Two posts ago, I declared putting my past away once and for all, but this artifact I found in my drawer triggered and reverbrated my nostalgia once again. In a deep melancholy once again, I must find myself a more effective therapy to get myself out of this tough, but comfortable quicksand once again. Nighty night.