Out of Touch

So...I had another reminder yesterday and today of how out of touch I am with what's cool. I am helping teach some training classes at work. In our planning meeting yesterday, my co-instructor who is doing the opening for the classes promised that if the training coordinator brought in some music he would do a dance for everybody.

They kept saying the name of dance over and over again like it was something everybody should be familiar with and I played along like I knew exactly what they were talking about. I mean, for goodness sake, I am the youngest person in this group and I had no clue what they were talking about. My only consolation was that all of these people have children who keep them in the know.

Well, this morning, true to her word the training coordinator brought in her CD player and some music. And sure enough, my fellow instructor did a great opening for the class and carried out his word by doing this popular dance for everybody. My lame self had to come home and get on YouTube to do some "research" on this dance and some others I somehow missed out on.

I kept trying to make myself feel better (and younger) by saying that at least I knew what YouTube was and at least now I own an iPod and I least I know what "LMAO" and "TTYS" and "Mos Def" mean in the Internet and text world. But I have to just face the facts. I am thirty. I am in that middle stage between college and having children when one often loses touch with what's cool.

At Christmas I had the opportunity to talk with a teenage cousin to learn what the cool pocketbooks are that all the girls must have these days. Not having much contact with young people puts one at a disadvantage for keeping up with what's cool. I found some consolation when my fellow instructor told us that his nine-year-old daughter had to teach him the dance last night between doing her homework and bedtime. For now I'll just have to keep in touch by asking my friends whose children are now pre-teens and teens what's cool and what's not.

By the way the dance is Crank Dat Soulja Boy in case you were wondering. And I think I might try to learn some of it this weekend. After all, I like to be cool.