I don’t have a lot of specific memories from my college days -- they tend to blur together, for reasons I’m sure you can guess -- but I do recall one particular moment that looms large when I look back at my career trajectory. 

Oh, hello, by the way! Andrew, here, from the TBTL podcast. I hope this email finds you well. 

It was probably my second or third year in college, and I was taking a class on public speaking. Most of the students in the class shared my major, which was in radio and television broadcasting.

On the first day of class, the teacher went around the room and asked each of us to introduce ourselves and explain why we chose our major. I was one of the last students to be called upon, based on where I was sitting, so I had a lot of time to think about my answer. And thank goodness I did, because I wasn’t sure I had a good answer. Most of the other students seemed to have solid visions for their professional futures, which I envied. Even if some of those dreams seemed a little disconnected from reality, at least they were tangible goals. 

Me? I wasn’t sure what the heck I was doing. All I knew was that I spent most of my childhood hooking VCRs up to each other and messing around with a very rudimentary audio mixer that I bought at RadioShack for $35. I liked making mixtapes for my friends and fake movie trailers for myself. My parents got me a fishing tackle box for Christmas one year, but instead of using it for lures and bobbers, I filled it with all kinds of a/v cables and adapters. 

In fact, I still have that tackle box. I’m looking at it right now. It still has a little G.I. Joe sticker on the top, and it’s still overflowing with audio widgets, some old, some new. 

ANYWAY, as I listened to my classmates explain their plans to become newscasters or radio DJs or filmmakers or audio producers, I worried about what I was going to say when they got to me. I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to do with my degree. I just liked pushing buttons. 

So, when it was my turn, that’s exactly what I told the class. 

“Hi, my name’s Andrew. And I just picked this major because I like pushing buttons.” 

Everyone burst into laughter. Apparently, that was a killer line, and I won’t lie -- I loved the attention. But I honestly do not remember if I was trying to be funny or not. I feel like I was pleasantly surprised by the response. I think I was just being honest. 

Now, this is probably a terrible time to tell you this, but my story has no point whatsoever. The only reason I bring it up is because I was watching Columbo the other night, and it reminded me of how much I miss pushing buttons. I love modern technology -- computers, smart phones, GPS, etc -- I wouldn’t trade any of this to live in the past. But since everything is screen-based these days, I rarely get the satisfaction of pressing a big heavy button that goes “clunk”. I miss rewinding. I miss fast-forwarding. I miss the radio dial on my old 1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. 

The episode of Columbo that sent me down this nostalgia trip is called “Playback”, and it originally aired in 1975. It’s about a gadget-obsessed whiz-boy who murders his mother-in-law, I think, and uses a bunch of audio-visual gadgetry to create an alibi. I assume Columbo catches him in the end, but I was too distracted by the absolute splendor of mid-70s technology to pay much attention to the plot: Big, chunky, illuminated buttons being pushed, patch cables being patched, reel-to-reel machines firing up. Just magic. 

So, late last night, long after I should have been in bed, I downloaded the episode and pulled all my favorite scenes, mashed them together, and made this supercut:

Okay, I know I took you on a very, very long journey just to show you a dumb GIF I made. But since I deleted my Instagram account, I don’t know where to share this stuff anymore! Besides, maybe this will inspire you to major in radio/television production some day. 

In order to keep this newsletter from becoming completely meaningless, though, I will now turn it over to two Tens who would like to invite you to join them on some upcoming TBTL adventures. Annie is organizing another volunteer opportunity at Food Lifeline in Seattle, and Krista is organizing a trip to a Tacoma Rainiers game! Their notes with details are below. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend filled with outdated technology. Luke and I will talk to you on Monday!

-- Andrew

Food Lifeline Volunteer Opportunity (June 21)

Annie says: "I’m hoping you would be willing to put a plug in this week’s newsletter for our next Tens Helping Tens event at Food Lifeline in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood. We’ll be back at it again on Saturday, June 21 from 9a-11a. Folks need to sign up by June 10. After that Food Lifeline will release any of our unused spots to the public. It’s open to all Tens, Elevens and Fives over the age of 10. Folks can sign up using this link or contact me at tbtltensgiveback@gmail.com.

Tacoma Rainiers Meetup (August 10)

Krista Says: “TBTL is Rainiers fans! We’re meeting up at Cheney Stadium for the Rainiers game on Sunday August 10 at 1:30pm. Please RSVP (either on Facebook or via email) and Venmo me by June 30th to be included in the group ticket purchase. Cost is $16.00/person which includes a seat and "ballpark meal" (hot dog, goldfish, bottled water). Email me at TBTLSeattleTens@gmail.com

What’s your name and where do you live? 
Chelsea Shriver. Vancouver, BC.

When did you start listening to TBTL? How did you find the show?
I think I was one of the many tens who started listening after Luke's stint guest hosting "Wait Wait" in maybe 2010. So it's been...a while.

How would your friends describe you?
I hope they would describe me as funny and caring. I am certain they would (charitably) describe me as "a bit of an over-thinker."

What was your favorite cereal when you were a kid? Is it still your fav? 
We weren't a sugar cereal house, so I mostly got Grape-Nuts. But sometimes nostalgia would drive my step mom to buy Frosted Flakes, and they were like manna from heaven. These days I'm a fan of Kashi Maple Waffle Crisp, but more as a dessert.

What food do you love to eat the most of?
Peanut butter. I don't think a day goes by that I don't eat it as part of at least one meal.

What’s the best or worst nickname you ever had?
My name doesn't really lend itself to nicknames, but two of my past nicknames have been "Goose" and "Staff". Long stories...

If you could play one song on TBTL, what would it be?
Very tough question! Either Once Upon a Lucid Dream (In Afrikaans) by Kishi Bashi or Avocado, Baby by Los Campesinos!.

What’s a special skill that you have?
Not really a skill, but I'm very easily entertained, so I never really get bored.

What’s a skill you *wish* you had?
Just about anything other than the above.

If you were driving down the street and you saw Luke and Andrew on the sidewalk, what would you yell at them as you drove past?
There would probably just be a lot of sputtering and frantic waving.

Hey, it’s Andrew here again. Just a reminder that you can find our Ten of the Week form here! If you’ve never been a TOTW before  (or if it’s been a really, really long time) fill out our little questionnaire. And check out our Ten of the Week archive here!