1983: Mobile Phones, Fashions,Technology, & #Music #wbw

Good day, Kittens and Dawgs! Thanks for dropping by this morning, Kittens and Dawgs! It’s mid-week and I know most of y’all are here looking for my “not-so Wordless Wednesday” contribution. It went live earlier HERE at 12am. After you join my linky party be sure to come back to this post! 😉

In today’s WBW edition, let’s flashback to the year…

I got to thinking about communications on the go this week, since we’re planning to get new iPhones with ours on the unpredictable side due to age. Although, Motorola introduced the first mobile handset in the early 70s. Very few folks had them. In the 80s the handsets became smaller and in 1983, Motorola debuted the first portable units.

Portable phone technology has changed a lot since its introduction but if Apple and Android companies keep it up they’ll soon have phones nearly this big again. LOL When I think of portable, I think of small. Whatever happened to the days when you could slip your mobile phone in your pants’ pocket? I struggle to get my iPhone5s in mine and there’s no way the newest generation iPhone will fit! *smack forehead*

I graduated technical school with an A.S. in Business Data Processing in the spring of this year.  I studied programming but didn’t land a job as a programmer. My first job was in computer sales. I wore a gray wool dress suit for my interview – jacket, skirt, and blouse.  It looks similar to the first photo except it had two small jacket pockets and the skirt had a slip on the backside. I also recall wearing the other fashions pictured below.

I wore classic pumps and sandel heels.  I had a pair of black dress boots, too.  Gee, I wish I had those boots today!  Anyhwo, I don’t know how you feel but I think women dressed better 30+ years ago than they do today in the workforce and on the go, what do you think?

In keeping with the idea of “portable” technology because we love our computers small and in 1983 this was small.

Look at that hefty price! Today we have faster, smaller computing in the palm of our hands with smartphones and other mobile devices than we had in a portable computers 34 years ago.  Can you image having to store data on floppy drives? We would totally freak out! On the upside, we’d have some nice biceps toting this heavy booger around. 😀

If you want to chock a bit on a price tag, Apple (formerly Macintosh) released “Lisa” a desktop computer (pictured below) in ’83. Are you ready for the price? You may want to set down for this… are you sitting? If you’re not, then don’t say I didn’t warn you. The sticker price….$10,000!

Needless to say at $10k this was worse than a fatal computer error as sales flopped due to the high cost of the unit.

The first compact disc player invention announced this year but it didn’t reach the pubic until the following year but Sony one of the front-runners of music on the go kept making Walkman technology more compact.

Speaking of music, how about listening to a few top hits while you read my hodgepodge responses. 😉

Did you have one of the first portable phones, computers, or mewsic player? What did you wear mostly, dresses or slacks? What songs do you remember from 1983?

Next, I’m visiting Joyce for her mid-week Q&A to give you a little insight of the workings of my brain and others. Feel free to play along! 😉

1. What’s something you’d rate a 10/10? Tell us why.

I think I shall give DH a “10”. He’s the best husband in the world! I don’t know why God gave me such a wonderful man but He did and I’m the luckiest girl in the whole world. I know what you’re thinking, she’s dreaming. If I am then don’t wake me up! This 38 year coma is pretty darn nice. 😀

2. What job would you be terrible at? What makes you think so?

Hmm, the list is impossibly long with this question because there are so many jobs requiring a particular set of skills that I am not trained to do or interest me to do or maybe not smart enough to tackle. Somedays, I feel I fail at my job as a mother but then I know every mother feels this way on occasion which needs no explanation. This is one of those days, too. Please keep me in your prayers. 

3. When did you last take a fall? What’s something you’re falling for (in a good way) these days?

I think the last time I fell down was in 2013 while unloading the car. Grocery shopping is always a big job and getting everything inside to put away is another big job.  I’m like a crazy woman with a mission. I’ll grab some bags race up the few steps leading to our porch then in the house I go. I do this repeatedly until it’s done but on this occasion my toe caught the edge of the step and down I went.  Luckily,  I caught myself as I fell with my arms bent and my back straight. I could’ve cracked my forehead on the steps but God had His hands upon this idiot. I did feel a bit stiff, so I took it easy after that so to not do it again.

I can’t think of anything I’m falling for other than the first day of fall.  This is my favorite season. I love everything fall! So, I’ll be falling for lots of tasty treats and cooler temps!

4. According to the Travel Channel here are some of America’s best fall festivals- National Apple Harvest Festival (near Arendtsville PA, close to Gettysburg), Harvest on the Harbor (Portland Maine), German Village Festival (Columbus Ohio), Wellfleet Oyster Fest (Cape Cod), and Wine and Chile Fiesta (Santa Fe NM).   Have you ever been to any of the festivals listed? Which one appeals to you most? Does your hometown have any sort of fall celebration, and if so will you make it a point to attend?

I have not been to any of the festivals listed. I think the Harvest on the Harbor festival most interests me simply because it’s in New England and I’d revisit coastal Maine again.

Knoxville hosts a state fair early September and businesses’ sponsor the Autumnfest and Oktoberfest but these are things we usually do not attend.  I don’t like being in a crowd because people will are rude and impatient. They will plow over top you if you let them, so I just try to stay out of situations like that because it’s too stressful.

5. What is your goodbye message to summer?

Dear Days of summer,

Although, you’re not my favorite season. I do feel a little sad by your going away. I tried my best for the first time to not wish my days away while you were around because I’ve come to realize juse how short life is and while living in the moment I still found it hard to not look forward to fall.  The things I will miss the most is your seemingly long days and beautiful cotton candy sunset skies and things I won’t miss is your heat and humidity. So, until next time we meet, God willing…farewell!

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Blogging makes me happy for the most part but since my return I think I’m taking things too fast and it’s causing me to rethinking (again) how often I should post.  I find I can’t keep up with the comments and return visits like I want while doing other important things.  Maybe, it’s just the way this year has spirled with DH’s eye health, kid-related situations, and more.  I’m feeling a bit down today and I don’t like it one bit.  In God’s hands I send these issues and with Him I place my trust. He is my strength and guide. I will lean on His understanding in all things! I’m sorry for the glum. I’ll be okay…I promise! 😉

That’s all for now. At this time I’m unsure how often I will bring these posts to you but I experimenting with my schedule and trying to find my way back to my older style of blogging. I encourage you to keep from missing a single post to subscribe by email to get notifications of the latest mews from Curious as a Cathy. It was such a pleasure to have your visit and I hope to see you for some Friday fun with skyviews, giggles, and more! 

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18 comments

  1. I didn’t know you had this on Wednesdays… or did I … oh crap, I don’t remember, but this is awesome. I gotta start comin’ over here sweetie! For me I loves the old days & I think you know that. So color me HERE from now on baby girl…. goodness you’re never gonna get rid of me bwahahahahahaha~! I loves ya so much… we’re two peas in a pod. Now you gotta teach me how to do “TWEET THIS” that’s so cool! Every time I see that I certainly tweet for you! That’s awesome!

    1. Marie,

      Yeah I started this series back up again a few weeks ago but I’m going to change days for this post to Thursdays and rename it Throw Back Thursday(TBT). I’m glad you enjoyed the stroll back in time. Be sure to TBT pencil TBT on your calendar. The “Tweet This” is easy peasy. Just go to “Plugins” and look for new, once you find it, install, and you’ll find the “Tweet This” button as one of the tools when you compose your posts. If you need more help then let me know, then I’m happy to step you through it over the phone. 😉

  2. I remember huge computers – at school our computer room had a few of those large machines and we had to put in codes to get an exciting different coloured screen. Looking back now it’s really amazing how far we’ve come.
    I put my beloved as my 10/10 as well – it couldn’t have been anyone or anything else.
    Have a great day.

    1. Pamela,

      When I was in school, I remember the large computers, too. Programming was like Greek to me but this was essential to earning my degree. Logic wasn’t my strong suit in those days and not having practical experience make it difficult for all the studies to make sense. I think if I went back to school now I’d be like “Super Brain” in class. lol I may not understand everything but the logic makes more sense to me now plus I have tons more confidence. I can tackle the world! Ah, good your hubs a “10”, too! Thanks for the visit.

  3. The eighties was a great decade for me–but then all of my life has been pretty great so far. I never bought a computer until about 2000. I looked into a mobile phone when I was on the road in the eighties, but it was all so expensive that my company didn’t want to foot the expense and I couldn’t really afford it and still have other things I wanted. I used a lot of pay phones back then. I was so into music back then and remember all the songs on your playlist.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

    1. Lee,

      The 80s were good to me, too. But, like you, I feel most of my life is awesome. In the early-to-mid-80s, I recall hearing a lot of the mewsic while going to and coming home from work. At one of my jobs, we were allowed to listen to the radio and it was great fun singing with the tunes with my co-workers. They were a great group of gals to work with, too. I remember one time the ladies and I were picked for a luncheon date with a local DJ. I’m thinking it was with Phil Williams but I can’t swear to that now. There’s just been too much water under the bridge making the memory muddy it seems but I will tell you this I remember it was a hoot! 😀

  4. i was 19 and decided to drink Napoleon Brandy with my friend. Every time we got a wrong answer at trivial pursuit, we drank a shot. To say i poisoned myself is an understatement and my mom was not impressed. To this day i can’t even smell brandy. The suit is as classic today as it was back then and how I remember those frocks. I think we dressed better than many do now. I am laughing at the computers and thank god they have advanced more now. I didn’t actually own a computer until 1991 and it was over $3,000 for a pretty basic one. I loved the ’80s music too

    1. Birgit,

      Oh goodness! I bet your mom was mad at you but she probably figured your misery was lesson enough, right? Old technology is funny. What once was hot stuff is low-tech now! We bought a Compaq notebook either in 1991 or 1992 and I remember thinking it was horribly expensive, too. It had the tiniest screen. The viewing area about the size of half a sheet of paper which I found difficult even then to read. It had a single 3.5-inch floppy drive and a meager 20MB hard drive. In the mid-to-late 90s it fatally crashed. I had some of the files backed off but I’m having trouble finding where I placed them after we got our first desktop at the end of the 90s which is the time we got dial-up Internet. Talk about a dinosaur. Dial-up Internet was super duper slow! I’d hate to go back to those days, wouldn’t you? lol I definitely the 80s had some awesome mewsic!

  6. Ah, the “Dress For Success” look! I think everyone dressed better then than they do now. Of course, it was kind of silly to get all dressed up just so you could sit behind a desk, but that was the thing in ’83.

    Actually, I wish it was ’83 again sometimes. Not just in fashion, but just in general. I was 27 and in reasonably good health then…

    I was kind of behind the curve technology-wise in ’83. My computer was a Sinclair ZX-81, I had no desire for a cellphone (they were huge) and couldn’t justify the expense of a Walkman, much less CD’s. Vinyl was fine with me, thank you…

    1. John,

      I was behind on technology, too. I worked with computers but couldn’t afford to buy one and mobile handsets? Well…I honestly didn’t know they existed. I always thought of those from the early 70s you see in old movies that only law enforcement used. We didn’t have much in the way of portable electronics. Our first CD player was for our home entertainment system DH customed configured. It’s interesting how much we’ve changed in this regard. Now, we want to be on the cutting edge of technology just so it works into our budget otherwise we wait for a better time to buy which often works to our advantage. You sure get more bang for the buck these days, too.

      1. The very early cellphones were like the walkie-talkies the troops carried in WWII. One look, and it was like “who wants to lug that around with him all day?” A woman would have to carry an extra purse just for the phone. It was more a status thing then, I think.

        1. John,

          Yeah, I recall those early cellphones. It seems I knew someone from southern WV having one when I was young. I think he owned a coal mine. I thought it was kind of neat but I knew that meant that family probably had money. Most people where I grew up didn’t have a lot, so things like this made the $$$ pop in the mind. Thinking about it I bet he had one for emergencies at the mine. I surely wouldn’t want to lug one of them around. Forget to put that in my tiny jeans’ pocket, heck forget the purse, I’d need a backpack to carry it. lol

  7. I think every mother who has ever lived at some point thinks she has failed. Sometimes on a daily basis. Over time we can look back and see that those times when we thought we were failing were maybe some of our strongest times with positive results.
    I just got back into blogging also. Right now I am only doing the Hodgepodge. If something else strikes my fancy I will give it a try. Slow and steady wins the race.

    1. Thanks for the encouragement. I’m feeling better now. Sometimes you gotta stand your ground and brace for the clashing. God is my strength! Slow and steady sounds good to me. Welcome back to blogging!

  8. I should have given my hubby a “10” also … and there are many other things I could give a “10” to if I took the time to really think about it. I enjoyed reading your Hodgepodge … and thanks for your visit to my blog!

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