It's been interesting, sitting here in 2025, hearing about this big uptick in nostalgia for the peak Millennial years, especially for the younger generation that were too young to really enjoy that time. Internet Analysis has a good video on this entire topic that's worth checking out.
Going back through photos of that era, I can definitely see where that rose-colored perspective comes from – my social media was filled with nothing but dimly light concert photos and blurry pictures of food. Of course, like any time period, actually living through it was as messy and complicated and worrisome as any other time, and looking back on history, with all of its loose-ends resolved, is always more comforting than looking to the unknowns of the future.
Salt Lake Greek Festival
I had wanted to check out the Greek Festival for years as it seemed like the thing to do, and most of my friends had already gone and didn't have any interest in revisiting it. I can see why, now. It was... fine? Very expensive and not much to do, but I'm always glad for a new experience, I guess.
Salt Lake Film Society Fundraiser Event
The only time I've ever been served campaign during a movie intermission, which was good because Lawrence of Arabia is just shy of 4 hours long.
Salt Lake Comic Con #2
Perhaps the first event was FanX, and this was the first time they called it "Comic Con" before getting a cease-and-desist from San Diego.
I've been trying to assess whether my tolerance for crowds and waiting in line has changed over time. I have such a hard time imagining waiting in line for as long as I did then, or spending all day at a convention center in hard-bottomed chairs. Honestly, though, I think it sucked then, too. Perhaps it was just the novelty of it, and going into it without knowing just how rough it was going to be, which made it bearable. Perhaps it's less that I don't have the stamina for it now, but more that I just know better.
Downtime
Parking in my old neighborhood was an absolute nightmare, but the entire area was so wonderfully walkable. Hiking up to the top of the block near sunset was always worth it.
The Start of Concert Season
Red Butte is probably one of the nicest concert venues in the Salt Lake valley. Here's a picture of it during the day, so you can get a sense of what it's like to be there.
Closing it out
I guess I used to go to a lot of concerts. Or maybe this is a normal amount.
Facebook says this was 2013. It's not. I'm not Facebook friends anymore with the person who took this photo so I can't ask him when this was, but I'll put it here anyway.