High School Memories

Again, I have to give Julie credit for today's post. I steal all my best ideas from her. Click on the title of this post to see her story.

1. Who was your best friend in high school?
My best friends in high school were Melissa, Rachel, Michelle, Josh, Adam, and Missy. We didn't all hang out together at the same time (maybe Melissa, Rachel, Michelle and I were together the most). Senior year we split up a bit.

2. What sports did you play?
I'm with you Julie: band geeks didn't have to take PE in high school... and so I was saved from my own lack of coordination.

3. What kind of car did you drive?
I didn't drive any kind of car until way after high school. I had a very cool red and white Univega 10-speed bike, though.

4. It's Friday night, where were you?
Definitely at a football game. After some games we'd all head to Shakey's for pizza and fooling around. Westwood wasn't as much fun at night for my age group as it had been in years before.

5. Were you a party animal?
Absolutely not. Rachel and Amber and I had some little mini-parties, and Adam and I too, but never really a party animal. I went to a couple of parties with my 11th grade boyfriend, who I met while I was supposed to be TAing for the band teacher; we were totally different, and our hooking up was kind of weird. Parties weren't my thing, and his friends weren't my friends... So that was short-lived. And then there was "Dick," the guy I've mentioned a few times: I think he took me on as a "project" and in that vein, I went to a few parties with him; his friends definitely qualify as partiers. More awkward than fun.

6. Were you in the "in crowd"?
Again: absolutely not. Some of my friends had potential to be in-crowders - Melissa was loved by everyone (she was smart, sweet and gorgeous), and Michelle was so smart and beautiful that I'm sure they could've crashed the in crowd. However, I thought that my friends were funnier, way less fucked-up, and way more interesting than the so-called "in crowd," who seemed to battle in-fighting, boyfriend stealing, bad haircuts and poor taste in music.

7. Ever skip school?
Many, many times. I would usually make it to school more or less on time, but by senior year, I was vacating campus a LOT. We might go to lunch and then never go back.

8. Ever smoke?
Yes, off and on.

There are stories to go along with this, but not sure how much I should say. Some stupid boy kind of influenced me a lot, and I'm not just talking reading material. Yeah, I was stupid, but: he was really, really cute. My friends didn't like him, though - Rachel had a thing about his feet. And I'd have been better off if I'd just walked away, but what can I say? In his Birkenstocks and shaggy hair cut, he was irresistible. And his interest in me, no matter how fleeting or conveniently timed, made him irresistible.

9. Were you a nerd?
I wasn't good at math, but I loved to read; I wore glasses (usually huge, gigantic glasses); I didn't have the greatest clothes; I worked at the library part of the time... No, I guess I wasn't exactly a nerd, but I was definitely a bit of a geek.

10. Did you get suspended/expelled?
No.

11. Can you sing the alma mater?
Did my high school have an alma mater? Our fight song was "Minnesota Rouser;" I'm not that great at geography either, but I do know that Minnesota is quite a ways away.

12. Who was your favorite teacher?
Mr. Nazzaretta, the band teacher. I didn't really have that great of a relationship with my other teachers. I wanted to, but I don't know. Just didn't.

13. Favorite class?
When we'd do the spring musical. We didn't have an orchestra in high school, so our musical orchestra consisted of a couple of twin girls on violins, a bunch of hired guns, and those of us who could read the music.

14. School mascot?
Centaur. Half-man, half-horse. Sexy.

15. Did you go to the prom?
Yes... told that story weeks ago!

16. If you could go back and do it over, would you?
Maybe. I made some really huge mistakes. I might not have ditched so much. I might've taken more of an interest in going to college. I might've stayed away from certain boys. I might've been less shy with other certain boys.

17. What do you remember most about graduation?
I didn't know what to wear, and wound up in pseudo hippie gear: brown sandals, floaty skirt, and white t-shirt. I wish I'd dressed up more. I didn't get to play in the band, which was weird, because I'd played every graduation since the 7th grade. Alphabetically I was up at the front of the line, so I didn't really know where my friends were, and that was weird. Also there was a rumor that some guy was naked under his graduation robe, but I didn't see it, and I don't know if it was true.

18. Favorite memory of your senior year?
Senior year was kind of a bummer. My friends kind of spread out and school itself was not as much fun as it had been up to then. Being seniors wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be.

19. Were you ever posted up on the senior wall?
I have no idea what this is.

20. Did you have a job your senior year?
I worked since the 10th grade. After the library, I got a job with my friend Tina at Domino's Pizza. She was a little older than me; we had a lot of fun. My friend Todd worked there, too. He was from Texas, and we had pie dough fights and water fights and pizza box fights: lots of fun. There were a couple of other kids from school working there, and the rest of them were either in college or way older. And then I worked at Crown Books, where I was made an assistant manager.

21. Who did you date?
I had a million crushes in high school, starting with Charlie in the 9th grade. My band friends thought it was "cute" because he was a senior and I was totally a goofball about it. I mean TOTAL goofball. We did go out a few times, but I think I ruined it with my total lack of cool. 10th grade was when some other guy got his claws in me, and I wanted so much to be cool that I put up with a lot of shit from him. 11th grade I went out with this guy from another crowd - he was funny and cute and apparently a drunk and a user. 12th grade I realized that friends make the best boyfriends, and it was me and Adam for awhile.

22. Where did you go most often for lunch?
Titos, Taco Bell, McDonald's. Our choices were limited by proximity to school but I don't know why we did it that way, so many times we didn't even go back. Only Missy, Amber and Adam had cars, so that also limited our choices.

23. Have you gained weight since then?
Funny thing - I thought I was fat then, but I would kill for that body today.

24. What did you do after graduation?
Not a whole lot! Went to West LA College where I met the guy I didn't marry. Hung out with him and his friends a lot. Worked at Crown Books as an assistant manager; quit there and then managed a video store for awhile. Went to Santa Monica College. Learned how to drive, took a job in Malibu at another Crown Books...

OK, so that's it.