Misty, water-colored meeeeemories
Jul. 27th, 2016 01:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rachg82I am always up for a time-wasting meme, so let me jump on this high-school-reminiscing bandwagon:
1. Did you know your spouse?
Sorry, no spouse here. #foreveralone
2. Did you car pool to school?
For the most part. I usually rode to school in the mornings with my step-dad & sometimes got lifts home in the afternoon from a friend. Other times I rode the bus though (tri-met, that is -- not the yellow kind).
3. What kind of car did you have?
The kind that ran on dreams & star dust, i.e. a non-existent one. I think I have a vague memory of my step-dad getting me a really cheap used one at some point, but that didn't last long as I never got my license or even practiced driving it barely, and I think his sister ended up buying it.
4. What kind of car do you have now?
Dude, I live in the city, and I'm poor. I ride public transit.
5. It's Saturday night...where were you?
If you go back to 1997, then I was probably hanging out with my best friend Kim -- rewatching episodes of The X-Files & laughing at Scully's pantsuits, listening to music, shopping downtown, or attending a concert. My senior year, however, I would've either been hanging with my then best friend Megan or our little group of friends (we spent a lot of time at Red Robin for some reason) or at home alone rewatching shippy XF scenes and reading loads of NC-17 fanfic about Mulder & Scully getting it on. I may also have been listening to music (either for pleasure or to block out my mom yelling & talking to herself for hours/days on end upstairs), reading, watching & recording stand-up comedy (I was obsessed with it back then), talking on the phone with my friend Jeremy during Who Wants to Be a Millionaire & making fun of Regis Philbin's shiny ties, practicing my violin & resisting the urge to throw it out the window (hi, perfectionist here), doing lots of artwork, or playing with my Super Nintendo. I kept myself pretty busy in those days.
6. What kind of job did you have in high school?
I worked for Blockbuster, which nowadays is like saying I was a shoe cobbler in the 1800s. I still remember having to explain to customers why DVDs were better than VHS tapes.
7. What kind of job do you have now?
Kind of an ableist question, man. I'm on disability. My job is keeping myself alive & off the streets.
8. Were you a party animal?
No, but I did attend one wild party at 16 + mildly experimented with drugs (just weed & Ritalin) & alcohol. I was very tame & cautious overall, especially if you consider that my best friend freshman & sophomore year was a heroin addict.
9. Were you a cheerleader?
Ha, no. Our school didn't even have them.
10. Were you considered a jock?
I'm pretty sure no one at my school was considered a jock. The only sports teams we even had were a couple of girls' teams who mostly showed up to games ironically. Those who did attempt athletics were more along the lines of what can be seen in this short documentary (which won my classmates the 1998 NW Youth Film Festival's "Best in Show" award:
(Part 2 and Part 3)
...I love that these videos still exist, heh.
11. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?
I was in orchestra until my junior year, I think? That's when my social anxiety got so bad that I became afraid to perform in front of people. Plus at the time my psoriasis was really bad on my palms, and it physically hurt to play. I continued on for a while with private lessons, but eventually those became too expensive and so I stopped playing entirely. I regret that now.
12. Were you a nerd?
In some ways, sure. I was a little bit of everything. I hung out with a lot of different types of people, and I've always been very multifaceted. As an example, I showed up in black vinyl pants & matching knee-high boots + a Winnie the Pooh shirt for freshman photo day & soon thereafter dyed my hair magenta. I then grew my hair down past my elbows & wore a lot of peasant skirts & baggy band t-shirts with Doc Martins. By the time I was a sophomore, however, I suppose I could've been considered a prep. My friend Becca insisted I was a ~fairy princess~ though, heh. So make of that what you will.
13. Did you get suspended or expelled?
No, but I did get put on an attendance contract my senior year. If I hadn't gotten my act together, I would've been expelled despite my mostly good grades. That was when my migraines & depression became a real problem for me. My once-a-week migraines turned into daily attacks, and I began taking Excedrin first thing every morning to get by. Once my attendance issues were resolved though, the rest of my senior year was pretty great.
14. Can you sing the fight song?
Artists don't have fight songs, yo. My graduating class did have an anthem though -- The Ramones' "Rock 'n Roll High School." They played it when we got our diplomas.
15. Who was/were your favorite high school teacher?
Mr. Kaad. Without him, I'm sure I would've slipped through the cracks & self-destructed. He was the only person I felt comfortable talking to about what was going on with my mom, and he helped me get caught up senior year. He never gave up on me, and he stuck his neck out for me more than once, and I'll be forever grateful to him for that.
16. Where did you sit for lunch?
In the hallways if we could get away with it. If not, we sat outside on the porch or in the grass, depending on the weather.
17. What was your school's full name?
Arts & Communication Magnet High School. The building had previously been home to C.E. Mason Elementary, though, so a lot of us referred to it as C.E. Mason too.
18. What was your school mascot?
Uh, we never had one. If we had, it probably would've been someone sardonically smoking on the sidelines with a safety-pinned hoodie & a KFDM shirt.
19. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
In a heartbeat. Despite my struggles at home & with my health, those were some of the happiest years of my life.
20. Did you have fun at Prom?
Yes & no. I went with a group of friends as I didn't have a date, and while we had fun & I got to dance with my crush (who later turned out to be gay, natch), I remember feeling sad that I didn't have anyone to call my own. I really wish I hadn't been in denial about my feelings for girls at the time, because there were more females than males there, and a lot of them were gorgeous.
21. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with?
I'm friends with one of them on Facebook, but we don't really talk. She's hardly ever on there, and we grew apart after graduation.
22. Are you planning on going to your next reunion?
If there even is one, yes. Our school as it was then doesn't exist anymore -- it's become an academy for grades 6 - 12 with different teachers & not much of a connection to its wilder beginnings. On top of that, our populace was so small that freshmen & sophomores shared required classes while juniors & seniors shared as well, and our elective classes had all four grades together sometimes. So any proper reunion wouldn't just be for one grade. That's why the reunion I attended in 2010 was pretty much for everyone who graduated between the years of 1992 to 2001. The other thing is we don't have any official alumni to organize reunions. The last one was planned by a few determined individuals on Facebook. So I hope there's another reunion someday, but I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't.
23. Are you still in contact with people from school?
If you count Facebook, yeah. Aside from that, not anymore. I briefly reunited with a trio of friends from back then in 2010, but that didn't last.
24. What are/were your school's colors?
I want to say maroon & black, but I'm not sure.
25. What did you do on senior skip day?
I went to school thanks to my above-mentioned contract. *Debbie Downer sound effect*
Just for funsies, here's a shot of me & some of my junior class back in '99:
1. Did you know your spouse?
Sorry, no spouse here. #foreveralone
2. Did you car pool to school?
For the most part. I usually rode to school in the mornings with my step-dad & sometimes got lifts home in the afternoon from a friend. Other times I rode the bus though (tri-met, that is -- not the yellow kind).
3. What kind of car did you have?
The kind that ran on dreams & star dust, i.e. a non-existent one. I think I have a vague memory of my step-dad getting me a really cheap used one at some point, but that didn't last long as I never got my license or even practiced driving it barely, and I think his sister ended up buying it.
4. What kind of car do you have now?
Dude, I live in the city, and I'm poor. I ride public transit.
5. It's Saturday night...where were you?
If you go back to 1997, then I was probably hanging out with my best friend Kim -- rewatching episodes of The X-Files & laughing at Scully's pantsuits, listening to music, shopping downtown, or attending a concert. My senior year, however, I would've either been hanging with my then best friend Megan or our little group of friends (we spent a lot of time at Red Robin for some reason) or at home alone rewatching shippy XF scenes and reading loads of NC-17 fanfic about Mulder & Scully getting it on. I may also have been listening to music (either for pleasure or to block out my mom yelling & talking to herself for hours/days on end upstairs), reading, watching & recording stand-up comedy (I was obsessed with it back then), talking on the phone with my friend Jeremy during Who Wants to Be a Millionaire & making fun of Regis Philbin's shiny ties, practicing my violin & resisting the urge to throw it out the window (hi, perfectionist here), doing lots of artwork, or playing with my Super Nintendo. I kept myself pretty busy in those days.
6. What kind of job did you have in high school?
I worked for Blockbuster, which nowadays is like saying I was a shoe cobbler in the 1800s. I still remember having to explain to customers why DVDs were better than VHS tapes.
7. What kind of job do you have now?
Kind of an ableist question, man. I'm on disability. My job is keeping myself alive & off the streets.
8. Were you a party animal?
No, but I did attend one wild party at 16 + mildly experimented with drugs (just weed & Ritalin) & alcohol. I was very tame & cautious overall, especially if you consider that my best friend freshman & sophomore year was a heroin addict.
9. Were you a cheerleader?
Ha, no. Our school didn't even have them.
10. Were you considered a jock?
I'm pretty sure no one at my school was considered a jock. The only sports teams we even had were a couple of girls' teams who mostly showed up to games ironically. Those who did attempt athletics were more along the lines of what can be seen in this short documentary (which won my classmates the 1998 NW Youth Film Festival's "Best in Show" award:
(Part 2 and Part 3)
...I love that these videos still exist, heh.
11. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?
I was in orchestra until my junior year, I think? That's when my social anxiety got so bad that I became afraid to perform in front of people. Plus at the time my psoriasis was really bad on my palms, and it physically hurt to play. I continued on for a while with private lessons, but eventually those became too expensive and so I stopped playing entirely. I regret that now.
12. Were you a nerd?
In some ways, sure. I was a little bit of everything. I hung out with a lot of different types of people, and I've always been very multifaceted. As an example, I showed up in black vinyl pants & matching knee-high boots + a Winnie the Pooh shirt for freshman photo day & soon thereafter dyed my hair magenta. I then grew my hair down past my elbows & wore a lot of peasant skirts & baggy band t-shirts with Doc Martins. By the time I was a sophomore, however, I suppose I could've been considered a prep. My friend Becca insisted I was a ~fairy princess~ though, heh. So make of that what you will.
13. Did you get suspended or expelled?
No, but I did get put on an attendance contract my senior year. If I hadn't gotten my act together, I would've been expelled despite my mostly good grades. That was when my migraines & depression became a real problem for me. My once-a-week migraines turned into daily attacks, and I began taking Excedrin first thing every morning to get by. Once my attendance issues were resolved though, the rest of my senior year was pretty great.
14. Can you sing the fight song?
Artists don't have fight songs, yo. My graduating class did have an anthem though -- The Ramones' "Rock 'n Roll High School." They played it when we got our diplomas.
15. Who was/were your favorite high school teacher?
Mr. Kaad. Without him, I'm sure I would've slipped through the cracks & self-destructed. He was the only person I felt comfortable talking to about what was going on with my mom, and he helped me get caught up senior year. He never gave up on me, and he stuck his neck out for me more than once, and I'll be forever grateful to him for that.
16. Where did you sit for lunch?
In the hallways if we could get away with it. If not, we sat outside on the porch or in the grass, depending on the weather.
17. What was your school's full name?
Arts & Communication Magnet High School. The building had previously been home to C.E. Mason Elementary, though, so a lot of us referred to it as C.E. Mason too.
18. What was your school mascot?
Uh, we never had one. If we had, it probably would've been someone sardonically smoking on the sidelines with a safety-pinned hoodie & a KFDM shirt.
19. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
In a heartbeat. Despite my struggles at home & with my health, those were some of the happiest years of my life.
20. Did you have fun at Prom?
Yes & no. I went with a group of friends as I didn't have a date, and while we had fun & I got to dance with my crush (who later turned out to be gay, natch), I remember feeling sad that I didn't have anyone to call my own. I really wish I hadn't been in denial about my feelings for girls at the time, because there were more females than males there, and a lot of them were gorgeous.
21. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with?
I'm friends with one of them on Facebook, but we don't really talk. She's hardly ever on there, and we grew apart after graduation.
22. Are you planning on going to your next reunion?
If there even is one, yes. Our school as it was then doesn't exist anymore -- it's become an academy for grades 6 - 12 with different teachers & not much of a connection to its wilder beginnings. On top of that, our populace was so small that freshmen & sophomores shared required classes while juniors & seniors shared as well, and our elective classes had all four grades together sometimes. So any proper reunion wouldn't just be for one grade. That's why the reunion I attended in 2010 was pretty much for everyone who graduated between the years of 1992 to 2001. The other thing is we don't have any official alumni to organize reunions. The last one was planned by a few determined individuals on Facebook. So I hope there's another reunion someday, but I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't.
23. Are you still in contact with people from school?
If you count Facebook, yeah. Aside from that, not anymore. I briefly reunited with a trio of friends from back then in 2010, but that didn't last.
24. What are/were your school's colors?
I want to say maroon & black, but I'm not sure.
25. What did you do on senior skip day?
I went to school thanks to my above-mentioned contract. *Debbie Downer sound effect*
Just for funsies, here's a shot of me & some of my junior class back in '99:
