Middle School Dances

Every now and then I catch a whiff of Aussie scrunch spray or Paul Mitchell's freeze and shine and I am transported back in time; middle school dance.
Whenever I chew watermelon gum; middle school dance.
Whenever i hear Pump up the Jam, any PM Dawn song or and Boyz 2 Men; middle school dance.
I don't know why our expectations were so high. Why we spent more time getting ready for the dance then we did any other time of our lives. My John Caruso steam rollers were used to death. My perfume was spritzed on thicker then ever hoping to lure someone to me. Why did I want to lure someone - I didn't know I just knew it was supposed to happen.
It's all because of you boys. You oblivious boys!
We did it all for you! We loved you so much and all you did was play basketball in the other gym. What about us girls? Huh? Left to our own bitchy devices - gossiping along the bleachers, getting into fights over eyebrows (oh it happened), calling our boyfriends that lived in North Branch from the pay phone...why did you ignore us?
We were beautiful! Our hair and makeup done so right but our clothes (this is what gets me) were gym shorts and a t-shirt!
why? Why did we spend so much time on our face and hair only to put on clothes we wore to bed? I remember one time I even wore a Grant Hill Jersey with sagging white gym shorts - why THAT will lure them in surely. Is that why you didn't pay attention? because we were in gym clothes?
I remember always slow dancing with the same people - never who I really wanted to slow dance with....they were busy playing basketball.... *sigh* Then we would get into fights and run back and forth to groups of girls having the MOST important news ever which was really "Oh my GOD. Did you hear what Andy and Jamie did? No. I am serious. It's totally true" Then our lives would get entangled in the drama the ensued for the next 10 minutes.
Ewww remember when we would have ice cream? I remember the servers dipping the ice cream scoop into hot water to allow for a better scoop and getting totally grossed out.
Middle school dances were better then high school dances. In middle school most of us (i say most liberally) hadn't tried drinking or smoking yet so that made things easy. in high school it seemed to be a starting point for some people. The most important part of the night even. "where are we going to get drunk before the dance? Dude can we go to your house?" or "where can I smoke this cigarette before the dance if they won't let us out of the school?"
Things were easier in middle school. pure, childish, love. plain and simple. love of our friends, getting pretty and boys.

going shopping in 1992

I LOVE SHOPPING! I don't get to go to the mall a lot because we live so far away. We have places in our town that we can go shopping at but then everyone at school has the same shirt or bag as you do and that is not cool.
I like Big Scotts. They have lots of jokes there- like a fart machine or a fake ice cube with a fly in it. It always smells like plastic inside the store. They have cool school spirit stuff too! Like Green and Gold socks and shirts. And they have the best Halloween stuff.
We also have Edson's which is a more expensive - dressier store. Mom takes me there to get skirts and nice shirts for church.
I like Elly's store even though it smells like perfume really bad. She has funky, cool clothes. I got a really nice band concert dress there that was a baby doll dress with an empire waist.
Sometimes Mom goes down to Maplewood to visit her friend who lives around there or they go out to lunch and then I get to wander around the mall. I am SO ready to spend my allowance. $40 can get you super far! I am like rich!
I mean, I know all the stores I have to go to and lots of times they have sales.
Like The County Seat - I can get a pair of Levis there for $13! Although I really want a pair of Girbauds. Mom said I can order them from Spiegel when my fancy jeans fund gets to be $66.
Then I love to go into United Colors of Benetton - even though I can probably get an umbrella or a little coin purse there but still! I have all of the magazine ads hanging in my room...
Sam Goody has all of the new music that is coming out. Sometimes if I have extra money left over I will buy a CD just to check it out. Their CD prices are pretty good too. I mean $16 for a CD is, like, awesome! Last time I went to the mall I got Sonic Youth -Dirty and it was super good.
I really want an ESPRIT bag but they are so hard to find! Everyone has them at school. Mom said she could make me one but everyone would know it's handmade and trying to fake cool is not cool.
But my most favorite store is the body shoppe! I could stay in there for hours walking around and smelling things. They have the best sales too. I love the lip gloss and the perfume you can get there.
If I go with my friends, they always want to stop into Spencer's to get funny posters and T-shirts. If I got anything there I would have to hide it because it's not appropriate for me. I did get a keychain there that lights up with my name. Except it's not my name, it says SHARON (my best friend's aunt calls me that) it was only $4.
I am totally planning a mega shopping spree when the Mall of America opens this fall. I mean that mall is going to be SO HUGE! I can't wait! There will be stores that are only in California! Maybe then I will be able to find my ESPRIT* bag.

*Note - Erin did get an EPRIT bag but she found it at the shoe store in Lindstrom. It was black and had multi-colored letters. She plans on looking for it this weekend to revive the trend.

10-year reunion just around the corner

My 10-year reunion is this weekend. It's crazy to think about it really...I have been out of high school for 10 years. I have been out of college for 6 years. wait...yes. Holy crap. I am 28 years old.
30 seemed so far away to me and now it's right around the corner. But I am not one of those people who freaks out over getting gray hairs or turning a year older I mean, it's a part of life. An ugly part of life to some people but not to me. I love aging.
So this weekend I get to see people I haven't seen in person for a very long time. But this begs the question; can we really get a group of people who have ONLY known how to act as children together, to act as adults?

I am tempted to make note cards to hand out to people;
Married - 3 years. Met on internet in 2000. His name is David and he is a Hydrologist for the MN Pollution Control Agency. He is my best friend and the love of my life.
My job - I am editor at Target headquarters in Minneapolis - I have been there for 4 years. I work on packaging (Archer Farms*, Market Pantry, choxie, Smith & Hawken, Boots and Barkley). I make sure things are capitalized and spelled correctly.
*My saying this will inevitably get "Oh my god I love Archer Farms salsa - it's so good" or "why did they stop making the chile grilling sauce?"
College - I went to Duluth for 2 years then transferred down to the U of MN main campus to major in Journalism. I loved it.
Kids? Oh the dreaded question. Not everyone can procreate at the drop of a hat. For some, it takes time and we luckily have lots of it. We are in no rush and know that someday we will be parents. But right now, we are animal parents and love it.
What are you drinking? Vodka Soda with Lime


So for those of you who read this, we can start our conversation AFTER you have learned the information on my invisible note card that I hand to you.

I can't wait to see everyone. I hope it's a successful event. We have spent a lot of time & effort into planning this. Here's to the class of 1999!! See you this weekend!

The Age of Marathons (to the tune of "age of innocence")

Everyone around me is running marathons. One after another. Line up. Pay your money. Get your shirt and hurt. hurt so bad you can't sit down on the toilet by yourself the next day. hurt so bad your inner thighs have worse rub-burn then going to Valley Fair in jean shorts.

I have never been a runner and probably never will. At first people running marathons upset me. Not because they were doing it but because so MANY people were doing it. And why? I don't get it because I am not a runner nor do I want to understand it.
It's nothing new to me. This does not make it less important and amazing that they are doing it in the first place....just seems like that's the next step. If you are between the ages of 25 and 30...why not? Run a marathon. I know lots of people who are older who run also - Hell David's 60-year old uncle ran one a few years ago...

The smoke is clearing at least for a while. Not too many of my friends are running their first marathon. They are on to their 2nd, 3rd etc. and that is great. Must be super cool to do it over and over again.

But here is my question; what is the next Marathon? What will be the next stage in our lives that EVERYONE will be doing. Buying a cabin? Skate-skiing? I am not there so I don't know but maybe I will be on the next wave of age appropriate activities/goals.

I don't want this rant to sound angry at the people who run marathons. I just don't get it. I do, however, know what it is like to watch people cross the finish line. We watched Rick cross last year and both of us had tears in our eyes.

My favorite poems

I only have a few favorite poems. I never liked poetry - especially when I was immersed in reading one after another in my poetry class while in college. I didn't learn much from that class but I did learn that when I like a poem I really like a poem. Here are just 2 I hold very close to me. One is an old discovery and one is new.

BREAKFAST SONG
by Elizabeth Bishop


My love, my saving grace,
your eyes are awfully blue.
I kiss your funny face,
your coffee-flavored mouth.
Last night I slept with you.
Today I love you so
how can I bear to go
(as soon I must, I know)
to bed with ugly death
in that cold, filthy place,
to sleep there without you,
without the easy breath
and nightlong, limblong warmth
I've grown accustomed to?
--Nobody wants to die;
tell me it is a lie!
But no, I know it's true.
It's just the common case;
there's nothing one can do.
My love, my saving grace,
your eyes are awfully blue
early and instant blue.





COOK
By Jane Hirshfield

Each night you come home with five continents on your hands:

garlic, olive oil, saffron, anise, coriander, tea,

your fingernails blackened with marjoram and thyme.

Sometimes the zucchini's flesh seems like a fish-steak,

cut into neat filets, or the salt-rubbed eggplant

yields not bitter water, but dark mystery.

You cut everything to bits.

No core, no kernel, no seed is sacred: you cut

onions for hours and do not cry,

cut them to thin transparencies, the red ones

spreading before you like fallen flowers;

you cut scallions from white to green, you cut

radishes, apples, broccoli, you cut oranges, watercress,

romaine, you cut your fingers, you cut and cut

beyond the heart of things, where

nothing remains, and you cut that too, scoring coup

on the butcherblock, leaving your mark,

when you go

your feet are as pounded as brioche dough.

Book covers

70% of the time, when I go to the library I pick out books based on their covers.
I found this website and am psyched.

macabre (beware)

I read an article today on CNN about the rising suicide rate in 'suicide forest' located in Japan at the base of Mt. Fuji.
Aokigahara Forest

Before people enter the forest, there is a sign reading
Your life is a precious gift from your parents.
Think about them and the rest of your family. You don't have to suffer alone, call us 555-22-0110

I have been hearing a lot about Japanese people committing suicide and how they often off themselves by taking cyanide pills which are incredibly toxic to everyone around them. They put signs on doors that basically say "i am killing myself please stay away" at least they are polite, right?

Japan has the highest rate of suicide among rich countries.
Some people jump in front of trains! I was just wondering if anyone who has been over there had witnessed anyone offing themselves. I know my cousin has seen it happen - not in Japan but off of the 2nd most popular place to commit suicide; The Golden Gate Bridge.

Sorry to write about something so morbid but to me its so interesting. The thought of suicide has never crossed my mind and to wonder what is driving people, in droves mind you, to do this is incredible.